8th-10th Jan 2024 – Three Winter Days

A 3-day Private Tour, with some specific targets we wanted to see. It was cloudy and cold on Monday, though the wintry flurries were thankfully brief and light, but with a very blustery and cold NE wind which hampered us at times. Tuesday and Wednesday were much brighter with some nice long spells of winter sunshine, though the wind only eased slowly.

Monday 8th January

Our primary target today was to see if we could locate the Red-breasted Goose. Figuring it didn’t fly out from the saltmarsh to the fields until around 10am yesterday, we decided to head down to Wells first and have a look in the harbour. We could see the trees being lashed around when we arrived in the car park and as we got up past the lifeboat station, we were face on into the biting cold wind. We had a quick scan from the slipway – four distant Red-breasted Mergansers were in the outer channel, and a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover were feeding along the near edge in front of us. A Curlew was on the shore the other side, and lots of Dunlin were running around on the wet sand behind.

Red-breasted Merganser – in the channel

We walked back and round behind the new lifeboat station and managed to get some shelter from the wind behind the groynes. Three more Red-breasted Mergansers were in the channel much closer here, two males and a female, and the males started displaying briefly.

There were more waders opposite here, a few Knot, Ringed Plover, more Bar-tailed Godwits. A Greenshank was in the mouth of the small channel opposite before it disappeared round behind the sand. Further up, lots of Oystercatchers were roosting on the sandbar, with a big group of Knot in a tight flock in amongst them. A group of Shelducks were sleeping on the sand too.

Oystercatcher & Knot – roosting

We got a message now to say that the Red-breasted Goose was already in the fields where we had looked for it yesterday afternoon, so we walked straight back to the minibus and drove over. Before we got there, apparently the farmer had already been out and flushed all the Brent Geese. Most had flown off, but there were still a few hundred there, though unfortunately they were super nervous now and took off again as soon as we drove up, landing out of view behind a hedge.

We drove round to the next road over and looked back. We couldn’t see the field where the flock was at first, but there were lots of Lapwings in the field in front of us and several Fieldfares feeding in with lots of Starlings. The Brent Geese came up again, off in the distance, and whirled round, before dropping down again out of view. We wouldn’t be able to see them from this side.

We made our way back round to where we had started, and the Brent flock was back in a field visible from the road now. They were more distant from the road but once again they took off as soon as we slowed to pull up. It felt like it might be another frustrating wild goose chase, but thankfully this time they landed again still in view just a little further back, far enough that we could even get out of the minibus to look through with the scopes.

The Red-breasted Goose was in the flock with the Brents but it was very hard to see at first, as it sat down in the middle of the group. Before we even had a proper chance to look the farmer was back on his ATV to flush the geese, presumably attracted by our presence. Kindly he at least allowed us a couple of minutes before he drove, and all at least had a quick look at the Red-breasted Goose before the Brent flock took off of their own accord and flew off over the road further up.

Red-breasted Goose – taken elsewhere recently!

A good start, but we wanted to see if we could get better views. The farmer rode off and we continued on down the road to see if we could find where the Brents had landed. They were a couple of fields over, behind a hedge, and pretty much out of view. But we noticed a gap in the hedge, found somewhere to pull off the road, and set up the scope. Remarkably, there was the Red-breasted Goose in the gap! We had a better view of it now, for a minute or so, before all the geese moved further back in the field out of view again.

There were some light wintry flurries and it was very cold in the wind, so we got in the minibus and made our way back down to the coast. We stopped at Holkham – the Shorelarks had been reported again this morning, so we thought we would look for those, and we particularly wanted to look for Velvet Scoters too. When we got out to the saltmarsh, people walking back told us the Shorelarks had been flushed by a Merlin and flown off high west. We scanned the beach around the Gap, but couldn’t see anything out there, so continued on out to the dunes.

