10th June 2023 – Early Summer, Day 2 & Nightjar Evening

Day 1 of a 3-day Summer Tour. What a difference a day makes! Today was bright and sunny, and much warmer, up to 20C already by 9am and a maximum of 22C in the afternoon, despite a freshening east wind. We spent the day down in the Broads and then went out again in the evening to look for Nightjars.

Our destination for the morning was Hickling. As we arrived in the car park, a Willow Warbler was singing. One of the wardens was just setting up for a children’s moth morning in the car park and kindly gave us a couple of his surplus moths to look at – the Reed Leopard was much rarer, found only in the UK in the Norfolk Broads and a couple of other restricted sites, but the Poplar Hawkmoth proved more popular!

Reed Leopard moth

We went to try and check in at the Visitor Centre as the door was open, but we were told they were actually still closed and the door was promptly shut. We thought we would go out for a walk first and check in later. Then we were just walking past when someone came running out chasing us for permits, despite the fact that the Centre was not actually due to open until 10am. It was then very slow to process everyone through and we should probably have gone out and focused on birding first.

We eventually got away, and walked down towards the Stubb Mill track. A Swallowtail butterly flew over the path ahead of us but disappeared straight over the hedge the other side. Still, a good omen to see one on the wing already.

At the first pool, we could see a Spoonbill feeding at the back, but it quickly disappeared into the vegetation. We could hear Common Cranes bugling, but couldn’t see well from here due to the bushes lining the track, although we eventually managed to see one flying round and dropping into the reeds through a gap.

Great White Egrets – four with a Little Egret

There were four Great White Egrets together on the back of the next compartment. We had a better view of them when we got to the first platform and could look over the bank, feeding together with a couple of Little Egrets and a Grey Heron for size comparison. There were a few waders on here too – a single Greenshank with some Redshank, a Common Snipe, lots of Black-tailed Godwits, a couple of Avocets and a few Lapwings, but there was no sign of the Black-winged Stilt which had been here earlier. There was a nice selection of ducks to – another Wigeon, a couple of Teal, plus several Shoveler and lots of Gadwall.

As we continued on along the track, there were several dragonflies flying now in the sunshine – Four-spotted Chasers and our first Norfolk Hawkers of the year (in Norfolk at least!). Damselflies included nice views of Variable Damselfly.

Variable Damselfly

When we got down to the corner, we discovered that the Black-winged Stilt had just flown off. We had only missed it by a few minutes, so we would probably have seen it if it hadn’t taken so long in the Visitor Centre! There were several Tundra Ringed Plover on the scrape still and we had nice views of a Little Ringed Plover in the scope. We could see several Spoonbills in the trees beyond. A Hobby circled high over the middle of the reeds, catching insects on the wing, but drifted off away from us. Two more Cranes flew in from beyond the dead trees, but dropped down out of view.

There was no sign of the Stilt returning, so we set off back along the track. We hadn’t gone far before two more Cranes circled up over the reeds. They were trying to find a thermal so we had much better views now, as they gained height, before eventually heading off to the north, over the track ahead of us and away over the wood beyond.

Common Cranes – circled up

Back at the junction, we turned left and walked out along the Whiteslea Track. A Garden Warbler was singing from the back of the overflow car park as we passed. We had a look back at the first compartment of Brendan’s Marsh from the viewing mound, but we couldn’t see anything we hadn’t seen earlier. We were hoping for more Swallowtails now but it was a bit breezy here, and then a couple of people said the Swallowtails showing very well along the path past the Lodge, so we carried on down towards the Broad.

We stopped briefly by Bittern Hide where we heard a Bittern booming. We were surprised we hadn’t seen any feeding flights, as we normally do at this time of year, though possibly the breeding season is behind schedule this year due to the cold spring weather.

Along the path towards the Observatory tower, we found a couple of people watching a Swallowtail. It was resting on a thistle at first, with its wings up, but then flew round and landed on a grass stem right beside the path. There are not many flowers out after the recent cold weather, no nectar sources, so it was interesting to watch this one feeding on grasses.

Swallowtail – nectaring on grass

We had a quick look from the Observatory, so we could see the Broad. Two Common Terns flew round and landed on one of the posts marking the channel. There were lots of Mute Swans on the water beyond, along with Coots and a couple of Great Crested Grebes, typical of the deep water broads. Further on, a Grasshopper Warbler reeled briefly. We stopped to listen, but unfortunately it had gone quiet.

Further round, once we got into the lee of the trees, we found several more Swallowtails, another 3-4. One was wanting to come down to feed on a Flag Iris by the path, but was possibly put off by all the admiring people and landed on a reed stem a little further out.

A couple of Great Spotted Woodpeckers called from the wood and we watched them flying through the trees and landing briefly. As we turned back along the path towards the Visitor Centre, we could hear a Bearded Tit calling, but it went quiet. At the mention of lunch, the walking pace accelerated notably and only the laggards heard more Bearded Tits, and had a couple of brief flight views. At the pond dipping platform, a Willow Warbler was singing in a willow above our heads.

It was time for lunch, so we set in the picnic area – it was so warm and sunny, we even sat in the shade. How different to yesterday! The Garden Warbler was still singing in the trees beyond and another Hobby zipped over just above us. The ice cream at the Visitor Centre proved particularly popular today, with the rhubarb & ginger a personal favourite although various flavours were tried by the group! We were just finishing lunch when another Swallowtail flew in around the bushes in the picnic area.

We had walked a good way already today, and probably couldn’t manage a lot more in the heat, so we headed down to Potter Heigham Marshes to see what we could find on the pools. It was a good day for Swallowtails – as we found another one nectaring on vetch by the track as we arrived and then had several more fly over. They had clearly emerged in numbers in the warmth.

Four-spotted Chaser

Up onto the bank, we had a slow walk along, scanning the pools. There were lots of ducks, including more Wigeon and several Common Pochard, but no sign of any Garganey this afternoon. We noticed a Cuckoo in the trees and got it in the scope. When it took off, it flew across the path in front of us and out into the reedbed, where it landed in a small alder tree. A flock of Avocets flew past, there were a couple of Cetti’s Warblers calling and several Reed Warblers in the reeds.

We walked down along the edge of Candledyke, but once we got out of the shelter of the trees, it was very windy. We were hoping we might find Bearded Tits here, but there was no sign of any now and they were probably hiding in the bottom of the reeds. As we were heading out again this evening, we had to be back in good time today, so with a long drive back to base we decided to call it a day.

Nightjar Evening

We headed out again after dinner, driving up to the coast, past the barn where the Little Owls were last year but which is now almost completed development into a house. Sad. There was no sign of any Barn Owl activity along the coast road, but a Spoonbill flew out of the trees at Cley and dropped down towards Snipe’s Marsh, where it appeared to flush a second Spoonbill up from the pool, and they both flew off. There was no sign of any Barn Owls the other side of Cley either. A Kestrel was still out, and landed in a dead tree.

We decided to try our luck inland, and hadn’t got far when we spotted a Barn Owl disappearing behind some trees. From further up, we could see it again, flying back behind us over the field. We turned round, and tried to follow it, turning down a side road which would take us down to where it was heading, but by the time we got there it had disappeared.

It was already time to be heading up to the heath, so we drove on. We parked in the trees and walked out onto the open heath. We could hear Stonechats calling and spotted a couple perched on the gorse in the gloom, a male with a couple of streaky juveniles. We had not been here long before the first Nightjar started churring – they were early tonight. It was rather distant, right out in the middle, but we stopped to listen.

Another Nightjar churred briefly much closer, so we walked over just in time to hear it call and see the male flying round, flashing the white in wings and tail. One landed on a branch, and although it was hard to see against the dark trees we managed to get it in the scope. Thankfully it stayed for a minute or so, so we could all get a look at it.

Nightjar – perched on a branch

When it took off again, there were now at least three Nigthjars flying round, a couple of males and one female without the white flashes. The original male was still churring out in the middle on and off, and another male started churring further along. It was nice now to just stand and listen. A Tawny Owl hooted in the distance, and we could hear Roe Deer barking too.

Nightjar – a male with white wing flashes

As we stood and listened, we had several more flight views of Nightjars overhead and hunting for moths around the trees. Then as it started to get dark, it was time to head back. We bumped into one of the locals, a regular on the heath, who monitors the Nightjars, and he related the story of a recent egg theft of one of the nests. Shocking that such practices still occur.

On the drive back to base, another Tawny Owl flew over the road and landed on the wires as we passed. Then it was time for bed for a few hours – we were going to be out again tomorrow.

21st Jan 2023 – Broads Winter Day

A Group Day Tour down in the Broads. It was a cold night and a very frosty start, but with clear skies it was a gloriously crisp and sunny winter’s day. Great weather to be out birding.

As we met in the car park down in the Broads, a Great Tit was singing from across the frozen water opposite and a Chaffinch was singing from the other side of the road, a reminder that spring is on its way, even if it didn’t feel like it at the moment! Our first destination for the morning was the Trinity Broads and as we pulled up in the car park we could see that Ormesby Little Broad looked largely frozen. We crossed the road to the boardwalk overlooking Filby Broad and it was largely frozen too. A Mute Swan was out in the middle, trying to crack the ice ahead of it to get to the near side.

Mute Swan – ice breaker

Thankfully there was a small patch of open water remaining, although it was over towards the far end and chock full of ducks. Not easy to find the more interesting ones in the throng of Coot, Tufted Ducks and Common Pochard. We quickly located three redhead Smew which were dozing on the edge of the open water, along with a few Goldeneye, and the drake Red-crested Pochard which was on a smaller and not so congested patch of water behind. A 1st winter drake (Greater) Scaup was in the middle of the ducks and trickier to see but the Ferruginous Duck was hardest of all to locate, as it was mostly asleep and kept disappearing into the melee.

Ducks – including Smew & Goldeneye

There were lots of Shoveler out on the open water too, plus a few Gadwall. While we were scanning, a couple of Marsh Harriers patrolled the reeds around the edge of the Broad, at one point flying over the ducks in the middle which refused to budge. A Great White Egret flew over the trees at the back. As we walked back to the car park, the ivy covered trees by the road were full of Redwings and Blackbirds, which were so busy feeding they ignored us as we walked past.

Redwing – feeding in the ivy

The ditch under the trees was free of ice and several Mallards were enjoying it. We have seen Kingfisher in here before, so we walked up along the path towards Ormesby Little Broad, but quickly discovered someone else was walking ahead of us and anything on the ditch would have been disturbed. There were fewer birds then normal in the trees here too, although a Green Woodpecker laughed at us as we walked out onto the platform at the end.

