5th Nov 2023 – Late Autumn, Day 3

Day 3 of a three day Late Autumn Tour. It was a much brighter day, with some sunny spells in the afternoon. A very blustery W wind in the morning eased gradually during the day.

With the wind forecast to go round to the WNW and gust up to 40mph this morning, we headed over to Sheringham first thing, where we could find a shelter on the seafront to get out of the wind and see what was passing over the sea. When we got down on the prom, it was very windy already, but perhaps with not as much north in it yet as forecast. A small group of people had already gathered at the shelter, so we joined them out of the wind.

There were a few Gannets passing offshore and we quickly picked up a some Little Gulls too. They were rather distant at first, but eventually one came in much closer where we could get a much clearer view of its black underwings. There were a few lingering terns again too – a couple of juvenile Arctic Terns flew past, the second accompanied by a juvenile Common Tern, so we could see the whiter trailing edge of the wing on the Arctic Tern. A small number of skuas flew past further out – 3 Arctic Skuas and a single Great Skua.

Shelduck – coming back from moult

There was a nice selection of wildfowl moving this morning – small flocks of Wigeon and Teal, a few Brent Geese arriving from Siberia, and more Shelducks returning from their moult holiday on the Continent. Seaduck passing included a couple of Eider, a Red-breasted Merganser, a few Common Scoter and the highlight a single Velvet Scoter.

We saw a small number of waders coming in too – several Knot, a single Dunlin, and a couple of Common Snipe, one low over the waves, the second flying past high. Several Turnstones ran around on the prom in front of us, being buffeted by the wind – unfortunately we didn’t have any chips for them today! A small group of Starlings flew in off the sea and disappeared over the town.

Turnstone – on the prom

The wind still didn’t seem to be going round, so we decided to look for a Purple Sandpiper. A small number spend the winter here, feeding on the sea defences, but speaking to the locals it sounds like just one is here so far, and it has been erratic in its appearances. We walked round to check their favourite spot in front of The Mo, but there was no sign of anything on the rocks. It felt like our luck as out. We started to walk back, and had just stopped to scan through the Turnstones on the shingle beach with the gulls, when the Purple Sandpiper flew in and landed in front of us.

It landed on a small bank in the shingle just in front of the breaking waves at first, and stood there preening. When a wave crashed over it, it jumped and ran up the beach, and started feeding on the tideline right below us. It was almost too close for photos! The Purple Sandpiper then flew up and landed on the edge of the prom with a couple of Turnstones and then ran up and down between us. Fantastic views.

Purple Sandpiper – great views

Back to the minibus, we drove west to Wells. On the way, we slowed down to check the flood by the road at Stiffkey as we passed – there had been a Glossy Ibis out on the saltmarsh nearby a couple of days ago, and this has looked the perfect place for it to end up. There is nowhere to stop along here though, and we had a car behind us now, so we had to press on. It was only when we got to Wells that we got a message to say that the Glossy Ibis had just been found on the flood!

After a coffee break in the Beach Cafe, we walked up to the new Lifeboat Station. There has been a Black Redstart lingering here for the last few days and we quickly located it in the bushes just behind. It was getting chased continually by two Robins and kept disappearing into the bushes. From time to time it flew up and landed on the RNLI roof or the fence below. A Song Thrush, a couple of Blackbirds and two Dunnocks were in the bushes too, some of which were probably migrants freshly arrived from the Continent.

Black Redstart – probably a 1st winter male

We then walked further round to see what we could find in the harbour. Immediately, we could see a Red-throated Diver just off the beach, and two Common Scoter just beyond. A couple of Common Seals bobbed up, daintier looking with a shorter nose than the Grey Seals we see more regularly.

Scanning further out, we found three Razorbills, two Great Crested Grebes, and three Shags. One of the Shags made its way in down the harbour and then swam right up to us on the shore, before turning back.

Shag – swam right up to us

Then a Razorbill appeared in front of us chasing fish just off the beach, which in turn seem to attract the Red-throated Diver which surfaced right in front of us. Amazing views, so close to us. A second Red-throated Diver appeared in the boat harbour behind us, but dived and completely disappeared, presumably having resurfaced in amongst the boats.

Red-throated Diver – surfaced right in front of us

Across the harbour on the sand the other side we could see lots of waders. Some large groups of Oystercatcher and smaller numbers of Bar-tailed Godwit were roosting over high tide. A big flock of silvery grey Sanderling was catching the sunlight, and there were some smaller groups of Knot and a few Dunlin, Curlew and Redshank. Lots of Brent Geese were scattered around the edges of the harbour, and while we were looking through the waders we picked up a single Pale-bellied Brent among the commoner Dark-bellied Brents, a subspecies tick for the trip list. A flock of Starlings flew in from the direction of the sea.

It was time for lunch, so back at the cafe we sat down to eat on the picnic tables. Afterwards, we drove back to Stiffkey. This time we parked in the layby east of the flood and walked back down the permissive path to the north-east corner. The Glossy Ibis had apparently been down the far end with four Little Egrets, but we couldn’t see them initially. That was because they had been disturbed and the Glossy Ibis had flown down to the near end with a single Little Egret. Unfortunately, they were spooked again by something almost immediately and flew back down to the far end where they had been. It was rather distant and looking into the sun now, but we had clear views of the Glossy Ibis in the scopes, feeding in the flooded grass.

Glossy Ibis – on the flood

There were lots of ducks out in the middle too, Wigeon and Teal, and a small group of Greylag Geese. Several large skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew over calling. Three Red Kites circled up with a Common Buzzard over the wood beyond, in the sunshine. A couple of Stock Doves flew over and landed briefly in the wet grass.

We made our way back to Holkham next, and pulled up at the start of Lady Anne’s Drive, where several Cattle Egrets were feeding in with the cows right next to the road. More great views, we counted nine Cattle Egrets and at least four Grey Herons. We watched the Cattle Egrets catching frogs around the cows’ noses.

Cattle Egret – feeding around the cows

There were a few gulls around the flood in the field opposite, Common Gulls with the Black-headed Gulls. A pair of Egyptian Geese was out on the grass beyond. There was a small group of sheep out on here too, and then we noticed a striking silver-grey ‘Brown’ Hare feeding in between them. Also known as a ‘Blue’ or ‘Ghost’ Hare, it appears to be a rare colour mutation which produces a washed out grey coat. Several Red Kites and a Marsh Harrier drifted over.

‘Blue’ Hare – or ‘Ghost Hare’

Continuing on down to the far end, we stopped to look at the grazing marshes. There are lots of Wigeon here now, as more birds have returned for the winter, along with smaller numbers of Teal, Mallard and several Gadwall. Some very large skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew up from further and disappeared off inland over the park. A Sparrowhawk perched on a post at the back of the grass showed nicely in the scopes. We were hoping to find the Grey Partridge here, but there was no sign again today. They have been very erratic so far this autumn, and hopefully they have not been disturbed by the building of a new bridle path for the car park right through their favoured feeding area!

As it was our last day, we had to be back promptly, so we decided to have a quick look at the grazing marshes at the west end of the pines. There were lots of geese out on the grass, mostly Greylags, but looking through we quickly found at least ten White-fronted Geese in with them. Lots of Cormorants were gathering to roost in the trees and lots of Lapwing were scattered around the pools. Several Chinese Water Deer were feeding in the grass.

A flock of Long-tailed Tits came down the hedge past us, and we found a single Goldcrest in with them. A Chaffinch and Siskin flew out from the tree above us. We were hoping we might find the lingering released White-tailed Eagle from the Isle of Wight here, but we couldn’t see it here now. There were mpre Red Kites and Marsh Harriers out over the marshes and then a young Peregrine flew in over the fields and off over the trees inland, a last addition to the trip list and one we had only a little earlier been discussing that we had not come across yet.

Light was already fading and it was time to call it a day. It had been an exciting and varied three days, with good birds and good company.

20th Oct 2023 – 4 Days of Autumn, Day 4

Day 4 of a 4-day Autumn Tour. Wet and very windy today due to Storm Babet, though perhaps not quite as bad as forecast, it was still not a good day to be out birding. We gamely made a half day of it, before the vote was to abandon play just after 1pm and head for the warm and dry.

With the wind gusting 45-46mph this morning, we headed down to Sheringham where we could find some shelter along the prom and see what was passing out to sea. The visibility was poor, with all the cloud and spray it was impossible to see out past the flags which mark where the crab pots are. Still, we quickly picked up a small group of three Little Gulls offshore – their dark underwings flashing alternately with their pale silvery grey upperparts as they fluttered into the wind, dipping down to the water’s surface. It was hard to tell how many Little Gulls we saw this morning, as we couldn’t tell whether the same birds lingered offshore throughout or they were passing through (lots of Little Gulls were displaced by the weather today though and there would be big numbers moving tomorrow).

Rough Sea – and poor visibility today

There was a trickle of wildfowl passing offshore too, despite the wind. Several small groups of Wigeon and Teal arriving from the Continent for the winter and a small number of Common Scoter past too. More surprising was the White-fronted Goose which appeared in front of our shelter, battling into the wind. It was possibly trying to come in but put off by the cliffs, eventually turning into the wind and disappearing off to the west. Shortly after, a Greylag Goose flew past offshore too. A few small lines of Brent Geese were more expected, arriving for the winter.

There seemed to be fewer passerines making it in over the sea today, although we did pick up a flock of Starlings coming in over the waves at some point. Ideally, we would have wanted N winds to bring in some more seabirds this morning, but the wind was due E today which seemed to limit the possibilities somewhat.

After a while, we decided to head along the coast to Cley to see if we could get into the hides. When we got to the Visitor Centre, we decided a coffee break was in order first, to warm up. A Marsh Harrier circled up a couple of times out of the reeds opposite. It was raining steadily but not too hard so after wrapping up we headed across the road and the short distance along the Skirts path to Bishop Hide. The path out to the hide was very wet – hopefully it is finally going to be sorted out next month – but we made it out and settled in out of the weather.

Common Snipe – looking wet

We had been told that a Common Snipe had been showing very well right in front of the hide earlier. It was up on the top of the bank off to the left when we arrived, facing into the rain. It fed for a while, probing into the wet grass, before something spooked it and it dropped down over the far side of the bank, to the edge of the scrape out of view. What was presumably the same Snipe came back up a little later and flushed another from where it was hiding in a tussock of grass. The latter flew off and landed in the reeds in the middle of the island in front of the hide, while the first dropped back over the bank out of view.