We managed to find a spot out of the wind and quickly located the Common Scoters. They were quite close in, several thousand of them, but the sea was rough, so it was tricky to pick out anything in with them on the water. Thankfully, they had split into several groups and birds were flying between the flocks. The Velvet Scoters were easy to see in flight, with the bright white flash in their wings, and we eventually counted at least 15 of them before the scoters all settled down again.

On our way back, we had a quick look out on the saltmarsh west of the Gap, but there were no birds there at all, so we cut back in through the pines to the Lookout for lunch. After lunch, as we drove back up Lady Anne’s Drive, we could see lots of waders feeding on the flooded fields, so we got out for a closer look. We could see a good number of Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits, Redshanks, and a couple of Dunlin too.

Barnacle Geese – probably from the Park

Back out on the main road, we stopped to look at the geese in their usual field. There was a big flock of Barnacle Geese in here today, at least a couple of hundred, which seem to be the feral Holkham breeders which have returned early this year. There were at least 50 White-fronted Geese too, mostly over the back of the field but a small group were much closer. A couple of Pink-footed Geese and the usual Greylags made for a very good goose selection! We made our way on west, with a quick stop to look at four Grey Partridges in a field by the road, and on to Titchwell.

White-fronted Geese – by the road again

The car park at Titchwell was remarkably quiet. Once we got out of the trees on the main path, we could see why – the bitter wind was gusting 36-37mph in off the sea and across the open marshes. We couldn’t see any Water Pipits on the reedbed pool, just a few Pied Wagtails, but it was just too cold to linger long here this afternoon. The Freshmarsh was pretty much empty, as birds had presumably sought shelter elsewhere. We continued on to check the Tidal Pool and were rewarded with another Greenshank. There were lots of ducks roosting on here, but no sign of any Pintail. It was hard to keep the scopes still, so we decided to head back to shelter.

The light was already starting to go. We had a quick look at Thornham Harbour, hoping we might pick up something coming through, heading to Titchwell to roost, from the shelter of the minibus but it was too blustery. Time to head for home. We had one last surprise – as we drove back inland, what looked like a piece of white rubbish blowing across the road ahead of us turned out to be a Stoat in full ermine as we got closer and we could see it in the base of the hedge next to the road.

Tuesday 9th January

We had a particular request to try to see a Long-eared Owl, so we headed over to the Fens this morning. It was a lovely sunny morning for the long drive with wall to wall blue skies, and just a light frost. When we arrived and disembarked, it was nice to find that the wind was a lot lighter inland too. As we walked in along the track, a Fieldfare flew up from the verge and landed in the hedge beside us. A Green Woodpecker laughed behind us and landed in the top of a dead tree.

Fieldfare – in the hedge

We walked down to the hide and opened the flaps. A quick scan revealed a Long-eared Owl tucked in the ivy, very close to the hide. We could see two eyes staring back at us, until it went back to sleep, and most of one of its ear tufts, between the leaves. There was probably a second Long-eared Owl deep in the ivy too.

Long-eared Owl – trying to hide

There were not so many ducks as normal on the main lake, only a few distant Goldeneye and no sign of any Goosander, as well as the regular Gadwall, Wigeon, Teal and Tufted Duck. There were a couple of distant Common Pochard too.

Goldeneye – on the main lake

There has been a Glossy Ibis on site for the last week or so, so we went on to look for that now. Out on the riverbank, the pools it had apparently been on were frozen over, so we walked downstream to look at the west pit. The wet grass around the edges of that were frozen too, and there was a work party out there over the far side, cutting trees and having bonfires, so probably no chance of it feeding on there today. We walked back up and another birder appeared who pointed out that that the Glossy Ibis was along the side of the river further upstream. You had to stand in just the right spot to see it between the trees, but we got it in the scopes now and had a good view.

Glossy Ibis – on the edge of the river

We made our way back to round to the hide, and the Long-eared Owl we had seen earlier had shrunk back into the leaves. We could see another one more clearly now, but where it had chosen to perch, we could see its bottom half but its head was completely hidden.