The Broad here was also largely frozen, with a very small patch of open water populated by a few Tufted Ducks and a couple of Great Crested Grebes and Teal. It felt like we wouldn’t see much here. Then a Kingfisher flashed low over the ice and glowed electric blue as it turned and landed in the trees over the far side. We had just set up the scope on it when a large bird flew through our view. Bittern! We had a great view as it flew past and away across the Broad, disappearing into the reeds over the far side. What a bonus!

Bittern – flew across in front of us

The Kingfisher flew off into the trees to our left, but then came out again and landed where it had been earlier, perched in full view. With fewer distractions, we could really enjoy it now. A little while later, the Bittern flew up again and dropped in further along. A Marsh Harrier circled over it at one point but didn’t flush it again. There were a couple of Grey Herons sunning themselves in the trees, along with a Common Buzzard and three Cormorants.

It was time to move on, so we walked back to the minibus and drove off to look for Common Cranes next. We pulled up in a layby overlooking some fields which they have been favouring in recent days and quickly spotted a small group feeding in the grass on the edge of some stubble. We got out and trained the scopes on them – eventually counting 13 together here, some smart adults with the red stripe on their crowns catching the sunlight and some family groups with browner juveniles still in tow.

Common Cranes – we saw 32 today

Another five Cranes were just visible on the edge of a maize strip further back. As we stood and watched, some of the birds started bugling – what a wonderful sound! Then the thirteen started to walk out into the middle of the neighbouring field and took to the air in small groups, landing again further over. Great birds to watch here in the wonderful crisp winter sun. A big flock of Meadow Pipits came up out of the field next to us and when we could tear our attention away from the Crane spectacle we turned the scopes on a nearby hedge which was full of Yellowhammers and Reed Buntings.

Moving on, after a quick loo stop in Martham, we took the coast road up towards Horsey. We could see lots of Pink-footed Geese in one of the fields along the straight so stopped and got out for a closer look. One of the group noticed a lone Common Snipe on the front of a patch of water in the grass just beyond the reeds in front of us and when we looked we realised there were probably at least fifty of them scattered around the grass in front of the geese. There were a few Marsh Harriers over the reeds behind us, and then we noticed a slimmer harrier flying across too. A ringtail Hen Harrier, we got the scopes on it but it quickly disappeared behind the birch trees.

Golden Plover – by the coast road

Continuing on round, some Fieldfares came up from a field by the road but disappeared back into some trees. The next field on held a huge flock of Golden Plover, which we admired from the minibus before they were all spooked and took to the air. Further still, we could see some shapes in a distant field, but with cars behind us we couldn’t easily stop. We pulled into the next gateway and looking back through the trees we could see they were more Cranes – 10 together here. Our Crane total was growing rapidly!

We cut inland next, for a quick circuit of Ludham Airfield. There had been some Whooper Swans here in the last week, but there was no sign of them today, although we did pass one field with around 60 Egyptian Geese! It was getting on time for lunch, so we carried on further south to Strumpshaw, where we could make use of the picnic tables overlooking the feeders. Two male Great Spotted Woodpeckers were chasing through the trees above the road as we parked. Lots of Blue Tits and Great Tits were coming in to the feeders, a Coal Tit appeared several times and a flock of Long-tailed Tits passed through at one point, but there was no sign of any Marsh Tits today and the trees around the Reception Hide were quieter than they sometimes can be. A Song Thrush was singing behind us.

Long-tailed Tit – under the feeders

After lunch, we had a quick look at Buckenham. There were not many geese out here today – a few Canada Geese and Greylags further over, and a lone goose along the edge by the railway line turned out to be just a single Pink-footed Goose when we it came out of the ditch. There were lots of Wigeon over the far side and a couple of Common Buzzards on the gateposts in the middle. A female Stonechat kept perching obligingly on the rushes in front of us. With time getting on, we decided against walking all the way to the river, and set off back towards Ludham.

Our final destination for the day was St Benet’s. The car park was the fullest we have seen it today, but perhaps not a surprise given the weather. We managed to find somewhere to park, and walked out and up onto the site of the old Abbey. It is a wonderful spot, on slightly raised ground, with a panoramic view of the surrounding marshes. A wonderful place just to be on a crisp winter’s afternoon.

We could see a large herd of swans in the distance and quickly got the scopes on them. As well as several Mute Swans, there were at least ten Bewick’s Swans too. We admired the squared off yellow on their bills. It wasn’t long before the first Barn Owl was out, followed by more, and at least we counted at least four, the minimum number we could see all simultaneously. Fantastic to watch them hunting in the low late sunshine, and a couple of times one landed in the hedge, where we could get a great view of it through the scope. They weren’t having it all to themselves though, as a couple of times we saw one of the local Kestrels go after them – the Kestrels are notorious thieves, and would happily steal a vole if one of the Barn Owls gave them a chance.

Barn Owl – one of several

A stunning grey male Hen Harrier appeared, low over the marshes beyond. It landed on a fence post, where we could get in the scopes for a while, before it resumed quartering the marshes. A little later, we saw a ringtail Hen Harrier and kept seeing what was presumably the same bird repeatedly, although we couldn’t rule out that there weren’t actually two. We picked up a family of four Common Cranes way off on the far side of the marshes – even at that distance, we could hear them bugling at times. That took our total to a massive 32 different Cranes for the day – a significant proportion of the only 200+ total UK population!

The Short-eared Owls were curiously inactive this evening, particularly considering how active the Barn Owls were, but when a Marsh Harrier flew in low over the marshes, suddenly a Short-eared Owl appeared with it. The two of them circled up high above the hedge, before the Marsh Harrier drifted off and the Short-eared Owl dropped back down to the marshes out of view. We walked down to the gate at the far end, but couldn’t find it again. What was presumably the same ringtail Hen Harrier was distantly out over the marshes and one of the Barn Owls was hunting round and round over the grass and reeds in front of us. We had nice views of a Red Fox out on the marshes too.

Short-eared Owl – flushed by a Marsh Harrier

As we walked back up to the top of the rise, by the remains of the old Abbey, several long lines of Cormorants were flying past, heading inland to roost. One of the Barn Owls was still hunting round the margin of the Abbey grounds. The sun was going down away to the west – what a view! It was unfortunately time to head for home.

16th Jan 2023 – Winter in the Broads

A Private Tour today, down in the Broads. It was meant to be brighter with a risk of wintry showers around the middle of the day, but it wasn’t. A front was originally meant to clear through overnight, but we drove into it as we made our way down to the Broads and it ended up spitting with rain on and off for much of the day, with wintry showers arriving later afternoon. Thankfully it wasn’t bad enough to stop us getting out and having a great day.

As we arrived at Ludham, we stopped to talk to one of the locals who was going the other way and he told us that the Taiga Bean Geese at St Benet’s had just been spooked but had landed again further back, where they were harder to see. There were some Whooper Swans around the pool on the left of the track as we drove in and some distant swans behind the reeds the other side, but we couldn’t find the geese at first.

We drove down to the car park at the end, then back to the pull in where we got out to scan. We couldn’t see the other swans from here, so we walked further along the road until we found a gap in the trees and there were the Taiga Bean Geese, visible in the next meadow over, behind a thin line of reeds. We got them in the scope and we could see their mostly orange bills. From here, we could also see that the swans this side were Bewick’s Swans too.

Taiga Bean Geese – the four behind the reeds

There has been a good selection of ducks on the Trinity Broads in recent weeks, so we headed over there next. Our first stop was at Rollesby Broad and the hide at The Waterside. A Kingfisher was perched on the edge of the hide but flew off as we walked in, landing in a bush over the far side. A second Kingfisher flew past. A Marsh Harrier flying over spooked the 4 Smew from where they had been hiding around the corner of the reeds. They landed briefly, then flew again, three continuing up and off over the trees but thankfully the fourth Smew landed again and gave us some great views as it swam around in front of the hide, a young (1st winter) drake, yet to get its distinctive black and white plumage. A large flock of Common Pochard and Tufted Ducks flew over too, flushed from one of the broads.

Smew – a 1st winter drake

We couldn’t see any more ducks from here so we went into The Waterside cafe where we bought hot chocolate – and most delicious it was too! A Little Egret was on the edge of the reeds beside the jetty and one of the Kingfishers flew past again. Next stop was on the causeway between Ormesby and Rollesby Broads. There were few ducks on here now, perhaps having flown off earlier. There was no sign of the Scaup which had been here earlier, just some Tufted Ducks. A Great White Egret stalked through the reeds over the far side and a flock of Long-tailed Tits came through the trees above us.

We decided to try Filby Broad instead, and the cloud finally cleared and it brightened up a little. There had been several different ducks on here earlier, but there was now someone reed cutting along the far edge and a fishing boat out in the middle. Those ducks which hadn’t been spooked had apparently retreated into the far corner, out of view. We scanned from the boardwalk, admiring several Goldeneye while looking through the ducks along the edge to see if anything of interest might emerge. Thankfully, we didn’t have to wait too long until the reedcutter took a break and that was enough for the raft of Tufted Ducks and Common Pochard to emerge. We quickly located two Scaup, a 1st winter drake and a female, and the smart drake Red-crested Pochard with them. There was no sign of any Ferruginous Ducks now though.

A drive round some likely spots looking for Common Cranes next quickly located at least nineteen – a group of four in a field on the edge of a maize strip, plus another three and a group of twelve together.

Common Cranes – a group of four

There had been a raft of Velvet Scoter on the sea off Winterton in recent weeks, and we went to look for those next. We thought we might have a long walk through the dunes, as they had been some way off to the south in the last couple of days, but as we pulled into the car park we scanned the sea and realised we could see them from here. We got out and set the scopes on them, at which point they took off. Helpfully, they flew straight towards us, flashing the white in their wings, and landed much closer, almost straight off the car park. Thirteen Velvet Scoter in total – much better views and no need for a walk! It was windy here and there were some wintry showers threatening again now, so we retreated to the minibus for lunch. When we looked back, the Velvet Scoters had flown off again and were now even more distant off to the south. Lucky timing! As we packed up to go, a Sanderling was running around in the car park.

Velvet Scoters – off Winterton

We were quite keen to have another go and see if we could find any Ferruginous Ducks on the Trinity Broads, figuring that if disturbance had abated they might have returned. There were large numbers of Tufted Ducks and Common Pochard on Rollesby Broad now, so we stopped to look through them. One of the first birds we set eyes on was a female Ferruginous Duck. It was hard looking into the low afternoon sun, which had come back out at first, but much better when some clouds drifted over again. The drake Red-crested Pochard was out with the flock here too now. Across the road, the Great White Egret was now in the front corner of Ormesby Broad. As we walked back to the minibus, a Kingfisher flew in across the car park and towered up high above the trees before crossing the road.