There were several Black-tailed Godwits feeding in the water in front of the hide too and more further back. Several Dunlin were feeding around the various grassy islands along with a couple of Avocets.

There were plenty of ducks here too – they didn’t seem particularly worried about the weather, the water flowing off their backs. Three female Shoveler were feeding in the channel in front of the hide and were joined by a male still in partial eclipse plumage which started to display to one of them at one point, bobbing its head up and down. There were more Shoveler on the scrape itself, the drakes in a variety of different plumage stages, some almost back into full breeding plumage now.

There were various Wigeon, Teal and Shelduck scattered around too and a smart drake Teal which was also almost back in full breeding plumage swam across in front of the island out from the hide at one point. A lone Pink-footed Goose dropped in briefly at the back.

A Kingfisher flashed across right in front of the hide in a streak of electric blue. It landed in a sheltered corner of the ditch on the edge of the reeds, out of the wind, and from the far end of the hide, we realised we could see it perched on a curled-over bulrush stem. We had some lovely views of it before it flashed back across in front of us and disappeared round the reeds out to the left of the hide. A very nice bird to enjoy on such a dull day as this.

Kingfisher – brightened up a very dull day

It was lunchtime now, so we decided to head back to the Visitor Centre. Heads down we made our way back along the path. The rain was heavier again now and when we got back to shelter we had another look at the forecast. There had been an outside suggestion on the breakfast news that the rain band might clear through during the afternoon today, but looking at the rainfall radar now it was very slow moving and that looked increasingly unlikely. We had managed to make a morning of it, and had enjoyed three much better days beforehand, so after putting it to a vote we all decided to call it a day and head for home.

17th Oct 2023 – 4 Days of Autumn, Day 1

Day 1 of a 4-day Autumn Tour. It was a bright day, with some nice sunny intervals at times, though with a rather blustery E wind.

We were heading for Cley this morning, but as we drove along the coast road at Salthouse, we could see two white shapes in with the cows out on the grazing marsh. We turned the minibus around and parked opposite the Dun Cow. Looking across, our suspicions were confirmed, they were two Cattle Egrets. Through the scope, we could see their small size, hunched appearance and short yellowish-orange bills.

Cattle Egret – 1 of 2 this morning

There were a couple of Grey Herons in the field, hanging around the cows too. At one point, one of them chased off one of the Cattle Egrets from the cow it was trying to follow. Two Marsh Harriers flew across at the back, over in front of the shingle, and a Greylag x Canada Goose hybrid was out on one of the floods. After a while, the Cattle Egrets flew off west so we decided to continue on our way.

We parked in front of Walsey Hills. There were just a few Moorhen in view on Snipe’s Marsh this morning, so we set off to walk up the East Bank. Looking over towards Pope’s Marsh, there were lots of Cormorants drying their wings on the islands and several Avocets and a few Black-tailed Godwits feeding in the water.

We stopped to look at the ducks scattered around the grazing marsh beyond the Serpentine, mainly Wigeon, Teal and a few Shoveler, the drakes still mostly in dull brown eclipse plumage but some starting to regain their brighter breeding attire. We heard the yelping calls of Pink-footed Geese and turned to see a large flock come up over the fields inland before dropping back down out of view. A Kingfisher called and flashed past as it dropped behind the reeds into the ditch, heading back towards the road.

From time to time we just managed to catch the sound of Bearded Tits calling ahead of us and as we walked on a small group flew up from the reeds beyond the grazing marsh and across the path in front of us. Some more dropped into the reeds lining the ditch on the edge of the grazing marsh and we could hear the two groups calling to each other. Three Bearded Tits appeared in the top of the reeds in the reedbed briefly, but quickly dropped down again out of view. We stopped to watch and listen and had several more views as birds zipped across over the reeds calling, before they went quiet.

On over the main drain, a Greenshank flew over calling and landed towards the back of the Brackish Pool, with a single Redshank. We got it in the scope, the whiter underparts of the Greenshank striking in the morning sunshine. A lone Ruff dropped in to the saltmarsh behind and a raft of ten Little Grebes was swimming together out on the water.

After the recent big tides and northerly winds, Arnold’s Marsh was full of water. We could see a Curlew on the saltmarsh, and lots of Redshank along the far edge of the water with another Ruff. A single Pintail was in with the other ducks at the back.

Razorbill – lots on the sea

Out on to the beach, and the first thing we noticed were all the Razorbills on the sea. We got the scope on a raft out in front and then a couple drifted past diving just behind the breakers. We got the scope on a Red-throated Diver out on the water too. A trickle of Gannets passed by offshore.

Little Gull – a 2nd winter

A melee of gulls was feeding over the water away to the east, and we realised they were quickly working their way towards us. They were mainly Black-headed Gulls and Herring Gulls, but we picked out three Little Gulls in with them, a 1st winter with black ‘w’ across it upperwings, a 2nd winter with black spots in its wing tips, and an adult winter with much blacker upperwings. A single Mediterranean Gull was in there too, a 2nd winter also with some black still in its wingtips. The melee came right past in front of us, with two juvenile Gannets joining in and plunge diving into the sea in the middle of the group. Great to watch!

Gannet – one of two juveniles which joined the gulls

We had seen one flock of Starlings flying west as we walked out along the East Bank, but it is can be hard to tell whether they are local birds of migrants coming in. From out the beach now, we picked up several flocks flying in over the sea, confirming our suspicions that they were arriving from the Continent today. A few Skylark came in off the sea too. There was a trickle of wildfowl arriving too: a few small flocks of Wigeon moving, Teal coming in, small groups of Brent Geese and a single Shelduck passing offshore. We picked up a single drake Common Scoter on the sea, which we got in the scope, and another female flew west.

There was a lot to see out to sea this morning, but eventually we had to tear ourselves away and walk back. Looking across to Pope’s Pool, we could see more Black-tailed Godwits out there now, but nothing with them. A Little Grebe was in the middle of the weed out on Don’s Pool. A Water Rail was calling in reeds by the road back at Snipe’s Marsh and when we stopped to look back along the edge to check if we could see it, a Kingfisher shot across. It landed in the reeds at the back where we got it in the scope. Eventually it flew again, round over the reeds, then disappeared across the road.

Kingfisher – on Snipe’s Marsh

We had a quick look at the feeders in Walsey Hills from, the footpath. A succession of tits and Goldfinches dropped in and there were several Chaffinches calling in the bushes. Then a Sparrowhawk shot through, spooking everything, and afterwards it went rather quiet.

We headed round to the Visitor Centre next and, after a quick loo stop, we made our way out to Bishop Hide. There were still quite a few Black-tailed Godwits out on Pat’s Pool, but no sign of the Dowitcher which had apparently been here until it was flushed by a Buzzard and flew off east. Most of the Godwits were in grey non-breeding plumage but one very orange Icelandic bird still largely in juvenile plumage was feeding in front of the hide. There were several Ruff out on the scrapes further back and two Common Snipe were hiding in with the ducks sleeping on the bank away to our left.

Common Snipe – hiding in the grass

There were lots of ducks on here today – lots of Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler. We picked up three Pintail in with them, a moulting drake and two females, before they flew off. Another Sparrowhawk flew over and disappeared off towards the village.

We headed back to the Visitor Centre for lunch and it was sheltered enough from the breeze that we were still able to sit out in the picnic area in the sunshine today. We kept one eye on the scrapes and picked up three Golden Plover which dropped in on Pat’s Pool over lunch.

After lunch, we made our way along the coast to Stiffkey. As we walked along the permissive path by the road, a flock of Long-tailed Tits flitted ahead of us down the hedge. A Red Kite hung in the air over the wood inland. We found another mixed flock of tits along the river, with two Blackcap and a Goldcrest in with them. A Comma butterfly basked in the sunshine on the blackberries.

Comma – basking in the sunshine

We could hear a Spotted Redshank calling from the Fen as we walked out, and from up on the seawall we got it in the scope, busy preening. It was low tide, so there were not so many other waders on the Fen this afternoon, just a few Ruff and Lapwing. There were lots of ducks, Wigeon, Teal, Mallard, Shoveler and Pintail, a white farmyard Greylag and an Egyptian Goose.

As we walked down along the seawall, there were more waders in the harbour channel, lots of Redshank and a single Grey Plover with them. Scanning inland, we noticed a Raven up over one of the small woods, chasing a Common Buzzard. There was not a lot of difference in wingspan between them and when the Raven was then chased by a Jackdaw it looked tiny by comaprison. A second Raven came up out of the trees briefly, and we watched the two of them tumbling together in the wind before they dropped back down out of view. Raven is still a fairly scarce bird in Norfolk, although numbers now seem to be increasing.

Continuing on to the corner overlooking the harbour, we could see lots of gulls of various sizes loafing out on the mud. We took advantage to talk a little about gull identification, looking at a couple of Common Gulls in with the Black-headed Gulls, then turning our attention to the Great Black-backed and Herring Gulls with their pink legs, before we managed to find a single smaller yellow-legged Lesser Black-backed Gull out there too. There are increasing numbers of Brent Geese out in the harbour, as more birds return here for the winter.

There were more waders out on the mud in the harbour – lots of Oystercatcher, Curlew, a few Knot, Turnstone and Ringed Plover. The first surprise of the afternoon was a Whimbrel which flew over from behind us before dropping down out on the saltmarsh out of view. This is a late record of this species for here, around the typical date for the last of the year in Norfolk, as they mainly pass through earlier on their way south in the autumn.

Whimbrel – a lingering late bird

Then a Land Rover pulled up behind us and someone walked straight out across the harbour with two dogs which flushed everything. Most of the gulls settled again further over. The Whimbrel flew up and back past us, landing out of view again back the way it had come towards the Fen. We noticed a couple of Stonechats on the bushes out on the saltmarsh behind us too.

Back to the minibus, and we headed back along the coast to Cley and out along the boardwalk to the main central hides. We thought if we tried here later today we might stand a chance of the Dowitcher having returned and also of picking up some gulls coming in pre-roost. There was not much on Simmond’s Scrape – the water level is high now after the recent rain – and looking over to Pat’s Pool – there were more Black-tailed Godwits back, but still no sign of the Dowitcher (it would return later this evening, but after we had left).

