First shop in the world to stock the new Scopac Plus

We are the first shop in the world, let alone Norfolk, to stock the new Scopac Plus. This very popular tripod carrier has new improved features including a built in bag to carry flasks, sandwiches etc with a cpaacity around 4.5 l and also padded straps and new upper ties which allow the carrier to sit lower on the back making it more stable. It retains the internal pocket for a note book/map.
Special launch price £55

New Book for Christmas

The Long Wild Shore - out now and available from The One Stop Nature Shop     £25.00

The Long, Wild Shore explores the seasons on the North Norfolk coast. It uses the famous landmark of Blakeney Point as its focus - an area steeped in history and renowned for its colonies of seals and nesting birds.

Individual chapters show the lives of Common and Grey Seals and well-known breeding birds such as Little and Sandwich Terns, Oystercatchers and Ringed Plovers.

The area is also famed as a location to experience bird migration and additional illustrated chapters focus on this exciting spectacle.

Over one hundred paintings and numerous watercolour sketches have been reproduced in the book. The paintings and sketches were made almost exclusively in the field at the time of watching and the vast majority were completed on Blakeney Point during the years that the author worked there as a warden.

Gardens become Woodlands

New results from the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) reveal.

Woodland birds are pouring into gardens amidst reports of patchy seed and nut availability in the countryside. Eye-catching Siskin, Brambling, Nuthatch, Jay and Great Spotted Woodpecker are leading the way.

This winter is shaping up to be one of the most exciting ever for garden bird enthusiasts. Latest findings from BTO Garden BirdWatch, a year-round survey of garden wildlife, show that over 80% of our frequently spotted garden bird species have been more abundant over recent weeks compared with 2009–2011.

Most striking has been the increase of birds that we normally associate with woodland. Siskin and Brambling, both colourful and sociable members of the finch family, have been four times more numerous in gardens this autumn compared with recent years. Patchy seed availability in the countryside appears to be forcing these birds out of woodland, while bird foods such as sunflower hearts and nyjer seed are drawing them into gardens.

 

The One Stop Nature Shop has a wide range of feeders and food to help the birds this winter and help you enjoy your garden birds - never seen a Siskin ? then now's the time to get a Nyjer feeder and see if they are visiting your garden.

Migrant fall on the coast

25 Septmebre 2012

The last few days have seen huge numbers of migrants passing along the Norfolk coast. Redstarts and Whinchats have accompanied some rarer birds such as Yellow-browed and Barred Warblers, a Booted Warbler at Burnham Overy Dunes and a fine male Red-breasted Flycatcher (pictured below) at     Warham Greens.

 And below one of many Redstarts to have moved through Norfolk in the last few days

We keep a Blackboard of recent Norfolk bird sightings outside the shop (information provided by Rare Bird Alert Pagers) and will be able to give everyone advice on where to go for the best Birdwatching on the Norfolk coast. Why not drop in and have a chat with us - don't forget the Deepdale Cafe when you need to warm up !

Look up !

Saturday 15 September
On the way to the shop yesterday afternoon ( I had the morning off ), I stopped off at Heacham and heard a trumpeting call overhead and was both surprised and delighted to be looking at two Cranes circling overhead. They called and circled for about five minutes before flying off north-east.

Dotterel find

Monday 10 September
One of our regular customers, Tom Bedford, sent in this fantastic photograph of a Dotterel, that he found and photographed on Holme beach.

Stick Insect or Moth ?

Last week saw The One Stop Nature Shop's blackboard, which normally gives details of local birds (thanks to rare Bird Alert Pagers) the temporary home to some Saltmarsh Plume Moths. These extraordinary little animals had been attracted by the outside lights and up to one hundred of them were resting all along the Deepdale Market shop walls.

Here are a couple of Saltmarsh Plume Moths on the top of our blackboard.

Birdfair

It now seems a long time ago, but just three week's ago The One Stop Nature Shop were at The Birdfair. Our stall was very busy during the three day event and more than 15,000 visitors passed through the Fair and it felt like most visited our microscope demonstrations !

The USB digital microscopes were the "new piece of kit" that many wished to see, and with up to 200x magnification, simple plug in to computer, they proved very popular.

