Houghton-on-the-Hill and Little Cressingham, Norfolk

Brief Summary: A visit to Houghton early morning produced a number of small flocks of Wood Pigeons flying high and south.  7 Egyptian Geese flew purposefully east until lost to view, and a couple of flocks of Fieldfares passed over in a westerly heading.
A mid-afternoon visit to the Watton Brook valley at Little Cressingham produced impressive numbers of Fieldfares.

Houghton-on-the-Hill (early morning).
A bright, sunny dawn, however, some low cloud moved in from the north giving very light rainfall.
Giving the very bright dawn with little cloud, I think any small bird migration would have been out of visual range.  Despite this some interesting movements were seen including several small flocks of high-flying Wood Pigeons (largest flock 30+) in a southerly heading.  How strange it is that Wood Pigeons moving south this time of year always do so in a slow, unhurried fashion.
Also of interest was a small flock of 7 Egyptian Geese seen flying purposefully east.  These birds initially came into view at 0820, their passage continuing until 0826 when they were lost to view to the distant east.
Two small flocks of Fieldfares passed over in a westerly heading, the largest flock numbering about 50+ birds.
Also noted was a female Sparrowhawk, a couple of small flocks of Starlings west, Bullfinch, Goldcrest.  Also 3 Mute Swans passed over NW.

Watton Brook Valley (Little Cressingham)
Very bright conditions during the afternoon with some high wispy cloud.
A very interesting visit this afternoon with an impressive 200+ Fieldfares on permanent grassland adjacent to the Brook.  These recently arrived Thrushes were accompanied by a few Redwings, 50+ Starlings, and a few Goldfinches.  20+ Mistle Thrushes were present and in trees nearby, a few Siskins were seen.

Some of the 200+ Fieldfares at Little Cressingham 27th October

The Fieldfares seen here offered some good views in the bright light.  These beautifully marked Thrushes showed off their varied colours including a beautiful Ochre breast, Grey head and nape, brown wings and mantle, and large grey rump.  Their harsh"shack shack" calls cannot be confused with any other Thrush species.

On this day....

24th October 1993.  I visited Thompson Water to check for evidence of winter Duck species, in doing so I was very surprised to see a Hooded Crow overfly.  This record constitutes my only observation of this species in inland UK.  A rare find.

Thompson, Norfolk

This morning I took my dog Toby for a circular 4 mile walk starting at Merton, taking in the village of Thompson, along the Griston road, Low Common Road, and back to my starting point in Merton.
At 0820, as I walking along the Griston Road, a notable count of 1,000+ Starlings passed directly over me in a WNW heading.
A few small flocks of Redwings passed over in variable headings and a single Redpoll was seen in flight along Low Common Lane.

Selfish, criminal, disgraceful behaviour by twitchers (Glad I am not one of these idiots)

A Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler turned up on the North Norfolk Coast in September 2017.  Fifty, yes, 50 twitchers were reported to have entered a private field to get a photograph, damaging a cattle fence in the process.  Wardens quite rightly removed these people.
One twitcher demanded that wardens arranged an 'organised flush' so that the poor bird is scared out of its habitat for these idiots to see.
I have never been, and never will be, associated with the twitcher fraternity.  These idiots
clearly do not care for the welfare of the bird, after all, if the bird wanted to show it would do for a reason, equally, if it does not show, it clearly wants to be left alone.
Examples of behaviour seen here clearly indicates that these poorly behaved twitchers give real birders a bad name.
When people see me in the field I get comments such as "You're a twitcher are you", I immediately correct them and tell them I am a birder.  When in the field and I see a bunch of twitchers, I walk the other way, I do not want to ever be labelled a twitcher.
I am lucky to have found a number of rare or scarce species on my patch, I share my finds only with those who I can trust to keep the bird to themselves.

Burnham Overy Dunes, North Norfolk Coast 0730-1400 (with Richard Farrow and Jez Wood).

Highlights:  A very productive day started with a fresh arrival of Blackbirds which included a stunning male Ring Ouzel, a few Redwings, and Song Thrushes.
A steady westerly passage of Starlings was seen throughout the day and a late Wheatear was found in the dunes system near Gun Hill.
Raptors were well represented with Buzzards, Marsh Harriers, Kestrel, and 6 Red Kites overhead together.