The plan was to finish the day at Stubb Mill today, as we really wanted to see Hen Harrier. The weather was deteriorating again and we sat out one heavy shower in the minibus. There were lots of Marsh Harriers in already and it didn’t take us long to see a ringtail Hen Harrier over the reeds towards the old mill. A short while later it was joined by a second ringtail and then a smart grey male Hen Harrier appeared over the marshes in front of the viewpoint. We had great views of it through the scopes as it flew in. Mission accomplished, we decided to head for home.

14th May 2022 – Spring 4-day Tour, #3

Day 3 of a four day Spring Tour in Norfolk. The wind had dropped today and it was a gloriously bright and sunny day, with just enough high hazy cloud at times and light breeze to stop it getting too hot. We spent the day down in the Broads.

It was a long drive down to Hickling Broad, but as we got out of the minibus in the car park the bushes were alive with birds singing. Walking out from the car park, a Blackcap was singing above our heads and then we stopped to admire a Willow Warbler singing in the top of a tree. We could hear a Cuckoo but way off in the distance.

Willow Warbler – singing in the top of a tree

We turned onto Whiteslea track and walked up towards the viewing mound. As we passed the wood, a couple of Four-spotted Chaser dragonflies were hawking for insects around the trees and one perched nicely on the reeds in the ditch by the path.

Four-spotted Chaser – hawking around the trees

Scanning Brendan’s Marsh from up on the viewing mound, the first bird we saw was a very smart summer plumage Bar-tailed Godwit, very rusty underneath with the colour extending from the head right down to underneath the tail. There were really good numbers of Ringed Plover and Dunlin here too, though mostly asleep, and a Greenshank just behind the line of reeds in the next pool.

A Common Crane came up out of the reeds, and circled round in front of the dead trees. It never gained much height though, and quickly dropped down again out of view.

Common Crane – came up out of the reeds

One of the wardens stopped to catch up and told us where the Temminck’s Stints had been earlier, viewed from over the other side of the marsh. So we walked back to the corner and turned down along the track towards Stubb Mill.

From up on the platform we could see the two Temminck’s Stints. They were close in, on the nearest sandy spit, but partly obscured behind the reeds. Still we had a good view of them in the scope. One of the scarcer spring passage waders here, this is the peak time so it was good to catch up with a couple.

Temminck’s Stint – one of two

A Common Sandpiper was nearby too. There is only space for two people on the platform, so we took it in turns. But there were more people waiting to come up now, so we descended and scanned the marsh from the path below. We could see a Greenshank now in front of the reeds at the back and a very smart Spotted Redshank dropped in, looking its absolute best now in its jet black breeding plumage with silvery spotting.

Walking on, we scanned the next field on the other side of the track and quickly located the male Ring Ouzel on top of a straw bale on the corner of the hedge. We had a look at it in the scope and then it dropped down to feed in and out of the long grass around the base of the trees. Most of the Ring Ouzels which pass through in the spring have gone north already but there are often one or two stragglers, so another nice bird to catch up with here.

We carried on to the far end and up onto the bank. The Black-winged Stilts had been here but there was no sign of them now. Scanning around the marsh we did see another Greenshank and a single Common Snipe feeding in the vegetation. The Spotted Redshank flew past us calling and disappeared off east towards the coast.

Eventually a couple of Black-winged Stilts came up out of the reeds, circled round calling and dropped back in out of view again. A good start, but we really wanted to see one on the ground. While we waited to see if they would come out, we walked up a little further to look at a Wood Sandpiper on another smaller pool. We had a nice view in the scope, but we were distracted then.

First a Bittern came up in the distance, back towards the Whiteslea track. It flew up high and towards us, but rather than dropping in quickly it flew high all the way across the reeds and over the dead trees, before turning and heading out towards Horsey Mere. It brought up another Bittern from the reeds below it and the first turned back, back past the dead trees before finally dropping down. An unusually long flight for a Bittern here at this time of year, but speaking to the warden it seems to be a bird which is wandering widely around the Broad (it has a distinctive feather missing in its left wing).

Bittern – on its long flight

While we were watching the Bittern, the first Hobby of the day appeared, and flew low across over the reeds the other way. And the Stilts came up again at the same time and dropped down towards the scrape. We didn’t know which way to look! Unfortunately the Stilts flew straight back into the reeds again.

We stood for a while and watched, hoping the Stilts would come back again. Another Crane came up over the reeds behind us. There were a couple of Hobbys up now up, and one drifted high overhead. Two Common Buzzards circled up over the trees. The second Bittern was booming from the reeds now, presumably stirred into action by the interloper flying over.

By the time we turned our attention back to the Wood Sandpiper, it had disappeared in all the excitement earlier, before everyone had seen it. We walked back to the viewing platform, where there were meant to be a couple of others. A male Marsh Harrier circled over the path ahead of us. The Ring Ouzel was now out in the middle of the field, next to a Stock Dove, but there was more heat haze now.

Marsh Harrier – circled over

Before we got back to the platform, we spotted a Black-winged Stilt now sat down on a sandy spit out on the marsh. We got it in the scope, a female with a mostly white head and browner back. It was spooked by a Dunlin, and stood up, showing off its extremely long pink legs. It stood and preened for a second or two, then flew over and landed much closer, right behind bank. There was no one on the platform now, so we had a great view of it from up there.

A Wood Sandpiper emerged from the dense clump of rushes in the middle of the marsh now and while we were watching it a second Wood Sandpiper appeared nearby. Everyone managed a nice view in the scope this time, without any distractions!

As we made our way back, there were several Azure Damselflies and Blue-tailed Damselflies around the bushes and more Four-spotted Chasers. A Grey-patched Mining Bee landed on the path and several Flavous Nomad Bees buzzed around the gorse.

Blue-tailed Damselfly – on the way back

We had planned to walk back round to the mound on the Whiteslea track, as we had been told there was a Black-winged Stilt there, but we had already had good views of one now. However, one of the group had left a camera there earlier, so we went back round to look for it. We were glad we did!

There was a male Black-winged Stilt now further back, blacker and with a black patch on its head, where the female had been earlier in front of the viewing platform. Then we heard calling and looked over to see the female on a spit much closer. It took off and flew straight towards us, landing down on the edge of the water right in front of us and then proceeded to pick its way even closer. Great views!

Black-winged Stilt – great views eventually

Six Common Cranes came up in the distance and flew round. A couple of Little Grebes swam across behind the line of reeds. Then it was time to head back for lunch. We cut back along the path through the wood. There were more Four-spotted Chasers here and a Small Copper butterfly landed on the path. A Common Whitethroat was singing in the top of a dead tree.

Almost back to the Visitor Centre, something flicked out of the oaks up in the canopy. A Spotted Flycatcher! It flew again and disappeared back deeper into the trees. A scarce bird here and presumably just a migrant stopping off. Unfortunately, not everyone saw it before it disappeared so we waited to see if it would come out again. There was no further sign, but we had nice views of a Treecreeper on the tree trunks.

We had lunch on the picnic tables in the sunshine, listening to Willow Warblers singing and with Cranes bugling in the distance. We had been thinking about going somewhere else this afternoon, but while we were eating someone walking back told us that there were several Swallowtails out by the Broad, showing very well. We decided to try for those next.

As we made our way round, we had a quick look at the Broad. A single Great Crested Grebe was out on the water, as well as lots of Mute Swans. A Hobby raced in over the Broad, and disappeared back the way we had come. Another circled high over the wood behind us. Along the path towards the Observatory, a couple of Green Tiger Beetles flew up from the path ahead of us.

We hadn’t gone too far before we saw a Swallowtail flying out over the reeds. It landed on a reed head, wings open, basking in the sunshine, but we were looking at it from behind and it was hard to get an angle to see it front on. A good start, but we knew they had been showing better than this earlier. We carried on to the Observatory and looked out over the Broad. There were a couple of Common Terns out over the water. We sat down in the cool for a rest and another Swallowtail flew past over the reeds.

We walked back the way we had come, hoping for a Swallowtail on the path and found some people watching one basking high on a sallow on the other side of the track from the reeds. It was a much better view now, with the sun behind us. Having only just emerged, the Swallowtails are absolutely fresh and pristine.

The Swallowtail then fluttered round and landed on a hawthorn bush right in front of us, only a metre or so off the ground, where it nectared on the flowers. Stunning! It kept flying up and round between us, gliding back in to the flowers, or up onto the sallow in the sunshine. It almost landed on someone’s head at one point! We stood and watched in awe.

Swallowtail – stunning views

The Swallowtails are out early this year and there are not many flowers out yet. The hawthorns are about the only things in flower, which is why they are nectaring on the bushes. Lucky for us, as it meant we were treated to such an amazing display. Eventually we had to tear ourselves away and walked back round towards the Visitor Centre. The first Swallowtail was still basking on the reeds as we passed.

We stopped to watch one of the Hobbys again, high over the scrapes, when it suddenly turned, folded its wings back and plummeted vertically, disappearing behind some trees. When it came up again it was eating a dragonfly. From a little further round, we could see the Hobby zooming back and forth repeatedly low over the scrape. It seemed to be doing well, catching a dragonfly on every pass. Great to watch.

Hobby – catching dragonflies

We had another quick look in the wood, but there was still no further sign of the Spotted Flycatcher. We had heard one calling earlier and we did now see a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the dead trees. Then it was back to the Visitor Centre for an ice cream before the long drive home.

Nightjar Evening

We met again in the evening. We hadn’t prearranged a Nightjar Evening for this tour, but the first Nightjars are back so by popular demand we headed out to see whether we might be able to find one.

As we drove out of the village, we noticed a shape on the roof of an old barn. Little Owl! We stopped and manoeuvred the minibus so everyone could get a look without disturbing it. It stared down at us disapprovingly, the went back to staring out at the fields across the road. These barns are in the process of being developed into houses – some of them are already being converted now – so it may only be a few more months before this Little Owl loses its home.

Little Owl – stared at us

We drove over to one of the local heaths with a beautiful sunset in the sky to the west. As we walked out onto the heath, a couple of Roe Deer were feeding in the field next door and we flushed a Muntjac from the path which ran out past them.

We stopped to look at a female Stonechat, perched on the gorse alarm calling in the gathering gloom. We caught the back end of a Woodcock, unusually silent, disappearing off away from us.

We had only just got ourselves into position when the first Nightjar churred from the trees right behind us. It was obviously churring from where it was roosting, and there was no sign of it. It churred again and then called and we saw it fly up over the treetops hawking for insects. It came past us again, a male with white flashes in the wingtips, and then disappeared out over the heath.

