V THE NATURAL HISTORY (Vh>®EUW - 9 AUC 2005 EXCHANGED r,PNFRAL LIB R.AR ) 1 Norfolk Bird Report - 2000 Editor: Giles Dunmore Editorial 95 Review of the Year 98 Wetland Bird Surveys 105 Norfolk Bird Atlas 108 Systematic List 110 Introductions, Escapes, Ferals and Hybrids 246 Earliest and Latest Dates of Summer Migrants 25 Latest and Earliest Dates of Winter Migrants 252 Non-accepted and non-submitted records 253 Contributors 254 Ringing Report 256 Seventy-five years ago - anecdotes from Norfolk birdwatchers in 1925 266 Norfolk Birdwatching in 1950 Remembered 269 Tweny-five years ago - Memories of 1975 271 Breydon Water and its Birdlife 273 Eleonora’s Falcon at Hickling Broad. July 1987 - the first record for Norfolk 282 Slender-billed Gulls at Cley - the second record for Norfolk 284 Isabelline Wheatear at Blakeney Point - the second record for Norfolk 285 The Burgh Castle Bee-eaters - a long-awaited opportunity for Norfolk birdwatchers 288 The House Sparrow in Norwich during autumn/winter 2000 - a population study 289 Norfolk Mammal Report - 2000 Editor: Roy Baker Editorial 294 The Stoat - Rabbit Enigma 294 Mammals of a Broadland Reserve - Wheatfen 295 What the Cat Brought In! 300 The Hazel Dormouse in Norfolk 303 Barbastelle Bats at Paston Great Barn 1998-2000 307 Published by NORFOLK AND NORWICH NATURALISTS’ SOCIETY Castle Museum, Norwich, NR I 3.IU { Transactions Volume 34 part 2 October 2001 ISSN 0375 7226 Keepsake back numbers arc available from David & Iris Pauli, 8 Lindford Drive, Eaton, Norwch NR4 6LT l-'ront cover photograph: Bearded Tit ( /?('g Jones) Hack cover photograph: (ircy I Icron ( Tony I /owes) NORFOLK BIRD REPORT - 2000 Editorial On behalf of the Society I am pleased to present the annual report on the Birds of Norfolk. To celebrate this special millennium edition articles looking back over the century are included, together with a special feature on Breydon Water. history IVH^vUi.-5 Acknowledgements I The Editorial Team continues to function and comprises: -9 AUC 2005 • myself - Editor and Joint County Recorder I EXCHANGED • Neil Lawton - Joint County Recorder, I GENERAL LIBRARY • - John Williamson liaison with Norfolk Bird Club and the p: • Julian Bhalerao - co-ordinating photographs and sketches, • Justin Lansdell - co-ordinating articles and dealing with Review of the Year. I am grateful to them for their encouragement, help, and support. It is pleasing to note that the 1999 Report was awarded third place in the ‘British Birds’ Report of the Year competition, the final year that it is to take place. The Report continues to be very much a team effort and without help from many people its production would not be possible. My thanks go to: • the other compilers of the monthly and annual Record Cards - Dave Bridges, Vince Hanlon, Justin Lansdell, Neil Lawton, Mick Saunt and John Williamson; • the other authors of the Systematic List - Peter Allard, Andy Benson, Andrew Bloomfield, Dave and Jacquie Bridges, Andy Brown, Pete Clement, Keith Dye, Mick Fiszer, Vince Hanlon, Phil Heath, Gary Hibberd, Ian Johnson, John Kemp, Justin Lansdell, Neil Lawton. Ben Murphy, Mick Saunt, Andy Stoddart. Moss Taylor, Peter Wilson and John Williamson; • members of the County Records Committee; • authors of the articles in the Report, in particular Peter Allard who was ‘commissioned’ to write the paper on Breydon Water; • the artists and photographers who have made their work freely available; • Moss Taylor for supplying breeding details from the first survey season of the Norfolk Bird Atlas; • Bob Ellis and especially Paul Westley for preparing the new location map on the inside back cover; • Steve Wakeman for the meteorological information; • Mike Rogers, Secretary of the British Birds Rarities Committee; • Pat Bonham for his invaluable help in proof-reading the draft Systematic List and correcting the grammar; • all the many individual contributors and clubs/societies, and in particular Birdline East Anglia, who have contributed records; • finally my wife Judy for her continued help in typing, layout and in many other w-ays. 95 The County Records Committee (Mick Fiszer, Steve Gantlett, Phil Heath, John Kemp and John Williamson) considered a total of 102 records in the year; 13 of these were rejected, mostly as a result of insufficient detail and not owing to an incorrect identification. Three species (Night Heron, American Wigeon and Rose-coloured Starling) will no longer be considered at national level as from 2002. The Committee also reviewed the list of species needing submission of a written description or photographic evidence (and subject to acceptance) prior to publication and decided to delete Green-winged Teal and Lesser Black- backed Gull {f'uscus race) from the list. The list is now as follows: Black-necked Grebe (at sea) Dark-breasted Barn Owl Cory’s Shearwater Bee-eater Great Shearwater Short-toed Lark Balearic Shearwater Tawny Pipit Storm Petrel Flava Wagtail (continental races except Night Heron Blue-headed and Grey-headed) Purple Heron Bluethroat (White-spotted only) White Stork Aquatic Warbler Greenland White-fronted Goose Marsh Warbler ‘Small’ Canada Goose Melodious Warbler American Wigeon Dartford Warbler Ring-necked Duck Pallas’s Warbler Surf Scoter Chiffchaff (tristis race) Spotted Crake Woodchat Shrike Corncrake Raven Buff-breasted Sandpiper Rose-coloured Starling Grey Phalarope (in flight at sea) Serin Sabine’s Gull Common Rosefmch Ring-billed Gull Ortolan Bunting Caspian Gull Little Bunting Ring-necked Parakeet With regard to the submission of details, obviously the Committee would expect a far more detailed description of a species such as Ring-billed Gull (which is not only rare in the county but difficult to identify) than a species such as a White Stork. Written descriptions should consist of a brief note of the circumstances of the observation (weather, distance from bird, any other observers, etc), followed by a description of the actual bird(s) and details of any other species nearby for comparison. Written notes should state clearly how a bird was identified. Observers are also requested to include a note of their previous experience of the species and, if relevant, a brief outline of how any confusable species were eliminated. Copies of field sketches (however poor artistically) are often invaluable together with written field notes. It should be noted that on occasions observers may be asked for further details of species not contained in the above list - if records relate to unusual dates, localities, etc. Editorial Material: Articles for consideration, artwork, photographs and transparencies should continue to be submitted to me at 49 Nelson Road, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8DA. 96 Submission of Records All records for the Systematic List should continue to be submitted to me at 49 Nelson Road, Sheringham, Norfolk NR26 8DA. Preferably these should be submitted on a monthly basis or, if this is not possible, on a 3-monthly or 6-monthly basis. Obviously records can be accepted annually after the end of the year but all observers are requested to submit their notes within a shorter time scale if possible to reduce the pressure of recording in January/ February the following year. Receipt of late records causes a major problem in drafting the Systematic List and observations received after February of the following year cannot be guaranteedfor inclusion in the Report. All records should be listed in the order of species appearing in this Report. Notes will not normally be acknowledged but names of all contributors will be published. To obtain as complete coverage as possible records ‘phoned- in’ to Birdline East Anglia have been frequently used in the compilation of the List. However, records of national and local rarities have only been included where considered and accepted by the appropriate Committee. During the year 1 spend a considerable amount of time ‘chasing’ descriptions of both county and national rarities. 1 would request that finders of such birds should submit details to me as soon as possible and certainly not left to the end of the year. In the case of national rarities these should be submitted in duplicate. Obviously if other observers have particularly good views of a rarity for example, but were not the finder, then additional descriptions would be gratefully received. As far as I am aware there are several outstanding records awaiting a decision from the British Birds Rarities Committee at the time of writing (August 2001). One of these still relates to the Blyth’s Pipit at Happisburgh in September 1999. In the 1999 Report I briefly mentioned the question of computerisation of records. Some progress has been made, but not as much as hoped. A great deal of time needs to be spent learning the software and ironing out problems before the final leap is taken. Giles Dunmore 97 Review of Year 2000 Justin Lansdell (with weather patterns provided by Steve Wakeham) The new Millennium began with wet weather as celebrations across the county gave way to a mild early January dominated by often strong west or south-westerly winds. As usual a selection of good birds gave an eager army of local birdwatchers much to enjoy and ensured Norfolk remained a favourite destination for visiting enthusiasts. Amongst these, 3 Black Brants on the north coast, a sizeable flock of Shorelarks at Holkham Bay, small groups of Waxwings and the long-staying pale-headed Long-tailed Tit at Wiveton stood out joining familiar ‘friends’ the Black-winged Stilt and Broadland Cranes. Star of the show, however, remained the continuing presence of a wandering immature White-tailed Eagle in the west of the county which drew crowds wherever it lingered. Amazingly it was joined by our first adult since 1945 and both birds were witnessed circling together near Barrow Common, surely provided the spectacular of the winter. As always at this time wildfowl received much attention and with an anticyclone building over the Atlantic on the 13th a spell of cooler north to north-westerlies may have been responsible for record counts of Bewick’s and Whooper Swans at Welney while at the opposite end of the county 10,600 Golden Plovers at Breydon was both a county record and reward for diligent observers.