I arrived at the parking area off the A149 road west of Holkham at around 0730.  Richard arrived shortly after me with Jez not too long afterwards.  It was dry with a moderate WSW, sunny spells with variable high cloud.  Temperature peaked at 15 degrees Celsius.
Whilst getting myself ready I had that 'hair on the back of neck' feeling when several skeins comprising many hundreds of Pink-footed Geese approached from the north-east against the orange dawn skies and over towards the south-west to their feeding grounds, a magical sight.

Prior to Jez arriving Richard and I decided on a initial stroll north down the track to the first gate where we checked the wonderful hedgerows there.  Things already looked up when many Blackbirds were seen (probable migrants) along with a few Redwings and Song Thrushes.  Goldfinches were also seen.  I checked the fine old field boundary hedgerow running west from the track, again, Blackbirds were seen.  I then saw a Thrush flying away from me, it had pale wings and I immediately thought Ring Ouzel, this bird alighted on the topmost perch in the hedge to reveal a stunning male Ring Ouzel.  Although now quite distant, perfect side-on views showed a more slender upright carriage than Blackbird with very distinct silvery wings. With side-on views only, the end of the white crescent was just visible.

Stonechat - One of several seen at Burnham Overy Dunes 23/10/17

All three of us then set off slowly north along the track towards Burnham Overy Dunes checking all hedgerows as we went.  Blackbirds and Redwings/Song Thrushes continued to feature, whilst smaller passerines were heard and seen including singing Cetti's Warbler, Goldfinches, and a mobile Long-tailed Tit flock.
In the fields immediately east of the track many Greylag Geese were accompanied by 6+ Egyptian Geese, and 2 Barnacle Geese. As our walk continued, and in fact for all of this visit, a steady westerly passage of Starlings was seen, most flocks were small, numbering 40 to 50 birds.
Once at the dunes we had a check of the first patch of scrub, here, Blackbirds were present along with the ubiquitous Dunnock.
We then walked west towards Gun Hill, checking scrub for migrants and open areas for Wheatear.  The commonest species seen was Meadow Pipit, also many Reed Buntings present.  Several Stonechats were seen today, this area appearing to hold two or three.  A check of a short-cropped area of grass within a depression between dunes, produced a single 1st winter female Wheatear (RF).
Just after midday raptors started to appear overhead with Buzzards seen but also a very respectable 6 Red Kites overhead together.
The walk south back along the track to our starting point was fairly quiet, however, a number of singular Red Kites passed low over the fields and inland.

Birds seen and heard
Pink-footed Goose, Greylag Goose, Canada Goose, Barnacle Goose (2), Brent Goose, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Grey Partridge, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Great Crested Grebe (juv), Red Kite (6 together), Marsh Harrier, Buzzard, Kestrel, Water Rail (heard), Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Golden Plover, Grey Plover (1), Lapwing, Curlew, Redshank, Snipe (2), Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Collared Dove, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Skylark, Cetti's Warbler (2), Wren, Starling, Ring Ouzel (1 male), Blackbird, Song Thrush, Redwing, Robin, Stonechat, Wheatear (one 1st winter female), Dunnock, Pied Wagtail, Chaffinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed Bunting  (55 species)

Little Cressingham (Great Cressingham Road), Norfolk

Another day of strong westerly winds, generally cloudy, and cooler with a high of 12 degrees Celsius.  Occasional showers.
A short dog walk this afternoon along a traditional location for Finch gatherings saw a small flock of Chaffinches wheeling overhead, a check through binoculars revealed the large, bright white scapular patch, a useful identification feature of in-flight Chaffinches.  I followed these Finches to check for other species, they alighted in trees and saw that a single Brambling (female) was in this small flock. If we have a 'Brambling year' this location may see three-figure totals of this beautiful Northern European visitor.
Walking along the road to Watton Brook, I wasn't too hopeful of seeing much due to the exposed, and very windy conditions.  A small charm of Goldfinches appeared overhead and alighted in trees, a check through the flock produced 2 Siskins, probably female birds.
Looking along the valley all I could see was Wood Pigeons, Crows, and a single Buzzard sitting alongside the brook.

Watton (my garden)

I felt very tired today, I even had a couple of hours sleep in bed this afternoon.  I didn't go anywhere or do anything.  On the plus side a Blackcap visited our garden at 1000hrs this morning.