Thanks to the many wildlife programmes we were also very successfuil with the Bushnell Trophy Cameras, used to record stills and video of animals in gardens at night.

If you missed The fair, pop in to see us at Burnham Deepdale on the Norfolk coast, and our thanks to everyone who came to see us at The Birdfair.

The weekend was a trap !

15 July 2012
The weather forecast was not good for the weekend, but it turned out to be somewhat pessimistic and while much of the rest of Britain suffered heaps of rain the North Norfolk Coast was spared. Given the rain free conditions The One Stop Nature Shop set up a Skinner Moth Trap in a small garden in Shouldham.

Here are a few of the moths that were caught, and released the following evening:

 This Buff Tip moth is camouflaged to look like a broken stick and it aligns itself along a branch to best effect. This is a common moth but an absolutely fantastic example of evolution and when you view the head front on, below, it looks amazing.

 The trap had lots of different species and identifying them was a challenge for a beginner, though some did live up to their name, below this is "The Spectacle" for obvious reasons. Quite a small moth and for a while I didn't see it head on, but with a magnifier the head pattern was revealed.

And then there were the Hawk Moths, three species, a beautiful Elephant Hawk Moth, above and a Lime Hawk Moth below.

 But most cryptic of all was the Poplar Hawk Moth, a big moth which mimic dead Poplar leaves. It has a red spot on the hind wing and when disturbed flashes this to startle any attacker. Unfortunately I was unable to get a picture as it closed it's wing too quickly.

It's quite incredible how many moths are around that we would never get to see unless using a trap like the Skinner Trap. Mains run and safe to the moths, which are released the following evening, just £149 can get you into this fascinating hobby. Available of course from The One Stop Nature Shop along with a wide range of moth books and charts.

In the dark

The new Night Vision 4x40 and 6x50 Equinox Monoculars from Bushnell have just arrived in the shop.

They are a significant improvement on previous models and come packed with the latest technologhy, including the ability to switch from traditional green viewing light to a white digital image during pitch balck conditions.

With ranges up to 300 meters you really can see in the dark.

We stock both models and full spec can be seen on the night vision section of the website.

Going shopping ?

22 May 2012
This Red-legged Partridge was behind the shop this morning - obviously didn't realise that we don't open till 10am ! and we have a pair of Swallows prospecting around the bus shelter and right under the covered area of the shop window. Other birds from the shop today include some very noisy Oystercatchers, a Sparrowhawk zipping through and a Chiffchaff in the trees opposite.

One Stop Nature Shop Guided Bird Walk Report

7^th May 2012

Summer-plumaged waders at high tide roost

  Another unsettled day of wet weather gave uncertainty to our walk this evening, fortunately it was a dry but cool evening at the high tide roost. On arrival the high tide seemed some time away. Had I got the tide tables wrong? It was a great relief to see the tide rapidly coming in, with the distant oystercatchers (350) on the furthest spit soon becoming unsettled, and moving closer to the second nearest shingle bar. Other small flocks began to fly in from The Wash and other species began to move over from the shingle ridges where they had been sheltering unseen from the cool wind.

  Unlike the earlier visit to the roost most species we began to encounter were in partial or full summer plumage, most notably at first were the stunning 300 grey plovers, then the 450 sanderling,  quite different in their rusty brown, black and grey plumage from the almost pale grey white birds we had seen on the earlier visit. The few bar-tailed godwits present were mostly still in winter plumage, but finally we did pick up the odd dark chesnut bird in summer plumage, along with 25 knot and 2-3 dunlin. The “local” birds also showed with ringed plovers and an oystercatcher located in the breeding cordons on their nests. There were some moments of panic as the roost rose quickly to the air, with the male sparrowhawk late on being the likely culprit.

  Other signs of summer were really difficult to detect due to the cold conditions other than a handful of swallows migrating west. a brave distant cuckoo heard over the golf course, and late on little, and Sandwich terns putting an appearance in, on what otherwise was a poor evening for any bird song.

  Out at sea we did mange to pick out a grey seal, 6 eider, a great crested grebe and close too dusk, two little egrets heading east. On our walk back the wind was unfortunately too strong to stand any chance of seeing the local barn owls.

and in a nearby garden.....