At least the gulls were starting to come in. Scanning through the hordes of Black-headed Gulls we found a single white-winged adult Mediterranean Gull in with them. Through the scope, we could see its winter black bandit mask and heavier red bill. A few larger gulls starting to drop in too, and it didn’t take long to pick out a 1st calendar year Caspian Gull (although breaking with our advice to start off focusing on adult large gulls only!). It preened for a while in with the other gulls, then flew up and disappeared off west over the hides.

Caspian Gull – a 1st winter

The second surprise of the afternoon was when a large group of Cattle Egrets dropped in onto one of the islands, again ahead of going in to roost. There have been a small number here the last few days, and more further west along the coast, but there were a lot more here than usual. We couldn’t get a clear view, as there were some behind the grass, but we counted a minimum of 18 Cattle Egrets and a single Little Egret with them (later, others managed to count 19 Cattle Egrets).

Cattle Egret – some of the 18 or 19

It was time for us to head back, or we would be late for dinner. As we got back to the car park, more Pink-footed Geese came up from the fields beyond the Visitor Centre and flew overhead calling. A wonderful sight and sound, so typical of here in Norfolk at this time of year, and a nice way to finish our first day.

17th-23rd May 2023 – A week of Spring Days

No group tours for the last week, but a series of single-day Private Tours. No time to write up each one individually, so here are some highlights from the last week. The weather has been dry, bright and mostly sunny, but with a cold north wind at times which has made it chilly on the coast on some days, but warm out of it and when it drops.

Waders are continuing to come through, on their way north to breed, at the moment. The rarest of them was a Broad-billed Sandpiper which spent a couple of hours on a pool from the seawall at Burnham Deepdale on Thursday. We were just heading out when news came through and decided to head straight over. It was always a bit distant – too far for photos – but we were lucky as it was flushed by a Marsh Harrier and flew off just after we left. A Bittern flew past while we were there too!

There have been good numbers of Temminck’s Stints along the coast this week, with multiple birds at several locations. This one was at Titchwell yesterday.

Temminck’s Stint – at Titchwell

There have been small numbers of Wood Sandpipers stopping off here too this week. A few Ruff continue to linger and any males are now starting to get their outlandish colourful breeding headgear. Grey Plovers and Sanderling are always among the latest species to head up to their arctic breeding grounds and some of them are looking particularly smart in breeding plumage now.

Wood Sandpiper – stopping off

Our breeding season is now well underway, with lots of juvenile Avocets and Lapwings hatching now and the Little Ringed Plovers are very active, displaying.

Little Ringed Plover – lots around now

Among our other scarcer summer visitors, the Turtle Doves continue to perform – we have spent several mornings out listening to them purring and watching them in the hawthorn blossom and display flighting overhead. There are still one or two Garganey around too, which have been showing most days, although one of the drakes at least is already starting to moult out of its smart breeding plumage. For some species, the breeding season is largely over already!

Turtle Dove – showing well

One of the other highlights at Titchwell this last week has been the Little Gulls, which have been showing very well hunting over the freshmarsh, often close in front of Island Hide. Up to four, and all 1st summers at the moment, they have been showing off the black ‘w’ pattern across their upperwings. The Mediterranean Gulls are looking very smart now in breeding too.

Little Gull – 1st summer

There have been some surprises too. On Friday, we had just left Titchwell at the end of the day and were driving back inland when we glimpsed a very slim-looking harrier which appeared briefly over the hedge. Cue an emergency stop! We found somewhere to pull off the road and managed to climb up to look over the hedge just in time to see a young (2nd calendar year) Montagu’s Harrier working its way away over the fields to the west. On our way back on another day, a Goshawk flew over the road in front of us.

Montagu’s Harrier – a 2cy male

Not a tour, but a trip out east to see family on Saturday was conveniently combined with a visit to see the Caspian Tern at Hickling. Also a 1st summer, on some days it has been showing very well on Brendan’s Marsh, between feeding out over the surrounding broads.

Caspian Tern – 1st summer

The Common Cranes were also showing well here, with several birds flying over. Another Temminck’s Stint was on Brendan’s Marsh too and a Hobby flew in over the reeds.

Common Crane – circled over

But the big surprise at Hickling was hearing a liquid ‘quilp’ call behind and turning to see 12 Bee-eaters flying towards us at eye level! They swept straight past and disappeared off towards Horsey Mere. The previous day, they had been in Yorkshire, heading south along the coast and roosting overnight at Gibraltar Point in Lincolnshire. They had been watched heading off south at about 9.15am, but money would have been on them following the coast or heading due south through the Fens. What chance them overflying the middle of the Broads where people happened to be gathered watching the Caspian Tern?! Will they settle down to breed somewhere again?

Hopefully the excitement will continue for the coming weeks. Nightjars are now in, and we are starting to spend our evenings out watching and listening to them out on the heaths. With the warmer weather, insects are starting to emerge and the first Swallowtails have been seen down in the Broads in the last couple of days. We still have spaces on our Summer 3-day Tour on 9th-11th June, so if you like the sound of Nightjars, Stone Curlews, Cranes and Bitterns, Swallowtails and more, you would be very welcome to join us. There may even be some more surprises to come too.

13th May 2023 – Four Days of Spring, Day 3

Day 3 of a 4-day Spring Tour today. It was another cloudy & grey day, but thankfully remained dry after some misty drizzle first thing. It was chilly again, a maximum of 11C but feeling colder in the brisk northerly wind, very un-springlike once more.

Our destination for the morning was Burnham Overy. As we parked at the Staithe, there were lots of Swifts over the car park and low over the houses, and a few House Martins too, the first we have seen. There have been none around some of their traditional breeding sites the last few days, so hopefully they have just been looking for food elsewhere.

We walked out along the seawall. A Sedge Warbler was singing from the brambles below the bank and a Cetti’s Warbler shouted from along the edge of the ditch. A Little Grebe was in the channel along with several Common Pochard.

A Little Egret was feeding along the edge of the harbour channel. Looking further up, we could see a couple of Grey Plovers on the far side and a pair of Little Terns flew round calling and landed on the sandbar in the middle where they went to sleep. There are still good numbers of Brent Geese here and a large flock flew up from the saltmarsh and landed in the harbour channel. As we walked on, we found another couple of Grey Plovers were on the mud on the near side.

Grey Plover – on the mud

A Great White Egret flew in, its long legs stretched out behind it, and landed on a small pool out on the grazing marsh. It was sporting a dark grey bill, typical of birds in the breeding season but always a pitfall for the unwary looking for its non-breeding yellow bill. A Grey Heron made a beeline for it, chasing after it and the two of them flew round together, so we could see how similar they are in size. The Grey Heron wouldn’t let the Great White Egret settle, and it eventually flew off back towards the harbour.

Great White Egret – chased off by the Grey Heron

A 1st summer Little Gull flew across over the grazing marshes to the south of us and we watched it disappeared off over Whincover and quickly away to the east. We could see the dark ‘w’ mark on its upperwings. There were lots of Black-tailed Godwits on the muddy spur of the channel along with another couple of Grey Plover. There were several Shelduck and Avocets too and three Great Crested Grebes flew over and off towards the outer harbour.

We stopped on the corner by the junction with Whincover. Four Pink-footed Geese were out on the grass with the Greylags, at least one had an obviously damaged wing when it flapped. Most of the Pink-footed Geese have left for Iceland for the breeding season, but a small number usually linger, typically sick of injured birds which have been shot and wounded by wildfowlers and can’t make the long journey north.

Our first Spoonbill of the day flew over – we would see several flying in and out from the colony this morning. There was another pair of Great Crested Grebe on the reedbed pool and a couple more Great White Egrets flew in and out of the reeds. We listened for the Bittern which has been booming here recently but it was quiet today – it was probably just a bit too chilly for much activity.

Skylark – by the path

There were more Brent Geese on the saltmarsh further up and we stopped to watch a Skylark feeding on the side of the path ahead of us. There were several Reed Buntings singing in the suaeda bushes below the bank as we walked on towards the dunes. Scanning around the various herds of cows, we picked up a Cattle Egret very distantly on the grazing marsh towards Holkham, but before we could get the scope on it, it flew off towards the trees beyond.

Reed Bunting – singing male

Out at the boardwalk bushes, there was no sign of any migrants today, though hard to tell whether the single Chiffchaff was on its way somewhere or resident, whereas the Common Whitethroat would almost undoubtedly be breeding here. A couple of Sedge Warblers were singing in the bushes too. There were several Linnets, and we stopped to admire a smart pink-breasted male on the top of the bushes when another darker male flew in and landed in the brambles right beside us.

Linnet – in the boardwalk bushes

As we walked into the dunes beyond, a pair of Stonechats was alarm calling, presumably with a nest nearby. Over forty Linnets were feeding on the short grass beyond, nice to see them doing well here for a bird which has declined so sharply in farmland. Several Meadow Pipits flew up and down from the fence.

We carried on to the next ridge in the dunes. There were more Linnets, a couple of Lapwings, and two Brown Hares on the grass. We had a better view over the grazing marshes from the top of the dunes here and we found another Cattle Egret in the distance with the cows. It was hidden down in a reedy channel at first, but then flew round and landed in full view briefly. We could see the short orange bill and orange wash on the top of its head.

Little Tern – feeding in the harbour

There was no sign of any migrants in the bushes, so we decided to walk back. A Whimbrel flew over the seawall and out across the grazing marsh and a flock of Dunlin was on the sandbar in the harbour now. Four Little Terns were feeding over the harbour channel now, as the waters rose, along with four Common Terns too. We could hear Bearded Tits in the small reedbed towards the village, but only saw one briefly in flight a couple of times. A Cuckoo was calling back by the village, but distant.

Back to the minibus, we drove round to Holkham for lunch. There had been a Garganey here on the pools by Lady Anne’s Drive but there was no sign of it now, nor were there any Grey Partridges in view. A Mistle Thrush was collecting food on the grass by the top of the Drive, presumably with young in the nest in the nearby trees.

Mistle Thrush – collecting food

We ate lunch on the picnic tables by the Lookout. We could hear Chiffchaff and Willow Warbler singing in the trees. Several more Spoonbills flew in and out over the grazing marshes and one tried to sneak past over the pines behind us. There were lots of Common Swifts hawking for insects over the grazing marshes towards Wells.

Back to the minibus, we set off back towards the main road, but noticed two brown lumps in the grass in the overflow parking area where there weren’t any lumps earlier. An unscheduled stop to check and sure enough there were two Grey Partridge, so we got out and got the scope on them.

