Poppyland Nature: RUFOUS-TAILED ROBIN

Friday, 14 October 2011

RUFOUS-TAILED ROBIN

Despite an initial movement, there were fewer birds on the move today, but still nice numbers of Thrushes and Finches etc were seen going through/coming in-off, with additional species to those noted yesterday including a few Mistle Thrushes, Grey Wagtail and a Great Spotted Woodpecker.

At least one Short-eared Owl was seen to come ashore and a flock of 9 Crossbills flew east. Grounded birds were slightly better than yesterday with single Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Wheatear noted, along with a few more Goldcrests and Robins, plus a frustrating sighting of a bright phyllosc which came in-off but it bush-hopped quickly inland before I could get anything on it.

With the warm and sunny weather there were still a number of Butterflies and Dragonflies around, with this Migrant Hawker being the most co-operative for photos.

Despite a lot of searching and the high hopes of finding something good, the day appeared to be going out on a whimper, until of course just after 5pm the pager announced that there was a Rufous-tailed Robin on East Hills nr Wells! Even though I knew that even if the tides would allow access there was little chance of actually getting out there before the light went, I still just leapt into my car and made haste westwards. En route a series of confusing messages were broadcast whereby it transpired that the bird wasn't on East Hills at all, or on the saltmarsh, but was actually on Warham Greens - obviously somewhere where I could get to before dark!

So after a bit more confusion/panic after arrival as to exactly where the bird was, managing to run past the crowd in the process, I eventually found the correct spot and after an anxious wait I spotted the bird fly out of the tree it had earlier disappeared into and then watched it as it moved two or three times further from tree to tree along the access track before loosing it from view. So far from brilliant views, but views nonetheless, and a total relief to have connected given all the earlier confusion and considering I thought I had no chance of even getting near it when I left home.

My Patch

My patch covers roughly a 10 mile stretch along the north Norfolk coast, from Beeston in the west along to Trimingham in the east, plus a small area inland including Felbrigg Park, Roughton and Northrepps, although the vast majority of my time is spent concentrating on the area from West Runton along to Overstrand.
The main habitats of the area are the coastal bushes and scrub which attract migrants in spring and autumn, a few clifftop woods and fields, the park & lake at Felbrigg, rocky and sandy beaches, and the cliffs and sea which both present great potential for observing coastal passage.

My Photos

The bird photos on here are all digiscoped using a Panasonic Lumix TZ3 compact camera and a Kowa TSN 824 scope. I use a 50x wide angle lens on the scope with no zoom on the camera which seems to go against all the 'expert' advice you read on forums etc, but it works for me and I'm pleased with the results. Additionally I also just hold the camera in place by hand rather than use any adapters to fix it in place, and apart from altering exposure levels, I just go with the automatic levels on the camera so it is really just a case of point and shoot.
The Butterfly and Dragonfly pictures are taken with the camera alone using its macro setting and again mostly using no zoom, which naturally requires a lot of careful stalking of the subject to get close enough to get the quality of picture that I desire.

Poppyland

In 1883 the London based playwright, poet and theatre critic, Clement Scott, visited Cromer as a travel writer for the Daily Telegraph taking advantage of the newly opened railway to the town. On arrival he walked east along the coast to seek accommodation and fell in love with the idyllic villages of Overstrand and Sidestrand and the solitude they presented away from the nearby town. With fields of poppies carpeting the clifftops, he christened the area 'Poppyland' and subsequently wrote a series of articles about his visit in the Telegraph. These were later published as the Poppyland Papers, and his writings made the area probably the best known holiday destination in the country with many victorians visiting the area to enjoy its delights, and the most wealthy of them having houses built in the area, with Overstrand soon becoming known as 'The village of millionaires'. The term Poppyland has stuck ever since, and although it originally just referred to the Overstrand and Sidestrand area, the extension of the railway line to Sheringham and Mundesley, known as the Poppy Line, led to that whole stretch of coast becoming known as Poppyland.

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Friday, 14 October 2011

RUFOUS-TAILED ROBIN