We had options to spend the rest of the day exploring the Fens, but with nothing on the particular target list elsewhere here, the decision was made to head back in to Norfolk. As we were passing, we stopped briefly on the King’s Lynn bypass to check the Hardwick flood lagoon. There has been a Black-throated Diver on here for a couple of weeks, but we couldn’t find it now. It may have been out of view in one of the bays or behind the reeds. It had been much calmer inland but we were back in the blustery wind now, and it was time for lunch, so we decided not to hang around.

We only had a couple of hours left this afternoon, so we made our way up to Titchwell again, to see if we could find some of the birds we had missed in the weather yesterday. After a quick lunch in the picnic area, we headed out onto the reserve. It was very windy out on the main path beyond the trees again, if anything worse than yesterday, though at least it was still bright and sunny today. There was no sign of the Water Pipit again and the Freshmarsh was empty – probably a combination of the wind and diggers working on the marsh at the moment, currently fixing the east bank sluice.

We continued on out past the Volunteer Marsh. Four Pintail flew in past us, circled over the Freshmarsh behind us, and then headed back out towards the beach, a nice addition to the trip list. Out at the Tidal Pool, there were lots of birds but it was next to impossible to keep the scope stable enough in the wind. The birds were all facing away from us too, into the wind. There were more Grey Plover sheltering on here today, and more Common Redshanks, but we still couldn’t find any sign of the Spotted Redshank. We had a quick look at the sea from the lee of the dunes, which was cutting up quite rough. The Sanderling were still running up and down along the shore.

Woodcock – hiding in the sallows

We headed back to the shelter of the sallows and cut in along Meadow Trail. There have been some good counts of Woodcock coming in to roost very early in the mornings here in recent days, so we thought we might be able to find one roosting under the trees. The first bird we found was a Water Rail feeding on the edge of a small pool deep under the trees. Then a little further on, we found a Woodcock too. Success! It was tucked in amongst the branches, but by moving around we could get a good view of most of it, We spent some time watching that, before it moved deeper in. Then a little further on, we quickly found a second Woodcock too, feeding close to the path. It was a little too close though and quickly disappeared back in between the branches.

A member of staff walking past told us that the Water Rail was back in the ditch by the main path, so we walked round to see that. Good views even if the light was now starting to go. A very successful couple of hours here, and the sun was setting now as we walked back to the car park.

Water Rail – back in the ditch

Wednesday 10th January

On our way down to the coast, we drove round via Wiveton. A lone Cattle Egret was still in one of the flooded fields by the road, despite the absence of any livestock. We wanted to look for the Velvet Scoters along the coast east of Cley this morning, as they have been close in at times. The wind was meant to drop today, which would make viewing ducks on the sea easier, but it hadn’t gone down as much as forecast and it was still rather blustery when we got out of the minibus.

We had a quick look at Salthouse first, as the scoter flock had been down this end yesterday afternoon. We couldn’t see any off the beach here – a young Grey Seal was hauled out near the top of the shingle and looked up at us as we came over the crest. A flock of 11 Red-throated Divers flew past out to sea, catching the early morning light.

Grey Seal – on the shingle

The scoter are more regularly off Kelling, so we headed round there next. As we parked in the village, a Grey Wagtail flew up out of the beck. The top part of the lane was quiet – the verges have been mown to within an inch of their lives, all the seedy vegetation is gone along the beck, and the hedges shredded back again. Presumably so it looks ‘tidy’! As we got down to the crosstrack, two Grey Partridges flew out of the field ahead of us, landing briefly on the path before flying off again. There were lots of Rooks feeding out on the Quags, which looked particularly smart in the low winter sunshine.

There was a nice selection of ducks on the Water Meadow pool. As the high water levels of recent days are receding, there is some nice wet grass appearing round the edges. As we looked over the hedge in the far corner, a Common Snipe came up from the vegetation. Just beyond, a couple of Brown Hares had taken shelter from the wind behind a small bramble clump and were warming themselves in the morning sun.

