07/02/14 7 Short-eared Owls at the Norfolk Estate and a Glaucous Gull near Shoreham

Thursday 7th February 2014
RSPB visit to Norfolk Estate near BURPHAM

Joined a large group of RSPB members for this long-awaited visit to the Norfolk Estate near BURPHAM.  Thankfully it was dry and sunny for most of the time with excellent visibility for the photographer's in the group.

We gathered in one of the large barns to listen to the manager, Peter Knight, give a brief, recent, history of the estate.  For a while it has been run with conservation in mind.  Large fields have been replaced with a patchwork of smaller fields each with new hedgerows  spring crops, and strips of tussocky grass known as ‘beetle banks’  to provide year-round food and nesting sites for birds such as Grey partridge, Lapwing, Skylark and Corn Bunting – all species of high conservation concern in the UK.  For a fuller account of the conservation work please follow the link below

 http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/317846-arundel-farmer-wins-south-east-nature-of-farming-award



Afterwards we drove round the estate in tractor drawn trailers to see things at first hand.  Lots of interesting things showed up and a couple of the highlights are outlined below:-

•   There were lots of Red Kites around and in the bright sunlight they made a spectacular sight.  The most we could see in a single telescope shot was 6 - quite remarkable and  ever so impressive.

•   Brown Hares prosper on this estate and we managed to see up to half a dozen or so in the fields as we drove by.

•    You cannot visit this area without seeing the Grey Partridge, one of the species most protected by the farming techniques.  We saw several on our tour and they were only the tip of the iceberg - there are over 200 on the estate.

•   The event was closed by a spectacular finale when a couple of the estate management team went into the long grasses to flush out the 7 (seven) Short-eared Owls that had been roosting there all morning.  As the shocked birds took to the air they provided a never-to-be-forgotten spectacle of amazing proportions.  The purists among the birding fraternity would no doubt criticise this habitat intrusion but all those present really enjoyed it and no-one complained or was upset.

Short-eared Owl
Library picture

This was my third visit to the area in the space of a week and on every occasion there has been something different and immense to see.  This seems to be a truly genuine example where farming can be both profitable and beneficial to wildlife.  The Burgh is one of the top birdwatching sites in the county with it's farmland birds and huge raptor presence.

The event closed about 12.30 allowing me the time to call in at the Southwater Canal near Shoreham to look for the Glaucous Gull.  This bird has eluded me for weeks so I was keen to have another go at it.  Thankfully, after a wait of 45 minutes I was rewarded with lovely close views of the gull in the water and flying overhead.  I admired the show for 30 minutes but had to leave before it finished.  I believe it lasted all afternoon.

Glaucous Gull
courtesy of Dave Boddington

A great day and very informative.

Additions to 2014 UK Bird List:
Short-eared Owl (148)
Glaucous Gull   (149)

Today's Species List:

Short-eared Owl

Stonechat

Glaucous Gull   

Red Kite
Black-headed Gull
Grey Partridge
Buzzard
Kestrel
Song Thrush
Fieldfare
Redwing
Starling
Reed Buntings
Lapwings