Another Nightjar started churring further away, with possibly a third further off still. The first Nightjar then started up again, this time out in the middle of the heath. We were hoping it might come back in towards us but it stayed out in the middle of the heath for some time before it eventually did so – it came in low over the gorse, flashing its white wing flashes and up into the trees behind us. Unfortunately, it was too dark to see where it landed and it didn’t stay too long before it was off again.

It was lovely standing here on the heath listening to the Nightjars. The Woodcock reappeared a couple of times, flying over roding. A Tawny Owl hooted from the trees. It was getting dark now and we decided to call it a night. We had another day’s birding to look forward to tomorrow.

10th Sept 2021 – Autumn Tour, Day 1

Day 1 of a three day Autumn Tour today, and we headed across to the Broads. It was bright with sunny intervals and warm, although we drove into heavy showers on our way back in the afternoon.

Our first destination was Potter Heigham. As we walked down the track from the car park several House Martins were hawking around the trees opposite and we could hear Greenfinches calling.

Across the main road, we scanned the grazing marshes as we walked along. A Kestrel was hovering at the back and a Common Buzzard flew in and landed on post briefly. A Grey Heron flew across and landed in one of the ditches. A big flock of Egyptian Geese were sleeping in the cattle field between the track and the river. We could see a couple of Lapwings on the grazing marsh and our first Marsh Harrier flew across the track ahead of us.

There were lots of dragonflies out in the sunshine around the reedy ditches – Common Darters, Migrants Hawkers and a couple of Brown Hawkers – and a good number of Red Admiral butterflies.

Red Admiral – lots out today in the sunshine

When we got to the first pool, we found a couple of gaps in the reeds to look through. There were lots of geese on the mud beyond the water – mostly Greylags, plus a gaggle of Canada Geese and few more Egyptian Geese. A group of Wigeon were gathered on the near end of geese, with a few Shoveler and a single Tufted Duck out on the water.

A couple of Ruff were in among the geese and we found some more waders tucked down in the near corner on the mud – several Black-tailed Godwits and a single Common Snipe. A small group of Little Egrets were on the bank a bit further back.

We continued on down the track to the corner and took the path up onto the bank. Looking across to the pool opposite, we could see three Greenshanks running around after each other, calling, before they flew off. There were a couple more Common Snipe here and we picked up a single Green Sandpiper over on the far side. We could see a few Black-tailed Godwits on the island, but they were mostly out of view through the reeds from where we were standing.

At this point, we received a message via the news services that the Long-billed Dowitcher which has been here for several days was still present. A few people had gone on ahead of us, so we presumed they had found it and walked on to find them. They were looking out over the next pool, but knew nothing about it! We stopped to look here too, adding another seven Common Snipe to the tally.

We picked up the three Spoonbills which had also been reported as present, distantly out in the middle. We decided to have a look on the pools round on the other side, where we could get a better view of the Spoonbills and see if the dowitcher was over there. On the way round, a Ruddy Darter was in the grass by the path.

Scanning the pools from the river bank, there were lots more Greylags on here. There were more waders too – lots of Ruff and several Common Snipe in the muddy channel in the far corner. We kept adjusting our position to get a different angle over the reeds and see different parts of the pools. We picked up a single Dunlin on the far bank.

Spoonbills – 2 of the 3, asleep

We eventually found an angle from where we could get a better view of the three Spoonbills. They were mostly asleep, but woke up occasionally to flash their yellow-tipped black spoon-shaped bills.

A smart male Marsh Harrier flew in over the pools past us and across the river behind.

Marsh Harrier – flew past us

We received a message from two of the people we had spoken to earlier that they could see a Garganey on the pool with a couple of Teal. We couldn’t find it initially from where we were standing, but eventually located it from a little further up. There were two Garganey now, with the two Teal. We could see the distinctive pale spot at the base of their bills through the scope. A closer Greenshank on the next pool flew off just as we got the scopes on it.

We had intended to walk back round the way we had come, to have another go at finding the dowitcher, but the group was tired after the walk round here now and wanting to head back for lunch. It was a shorter walk back along the river bank, but quieter bird-wise. We had just got back to the car park when we received a message from the others to say they had just relocated the dowitcher asleep on their way back. Too late!

We drove round to Winterton and found a spot to eat lunch in the back of the car park, overlooking the sea. There were several gulls out on the water. An adult Mediterranean Gull and a Lesser Black-backed Gull flew past. Three Sandwich Terns were fishing just off the sandbar, until they were chased past us by a juvenile Herring Gull. There were several Cormorants and Grey Seals offshore too, but when we spotted a small shape bobbing on the water just off the concrete blocks it turned out to be a Guillemot, which swam slowly past us just off the beach. We picked up a distant Gannet flying past too.

Guillemot – swam past

After lunch, we headed off for a walk into the dunes. There weren’t many birds at first. We could see one or two Marsh Harriers over the bushes inland and a couple of Kestrels. But we did see a good selection of butterflies – lots of Red Admirals, but it was particularly nice to see several Graylings here, and a late tatty Common Blue was an addition to the list.

Grayling – we saw several in the dunes

We were already armed with some up to date information from one of the regulars, and we bumped into someone else who confirmed we were heading in the right direction. A little further up, along the fence line, we found a small group of Stonechats. Scanning across, we spotted a Whinchat with them, paler peachy orange on the breast with a bright pale supercilium. The chats were constantly on the move, and so hard to count, but eventually we managed to see all three Whinchats together that we had been told were present. A lot of migrants move through quickly in this clear, sunny weather, so it was nice to catch up with some while we could.

Whinchat – there were 3 in the dunes

There were a few warblers in the bushes here too, and we had some nice views of a Common Whitethroat which seemed to be following the chats around.

Beyond the chats, we spotted a Wheatear in the dunes so we walked across for a closer look. It was joined by a second and they flicked off ahead of us, flashing their white rumps.

Wheatear – there were two in the dunes

It was nice standing in the dunes watching the Whinchats and Wheatears. We figured that was as much walking as we would be able to manage today, so we decided to head back slowly to the car park. When we got back, we had another look at the sea. The tide had gone out and there was much more sand now. More Sandwich Terns had gathered on the beach with the gulls, several Mediterranean Gulls and Common Gulls as well as the Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls.

It was a long drive back, so we decided it was time to call it a day and head off now. We would have an early start tomorrow too.

5th June 2021 – Early Summer, Day 2

Day 2 of a three day Early Summer Tour today, including a Nightjar Evening. After a grey and cloudy start, it gradually brightened up and then the skies cleared from the west around midday, producing a lovely sunny afternoon. We spent the day down in the Norfolk Broads, then the evening looking for owls and Nightjars.

We started the day with the long drive down to the Broads. There had been a 1st summer male Red-footed Falcon at Hickling Broad reported yesterday and we were hoping to see that and some Swallowtails too. As we got out of the minibus at the NWT car park, several Willow Warblers were singing in the trees nearby and the Peacocks at the next door animal rescue charity were calling too (unfortunately that one doesn’t count!).

We set off down towards the track to Stubb Mill, which was where the falcon had been, stopping on the corner for our first scan. We could immediately see several distant Hobbys in the dead trees out in the reedbed. As we had hoped, the falcons were yet to really get going, with the cloudy start to the day. We could see a small group of other birders further up Whiteslea track, on the bank, looking for the Red-footed Falcon.

We were just debating which way to go, when we noticed a local birder walking back along the track towards us, so we asked him for an update. He told us there was no sign of the Red-footed Falcon this morning and he also suggested that most of the later reports yesterday related to misidentified Hobbys. So it looked increasingly like it hadn’t roosted in the trees here with the Hobbys overnight as we had thought it might have done, and had probably moved swiftly through yesterday. He did tell us about some Garganey on the pools, and we figured we would continue on down the track towards Stubb Mill to see what else we could see.

A couple of Common Whitethroats were flitting around in the bushes by the track ahead of us as we walked along. We had just stopped opposite the second of the pools to scan for the Garganey, when one of the group spotted a Common Crane flying in over the fields behind us. It disappeared behind the trees then reappeared over the track ahead of us, flying out over the pools, before circling round and dropping down into reedbed beyond. A nice start.

Common Crane – flew in

There were lots of hirundines and Swifts hawking low over the pools, including several Sand Martins. It was a good opportunity to compare them with the House Martins. A Common Buzzard and a Marsh Harrier circled high over the trees behind us now. A small group of Black-tailed Godwits were roosting on the short grass by the water. Several Lapwings were flying round calling, and there were a few Avocets out here too.

Most of the ducks were asleep, mainly Gadwall and a few Mallard, plus a single Wigeon and a couple of Teal out on the water beyond. Scanning carefully, we finally found the Garganey, two exclipse drakes in their drabber, female-like plumage, also asleep. For no apparent reason, one of the Avocet decided to run at them, and they woke up briefly, then moving further towards the bank where we couldn’t really get a clear view of them any more. Very helpful of the Avocet!

One of the group was looking at four distant Greylags flying over the back of the reedbed and noticed a large brown bird below. It was a Bittern flying across. Unfortunately it quickly dropped back down into the reeds before all the rest of the group could get on it.

We continued on to where track goes up onto the bank. We were a bit closer to the dead trees and had better views of the Hobbys from here, although it was starting to brighten up and the Hobbys were becoming more active, flying up hawking for insects.

We could see a pair of Ringed Plovers on one of the islands on the pool in front of us, one of which looked to be incubating. They were noticeably paler above than the tundrae Ringed Plovers we had seen at Titchwell yesterday. There were also a couple of Redshank on here and a couple of Common Terns flew over. A Bittern appeared again, from behind the dead trees over the reeds at the back, but again it was distant and hard to pick up against the trees.

We decided to walk back and up the track towards Bittern Hide, hoping for a better view of its namesake. There were several dragonflies flying around now – Four-spotted Chasers – and more damselflies in the vegetation by the path, including Large Red, Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Blue-tailed Damselfly – warming up

We walked up Whiteslea Track now, and a Treecreeper was singing in the trees as we passed. We took the path up onto the bank and scanned the pool, picking up an Egyptian Goose from round on this side. Then we continued on towards the hide. A Bittern flew up again, but again was only up for couple of seconds and some of the group still hadn’t seen one, so we stood for a while on the corner before Bittern Hide. We scanned the reeds, but it didn’t reappear. Four more Cranes circled up slowly in the distance. Behind us, we could see the edge of the front which had brought all the cloud and the skies slowly cleared from the west to sunshine.

We heard Bearded Tits pinging and turned to see a couple fly across the ditch in front of us. A female perched in the edge for a few seconds. Some more Bearded Tits were calling further along, in the reeds by the path, and the male climbed up briefly into the tops, before flying and dropping back in. It seemed like they might have young in here. A couple of times the male flew out across the track and then back in with food.

