I was reading a book a couple of days ago about Robert Marsham of Stratton Strawless in Norfolk. He was a landowner/naturalist of the 18th century and a correspondent with Gilbert White.
Robert Marsham is the only person to have ever recorded the Wallcreeper bird in Norfolk.
I had never even heard of a Wallcreeper and so I was amazed at the co-incidence of seeing the bird on the BBC2 "France, The Wild Side" last night.
I don't suppose our local birders have ever seen this bird?
We searched all holiday for one in Switzerland in 2011 and were finally rewarded by one very easy to watch near a dam, working the mosses growing on concrete walls and rocks for invertebrates. We got pictures and even video. I have shown it at a HSS meeting.
ReplyDeleteThe dam was up a moderately rocky path above Zermatt. A spectacular and quirky little bird!
There is a 19thC record of one at Lumbutts, but not accepted, as no substantiating information came with the record. Also it isn't a migratory bird, though if one can turn up in Norfolk, who knows?
Thanks Steve,it sounds an unusual bird. That's interesting about the Lumbutts 'record'
ReplyDeleteThere have been some great birds seen around the upper valley recently:
ReplyDeleteWhite storks at Brearley
Four bee-eaters at Pexwood
Eider drake on the canal at Pexwood
Hoopoe at Sourhall Rd 2 weekends ago.
John Greenwood, Editor of the Todmorden Times, was told about a rare bird from the Med. area perching on the roof of the Medical Centre. He grabbed his camera but it had flown when he got there!
I saw a Wallcreeper in a quarry near the Cheddar Gorge in the 70's (exact date in the notebook somewhere)!along with David Crawshaw. An amazing bird, wherever you see one. We also saw them in Austria (Obergurgl)at 6,000+ ft in a deep gorge.
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