2 May 2012
Summer time, rain and wind, probably makes these Bramblings feel at home. A local customer very kindly allowed me into his garden to get a snap of the Bramblings that were around his feeding station. An unusual May sighting.

Owls of delight

1 March 2012 - report on the One Stop Nature Walk - from our local guide 

Our evening on 1^st March began in Thornham Harbour in extremely calm, sunny and warm conditions, very unseasonal but none of us were complaining. We began watching two rock pipits of the Scandinavean race litoralis on the edge of the main creek that leaves the harbour.

  As we reached the seawall it was obvious one of our hoped for species was on show as several birdwatchers were watching intently across the marshes. A short-eared owl was soon picked up by everyone hunting over the field with its deep mechanical flaps. This bird also perched on a post for us, while another was seen further ahead. With the sun burning brightly in our faces we decided to move further along the seawall to improve viewing conditions, pausing for a while to look over Thornham creek and with the area being backlit the views of the male teal, curlew, grey plover, knot, redshank and a fine spotted redshank with three of its slighter, browner cousins were stunning.

   We then walked further along the seawall only to stop almost immediately as a pair of Mediterranean gulls flew over towards the roost at Thornham Beach, their nasal ‘yeah’ call alerting us, one was a full adult showing its full clean white wings from below.

Mediterranean Gull - winter plumage

   Further along the bank hunting activity seemed to have slowed, until a brown blob in a distant field, was revealed to be a resting short-eared owl. It seemed everyone was waiting for more flight views but the ridiculously calm conditions may have been putting the birds off as smoke rose vertically in the distance and small swarms of midges appeared over our heads like halos. The calm conditions however had the opposite effect for the local grey partridges as local males were calling from several different areas, the nearest entertaining us when a lone male decided to impose himself on an established pair only to be taken to task by the other male, several confrontations and jumps into the air were brought to a holt, when the female joined ranks with her mate and chased the imposter off. As the evening wore on the temperature began to drop considerably towards dusk, but this didn’t put off the two Chinese water deer way out on the marsh, nor the male marsh harrier which gave us fine views.

   However the hoped for barn owl was less obliging with only one individual on the distant NWT reserve being picked up late on, perching briefly before flying off.

 As dusk drew closer a small skein of pink-footed geese came into roost on Thornham beach, and by this time a thin cold band of mist began to form over the marsh, it was time to head back to the car park.

Why not join us on our next walk to see local Saltmarsh birds - Burnham Deepdale - see website for 

details

A good Hare day.....

1 March 2012
In the fields behind the shop the Hares were again zipping about the fields. I felt it called for some creeping about, and it paid off. Unfortunately against brown fields doesn't show them off very well, but green fields mean crops and I'm sure the local farmers would not like me slithering around in there. So these will suffice for now. That said I was able to get quite close with some slow stalking. Here some of the pics:

A lovely sunny day

Sunday 26 February

 A really nice sunny start to the day with this Red-legged Partridge stepping out for a walk just behind the shop.

And a Partridge..... in a frozen field

Saturday 11 February
temperatures down to minus 13 and the Grey Partridges were not moving much on this morning's journey to work.

temperatures down to minus 13 and the Grey Partridges were not moving much on this morning's journey to work.

Hare today....

Tuesday 7 February

Plenty of Hares in the fields behind the shop and some thirty-seven counted on the way into work between Docking and Burnham Deepdale.

Also been an influx of Woodcock and Smew in last couple of days.

Snow !

5 February 2012
Overnight quite a fall of snow with nearly twelve inches at home, and on way into work I counted some twenty seven Hares. probably normally this many but easy to see today.

Birds overhead

1 February 2012

Just a few miles down the road from The One Stop Nature Shop was a superb male Marsh Harrier enjoying the sun, and doing a mini display. There have been some six Marsh Harriers at the roost at Titchwell as well as a Hen Harrier.

 Then a little further along at the west edge of Holkham Park, this Red Kite flew over the road.