Bearded Tit – the female in the reeds

It was time to head back for lunch now. We had seen an adult Black-headed Gull walking around on the top of the bank earlier, which seemed odd, and now we realised why. A fluffy Black-headed Gull chick had walked out of the long grass on the edge of the path. We waited for it to go back in before we walked on. A female Common Blue butterfly was nectaring on a buttercup.

Common Blue butterfly – a female

We cut across on the path through the wood, back to the Visitor Centre. There were several Four-spotted Chasers warming themselves on the brambles here in the sunshine. A male Reed Bunting was gathering food and flew across into a dead tree. A Common Whitethroat flitted in and out of the trees ahead of us.

Four-spotted Chaser – basking in the sunshine

We had our lunch in the picnic area in the sunshine. A Garden Warbler was singing in the trees nearby briefly. Our initial plan was to go somewhere different after lunch, but we had to be back early and didn’t have much time now, and figured we could look for Swallowtails here and maybe have another chance for the members of the group who had not caught any of the Bittern flights earlier.

It was warm now, as we set off again. We walked the other way round the reserve this time, out past the hides, towards the Broad, following the Covid one-way system. A couple of Reed Warblers showed well in the young reeds next to path. When we stopped to look at a male Reed Bunting singing in the top of a dead tree, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew out of the trees behind and overhead.

We stopped to scan one of the overgrown ditches. There were several more dragonflies here, including a Hairy Dragonfly as well as more Four-spotted Chasers. A small shoal of Common Rudd was in the open water amongst the marestail.

Common Rudd – in one of the ditches

We stopped again at the first viewpoint overlooking the Broad. There were lots of Mute Swans out on the water, but not much else – often the way with the actual Broads themselves. A Marsh Harrier circled over in the sunshine. Continuing along the path, several Willow Warblers were calling in the sallows, collecting food, and one perched right in the top of an alder, singing.

Willow Warbler – in the sallows

We were struggling at first to find any Swallowtails or any flowers out for them to nectar on. Everything is very late this year after the cold spring. Finally, along the path towards the Observation Hide a Swallowtail flew in. But it carried on straight past us, flying very quickly ahead of us along the path. We tried to follow to see if it might land, but then it turned behind some sallows out of view and by the time we got there we had lost track of it.

We had yet another brief glimpse of a Bittern flying over the reeds, over by Bittern Hide, so we decided to head straight round that way. We popped into the hide. The reeds which had been cut in front of the hide are now growing up fast and making it harder to see anything on there. We were running out of time slightly, as we had to be back early today ahead of our evening foray later, but we decided to have a quick rest in the hide, before heading back to car park.

Scanning the dead trees in the distance through binoculars, there were still one or two Hobbys around. When a falcon flew out head on towards us we assumed it was just another Hobby, but it looked to have a rather pale crown and head which appeared to catch the sun, unlike the dark hood of a Hobby or a male Red-footed Falcon (like yesterday’s). But there was a lot of heat haze now and it was a long way off, so we figured we were imagining it. It turned and landed back in the dead trees out of view behind a branch.

It flew out again, another short sally after insects, and it really did look to have a pale head. As it turned to head back to the trees, it looked to have pale orangey underparts too. It couldn’t be though could it? Yesterday’s Red-footed Falcon was a 1st summer male and this one looked like a female. It lLanded again, and this time we realised we needed to get it in the scope quickly. Now we could confirm what we thought we had seen – it was a female Red-footed Falcon!

Red-footed Falcon – we found a female

The Red-footed Falcon was distant and there was a lot of heat haze, but we could see it did have a pale head, orange on top, whiter on the cheeks, with a thin black mask and small moustache. The back and wings looked rather dark grey and the underparts pale orangey-buff. It kept doing little sallies from the trees, shorter flights than the Hobbys, with more gliding, and quick bursts of wingbeats when chasing prey. It even did a brief hover. At one point it landed in the same tree as one of the Hobbys, and was noticeably a little smaller, more compact.

We had come to see someone else’s Red-footed Falcon, been disappointed to find it gone, but then found our own. Hickling is a good site for them and hosted multiple birds just last year, presumably the gathering of Hobbys helping to pull in passing birds. We put the news out – but when we went outside and onto the bank we could see everyone else had long since given up and gone. We were thinking it might be a bit closer from bank, but there was still lots of heat haze. Still what a great bird!

Unfortunately it was really time to go now, or we would be late for our early evening meal. As we set off to walk back, another Swallowtail flew past. This time it turned in front of us and looked like it might land on the flowers growing on the bank. It meant we had a better view, but it changed it’s mind and flew off rather than land. Then it was a quick walk back to the car park and a long drive back home, albeit with a spring in our steps!

Nightjar Evening

After a break and something to eat, we met again early evening. We went looking for Little Owls first. We checked out some barns by the road, but there was no sign. So we tried another site and immediately spotted one perched on the roof half way down one of the barns, enjoying the evening sunshine. We got it in the scope.

While we were watching it, another Little Owl flew across in front, disappearing into the trees nearby. After a few seconds it came back out and landed on the ground by the barns, running around looking for food on the concrete. It then flew up again, then across to the other side, perching on the near edge of the roof the other side. Great views.

Little Owl – hunting around the barns

We dropped down towards the coast to look for Barn Owls next. It was a lovely evening, and we heard several Yellowhammers singing through the open windows as we drove down the country lanes. We drove a quick circuit round via some meadows where they like to hunt, without any success, so we parked up nearby and walked up onto the seawall to scan the marshes. At first, we couldn’t find any owls – but we did see several Brown Hares and a pair of Grey Partridge down in the grass. A Song Thrush was singing from the trees on the far side.

Then a Barn Owl appeared out of the trees, the regular very white one, nicknamed ‘Casper’, which is well known here. It started hunting around a recently cut grass field, we watched it fly round, drop into the grass a couple of times, then come back up. It disappeared behind some trees and looked like it had gone off in the other direction, but then reappeared and flew back towards us. It came much closer, flying past us over the reeds and out along the bank across the marshes. It landed briefly, and we thought about going out for a closer look, but it quickly too off again as some people walked past and we watched it head out away from us.

Barn Owl – ‘Casper’, the white one

It was time to head up to the heath. The sun had already gone down and the temperature was dropping when we arrived and got out of the minibus. We set off out onto the middle of the heath, and we were not even already in position when we heard our first Nightjar churring. We got out of the edge of the trees just in time to hear it stop and take off wing-clapping. We could see it flying round over the gorse further up, and watched it drop down behind the vegetation ahead of us. We walked quickly on down the path but when we got to the area it had seemed to drop, it had disappeared.

Another Nightjar started churring now, right out in the middle. We stopped to listen to it, such an evocative sound, of summer evenings on the heaths. For some time we could only hear one. It flew round at one point – the churring stopped and we heard it wing-clapping as it took off. Then it flew back to the trees where it had been and resumed churring.

When another Nightjar started up behind us, it sounded closer. We walked on to see if we locate this one, but it was still too far from path to give us a chance to find it. A fourth male then started churring in the distance, and we stood and listened to the two of them for a couple of minutes. A Woodcock flew over roding – we could hear its squeaky call, and looked up to see it fly over with exaggerated slow wingbeats. A Tawny Owl called from the trees.

The first male Nightjar we had seen earlier started churring again, so we walked back. It was getting darker now, so we couldn’t see where it was perched on the edge of the trees. It took off and we watched two Nightjars chasing each other through the tops, silhouetted against the last of the light in the sky. One came back down into the gorse not far from us, and we had a quick view of it flying round lower as it broke the skyline. Then it went quiet again.

One of the other Nightjars was still churring out in the middle. We stood and listened to that for a couple more minutes, a lovely way to while away a summer’s evening. Then it was time to head back – it had been a long day, and we had another busy one ahead tomorrow. As we walked off the heath, we were serenaded by another of the Nightjars churring. It was in a tree above the path but too dark to see it perched now. As we walked underneath, we watched it fly out, dropping down out across the Heath.

19th May 2021 – Three Spring Days, Day 1

Day 1 of a rescheduled 3 day Spring Tour, to take advantage of the relaxation of Covid restrictions this week. Mostly warm in the long sunny spells, there were some cloudier periods when it felt a bit cooler. Some very dark clouds early afternoon were accompanied by some long rolls of thunder, but thankfully passed well to the south of us, and it wasn’t until we were on our way home that we drove into one of the forecast showers.

With a Caspian Tern over in the Broads for its second day this morning, we decided to head east for the day. It was a long drive over to Potter Heigham, but we left in good time and it was still early when we got to the car park. As we crossed the road and set off down the track, we heard a Cuckoo calling, and turned to see it flying away over the river. It was a cloudy start, and our first Common Swifts off the tour were chasing overhead. A Great Spotted Woodpecker came out of the small copse of trees and flew ahead of us, landing on a low gatepost by the track – an odd place to see one.

A pair of Egyptian Geese were close to the path on the grazing marshes. Further out, among the horses, was a lone Oystercatcher. Several Lapwings were flying round too. We could hear distant Lesser Whitethroat and Willow Warbler singing in the bushes and trees the other side of the marshes. Closer to us, both Sedge and Reed Warblers were singing from the reedy margins of the ditch, but were typically hard to see. Never mind, we would see lots later. A couple of Reed Buntings flew across the track. One or two Marsh Harriers quartered the marshes and a Common Buzzard circled overhead.

Common Buzzard – circled overhead

There were lots of Greylag Geese on the fields which flushed as a local farmer drove past in his truck. They flew across to the pools. At the first pool, as well as the geese, we could see a few Mallard and one or two Gadwall. A Little Egret was out in the shallow water in the far corner.

It’s yelping call alerted us to a Lesser White-fronted Goose in with the Greylags, dwarfed by its much larger cousins. Through the scope, we could see the white blaze extending up its forehead and the golden yellow eye-ring. This would be a rare bird here if it were wild, but unfortunately it is a known escapee which has been hanging around here for the last year or so, presumably having hopped the fence from a wildfowl collection somewhere.

The Caspian Tern had flown off once this morning, but thankfully returned, so we were keen to get round to the other side to see it, while making sure we didn’t miss anything this side on the way. Moving on to the next pool, a quick scan revealed two Common Pochard with more Greylags and a couple of distant Common Terns. The cloud was breaking now and it was warming up nicely as the sun was coming out. Having planned for the risk of rain which was forecast, we had to shed our coats.

Up to the corner, we climbed up onto the bank for a better view. On the corner pool we could see more Pochard, a couple of Tufted Ducks, and three late lingering Wigeon. Looking across to the other side, we could just see the Caspian Tern through the reeds, between some Cormorants roosting on one of the islands. A little further up, we got clear of the reeds and had a better if still distant view – we could see its huge red bill. It was standing in the shallow water next to a Herring Gull and didn’t look much smaller – Caspian Tern is the largest tern, like an enormous oversize Sandwich Tern with a massive red dagger for a bill.