We drove west to Thornham Harbour now. There had been no sign of the Garganey there this morning, but it does come and go and as we walked up onto the bank we found a group people watching it. We had very good views of it on the small flood below the bank, swimming round feeding and calling on and off. It already appears to be starting its moult into eclipse plumage. Then it flew to the next flood along, and started bathing on the far shore before it was chased off by a Coot and flew on again to the big flood beyond.

Garganey – starting to moult

There were two Wood Sandpipers on the big flood, which worked their way gradually closer to us as they fed, and we had some very nice views through the scope of this very smart migrant wader, on their way north to Scandinavia and stopping here to feed before making the journey across the North Sea. A female Lapwing on the near edge of the water had two small juveniles. She was sheltering one at first, the other feeding nearby, before she flew off and left them – so much for wader childcare!

Wood Sandpiper – 1 of 3 here

Looking out across the harbour, there were several Grey Plover, including a couple of very smart males in full breeding plumage, with jet black faces and bellies. A single Bar-tailed Godwit was feeding on the mud down in the channel and a Curlew dropped in briefly. We could see more small waders out on the beach beyond, including several Ringed Plover, Sanderling and Turnstone. A small group of 1st summer drake Common Eider were diving in the outer channel, but were disturbed by the assistant warden from Holme checking the tern cordon. Two Little Terns flew round over the beach.

Bar-tailed Godwit – in the harbour

The Garganey had flown further up the big flood and gone to sleep. Looking over we could see three Wood Sandpipers now, in and out of the tufts of vegetation. The Garganey eventually woke up and started feeding again, and came much closer, down to the corner where we were standing, but wouldn’t lift its head! As we walked back to the minibus, we stopped to watch a Little Egret which was feeding on the near edge of the first flood. A Grey Heron was stalking round the edge of the reeds, eyeing up the ducklings.

We drove back to Wells and called in at North Point on our way back to finish the day, to see if any waders had dropped in. There were lots of Swifts, Swallows and Sand Martins hawking over the pools and we just caught the back end of a Hobby disappearing off east as we got out of the minibus. Two more Wood Sandpipers had just been found here, and we could see at least one of them on the back of the central pool from the car park. Two Marsh Harriers were grappling over the rape field in front of us and a Common Buzzard drifted over Wells beyond. Several Brown Hares were hiding out on the grass.

Common Swift – hawking over the pools

Walking down the track, we could see lots of gulls the other side, on the eastern pool, mostly Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, but with a couple of Common Gulls too. Apart from Lapwings and Redshank, the only other wader we could find was a single Little Ringed Plover over towards the back. A Spoonbill flew over and disappeared off towards Wells.

It was time to head back – one more day tomorrow, and hopefully warmer weather forecast.

11th May 2023 – Four Days of Spring, Day 1

Day 1 of a 4-day Spring Tour today. It was a bright day with lots of sunshine in the morning. Although it threatened rain over lunchtime, the dark clouds remained mostly to the south of us and when they eventually moved off the sun came out again. It even felt like spring at times!

Our destination for the morning was Snettisham. A Swallow was singing from the wires beside the road as we parked and got out of the minibus.

Swallow – singing on the wires

As we walked up along the road, we spotted out first Turtle Dove of the morning on the wires above the bushes. We got it in the scope, a good view of its rusty scaled back and barred black and white neck patch, but it dropped before everyone got a look. Not to worry. As we walked in through the bushes, another Turtle Dove was purring ahead of us now. It was hard to find an angle to get a clear view at first, but we followed it was it flew up in display flight, and landed again. We just found a gap in the bushes where we could see it when it flew up again, and landed out of view.

A third Turtle Dove started purring now, in the bushes back along the path, so we walked back and found this one showing very well in the top of one of the hawthorns. We got the scope on this one and watched as it switched between purring and preening. We could still hear the one we had just been trying to follow, plus another which had started up behind us now. What a wonderful sound to stand and listen to, and such a shame it has become such a rare occurrence now.

Turtle Dove – purring in the hawthorns

Eventually, the Turtle Dove we were watching flapped up in display flight too, circled round, and landed again out of view. As we carried on through the bushes, two Bullfinches flew out and across the path ahead of us. We came out into the open grassy area, where two Common Whitethroats and a Chiffchaff were singing from the bushes, the latter perching on the top of a tall bare stem right behind us. There was a large flock of Linnets feeding on the ground here and when they spooked and flew round we could see a Greenfinch with them.

We cut across and up onto the outer seawall, as a Stonechat flew past. We scanned the rope cordons up along the beach, but there was no sign of any Ringed Plovers at first, just a pair of Oystercatchers asleep further up. Several Sanderling were feeding along the shore, mostly looking rather dark now, moulting into their very different breeding plumage. Then a couple of Ringed Plovers flew in from behind and landed on the beach right below us, not in the cordons. One started displaying, flying round with exaggerated wingbeats over the edge of the Wash.

Ringed Plover – not in the cordon

Walking on up the seawall, there were several butterflies out in the sunshine now – several Wall Brown chasing round over the marram and a Small Copper briefly feeding on a dandelion. A flock of Oystercatchers flew past over the water, looking like a picture in the sunlight. We looked inland to the north and could see they were being put up off Ken Hill Marshes by a couple of Red Kites circling over. A Meadow Pipit was singing and we looked over to see two on the rope fence of the cordon, which then took off and started fighting over the path ahead of us.

The park here was very badly burnt in a major fire last summer, and we could see all the charred remains of the dead trees ahead of us now. Very few appear to be resprouting, so it will sadly take many years for the site to recover. We cut back down into the middle, where a Reed Warbler was singing by one of the pools and two Sedge Warblers chased round over a patch of brambles which had escaped the fire.

Another Turtle Dove started purring ahead of us, and we watched launch up in display flight and land back down in one the charred and blackened trees. It was sad to see it like this – there were several territories at this end of the park last year, before the fire. A Whimbrel flew past, followed by a Curlew, heading for the Wash. Then surprise of the morning, a Barn Owl appeared, hunting along the base of the inner seawall. It was a bit late in the morning for one to be out, but perhaps it has hungry young to feed somewhere. Interestingly, there was a Barn Owl here last year which was also very active during the day.

We climbed up the bank and onto the top of the inner seawall. A couple of Swifts zoomed back and forth past us low over the bank and a Lapwing was displaying over the marshes beyond. As we walked north, the Barn Owl came back the other way along the bank and out over the marshes past us.

Barn Owl – still out hunting

Barn Owl – flew past us

Up past the kissing gate, we could see lots of Oystercatchers roosting on the scrapes, waiting out high tide on the Wash. Everything was put up by a Marsh Harrier circling over, and a large flock of Black-tailed Godwits whirled round too. We could see a smaller wader in with them now, the Long-billed Dowitcher. Having spent most of the winter at Cley, it has now moved here with the godwits. They all landed again, and we got the Long-billed Dowitcher in the scope. It was hard to pick out from the throng at first, but eventually came out on its own where we had better views, although still a lot more distant here then it was at times at Cley.

Long-billed Dowitcher – out on the marshes

When someone spotted a Barn Owl out over the bank further to the north, we assumed initially it would be the same one, but when we looked over it was clearly a different bird, noticeably browner. It was after 11am now too. Two Yellow Wagtails flew over calling and disappeared on south, but there were not many other migrants moving today. The northerly airflow seems to have put paid to most visible migration at the moment.

The Marsh Harrier flew round repeatedly, occasionally closer to us over the bank and then from time to time drifting back out over the marshes, where it was repeatedly mobbed by Lapwings and flushed all the waders again. The walk back past all the burnt trees was fairly uneventful, although we did stop briefly to watch two Little Grebes swimming across one the pools on the marshes.

Marsh Harrier – above us

As we drove back towards the main road, we could see dark clouds ahead of us and it looked to be raining inland. We thought we would get round to the north of the weather as we headed round to Titchwell, but it was right on the edge of the clouds here and they were not really moving in the very light winds. It was time for lunch now, so we stopped in the picnic area. There was blue sky and sunshine to the north and west of us, and cloud to the south and east, just enough to produce a couple of spits of rain very intermittently as we ate, although thankfully not enough to require covering up.

After lunch, we headed out onto the reserve. A Great Reed Warbler had been found here during the morning and a small crowd had gathered on the bank overlooking the reedbed. It had been singing on and off, but was quiet now. Speaking to one of the locals there, it seemed like it had been singing every half hour, so we figured another burst of song was due at some point. While we waited, a Marsh Harrier drifted over the reedbed and a Great White Egret flew in behind us, over the path and dropped down into the reeds.

Sure enough, we didn’t have to wait too long before the Great Reed Warbler started singing again. Interesting just to hear, very different from our regular Reed Warbler, a pair of which were flitting in and out of the vegetation with nest material. We could just see the Great Reed Warbler singing from the back of a small sallow close to the bank, and we managed to get it in the scope briefly, before it started moving around.

Great Reed Warbler – eventually showed itself

When it stopped singing, the Great Reed Warbler flew out and landed briefly on the edge of the reeds a little further up, before it flew again. It was very active now, flying between the small blocks of reeds around the pools below the bank, and we had a succession of flight views or briefly perched half-obscured in the reeds. Once or twice it appeared in the open for a second or two and thankfully everyone got a look at it.

Just as the Great Reed Warbler came out into the open at one point, a shout from someone alerted to a Bittern which had flown up from the reeds, and was now being mobbed by several Black-headed Gulls. It flew round in front of us trying to decide which way to go, then turned and came right over our heads, disappearing off towards Thornham. We didn’t know which way to look!

Bittern – flew round mobbed by gulls

Bittern – then flew right over our heads

The Great Reed Warbler showed well again briefly, then flew further up and disappeared into the thicker reeds out of view. We decided to move on, and had a look around the pools further up to see if we could find any Bearded Tits. They were not as showy as they have been today – one appeared briefly at the base of the reeds, but then disappeared further in. Two more further back flew up and disappeared off round the edge of the Reedbed Pool.

There were a couple of Sedge Warbler and Reed Warbler, and Reed Bunting in the reeds and a Cetti’s Warbler flew across at one point. A couple of the group saw a Water Vole too. It was still a bit cloudy, but a Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly, presumably freshly emerged, was warming up in the grass by the path.