Holkham Bay currently has four Shorelarks to the east of the gap and some twenty or so Snow Buntings. By Lady Anne's Drive a couple of Greenland White-fronted Geese and at Wells a Black Brant has been seen by the pitch and putt course.

Snettisham walk

Sunday 29 January 2012

The second One Stop Nature Shop guided walks at Snettisham, saw Steve Rooke (from Sunbird tours) on a beautiful morning leading the walk round RSPB Snettisham. Steve, an ex warden of the reserve, reports that there were thousands of waders out on the Wash, including Bar-tailed Godwit, seen below, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, and Redshank to name just a few.

Also on the walk they had a very close view of Short-eared Owl, saw three Scaup, watched a Peregrine attacking some waders, and saw a group of forty Snow Buntings

Steve will be leading more guided walks for the One Stop Nature Shop  (just £5 per person) and for further details please contact the shop on 01485 211223

Arctic Redpoll at Kelling

17 January 2012

A Coues's Arctic Redpoll in Kelling today.

and two Rough-legged Buzzards near Holkham

Snettisham

15 January 2012

We had an early morning visit to RSPB Snettisham today, in preparation for the Guided Bird Walk that we are running on the 29th January - phone shop for full details - but it's just £5 per person and will be led by Steve Rooke (former warden of the site, now MD of Sunbird Tours). It was calm, dry and full of birds.

Out on the estuary were thousands of waders and wildfowl with many hundreds of wildfowl in on the pits. There were huge flocks of Bar-tailed Godwits, Oystercatchers, Knot, Golden Plover, Dunlin and closer to shore Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Redshank and Turnstones. Overhead flocks of Wigeon and scatterings of Pink-footed Geese.

 Close to the shore line feeding among the washed up seaweed were Skylarks, a few Rock Pipits, a rather misplaced Pheasant and some 58 Snow Buntings.

A lovely morning and nice appetiser for two weeks time (sunday 29 January) . Still a few places left.

Weekend birds

8 January 2012
The weekend has provided some fine weather for bird watchers on the coast. While the wind has gusted up to 30mph on occasions it has remained dry and largley sunny. Two Rough-legged Buzzrads have been showing well at Holkham Freshmarsh and the Arctic Redpoll has been feeding regularly outside the RSPB centre at Titchwell.

Along at NWT Cley reserve the long staying Western Sandpiper continues to be seen by many and Waxwings are now being seen at sevearl sites in Norfolk, with some twenty six birds at Costessey, near Norwich.

In the shop Night Vision has been the hot favourite with much interest in the Bushnell Night Watch

4 x 50 monocular. This compact and lightweight night vision scope has a built in Infrared illuminator for viewing in complete darkness. With Muntjac Deer, and other animals becoming more used to wandering round our gardens at night, these Night Vision Monoculars have become more popular, especially now they are priced under £300

Great Grey Shrike continues to entertain

4 January 2012

The Great Grey Shrike which has been present for several weeks now, is still showing today near Morrisons at Fakenham. There is still much debate as to which race it belongs to with many feeling it may be the Russiuan/Siberean race of homeyeri.

2012 is here

3 January 2012

 This is just the first of a regular blog to let you know what is happening in and around The One Stop Nature Shop at Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk.

We have now been trading for just over one month and there has been considerable interest in the shop, with people popping in to see what we do and being amazed at the range of products . The comprehensive range of binoculars and telescopes is supplemented by the UK's largest range and display of microscopes. Add this to Trail Cameras, Night Vision equipment, Bird Feeders, food, Weather Stations, Insects Houses and just about everything you can think of to enhance your wildlife viewing experience.

We now have a weather station on the roof of the shop and yesterday it registered winds at 42.5 mph and in a one hour period a rainfall of 19mm

Bird Feeders have been very popular, and will no doubt increase in popularity as the weather gets worse this winter and the garden birds start to rely on artificial food sources more. Our bird food is of the top quality to ensure the birds get full energy values and with little or no wheat to fall on lawns.

So this is just the first of a regular blog to let you know what is happening in and around The One Stop Nature Shop at Burnham Deepdale, Norfolk.

Please pop in to see us and try out some of the latest optics and other exciting things in our shop - we look forward to seeing you.