With the Caspian Tern in the bag, we could relax a little, but we continued on round more slowly, for a closer view. A Willow Warbler was signing from the top of an oak across the other side of Candle Dyke. A Common Sandpiper was flushed from a mooring by a passing boat a little further along and a Common Tern flew past, looking much daintier than its cousin on the pools, with a much less threatening bill!

Common Tern – flew past over Candle Dyke

Walking round towards the river, there was lots of activity in the reeds. We finally got to see both Sedge Warbler and Reed Warblers here. We caught a quick glimpse of a Bearded Tit which zipped over the reeds and dropped down. It was carrying food in its bill, so we waited to see if it would come back out. Before it did, a second Bearded Tit flew in, this time the female, also carrying food in her bill. She perched for a few seconds in the reeds, allowing us all to get on her, before she dropped in, as the male flew out and disappeared back away. Obviously they are feeding a hungry brood in the reeds there.

Bearded Tit – the female, carrying food

Walking up beside the river, we arrived opposite the pool where the Caspian Tern was standing. But we had only just put up the scopes before it took off, before everyone could get a look. We watched it fly off east, circling over the reeds for a while, gaining height, before it disappeared from view. We were very pleased we had stopped to look at it distantly on the way round!

Caspian Tern – flew off just as we arrived on the river bank

The Caspian Tern had flown off earlier and returned, so we figured it was probably just heading off to fish somewhere and would most likely be back here again at some point. The only question was how long, but we thought we would have a more leisurely look around now and see what happened. There were two Shoveler out on this pool. A Great Crested Grebe was over in the far corner and then another appeared from behind the reeds at the front. Another male Bearded Tit was chasing a rival round and round over the reeds.

Walking up to the last pool from the river bank, we could see a single Avocet on one of the islands. A pair of Teal nearby would be the only ones we would see – most have left already, heading off to northern Europe for the breeding season. We hadn’t been here long though, before we turned to see the Caspian Tern flying back in behind us. It landed back down on the pool where it had been before, so we walked straight back. Now we all had a really good view of it through the scopes.

Caspian Tern – flew back in and landed on the same pool

Caspian Tern is a rare visitor to the UK, with just a few records most years. They breed in small numbers around the Baltic, as well as further over in SE Europe, wintering down in West Africa. Potter Heigham seems to be a good site for them – there was one here last year too.

We could see dark clouds way off west, so we decided to walk slowly back. A Cetti’s Warbler was singing in the bushes by the river, and we had a quick flash of a rounded chestnut-red tail as it flew past. Two different male Marsh Harriers flew past over the reeds. A couple of Common Whitethroats were in the trees, three Reed Warblers chased round and a Chiffchaff was singing in the old orchard by the mill.

Marsh Harrier – one of two males over the reeds

We headed round to Hickling Broad to use the facilities and as the sun was out now, we decided to have an early lunch in the picnic area before heading out onto the reserve. A juvenile Robin was calling in the trees behind the Visitor Centre – good to see some early broods are proving productive, despite the cool spring we are having. As we sat down to eat, a Hobby circled high over the trees beyond. A pair of Great Tits were flying in and out of a nearby nest box. Two Bullfinch called, and we looked over to see them fly across the far end of the picnic area.

There were some dark clouds to the south of us, and we heard some long and rather ominous rolls of thunder from that direction, but it looked like they would probably miss us, so we headed out onto the reserve. As we set off down the track, there were House Martins overhead calling and we found a couple of Sand Martins with them.

As we got to the corner with the Stubb Mill track, one of the group spotted a Common Crane flying over high in the distance – the first of many, as it would prove later. There were lots of Hobbys out over the reedbed beyond the water, flying back and forth, hawking for insects, some low, some circling up much higher. Further over, there were more perched in the tops of the dead trees, probably around 15 Hobbys in all, always great to watch these spring gatherings. A Cuckoo flew over the back of the pool, up over the bank, and disappeared behind the trees towards the Visitor Centre.

We walked down the track towards Stubb Mill. There had been a Wood Sandpiper on the marsh here yesterday, so we scanned the islands and the margins of the water. A small flock of seven Ringed Plovers flew up and disappeared off west, presumably of the Tundra race, which are always late migrants through here. Again we heard a Lesser White-fronted Goose calling and looked over on the island to see it in with the Greylags. Presumably the same bird we had seen earlier at Potter Heigham, as it is only a short distance away as the goose flies.

Lesser White-fronted Goose – unfortunately an escapee

A much closer Hobby flew in over the water and over the track behind us. While everyone was watching it, we turned to see a Grey Heron fly up from the reeds beyond the pool and noticed a Common Crane in the reeds too, a little further back. We got it in the scope and watched it for some time, preening, then walking around through the reeds. Then it took off and flew towards us, unfortunately attracting the attention of one of the Shelduck, which decided to mob it as it flew over the water. As the Shelduck finally gave up, we watched as the Common Crane disappeared away over the fields to the north.

Common Crane – pursued by a Shelduck

As we continued on down the track, we could hear a Bittern booming from somewhere deep in the reeds now. We scanned the pools on the way, but the only other waders we could find were Redshanks. When we got to the end, there were more Hobbys zooming about low over the reeds and we looked past them to the east and noticed four Common Cranes circling low over the bushes.

Another four Cranes circled up nearby and all eight then turned and started to fly towards us. They stopped to circle again, giving us a great view, then started calling and drifted away to the north over Stubb Mill, where we lost sight of them behind the trees.

Common Crane – another eight, near Stubb Mill

After watching the Cranes, we turned our attention back to the pools, looking back parallel with the track. It was a better view from up on the top of the bank. There were two Little Grebes diving in the blanket weed here, more Redshanks and several juvenile Lapwings which teased us into thinking they might be a different small wader before we saw them clearly. Then we did find a different small wader right up at the far end, walking in and out of a line of thick reeds and rushes. It was the Wood Sandpiper we had been searching for – a distant view, but better than nothing!

The dark clouds had remained off to the south as we had hoped and the sun had come out again now, encouraging a flush of insects. A Four-spotted Chaser dragonfly was drying its still papery wings on the bank in the sunshine, with several also freshly emerged Azure Damselflies fluttering around nearby. A Small Copper butterfly was trying to find flowers to feed on, our first of the year.

Four-spotted Chaser – drying its wings on the bank

We had been intending to walk up to Bittern Hide, but we met someone here who had just come back from there and had seen nothing we hadn’t already seen. A Great Reed Warbler had been found at Breydon Water this morning and after being very elusive, it now seemed to be showing on and off. As it was just a short drive from here, we decided to go over there to see if we could see it.

As we arrived in the car park, a friendly face walking back confirmed the Great Reed Warbler was still present, so we set off out along the north wall. We could see six people standing on the path on the first corner, looking down across the railway line to the bushes beyond. As we walked up, we could immediately hear the Great Reed Warbler singing.

The Great Reed Warbler was singing from inside the bush and looking in, we could just see it. We got it in the scopes and had various views of different parts of it as it moved around. Great Reed Warblers are scarce visitors from continental Europe, overshooting in spring as they fly back from Africa and ending up in the UK. Normally a bird of reedbeds, like a much larger version of our Reed Warbler, this one had probably been attracted down by the sight of Breydon Water and found the best habitat it could to feed.

After a while it stopped singing and went quiet, disappeared into the bushes. It had earlier come out into the open when it stopped singing, but all we could see now were a couple of Blackcaps, male & female. A regular Reed Warbler appeared too, in the same bush. People were getting tired now so we decided it was time to walk back.

Breydon Water – looking out from the north wall

Some of the group were a little too keen to get back to the minibus and sit down, as they disappeared over the horizon before we the rest of us had packed away our tripods. Those who had brought their scopes out stopped on the way back to scan Breydon Water for waders. The islands of vegetation at the edge of the saltmarsh are a regular roosting site for waders.

We had already seen a flock of Curlews out there, and stopping to scan now we found a group of at least 19 Whimbrel too, tucked down in the vegetation a little further over. A lone wader on the end of a vegetated spit a bit further round was a single Greenshank.

It was a long drive back and time was getting on, so the rest of us headed back to join the others in the minibus. As we cut round past Norwich we drove into a heavy rain shower – we had been very lucky with the weather today. A great start to our three day tour, with two new birds for most of the group.

10th Oct 2020 – Four Autumn Days, Day 3

Day 3 of a four day Autumn Tour in Norfolk. It was meant to be dry this morning, at least at first, but it had already started raining by the time we met up. It remained very grey with drizzle on and off for most of the morning, but brightened up a bit more in the afternoon, with the showers becoming more intermittent and even some sunny intervals.

The forecast for a dry and bright start to the morning had evaporated overnight, but as there seemed to be a window of drier weather coming, we headed straight down to Wells first to try for the Red-backed Shrike again.

The Little Grebes were present as ever, but there was no sign of the Tufted Ducks as we walked in past the boating lake this morning. We made our way quickly along the main track and as we got round and out of the shelter of the trees, we were caught by the wind and realised it was rather breezy already.

It was a bit better along the track down beside the caravan park, with the shelter from the reeds. We had a quick look at the marshes and scanned the fences as we passed. There were several Curlews, Lapwings and Pied Wagtails on the first field again. A Kestrel flew over and was chased away by one of the Pied Wagtails.

There were lots of ducks on the large flood in the second field, mainly Teal, plus a couple of Mallard and a few Wigeon on the grass nearby. Further over, we could see a small group of Pink-footed Geese with a pair of Egyptian Geese.

Pink-footed Geese – out on Quarles Marsh with a pair of Egyptian Geese

It was very windy again as we got out into the open past the caravan site, and already starting to spit with rain. We stopped to scan and found a couple of Stonechats working their way along the fence line where the shrike had often been recently. We walked down the track opposite again, but it was starting to rain properly now, and there was still no sign of the shrike. We figured it would be unlikely to come out in this weather, so we turned back. We could always try again later, but as it turned out it was not seen again.

It was raining more heavily when we got back on the main track, but we cut in round on the east side of the Dell. A Redwing was sheltering from the rain deep in a hawthorn. We did find a tit flock in the birches, but it was hard to see much with the rain dripping from the leaves and we couldn’t see anything obviously different with it.

Redwing – sheltering from the rain in a hawthorn

Back in the car park, we checked the weather forecast and the rainfall radar. It looked like there was likely to be rain on and off all morning here, so we decided to drive over to the Broads in the hope that it would be starting to ease off by the time we arrived.