Four-spotted Chaser – by the path

Up to the Freshmarsh, and we got the scope on a couple of Common Terns on the island in front of Island Hide with the Avocets and Black-headed Gulls. We could see the four Little Gulls hawking out over the water, a smart black-hooded adult and three 1st summers with dark ‘w’ markings across their wings. We got the scope on some distant Mediterranean Gulls on the islands right over the back too, admiring their white eyeliner and bright red bills. Several Common Pochard were preening on the edge of one of the other islands, and a pair of Gadwall were right down at the front, where we could see the complexity of their plumage patterns.

Little Gull – a 1st summer

When a Red Kite drifted over, everything went up, and it drifted away pursued by a cloud of Avocets and Black-headed Gulls. Whether that was a sighting mission, a little later it did another circuit, coming in quite high and then dropping steeply to grab a duckling from the water. Again, it was instantly mobbed but this time it flew off quickly with its prey in its talons.

We could see a Spoonbill preening out on the saltmarsh and from the rise in the path by the junction to Parrinder Hide we got it in the scope, It was preening at first, showing its yellow-tipped bill, but then did what Spoonbills like to do best and went to sleep. It was just a brief nap though, as we hadn’t had time to pack up before it took off and flew away towards Thornham Harbour. Several small groups of Brent Geese were feeding out on the saltmarsh too.

We went in to the far section of Parrinder Hide overlooking the Freshmarsh. We were hoping to see the Little Ringed Plovers here, but there was no sign of any at first. A lone Dunlin was on the grassy island, but hiding in a small depression with just its head visible. When it deemed it safe to do so, it came out and started to feed. Two Ringed Plovers were on the edge of the next spit back. A Little Egret appeared right below us and the four Little Gulls landed at one point on the back of the mud in front of the hide.

Dunlin – on its own

We did eventually find a single Little Ringed Plover from the other section of the hide, feeding along the back edge. We got it in the scope, so we could see its golden eye ring. This is as far as we were going today. On the walk back, we stopped for a quick look but there was no further sign of any Bearded Tits and the Great Reed Warbler had now gone quiet too.

We still had time for one last stop, so we headed inland up to Choseley. The Dotterel have been lingering in the fields here for several days now, and someone had just located one out at the back of the field as we drove up. We got it in the scope, although it was very distant and the sun had come out again and there was a surprising amount of heat haze. A second Dotterel appeared nearby and there was a Wheatear out at the back too, but that disappeared just as we got it in the scope, and both Dotterel then sat down and blended in to the background.

Some other people had arrived hoping to see the Dotterel and thankfully after not too long a wait first the Wheatear resurfaced, and then the two Dotterel. A bonus Yellowhammer flew across the field in front of us.

It was time to head back now. It had been an exciting first day – hopefully more tomorrow.

18th June 2022 – One Summer Day

A Group day tour today in North Norfolk. What a difference a day makes – yesterday was baking hot, up to 31C, and today was cloudy and cool with a maximum of just 15C! Heavy rain was forecast for the morning, thunderstorms for the afternoon, but once again it was far too pessimistic – while we did have some mizzle early am, and rain for about an hour pm, it was nowhere near as bad as we thought it was going to be. Nothing to stop us getting out and enjoying a great day’s birding.

Our destination for the morning was Snettisham. As we got out of the minibus, it was damp, with misty drizzle, but unperturbed we walked up to the Coastal Park. We could hear a Turtle Dove purring and could just see it on the wires in a gap between two bushes. We had a slightly better view from further up, just inside gate, but it was flushed by a dogwalker coming out. We could see it purring. It flapped up and started to circle down in display flight, and a second Turtle Dove responded with a display flight of its own, in the distance.

As we walked on, there were several Goldfinches and Greenfinches on the short grass, along with a couple of Dunnocks and a juvenile Robin. The first Turtle Dove was back on the wires now, further along, but then flew to a hawthorn ahead of us where we got it in the scope again. It looked a little damp!

Turtle Dove – landed in a hawthorn

The rain had stopped, so we decided to press on and see how far we could get. A Blackcap was singing from deep in the bushes and a Chiffchaff flitted in and out along the edge ahead of us. A Sedge Warbler was singing and song flighting and eventually posed nicely in a small hawthorn in the reeds. A Cetti’s Warbler shouted from typically deep in the undergrowth.

There were several pairs of Stonechat on the way up, with quite a few fledged juveniles now. At the open area, there were a number of Linnets, Goldfinches, a Greenfinch and a Chaffinch feeding on the remains of the seed put down. Not surprisingly, given the weather today, there were rather fewer butterflies and bees than normal, but at least it was staying dry.

Stonechat – one of the males

As we got to the crossbank, two Cuckoos shot past us and we watched them fly down over the Coastal Park behind us and disappear through the bushes. Quite a few have already left the UK and begun the journey south, so it was good to still catch up with a couple here. There was a single drake Tufted Duck and several Common Pochard on the pool just beyond the crossbank, along with a pair of Mute Swans with two cygnets. A Common Tern flew past and headed up towards Heacham, looking for food in the pool.

The tide was in but we had a quick look out at the Wash. A Little Tern flew north over the water quite close in, then several more came back south further out. We trained the scope on an Oystercatcher and a Ringed Plover, both nesting in the cordon, right next to each other. The Ringed Plover nest has had a cage placed over it for added protection – the birds don’t seem to mind! We heard a commotion and looking inland, watched a Marsh Harrier flying over Ken Hill Marshes chased by a selection of Avocets and Lapwings.

Oystercatcher & Ringed Plover – on the nest

We cut across and climbed up onto the inner seawall. The Great Reed Warbler is still here and we could hear it singing before we even got to the seawall, but scanning the reeds from here we couldn’t see it at first. So we turned our attention initially to several Spoonbills which were close to us on the marshes just beyond. We had great views through the scope of an adult, with shaggy nuchal crest and yellow-tipped black bill.

Spoonbill – close views today

The Great Reed Warbler flew across to the other side of the channel and perched up in the reeds, where we could see it, albeit only briefly. So when we had enjoyed a good look at the Spoonbills, we walked on a little further, up to the corner and looked back down along the line of the ditch.

After a short while the Great Reed Warbler came up again and started singing from the top of the reeds. We had a great view through the scope now of its orange gape as it sang. A regular Reed Warbler was flicking around on the edge of the ditch too, and we could see how much smaller it was.

Great Reed Warbler – great views singing

Scanning the marshes now, we could see a very large roost of Oystercatchers, several hundred strong, whiling away the time over high tide until they could head back to the Wash. A couple of Black-tailed Godwits flew round but when they landed we lost them in the vegetation, which is very tall now. There was an Egyptian Goose out here too and a couple of Sandwich Terns flew over calling.

There were several pairs of Avocets, Lapwing and Oystercatcher with young. One or two Redshanks flew around calling, but we couldn’t see any young ones. We had a better view of the pair of Avocet still on the pool just behind us with four very cute small juveniles.

With the low cloud and rain earlier, the Swifts were feeding very low this morning, zooming back and forth out over the marshes. While we were up on the seawall, they came very close at one point, zooming right past us at eye level!

On the walk back, we could hear more Sedge Warblers and Common Whitethroats singing, and had some good views from up on the bank looking down into the bushes. A male Reed Bunting was singing too, in the top of a large hawthorn beside the reeds. We continued to scan the marshes – as well as lots of Black-headed Gulls, we found two juvenile Spoonbills, we could see their ‘teaspoon-bills’, still growing and much shorter than the adults.

One of the group had lost a jumper on the walk up, so we dropped down off the bank and cut back through the Coastal Park and found it on the way back. A Turtle Dove flew up ahead of us from the seed as we walked round a corner and another Turtle Dove was still purring back towards the road. A female Bullfinch was feeding on the ground with the Goldfinches by the entrance. As we walked back to the minibus, two Mediterranean Gulls flew over calling. Remarkably, given the weather forecast, we had managed to get all the way round and mostly stayed dry, after the initial drizzle!

We headed round to Titchwell for the afternoon and stopped first for lunch by the Visitor Centre. A hot drink from the cafe was much appreciated today! After lunch, we headed out onto the reserve. We had a quick look at the feeders but there wasn’t much coming in, although we did get a chance to admire the new pond.

As we walked out along the main path past the reedbed, we noticed a Great White Egret flying in over the Thornham Grazing Marsh. When it got closer, we could see it was dark-billed, which confused two people on the bank nearby who started to question the identification. We explained to them that Great White Egrets can have dark bills in the breeding season, a pitfall for the unwary! A second yellow-billed Great White Egret then flew in too, so we could highlight the other main identification features, beyond bill colour.

Great White Egret – the dark-billed one

A couple of Marsh Harriers circled over the back of the reedbed. We stopped to look at the moulting ducks on the new bund, and noticed three Little Grebes in the channel. There was a Great Crested Grebe on the big reedbed pool too.

A loud shout of ‘Bittern‘ from some people back along the path behind us immediately drew our attention (as it would!), and we turned round to see a Bittern come up from behind the bank on the Thornham side right behind us. It flew over the path right beside us and headed out over the reedbed. What a bird!

Bittern – flew up right behind us

A little further up, we heard Bearded Tits calling and looked down to see a juvenile perched in the reeds briefly. A couple of the group saw a male lower down too, but not everyone got onto either of them. We watched and waited, and after a while three juveniles appeared. One perched up in the top of the reeds doing the splits!

A Sedge Warbler was singing away nearby, perched up in full view right next to us. It was not getting the attention it deserved while we were watching the Bearded Tits, but once they dropped down out of view we turned to it. It was totally unperturbed by people walking past or standing only a couple of metres away.

Sedge Warbler – very obliging!

There was some darker cloud ahead now it was threatening to rain, so we made our way down into Island Hide. Not long after, the rain started and it was fairly heavy for a short time.

As we have mentioned before, it is a bumper year for Avocets, which have really benefited from the work done last year on the Freshmarsh, with a record 97 nests this year. Again, we could see lots of juveniles now, of various ages. One quite small one swam all the way from the island in front of the hide to the reeds by the main path to feed, and then back. There are lots of Black-headed Gulls on the islands with chicks too. But it was the two juvenile Common Terns which won the cuteness trophy.

There were lots of Black-tailed Godwits on the freshmarsh today, mostly immature non-breeders (they don’t breed in their 1st year), but one or two more rusty birds looked like they might be early returnees from Iceland already. We got the scope on a Little Ringed Plover which was on the bund, but it kept getting chased by the Avocets. Then another Little Ringed Plover appeared on the island in front of the hide, and we were able to watch it working its way round the edge, although it did get chased by the Avocets here too.

