Winter birds thrill Norfolk wildlife photographers

A gathering of winter visitors has attracted crowds of birdwatchers and photographers to a Norfolk police station.

The waxwings were spotted eating berries from a rowan tree outside the building in Long Stratton.

The birds, recognisable by their distinctive red and yellow feathers, are not native to the UK but tend to visit during the winter months.

"They are a scarce winter visitor but do on occasions appear in larger numbers," said Peter Hayman, from Rare Bird Alerts.

"It just depends on the availability of food and/or weather within their winter range.

"We haven't seen many in Norfolk this winter so it's no wonder these have caught people's attention."

05 Jan 2019

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2nd January

Twitchers treated to rare bird sighting at Asda Totton

By Chris Yandell dailyecho_New Forest Chief Reporter

TWITCHERS descended on a Hampshire supermarket after reports that exotic birds had been seen in the area.

Birdwatchers anxious to catch a glimpse of waxwings converged on the car park at the Asda store in Maynard Road, Totton.

One of the first to see and photograph the birds was Cllr David Harrison, who represents part of Totton on the county and district councils.

He said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to have seen these rare visitors - they’re truly one of the most attractive birds to be seen in Britain.

“I don’t expect them to stay around for long as there aren’t a great many trees with berries on them.

“Normally waxwings only come this far south during a really cold snap so it’s a wonderful surprise and a great way to start the birdwatching year.”

Twitchers also rushed to investigate sightings of waxwings in nearby Beaumont Road and Jennings Road.

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Rare wading bird seen on pond

First published Thursday 6 November 2014 in News

A RARE inland sighting of an arctic breeding wading bird, the grey phalarope, has been recorded on the largest of six new ponds which have recently been created on Dorset Wildlife Trust’s (DWT) Tadnoll and Winfrith reserve.

Classed as ‘scarce’ in the UK and rarely found so far inland, it is thought the stormy weather had encouraged the grey phalarope to feed on one of the newest ponds in the Prison Fields area on the reserve, just weeks after its creation.

The new ponds are proving a success for other wildlife too, as conservation officers have spotted green sandpipers, snipe and grey wagtails using the ponds.

Diving beetles, water beetles, lesser water boatmen and mating common darter dragonflies were also recorded just two weeks after the ponds were created.

Continued ...

Rare Slavonian grebe found dead in Inverness came from Iceland

"Dead duck" turns out be a scarce visitor from Iceland

January 2013. Local RSPB staff have collected a rare Slavonian grebe which was found dead in Inverness town centre. The bird is believed to have collided with an overhead wire. RSPB conservation manager Stuart Benn said, "We received a call from a traffic warden who said that he had found a dead duck in the town. His attention had been attracted by a ring that was present on the bird's leg. When we arrived we discovered that the bird was, in fact, a Slavonian grebe, a very rare breeding bird in Scotland. However when we checked the ring we found that the bird had been ringed in Iceland.

"This is an interesting discovery as it confirms that some birds from the Icelandic population spend the winter in Scottish waters and that the Moray Firth is important for these grebes as they are for many other species of marine birds."

Found in town centre
The bird was found by the River Ness near the pedestrian bridge that links Kenneth Street to the town centre. Mr Benn said, "Judging by its injuries I suspect the grebe must have flown into an overhead wire or cable. They are beautiful birds and it is very sad to see it in this state."

Continued:  http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/slavonian-grebe-iceland.html