It was already late morning by the time we got to Martham Ferry, but it had indeed thankfully stopped raining. We walked down to the riverside path and when we found a place where we could see over the reeds, stopped to scan the grazing marshes over the other side of the river. Almost immediately we spotted two large grey birds walking around near the cows, a pair of Common Cranes. They were rather distant but we managed to get them in the scope – a good start.

Common Cranes – we could see a pair distantly across the river

Continuing on down the path, a Cetti’s Warbler called from the brambles in the reeds on the edge of the fishing lakes. A dark shape in the first field was just a Carrion Crow, but in the second field we found our main target here, the Glossy Ibis.

Glossy Ibis – in the fields by the river at Martham Ferry

It was quite close, and we had a great view of the Glossy Ibis through the scope. It was feeding busily, walking and probing in the wet grass, then it stopped to preen. Glossy Ibis mostly breeds around the Mediterranean, heading to Africa for the winter.

The breeding population has increased dramatically in Iberia since the 1990s and the number reaching the UK has similarly grown, with influxes typically occurring after drought in Spain has caused more birds to disperse. Glossy Ibis is now a regular visitor to the UK, but still a great bird to see – even if it does look slightly out of place here on a grey and drizzly October morning!

There was a single Black-tailed Godwit in the field too, which came over to feed alongside the Glossy Ibis at one point. A Common Snipe flew over calling. A small gaggle of Greylags and Canada Geese was in the wet grass further back and two Grey Herons flew in. A rather dark looking Common Buzzard was perched in a bare tree at the back and a male Marsh Harrier flew over.

A large flock of Redwings came up from behind the trees at the back and flew across, disappeared round the back of the fishing pits, followed quickly by a second smaller group. There were well over 100 Redwing in total, presumably freshly arrived from Scandinavia here for the winter and now dispersing inland.

There were rather grey clouds approaching from the west now, so we decided to head back to the minibus. A lone Pink-footed Goose flew over calling.

It was good to get the two distant ones earlier, but we decided to have a quick drive round next to see if we could find some closer Cranes. There were none at the first site we tried. On our way back, we turned down a side road and stopped to scan the fields. It was rather misty, but we could see a large group of tall grey birds in the distance, Cranes.

Common Cranes – 15 of the 21 we found this morning

We realised we could see the Cranes better from a high point on the main road, so we drove back round. We were worried they might be too close to the path, but they were settled in the back of the field and allowed us to view them from the verge at a discrete distance. It was a great view of them here, feeding in a weedy field with a small flock of Greylags. We counted 21 in total, including three families, each pair of adults with a single browner juvenile, raised this summer.

Common Cranes – feeding in a weedy field

Common Cranes – one of three families, with a browner juvenile

Having enjoyed great views of the Cranes, we set off to find somewhere for lunch, and a hot drink. The weather was much improved now, brighter, and even with some patches of blue sky, so we sat outside on a convenient picnic table.

After lunch, we headed round on the coast road to Waxham. On the way, we stopped to look through a mass of gulls feeding in a field that was just being cultivated. Amongst the mostly Black-headed Gulls we found a couple of Mediterranean Gulls, and got everyone onto a nice winter adult with pure white wing tips and black bandit mask.

We had been told about a Black Redstart at Waxham earlier, on the scaffolding on the house on the corner, but there was no sign of it now. There were people in the house and lots of people coming and going from the beach, lots of cars on the narrow road. We walked up to the churchyard to see if it might be there, but drew a blank there too.

We decided to have a look at the beach. As we got up to the dunes, a Grey Seal was just offshore and a juvenile Red-throated Diver was diving nearby, very close in. We walked down to the shore and had great views of it as it resurfaced repeatedly in the breakers just in front of us.

Red-throated Diver – this juvenile was diving just off the beach

There was a steady stream of Gannets flying past further out over the sea. An Oystercatcher landed briefly on the rocks. As another shower blew in over the beach, we sought shelter in the gap in the seawall. Another adult Mediterranean Gull flew past just offshore.

There was still no sign of the Black Redstart around the house on the corner. With a long drive back, we decided to set off back to North Norfolk now. The journey was better than expected today, and the weather had now improved, bright and sunny by the time we got back to the north coast. We decided to stop off at Stiffkey for a quick scan out over the saltmarsh.

There a a liberal scattering of Curlew, Redshank and Little Egrets over the saltmarsh. A couple of Marsh Harriers were hunting out at the far edge, towards the beach. We managed to find a small group of Brent Geese feeding in the vegetation out towards Blakeney Pit. A Greenshank flew across calling and dropped down again into a large creek out of view.

A Spoonbill appeared out on the saltmarsh away to the west, presumably coming up out of one of the small pools where it had been feeding. It was joined by a Little Egret, noticeably smaller and slimmer. While we were watching it, a second Spoonbill appeared nearby. Most of the Spoonbills which spent the summer here have gone south already – many normally spend the winter in Poole Harbour – but there are still a small number clinging on here, for now at least.

Spoonbill – joined by a Little Egret out on the saltmarsh

It was a productive quick stop for half an hour, but it was now time to head back. We had managed to see a lot today, despite the weather.

11th Jan 2020 – Winter in Norfolk, Day 2

Day 2 of a three day Winter Tour in Norfolk, and we would be heading down to the Broads today. We were blessed with another dry day, but it was very windy at times.

As we got down into the Broads, we started to see more Rooks in the fields. They are much commoner here than in North Norfolk. We passed a couple of Marsh Harriers hunting too. As we came into Ludham village, we decided to have a quick look down on St Benet’s Levels, just in case the swans were down there today. We found several Mute Swans but nothing else.

We were just leaving when one of the locals, who was counting them for the International Swan Census, very helpfully stopped to tell us that the swans were on Ludham Airfield this morning, just where we were heading next. He directed us to the south-eastern corner.

We drove straight over and could see the swans feeding in a recently harvested sugar beet field. We found somewhere to park off the road and got out. It was a nice mixed herd, with both Whooper Swans and Bewick’s Swans together. It was good to see the two species side by side, the Whooper Swans noticeably bigger, with more extensive yellow on the bill extending down towards the tip in a wedge.

Whooper & Bewick’s Swans – a nice mixed herd on the old airfield

We counted 50 birds, of which 15 were Whoopers and the rest Bewick’s Swans. There were several Egyptian Geese in the field too, further back. It was open and exposed out on the old airfield, and the rather biting wind was cutting across, so after all having a good look at the swans, we moved on.

Our next stop was near Acle. As we drove up, we could already see several Common Cranes in the maize stubble. When we parked and got out, we could see a total of seven together in the nearest field, a group of four and a family of three still with their juvenile from last year. We got them in the scope and had a great view of them.

Common Cranes – we counted 16 in the maize stubble today

There were at least three more Cranes further back, in the next field, beyond the reeds lining the ditch. Then another six flew up from further over. They only flew a short distance, before dropping back down out of view, but it was nice to see some in the air too. That meant at least sixteen Cranes in total.

There had been some geese down towards Great Yarmouth yesterday, on the grazing marshes along the Acle Straight. It was not far so we drove down to look, but there was no sign of any geese there today. Two temporary shooting butts, made of camo netting, had been erected in the middle of the field. Presumably someone had been shooting at the geese and they had moved on.

We called in at Halvergate on our way back. There was no sign of any geese down along the Branch Road, but we did find the lone Cattle Egret still with the cattle just before the village. We had a quick look at it, as it walked around between the cows.

Cattle Egret – on its own, with the cows just outside Halvergate

Our next stop was at Buckenham. The Taiga Bean Geese had not been reported for a few days, and we assumed they had gone already, but then there was a report of three again yesterday. Unfortunately, when we got there, we found lots of activity down along the railway line, lots of engineers in high viz coats doing works to the line. Unsurprisingly, there was no sign of any geese down along the edge of the grazing meadow closest to the railway line, which the Taigas generally favour.

There were lots of Pink-footed Geese out in the middle of the marshes, but they were keeping tucked down out of the wind, many sleeping. We could see more geese further up but we were looking into the sun from here, so we walked on up to the riverbank. There were plenty of Wigeon around the pools on the right of the track, but not the numbers there were in past years.

Wigeon – there were good numbers around the pools

It was very breezy out in the middle of the marshes, so we hurried on to the end. We managed to get out of the wind a little by the hide. There were lots of Lapwing out on the grass, and a few Ruff in with them. They were very jumpy in the wind, and kept flying up, whirling round, and dropping back down again. We couldn’t see any raptors over the grazing marsh itself, but we could see a Peregrine further back, hanging in the air around Cantley Beet Factory before landing on the ladder up one of the silos.

There were lots of Canada Geese out in the middle from here, feeding in and around the taller areas of rushes. A small number of White-fronted Geese was in with them. They are much smaller and were hard to see until they raised their heads. There were possibly more asleep we couldn’t quite see. A small group of Barnacle Geese were further back, mixed in with the Canadas.

We braved the wind and walked back, before driving round to Strumpshaw for lunch. There were a few Mallard and Gadwall on the pool in front of Reception Hide. While we ate, a succession of tits were coming and going at the feeders – Blue Tits and Great Tits, and a Coal Tit popped in a couple of times briefly. But there was no sign of any Marsh Tits today.

After lunch, we drove over to Ranworth. A female Ferruginous Duck had been there a few days ago and reported again earlier, so we thought we would take a look. As we walked out onto the staithe at Malthouse Broad, a single tame Pink-footed Goose was in with the Greylags on the green. It looked like it might have been injured in the past. The Ferruginous Duck was swimming around on Malthouse Broad when we got there, amazingly close, just off the Staithe, around the boats. A bit too close really! Ferruginous Ducks are very common in captivity and escapes are regular.

Ferruginous Duck – appears to be a returning bird from 2017

More interestingly, we noticed that this bird bore a striking similarity to one seen here in exactly the same place in January 2017. It had a rather chunky and dark head, with a noticeably paler area around the bill base, in some respects resembling a female Baer’s Pochard. Looking at photos later, the bill pattern was a perfect match for the 2017 bird too. Where has it been since then? The bird from 2017 was accepted as a wild Ferruginous Duck by the British Birds Rarities Committee, so presumably this one will be too!

Otherwise, a Great Crested Grebe asleep with Tufted Ducks out in the middle of the Broad was an addition to the trip list. We walked round to Ranworth Broad, and out along the boardwalk. We hoping to maybe catch up with some redpoll or tits. A Siskin flew over calling, but otherwise the trees were very quiet, despite being more sheltered in here. We wondered whether the birds might be in the gardens, where there might be more food.

We walked on down to the end and scanned the Broad from the platform by the Visitor Centre. There were lots of Wigeon out on the water, and a good number of Shoveler in with them too. The Marsh Harriers were starting to gather over the back of the Broad – it was time for us to be making tracks, so we could get back over to Stubb Mill in time for the roost there.