Little Ringed Plover – with golden yellow eye-ring

With the rain and low clout, there were lots of Swifts again feeding low over the reedbed and the back of the Freshmarsh. Looking through, we could see several House Martins and a couple of Swallows, and one of the group had a lone Sand Martin too.

We waited for the rain to stop, then made our way round to Parrinder Hide. There were even more Avocets on the next compartment, with a wide variety of different sizes of juvenile, a veritable Avocet creche! From the hide, we could see three 1st summer Little Gulls on one of the islands. A pair of Mediterranean Gulls dropped in, and we had a good view of them through the scope, admiring their black hoods and bright red bills.

Little Gulls – all 1st summer

A lone Curlew appeared at the back – again at this time of the year, hard to tell if an early returning bird from further afield, one which hadn’t travelled, or one from somewhere more local. The two Great White Egrets were now in the dead trees in the back of the reedbed. As before, the Avocets in front of the hide were having a go at everything. They chased off a Meadow Pipit, had a go at a pair of Tufted Ducks, and then started having a go at some Mallard ducklings.

Looking out over the Thornham saltmarsh, we could see a large flock of Starlings on the concrete bunker. The young birds in particular congregate here after fledging. There were more Black-tailed Godwits feeding out on the saltmarsh and we noticed that one of them was colour ringed. A lime ring with a black ‘E’ indicated it was a Continental Black-tailed Godwit (subspecies limosa) from the very small breeding population on the Ouse Washes – most of the birds here are Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits (islandica).

A Sparrowhawk circling out over the dunes flushed a big flock of Linnets off the saltmarsh. A Marsh Harrier was standing on a wooden post and a Common Buzzard was perched on the tower out at Thornham Point. Scanning across, we found two Cuckoos perched up too, one over by the concrete tower and one on an elder bush out in middle. There were Skylarks singing here too now.

The Tidal Pools looked quiet at first, but there was a Little Tern on the mud towards the back, which flew round at one point. It landed back down on the mud and we had a nice view through the scope. Out to the beach, the tide was out and the sea flat calm. A few distant Sandwich Terns flew past, and through the scope we could see lots more around the breeding colony on Scolt.

There were lots of waders on the mussel beds. We could see lots of Bar-tailed Godwits in particular, and even from the top of the beach we could see one was colour ringed, but it was too far to read the code on the yellow flag. We quickly found out it was from Norway and – postscript – after we were able to read the code the following day, we found out it had been ringed in southern Norway in Sept’21, as a juvenile on southbound migration.

There were one or two Knot closer, but more further up towards Brancaster, and the odd Turnstone. Six Spoonbills were feeding in the shallow pools. A Curlew was asleep on the beach and a lone Grey Plover flew past with a Knot.

It was time to walk back. When we got back to the reedbed, we could hear Bearded Tits calling again and looked down to see nine juvenile Bearded Tits together. They showed much better now, perched in the top of the reeds, before they flew further back, over the bank. A Red Kite drifted over too.

Bearded Tits – 2 of the 9 juveniles

As we walked back past the visitor centre, we stopped to watch a Jay in the trees. A Wren was alarm calling, presumably not happy with its presence.

As we drove back home, we discussed how lucky how we had been with the weather. If we had believed the forecast, we would maybe have called it off. But once again, the forecast was far too pessimistic and we ended up having a great day out.

12th May 2022 – Spring 4-day Tour, #1

Day 1 of a four day Spring Tour in Norfolk. It was a bright and mostly sunny day, with a brisk SW wind. Some dark clouds in off the Wash in the morning threatened briefly but came to nothing. We spent the day in NW Norfolk.

Our destination for the morning was Snettisham. As we got out of the minibus, we could hear a Greenfinch wheezing from the trees. A super smart male Bullfinch flew across in front of us and landed in a nearby hedge, its deep raspberry pink underparts glowing in the sunshine. A small flock of Swallows and Sand Martins were roosting on the wires out over the grazing marsh and hawking for insects above. A Chiffchaff landed on the wires above us.

Lesser Whitethroat – feeding in the sea buckthorn

As we made our way into the Coastal Park, a small group of Common Swifts came overhead, the first of many we would see today. There were Blackcaps and Sedge Warblers singing from the bushes and a Cetti’s Warbler shouted as we passed. A Lesser Whitethroat flicked up ahead of us, and we had a nice view of it as it fed in the brambles and buckthorn.

A Turtle Dove started purring ahead of us, so we walked round to scan its favoured bushes, but there was no sign of it at first. We walked round the back and it started up again, so we came round again to the sheltered side and found a male and female Turtle Dove perched in the sunshine right in front of us. The male was perched above on a bramble stem and kept turning round, fidgeting. The female was lower and tucked down catching the sun. They were very relaxed about our presence, so we stopped to watch them for a while, enjoying some incredible views.

Turtle Dove – the male

The male Turtle Dove fluttered round the back of the bush at one point, but the female stayed put and after a minute the male came back out again to the same perch. Eventually the male flew a short distance and landed in some more bushes further down and this time the female followed. We decided to leave them in peace.

We made our way up onto the outer seawall now and looked out across the Wash. A Wall butterfly fluttered off ahead of us. A Mediterranean Gull few across out over the water. There were lots of waders out on the edge of the water, but the tide was some way out now so they were all rather distant. We could see lots of Grey Plover, many in stunning breeding plumage, plus a lot of Dunlin, a few Bar-tailed Godwits, and a couple of Curlew.

As we turned to head back into the Coastal Park, a Cuckoo flew across over the other side, just in front of the inner seawall. It dropped down behind some bushes and disappeared – we didn’t see it come out the other side – so we walked over to see if we could find it. There was no further sign, but we did find our first Common Whitethroat of the tour and a Reed Warbler perched up in the reeds singing.

Continuing on up through the Coastal Park, we had great views of several Sedge Warblers, perched up in the bushes singing. A couple of the pairs of Stonechats already had a few streaky juveniles in tow. There were lots of Linnets, including some smart pink-breasted males and more Common Whitethroats. We could hear another Turtle Dove purring and eventually found it further up, perched in the top of a large hawthorn. Another Turtle Dove flew past us.

Sedge Warbler – perched up singing

Up at the crossbank, we had another look out at the Wash. There were two Ringed Plovers on the mud here, a bit closer this time, and another Bar-tailed Godwit with them. The latter had a bad limp, which might explain why it wasn’t way out on the mud with the others.

Three Tufted Ducks were on the pool beyond the crossbank, as we walked across to inner seawall. From the top, we looked out over the marshes the other side. There were lots of geese, Shelduck, ducks and Avocets. Some of the Canada Geese and Greylags had small goslings with them. Lots of Swifts and hirundines were hawking out over the marshes, others continuing on south – migration in progress.

A grey male Marsh Harrier was hunting out over the grazing marshes. We watched a Kestrel hovering over the grass, then drop down sharply, coming back up with something small in its talons.

We had been told that there were some Whinchats and Wheatears further north, at Heacham this morning, but we couldn’t walk all the way up there today. So we kept scanning the grazing marshes to the north of the crossbank, in case there were any here. We found just a few more Stonechats at first, and then a Whinchat appeared on the top of a clump of brambles. We had a look through the scope first, then walked up for a slightly closer view, but by the time we got there it had disappeared. A female Wheatear appeared on the bush instead, and we found another Wheatear out on the grass further over, a male this time.

We walked back down along the inner seawall, scanning the marshes as we went. All we could add to the list were two Black-tailed Godwits. Small flocks of Common Swifts shot past us, making their way south and round the Wash.

Common Swift – on migration

When we heard a Turtle Dove purring again, we stopped to look and found it perched in a tall tree in the middle of the Coastal Park. It took off and fluttered up in display flight, gliding down in circles before landing again in the same tree. It was joined by a second Turtle Dove on the same branch and we thought initially it must be a female, but the first first one flew straight at it and chased it off. Presumably a rival male, it flew off and landed on the fence by the marshes, then back and off north. It was pursued by the first Turtle Dove in display flight again.

There were lots of freshly emerged dark damselfies fluttering around in the vegetation on the bank. The ones we looked at more closely were Azure Damselflies, and we did see one older blue male. There were several butterflies out too, mostly whites including a number of Green-veined White, but almost back to the road a Small Heath fluttered up from the grass, our first of the year.

It had been a very fruitful morning, and we made our way round to Titchwell now for lunch. Afterwards, we headed out onto the reserve. A flock of Common Pochard came up off the new pool in the reeds as we passed and a Great White Egret flew up out of the reedbed and landed again in the reeds further back. A single Great Crested Grebe was out on the reedbed pool. A Marsh Harrier was perched on one of the dead trees at the back.

As it was sunny, we scanned the Freshmarsh from the bank. There are lots of Avocets here, with good numbers on nests, they seem to appreciate the new islands which were created in the works last year. Speaking to the warden who happened to be passing, it is a very good year for them, possibly the third best ever and the best for some time.

There was a little huddle of Dunlin and Turnstones on the edge of the new bund, further back. Several of the Turnstones were in their striking breeding plumage, with lots of white on the head and rich chestnut bands in the upperparts. One helpfully picked its way along the edge of the water straight towards us, so we could get a closer look.

Turnstone – in breeding plumage

There were a couple of Common Sandpipers around the muddy edges of the island. Several Ringed Plovers probably included a mixture of passage northern tundrae and local nominate birds which breed here. A Little Ringed Plover was picking around on the mud right below the bank, so close we could see its golden yellow eye ring with the naked eye.

Little Ringed Plover – close to the path

Scanning the Freshmarsh, we picked up a lone Whimbrel further back on the edge of Avocet Island. We had a look at it through the scope before it took off and flew past us over the bank and off west calling. A small group of Black-tailed Godwits was right over in the far corner. A Spoonbill flew in over the bank, circled the Freshmarsh, and carried on east without stopping.

There were two pair of Common Terns on the new islands, in with the Black-headed Gulls. One of the Common Terns took off and started fishing, hovering right in front of us over the shallow water. When it plunged down into the water, it came back up with a fish in its bill. It flew back to the island and gave it to the female. When it flew back to have another go, a second Common Tern was on the mud below calling and flapping its wings. We weren’t sure what was going on at first, but the second tern took off and the two started fighting, locked together, tumbling down into the water!

