This started him on a life long hobby of 'bird-watching'.
Over the next few years 1941-45, as a schoolboy,he marked off on the list of 178 British nesting birds those that he saw in Costessey which were 87 species.
These are listed below together with a few winter visitors.
I would like to hear from anyone who has knowledge of the bird life in the village at present and how it differs from my list.
Tom Barley , Perth, Western Australia.
Please E-mail if
you have any comments 
List of birds seen in Costessey, Norfolk 1941 to 1945.
| Mistle Thrush | Yellow Wagtail | Great Spotted Woodpecker |
| Song Thrush | Meadow Pipit | Lesser Spotted Woodpecker |
| Fieldfare | Tree Pipit | Green Woodpecker |
| Redwing | Red-Backed Shrike | Kingfisher |
| Song Thrush | Spotted Flycatcher | Cuckoo |
| Blackbird | Pied Flycatcher | Barn Owl |
| Wheatear | Swallow | Little Owl |
| Stonechat | Sand Martin | Short-Eared Owl |
| Rebreast | Tree Creeper | Tawny Owl |
| Nightingale | Goldfinch | Sparrow Hawk |
| Greater Whitethroat | Siskin | Kestrel |
| Lesser Whitethroat | Greenfinch | Heron |
| Blackcap | House Sparrow | Grey Lag Gosse |
| Garden Warbler | Tree Sparrow | Mute Swan |
| Golden-crested wren | Chaffinch | Mallard |
| ******************* | Brambling | ******************* |
| Chiff Chaff | Linnet | Tufted Duck |
| Willow Warbler | Lesser Redpoll | Ring Dove |
| Wood Warbler | Bullfinch | Stock Dove |
| Reed Warbler | Corn Bunting | Turtle dove |
| Sedge Warbler | Reed Bunting | Pheasant |
| Hedge Sparrow | Starling | Red-Legged Partridge |
| Long-Tailed Titmouse | Jay | Common Partridge |
| Great Titmouse | Magpie | Moorhen |
| Coal Titmouse | Jackdaw | Stone Curlew |
| Marsh Titmouse | Carrion Crow | Lapwing |
| Blue Titmouse | Rook | Woodcock |
| Nuthatch | Skylark | Common Snipe |
| Brown Wren | Waxwing | Jack Snipe |
| Pied Wagtail | Swift | Common Sandpiper |
| Grey Wagtail | Nightjar | Redshank |
| Herring gull | ||
| Lesser Black-Backed Gull | ||
| Common Gull | ||
| Great Black-Backed Gull | ||
| Black-Headed gull | ||
| Great Crested Grebe | ||
| Little Grebe |