As we got back to the road, we could hear a Marsh Tit calling from the garden of the house opposite. We scanned the hedge, but could only see a couple of Blue Tits and a Coal Tit. We walked on a few metres and heard it again. From here, we could see down the drive into the garden where lots of birds were coming to some feeders. The Marsh Tit flew in and dropped to the ground under the bird table, grabbing a seed before flying to the bare tree by the garden wall. It made several repeat visits, so we could all get to see it.

We were later than originally planned getting to Hickling Broad tonight, although given the wind we didn’t want to stop too long there, and the light was already going as we walked out to Stubb Mill. A flock of Redwings was in the paddock as we walked out, and although most flew back into the trees, a couple stayed put down on the grass where we could get a look at them.

Redwing – we passed a flock in the paddock as we walked out

A couple of Marsh Harriers flew in past us as we walked out, heading in for the roost. When we arrived at the Watchpoint, we discovered we had just missed a couple of Cranes flying off. Looking out towards the ruined mill (windpump!), we could see several more Marsh Harriers up over the reeds, flying in and out of the bushes. We couldn’t see how many were already in, but we had a maximum of 10 or so in the air at any one time.

While we were watching the Marsh Harriers, a male Hen Harrier appeared in with them. We could see a ghostly grey shape with black wing tips, slimmer and smaller than the Marsh Harriers. The Hen Harrier flew back and forth several times, in and out of the trees and in front of the old mill, giving everyone a chance to get onto it.

A Great White Egret flew across over the back of the grazing marshes, heading towards the reserve, presumably going in to roost. We heard Cranes bugling behind us, presumably heading in to roost too over the trees, but we couldn’t see them where we were standing. Then two Cranes flew up from the grazing marshes and circled round, before dropping down into the reeds beyond.

The light was going now. The wind was picking up and with the cloud having thickened it felt like it might rain later. With a long drive back, we decided to call it a night. Still time for more tomorrow!

26th Aug 2018 – Late Summer Broads

A Private Tour today, down in the Norfolk Broads. Given all the good weather this summer, it was disappointing that the day we were to go out was one of the few with rain forecast. Still it stayed dry all morning and the heavy rain helpfully held off until we had almost finished. It didn’t put us off getting out anyway, and we had a nice day out.

Having met in Wroxham, we headed over to Potter Heigham marshes to start the morning. Several of the pools have largely dried out over the summer, but some still have water in them. We headed straight down to the corner and up onto the bank so we could see over the reeds.

On the first pool we checked, there were several Ruff feeding around the muddy edges of the water, all in grey-brown non-breeding plumage now. A Green Sandpiper flew in calling and dropped down on the mud too.

There were lots of ducks, mostly asleep on the drier islands, mainly Mallard and Gadwall plus a few Teal, all in drab eclipse plumage now, as well as several Greylags and Egyptian Geese. We checked through the ducks carefully, but there was no sign of any Garganey with these ones. This is a good site for Garganey and they probably breed here, although it is very hard to prove for sure. Several Little Grebes were out on the water.

Moving on to the next pool round, there were more waders here, mainly Lapwings and Ruff. We could hear a Greenshank calling in the distance, and we found another one feeding here. It was joined by a Spotted Redshank, a dusky grey-brown juvenile. Through the scope, we could see its long needle-fine bill.

Greenshank – one of several at Potter Heigham today

Two Ringed Plovers dropped in on one of the muddy islands. A Common Snipe was feeding at the back, against the reeds, probing vigorously in the mud with its long bill, and a Water Rail appeared just behind it from out of the reeds. Two Sedge Warblers were working their way along the back edge of the reeds too – we could see their bold white superciliums through the scope.

As we carried on round, we looked across to see two Kestrels hovering over the grazing marshes, with a third perched in a dead tree nearby. A young Marsh Harrier circled low over the reeds beyond, dark chocolate brown with a contrasting golden orange head, and two Common Buzzards appeared above the wood in the distance.

There were lots of hirundines feeding out over the pools, Swallows and House Martins, presumably gathering to feed up before they look to depart for Africa for the winter. As we walked along the river bank, we heard some of the Swallows alarm calling and looked up to see a Hobby shooting past, before heading away over the river.

There were more waders on the pools on this side. We found several more Spotted Redshanks, all juveniles, and Green Sandpipers. Two more Greenshanks flew off calling. A single Black-tailed Godwit was feeding in the deeper water on one of the pools.

Spotted Redshanks – two juveniles with a single Ruff

Several Tufted Duck and a Common Pochard were nice additions for the day’s list. A couple of Cormorants were drying their wings on one of the islands. Two Yellow Wagtails flew up from behind reeds but dropped down again quickly, before everyone could get onto them.

When we got to the last of the pools, we turned to walk back. We still hadn’t found a Garganey, so we stopped to have another look through the ducks on the way. Three smaller ducks were asleep on the bank at the back of one of the pools. Two were Teal, but the third was a bit larger and even though it had its bill tucked in we could see it had a bolder pale supercilium stretching behind the eye, a Garganey.

Even though it was dry this morning, it was still rather cool and breezy. There were not many insects to see today, given the weather, but we did find a nice male Ruddy Darter basking on the path out of the wind on our way back.

Ruddy Darter – basking on the path, out of the wind

Our next destination was Buckenham Marshes, over in the Yare Valley. When we got out of the car, it was now starting to spit with rain, though thankfully not enough to stop us exploring.

The walk down along the access track towards the river was fairly quiet until we got nearer to the far end. A young Chinese Water Deer appeared in the middle of the grazing marsh. It ran a short distance, then stopped to look around. When it set off again, it ran straight towards us, stopping just the other side of the ditch and looking at us from behind some vegetation, before speeding away across the grass. Two Red Kites circled up over the wood on the other side of the river.

Chinese Water Deer – ran straight towards us across the grazing marshes

As we carried on towards the river, we stopped several times to scan the pool at far end. There were lots of Lapwings hiding in the vegetation around the edges and several Ruff feeding in the shallows. Two juvenile Dunlin, with black-spotted belly patches, were picking around on a muddy strip in the middle. A careful scan revealed several Common Snipe around the margins, but we couldn’t find the Wood Sandpiper which has been here for the last couple of days.

There have been some Whinchats here too, but we couldn’t find those either as we walked out, and we presumed they were keeping down out of the wind. We found a sheltered spot in the lee of the hide at the end and quickly located one of the Whinchats on the fence below the river bank. We got it in the scope and had a good look at it, noting its bold pale supercilium, before it dropped down out into the grass out of view.

Whinchat – 1 of the 3 at Buckenham today

While we were scanning the pool from here, one of the group spotted some small birds down in the short vegetation out in the middle of the grazing marsh, where it had been mown. A smart male Stonechat was perched on a small stem and eventually two streaky juvenile Stonechats appeared out of the grass close to it.

The birds were feeding down on the ground in a damp depression in the field, so they were hard to see, but at least one Whinchat eventually appeared in the vegetation with the Stonechats. Eventually they all flew up out of the grass and landed on the taller thistles on the next block of grazing marsh which had not been cut. Now we could see there were actually three Whinchats here.

While we were watching the Whinchats, a small wader appeared down at the front corner of the pool. Through the scope, we could see it was the Wood Sandpiper – it had presumably been feeding behind the taller vegetation along the front edge, where we couldn’t see it. We had a good look at it through the scope, noting its pale spangled upperparts and bold pale supercilium, before it disappeared again.

We made our way back to the car and headed round to the reserve at Strumpshaw Fen for lunch next. We could hear Long-tailed Tits and a Chiffchaff calling in the car park when we arrived. On our way to Reception Hide, we stopped to look at the Feeders. A steady stream of tits were coming and going constantly, including one or two Marsh Tits and a Coal Tit too.

Marsh Tit – coming to the feeders by the reception hide

We ate our lunch in Reception Hide, looking out over the pool in front. There were lots of ducks here, once again all in eclipse, and the resident Black Swan was feeding out in the middle. After lunch, we headed out onto the reserve. It was spitting with rain now, but it was thankfully still light.

There was not much to see immediately from Fen Hide when we arrived. Two Grey Herons flew in and a lone Teal landed in the middle of the water, standing motionless for a couple of minutes looking nervous, before flying off again. Scanning the cut reeds below the hide carefully, we found three Common Snipe hiding in the vegetation. They were very well camouflaged and hard to see until two of them started feeding.

Common Snipe – very well camouflaged in the cut reed

As we carried on round to Tower Hide, a Great Crested Grebe was swimming on the river, still looking smart in breeding plumage. Looking out over the pools in the reeds on the way, we spooked several large flocks of mainly Gadwall. A Green Sandpiper flew off with one group.

There were lots more ducks from the hide, particularly a good number of Shoveler. Even though they are all in brown eclipse plumage, their distinctive large bills still give them away instantly. There were several Ruff feeding around the muddy edges, and a few Lapwings.

Ruff – feeding in front of Tower Hide

Three juvenile Marsh Harriers circled up out in the reedbed, despite the rain. They seemed to be playing, chasing each other.

There were several Grey Herons around the pool and we had literally just remarked that we had not seen any sign of one the Great White Egrets which have been here in recent days when one of them flew up out of the reeds. It flew back away from us at first, then circled round, giving us a good view of its long yellow bill, before it dropped down into the reeds again.

Great White Egret – flew round before landing back in the reeds

With a couple more places we wanted to visit this afternoon, we headed back to the car and drove round to Ormesby Little Broad. The rain was picking up now, and as we walked out along the nature trail towards the broad it was all quiet in the trees. We had a quick look out at the broad from the platform at the end, which held several large rafts of Coot and a few Great Crested Grebes. We didn’t linger here though and on the walk back a Treecreeper was calling from somewhere in the trees.

Great Crested Grebe – a common bird on the Broads

Our last stop was at Rollesby Broad. Thankfully we didn’t have far to walk here – we could see the broad from the car park – but unfortunately it was now drizzling harder, blowing towards us, and visibility out across the water was poor.

We could see several terns in the mist right at the far end, but they were very hard to make out clearly against the reeds and trees. Two or three pale silvery grey Common Terns stood out, but there seemed to be two or three smaller, darker birds with them. At one point, two of them circled up above the tree line and we were able to confirm they were Black Terns, but they were still not easy for everyone to see.

Thankfully one of the Black Terns then came up to our end of the broad, and we could see it properly. It was a juvenile – with sooty grey upperparts, darker on the mantle, and a black cap. Despite the weather, we could see it was flying much more buoyantly, dipping down to the water’s surface to pick for food. When it made its way back down the broad, we headed back to the car.

It was time to call it a day now – we had enjoyed a very successful day in the Broads and the weather could do its worst now.