Common Tern – fishing on the Freshmarsh

Four Little Terns appeared, and chased each other round and round, landing briefly on the new bund. A Sandwich Tern dropped in with the gulls, long enough for us to get a good look at it through the scope, before it flew off towards Scolt. There was a Little Gull here too, a 1st summer. It was swimming on the water out towards the Parrinder bank at first, then flew round showing off the distinctive ‘w’ upperwing pattern, before it landed again on the mud and went to sleep.

Four Little Terns appeared, and chased each other round and round, landing briefly on the new bund. A Sandwich Tern dropped in with the gulls, long enough for us to get a good look at it through the scope, before it flew off towards Scolt. There was a Little Gull here too, a 1st summer. It was swimming on the water out towards the Parrinder bank at first, then flew round showing off the distinctive ‘w’ upperwing pattern, before it landed again on the mud and went to sleep.

There were lots of Swifts and hirundines hawking out over the Freshmarsh and the reedbed, but despite looking through carefully, we couldn’t find anything unusual in with them. As we had seen this morning, they are on the move at the moment and stopping off here to feed.

We made our way on, out towards the beach. The tide was in, and the Volunteer Marsh channel was full of water. A group of Oystercatchers was roosting on the island on the Tidal Pools, and another Common Tern and a Little Tern were hunting close to the bank. We stopped to watch two Spoonbills feeding on a saltmarsh pool opposite, sweeping their bills side to side through the shallow water. They seemed to be finding lots of food.

Little Tern – on Tidal Pools

Out at the beach, there were some little groups of Sanderlings still on the shoreline. We had a quick look at the sea which produced six Common Scoter out on the water, and five distant Gannets flying past. Then we headed back.

Back at the Freshmarsh, the Little Gull was awake again and much closer now than it had been earlier, so we stopped for another look before heading back to the car park. A very dainty small gull, we had a great view as it picked for insects on the water’s surface.

Little Gull – a first summer

Before we headed for home, we decided to have a very quick look at Ringstead. There had been no reports of the Dotterel yesterday in the rain, and as we had driven past earlier we could see there was no one looking today. Whilst there had been a big clear out of waders along the coast on Tuesday night, the Dotterel often stay later than this, so we figured we should at least have a go.

As we walk up the lane, we could hear a Yellowhammer singing behind us, and looked back to see a smart yellow male perched in the top of a hawthorn. A Wheatear was out in the middle of the field opposite. There were lots of Brown Hares here too – we stopped to watch three chasing each other in circles and even boxing briefly, before they lost interest.

Brown Hares – chasing

Perhaps unsurprisingly there was no sign of any Dotterel now in the field they had been frequenting – nothing ventured. There were several Stock Doves and a few Red-legged Partridges. A Skylark at the back of the bare field opposite looked like it might be something more interesting in the heat haze until we got a closer look.

It was time to head back. As we walked back along the lane, three Whimbrel flew over calling and disappeared off north, a reminder that wader migration continues. It had been a good start to the tour – we were looking forward to more tomorrow.

27th Nov 2021 – Early Winter Tour, Day 2

Day 2 of a three day Early Winter Tour. With a Met Office ‘yellow warning’ in place for high winds, the original weather forecast for today was looking very rough, but by the day the worst prognostications had been revised and even then the outcome was nowhere near as bad as it could have been. Again!

It was drizzling on and off as we drove east to Cley, but once we arrived and parked at Walsey Hills, it had stopped. A dead Water Vole in the layby looked like it had unfortunately been run over. A quick scan revealed a pair of Gadwall with the Mallard on Snipes Marsh, a Canada Goose on the grazing marsh opposite and a pair of Mute Swans in the channel, all new birds for the trip list.

While it was dry, we decided to walk up East Bank first. There was not much on Don’s Pool, just a couple of Shelduck, and a Marsh Harrier was quartering the reedbed beyond. We could see dark clouds away to the west, and a rainbow over the hides.

Rainbow – looking out over the reedbed

We stopped to scan Pope’s Pool there were lots of ducks and a few Cormorants on the islands. We could make out several Dunlin with a couple of Redshank along the near edge. There were more ducks on the Serpentine, mainly Wigeon and Teal. Another flock of Dunlin flew in and dropped down on the mud.

We could see another rainbow ahead of us now, and more dark clouds coming in off the sea straight towards us. So we hurried on to the shelter overlooking Arnold’s Marsh.

Out of the squally wintry shower, we could scan the pool at our leisure. There were a few more waders on here, more Redshank and a couple of Curlews. Lots of Dunlin were trying to find shelter behind the vegetation on the shingle islands, along with a single Grey Plover and one Turnstone. Four more Turnstone dropped in, as did a couple of Ringed Plovers.

Redshank – one of several on Arnold’s

There were more Cormorants on here too, presumably taking a break from the raging sea beyond, and a few Great Black-backed Gulls. We talked about the identification of large gulls and took a closer look as we waited for the squall to pass.

Scanning the brackish pool behind, ten Little Grebes were swimming together and diving out on the water. There was a good selection of ducks – lots of Shoveler, and more Gadwall, but we couldn’t see any sign the Pintail on here today.

A dog walker had passed us on our way out, carrying a pair of binoculars, and we could now see him watching the Snow Buntings out on the shingle ridge, the birds occasionally flying up and whirling round. As he made his way back, he popped into the shelter to tell us they were there, so when the weather cleared, we headed out to see if we could see them a bit closer.

A Little Egret was huddled behind the reeds on the pool down below the path, but flew off as we approached. We had a quick look at the sea when we got to the shingle, but it looked quite quiet – bird-wise at least it was quiet, the sea was predictably very rough. A Gannet flew past just offshore. We turned east and dropped down out of the wind into the lee of shingle ridge.

The Snow Buntings were very mobile at first. They were in a large flock, about 60 of them, and we could see them whirl round as we walked out and then land on the beach side of the ridge. We looked over the ridge where we thought they had dropped but spooked them again as we stuck our heads over. They flew and landed on the shingle again a little further along. We approached carefully, but then noticed another dogwalker coming the other way and sure enough they flew off again as he approached. This time they went much further, landing some way out in the fenced off area north of Sea Pool.

We walked over to the far side of their favourite feeding area, to position ourselves for when they flew back in. As one of the group walked up, he almost trod on one Snow Bunting which hadn’t flown off with the others. It didn’t seem in the least worried and continued feeding just a couple of metres from us, totally unfazed. Amazing views!

Snow Bunting – amazingly tame

While we were admiring the lone Snow Bunting, the rest of the flock flew back in and landed very close to us too. The single bird then picked its way round past us to join them, and we watched the whole group feeding now at close range. It was interesting to see the mixture of dark and paler birds – as well as variation due to age and sex, there are two races of Snow Bunting which mix together in winter here on the coast, paler Scandinavian nivalis and darker Icelandic insulae.

Snow Buntings – the rest of the flock flew back in

We kept one eye on the sea, but there didn’t appear to be much moving offshore, a steady passage of gulls, and a few divers past. We could see very dark grey clouds and rain away to the east – we had been lucky with the window of weather out here watching the Snow Buntings, but we knew it wouldn’t last so decided to head back before weather turned again.

As we made our way back along the East Bank, there were some Black-tailed Godwits now on the Serpentine, and lots more Dunlin feeding on the muddy edges. A small flock of Linnets dropped in too. As we approached Don’s Pool, a Kingfisher shot past high over the grazing marshes and across the bank back towards the road. We thought it dropped down into the main catchwater drain, but there was no sign of it there when we got back. A Kestrel was hovering over the front of Walsey Hills.

Back to Walsey Hills, we continued on past Snipe’s Marsh and down footpath into bushes, out of the wind. There was a nice selection of tits and finches coming and going from the feeders, but the rest of the bushes were quiet. The willows at the back were still catching the wind. Out at the back, we scanned the fields beyond. A mixed flock of Lapwings and Golden Plover were feeding on the winter wheat. On the hillside behind North Foreland Woods, a Woodpigeon and a Stock Dove were both on the wires, the latter noticeably smaller. A Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over.

Back to the minibus, we drove round to the Visitors Centre at Cley for a coffee break and a chance to warm up. Afterwards, we still had some time before lunch, so we drove back east and on towards Salthouse. We had seen some Brent Geese in the distance from the shelter out at Arnold’s Marsh earlier. They were still in the field next to the road, but we couldn’t see them well from this angle and another car was already in the layby further up.

We drove on further. There was no sign of any Pinkfeet on the marshes at Salthouse today, they were probably feeding inland, so we went to see if there were any gulls loafing in the fields by Beach Road. There were, but unfortunately there were no white-winged gulls with them. We did pick out a rather dark grey-backed adult Herring Gull, a bird of the northern argentatus race.

We turned round and went back to look at the Brent Geese from a different angle. They had moved, but we found we could get a better view from the road opposite Babcock Hide now. One bird on the front edge of the flock stood out, noticeably darker-bodied, the Black Brant. We managed to park and got out very carefully, without flushing the flock.

Black Brant – with the Dark-bellied Brents

Once the geese settled again, we were able to get the scope on the Black Brant and compare it with the rest of the flock, most of which were the regular Dark-bellied Brents. Scanning through, we found a single Pale-bellied Brent too. A three Brent subspecies flock!

Back to Cley and we drove out to the beach car park now. We stopped for lunch in the lee of the beach shelter. A Grey Seal had hauled itself out on the top of the shingle ridge, and looked back occasionally at the raging surf where several large bulls were lingering in the breakers.

Grey Seal – pulled out on the beach

Speaking to the people who had been seawatching here all day, there had been a couple of Glaucous Gulls patrolling up and down the shore earlier, so we kept one eye open while we were eating. After lunch, we found some space in the east side of the shelter, out of the wind, and scanned more thoroughly.

One of the group picked up a distant skua offshore, just as a heavy squall came in over the sea, and a quick view through the scope before it was engulfed by the rain confirmed it was a juvenile Pomarine Skua. That was hard to get onto, but a group of three Great Skuas was much more obliging, as they came through west really close inshore, a great view.

Great Skua – one of a group of three

There were several Red-throated Divers and Guillemots moving, and a steady passage of ducks passing. A female Eider flew in and landed on the sea just offshore. There were several flocks of Common Scoter, one group being led by a single drake Goosander. Also quite a few Wigeon, and a female Pintail at the head of one group of those.

There was a steady trickle of waders past too – mostly Dunlin, but also a group of four Knot, several Grey Plovers, and a Ringed Plover. About thirty Snow Buntings flew west along the beach, possibly some of the birds we had been watching at close quarters earlier.

There were lots of gulls just offshore, but no sign of either Glaucous Gull at first. Quite a few Kittiwakes were moving, some nice and close, a mixture of adults and juveniles. A distant Little Gull was quickly lost in the troughs, but then a shout from someone in the car park alerted us to two juveniles coming in behind us which flew right past.

Eventually one of the Glaucous Gulls put in an appearance, coming in along the beach behind the pill box. A biscuit coloured juvenile, it immediately stood out with its very pale wingtips. It arced up into the air several times, dropping back down to the breakers again, and we thought it might carry on straight past us, but disappeared back east.

It was a really productive seawatch for an hour or so, but the light was already just starting to go when some much darker, thicker clouds started to roll in. The skies looked quite apocaplyptic away towards Salthouse and as the bad weather approached us too, we decided to get into the minibus to warm up, and start to make our way slowly back.

We called in briefly at Morston, but there was still too much water in the channel for there to be much feeding here, the tide held up by the wind today. All we could see from the warmth of the bus were a couple of Redshank and Curlew, a single Black-tailed Godwit and a Little Egret.

We thought we might try to catch some geese to end the day at Holkham, but the light had gone by the time got there, and the driving rain was sweeping across the marshes on the 50mph wind gusts. We had done very well all things considered. It was time to call it a day and try again tomorrow.

26th August 2021 – Woods, Fen & Marshes

A Private Tour today, in North Norfolk. It was a cloudy and grey day, with a blustery and cool northerly wind, but it stayed pretty much dry throughout and we enjoyed a good day out and saw a nice selection of different things.

With the wind still coming off the Continent, we decided to have a quick look in Wells Woods again first thing, to see if anything had arrived overnight. As we made our way in from the car park, we stopped to have a quick look at the boating lake. As usual, there were several Little Grebes and three Tufted Ducks out on the water. We heard a Kingfisher call, but couldn’t see it and then a minute or so later two Kingfishers appeared right at the back, chasing each other back and forth across the water, before disappearing back through the trees.

The birches were relatively sheltered from the wind, but despite this there was nothing much in here today – we could hear a couple of Coal Tits in the pines beyond. We continued in round the Dell, which was similarly quiet – we heard a couple of Chiffchaffs and one or two Jays screeching. It sounded like the tit flock was up in the top of the pines today. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from somewhere deep in the trees. It was a bit more exposed in the open area south of the main track, which was pretty much devoid of birds on a quick circuit this morning. There clearly were not large numbers of freshly arrived migrants so we decided to move on.

Driving east along the coast road, we stopped next at Stiffkey. It was spitting very lightly with rain when we arrived, but a female Marsh Harrier was hunting the field right next to where we were parked so we watched it from inside the minibus. By the time it had drifted off north, the rain had stopped. Given the weather, it probably wasn’t a great surprise that we didn’t see many butterflies or dragonflies along the footpath today. We did have one Speckled Wood in the trees.

A Stock Dove flew over was we walked along the permissive path by the road and a Chiffchaff was calling in the copse at the end, but otherwise it was quiet along here (apart from the traffic!). A Common Buzzard was hanging in the air over the south end of the Fen when we got out of the trees on the other side of the road and through the first kissing gate, and a late House Martin was still around the house on the top of the hill. A little further along a Chiffchaff and a lemon-yellow Willow Warbler flitted out of the sallows by the river briefly.

The vegetation is now too tall to see across to the Fen from the path, but there is one area where you can just about see through the reeds. The Spoonbills were not in their usual place, on the grass at the south end, but had moved back to the high point of the island, in the corner by the reeds, out of view from the seawall. We found a gap in the reeds through which we could just about see them. There were a lot fewer than recent days too – only about twelve or so today, compared to 50+ previously.

Spoonbills – only a dozen or so today

We could see a lot more water on the Fen even from here and hear that water was still being allowed to run on, through the sluice from the river. The water level had perhaps been getting a bit low but it is a bit early to flood it for the winter wildfowl, with lots of passage waders still to come through. The Spoonbills also usually utilise the site well into September.

We continued on and up onto the seawall, where we were out in the face of the wind. We could now see that the south end of the island was submerged and there was no exposed mud. All the birds were packed into the areas of grass which remained above the flood. There were lots of gulls and a few ducks, mainly Mallard and Teal, and Greylags.

The tide was high in the harbour, and many waders usually roost on the Fen over high tide. There were still lots of Black-tailed Godwits and Redshanks on here, but they were packed in tightly with the gulls and wildfowl. We counted at least 30 Greenshanks too, but they were now having to roost up to their bellies in water as there was no room anywhere else. One decided to see if it could find somewhere better and flew out over the seawall past us. We watched it fly up the harbour channel, checking out the edges, then out over the saltmarsh. It was a big tide today, higher than normal backed by the strong north wind, and there was nowhere for it to go, so it turned and flew back in to the Fen.

Greenshank – trying to find somewhere to roost out in the harbour

We had a quick look out at the harbour, but it was rather breezy. We could see lots of seals pulled out on the shingle on the end of Blakeney Point. With the very high tide, there were few birds out on the remaining areas of saltmarsh, just a Little Egret which came up from the vegetation briefly. We decided to head back.

Carrying on east, we stopped next at Cley. The vote was for an early lunch first, and we managed to make use of the picnic tables overlooking the reserve, despite the breeze. Afterwards, we headed out to the hides.

We went into Teal Hide first. The wind had pushed the water back and the waders were further over today. Most of the Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff were roosting in the shallows in the lee of the island. In amongst them, we could see three eclipse drake Wigeon, our first of the autumn. Someone kindly drew our attention to a Wood Sandpiper which had just appeared from behind the reeds. We watched it feeding in and out of the vegetation, presumably finding some shelter in there. At least five Meadow Pipits were feeding in the edge of the reeds in front of the hide too, presumably trying to find shelter from the wind.

When we looked up as a few Greylags flew in from over the reedbed at the back, we noticed a Common Crane dropping down over the scrape too. Not something you often expect to see when you look up from the window of the hide! The Crane turned into the wind right in front of the hide and gradually lost height as it dropped over the reedy ditch and disappeared down onto Simmond’s Scrape, next door.

Common Crane – flew in right in front of the hide

One of the locals came running round from Avocet Hide to tell us the Crane was on Simmond’s Scrape, so we went round there to see it. We had fill-the-frame views through the scope as it walked across the middle to the island – stunning! It stood for a while looking round, picking at the ground, then walked back across the scrape to the reeds on the far side, where it proceeded to look for food, dwarfing the Little Egrets which were back there too.

Common Crane – walked across the middle of the scrape

There were more waders on here. A mobile flock of Dunlin also held two juvenile Little Stints, which we got a good look at through the scope. We could see how small they were relative to the Dunlin, itself not a large wader. Two Ringed Plovers were out on the mud at the back and a couple of Green Sandpipers were feeding in the back corner, and kept flying round calling, while a third was on Whitwell Scrape. Two Common Snipe were hiding in the edge of the low cut reeds along the back edge. There were more Black-tailed Godwits on here, including a couple of smart rusty juveniles of the islandica subspecies, and a couple of Avocets.

From the hides, we walked back to the Visitor Centre. After a quick facilities break, we drove the short distance along the road to Walsey Hills. We were heading for the East Bank but as we passed Snipe’s Marsh we stopped to watch several Little Grebes out on the water. One adult was feeding two well grown but still stripy-headed juveniles – whenever the adult surfaced with a fish, either one or both juveniles would swim towards it calling, but interestingly one would turn and swim away if its more boisterous sibling was coming too. If its sibling was already busy with a fish, it would take the opportunity to be fed.

Little Grebes – an adult with one of its two juveniles

Crossing the road, we could see a couple of Mute Swans in the catchwater drain and as we got nearer we found a female Tufted Duck with a brood of three almost fully-grown ducklings in there too. From the start of the bank, we could see a female Gadwall on Don’s Pool with five also almost fully-grown ducklings of its own.

Tufted Ducks – a female with three ducklings

A couple of Curlew flew up out of the grass and scanning the grazing marshes we found there were actually more than fifty hiding in the vegetation, out of the wind. A Grey Heron was hiding in the long grass right at the back, in front of the reeds. While we were scanning, our attention was caught by a distant Little Gull on Pope’s Pool. We had a quick look at it from here just in case it should fly off before we got closer. A young Marsh Harrier drifted over from the reedbed and circled overhead.

Marsh Harrier – drifted overhead

Continuing on up, we stopped to scan the Serpentine. There were more waders on here – lots of Black-tailed Godwits and several Common Snipe. More godwits kept flying in from the direction of the reserve and dropping down to join them. Along the north edge, we got the scope on a Common Sandpiper, and at one point had it together with two Green Sandpipers, a Common Snipe and a Curlew all together in the same view.

Godwits & Snipe – feeding on the Serpentine

The Little Gull helpfully flew in from Pope’s Pool and landed on the Serpentine, much closer to us. It swam slowly towards a Black-headed Gull which was feeding on the edge of the mud. The Black-headed Gull chased the Little Gull off, but not before we had managed to get a good view of the size difference between the two.

It was windy up on the East Bank, so we headed for the shelter overlooking Arnold’s Marsh. The water level on here has gone up significantly – presumably the high tides and strong winds had caused either some overtopping of the shingle or the water had leached through. There were still a few things to see. A single Greenshank was busy feeding with a small number of Redshanks in the flooded samphire – much paler by comparison. An eclipse drake Shoveler was asleep nearby – looking rather rusty brown, a bright blue line of its wing coverts was just visible above its flanks.

There were still a few terns on here – several Sandwich Terns, with their shaggy punk crests and yellow-tipped black bills and a single Common Tern sheltering down on the north side, with slicked back crown and black-tipped red bill. Four Avocets were roosting on the end of the spit which also held more godwits and Redshanks. A Brown Hare had found a sheltered spot over that side too, in the lee of some of the thicker grass.

You can’t come out all this way and not at least have a look at the sea, so we braved the elements and walked on up to the beach. The sea was pretty rough and impressive today too. Several Golden Plover flew along the shingle ridge on our way up – two came in by Sea Pool and flew west, followed by three along the beach just as we arrived. They hinted that things may be on the move but there was no sign of anything out to sea now.

It was bracing out on the beach and it was time to head for home now, so we turned our backs to the wind and walked back.