Brown Hares – sheltering from the wind

As we climbed up to the top of the shingle, there was a large raft of Common Scoter quite close inshore, but they were very nervous and flew before we could down from the skyline the other side. There was no sign of any Velvet Scoters in with them, and they landed further east with another larger raft. We scanned through them, several hundred strong, but they were mostly facing into the wind, so away from us, and diving continually. We picked up a smaller group just to the west of us, which was easier to look through and found a smart drake Eider in with them. We had some really nice views of the Common Scoters now too.

The scoter started to drift back inshore and gather in front of us, but were flushed again by two people walking along the shoreline and went off east again. We waited and scanned, and gradually they returned once more. We could see them much better now and finally we started to find the Velvet Scoters in with the Commons, at least three of them though it was hard to keep track. Lovely views new, quite close in, with the Eider alongside them at one point too.

Eider & Velvet Scoter – with the Common Scoter

It was cold out on the beach, so we decided to head back and warm up. A Water Rail scuttled across between clumps of rushes as we passed the pool. We had a couple of options now – we could go back to Holkham to have another go for the Shorelarks, or we could head out to Stiffkey Fen to see if we could relocate a Glaucous Gull which had been seen earlier, distantly out on Blakeney Point. We knew the latter would be a long shot, but the preference was to have a walk out there.

As we got up onto the seawall, a Greenshank was on the mud in the channel in front of us, along with several Redshanks and a tight flock of Dunlin which flew up and whirled round. The water level on the Fen is very high, so we made our way straight round to the corner of the coastal path overlooking the harbour and found a sheltered spot out of the wind.

There were lots of gulls out in the harbour, but no sign of the Glaucous Gull. We could see several groups of Great Black-backed Gulls out on the sands beyond, feeding on a number of seal carcasses, and those were just the ones we could see from here so there was plenty of food around. More gulls were roosting in larger groups on the mud closer to us. The light was really good and there was a nice selection of waders out in the harbour, plus a good number of roosting Pintail and several distant Red-breasted Mergansers out in the Pit.

It was time for lunch, so we made our way back. A Stonechat was getting chased around on the seawall by a Robin now. We decided to head round to Stiffkey Greenway where we could look out over the saltmarsh. On the way, we pulled up briefly in the village opposite the Red Lion. The Glossy Ibis was feeding out on the grass on the near edge of the flood today, so we had really good views of it as it probed its long bill into the grassy tussocks, better than the views we had yesterday.

Glossy Ibis – better views than yesterday

When we arrived at Greenway, a Red Kite was hanging in the air over the saltmarsh and drifted across right in front of us. We could see its was carrying a white wing tag and managed to grab a couple of photos so we could read the code. It turned out to have been ringed further east in Norfolk last June. There was a bit more raptor action while we ate – a juvenile Peregrine chased a small wader round and round high over the saltmarsh for a while, but showed its inexperience, as it kept missing it; a female Marsh Harrier flew past in front of us too.

Red Kite – wing tagged

It was heading for 2pm, so given the raptor activity, we decided to go straight round to Warham Greens now to see what we could catch up with there. We had just pulled up on the concrete pad, and were looking through the birds in the nearby hedge, when we had a glimpse of a harrier over the field behind. It was a ringtail, so we leapt out and got to the field entrance where we could see it going away from us over the field – a ringtail Hen Harrier. It banked over the hedge and we lost sight of it as it went round behind the old barn. A good start!

Down at the edge of the saltmarsh, one person was already there. Apparently we had just missed a Merlin and as we scanned back and forth it was now rather quiet. There were one or two distant Marsh Harriers over the back of the saltmarsh and a Peregrine briefly over East Hills. As we got closer to 3pm, raptor activity picked up again. A few more Marsh Harriers flew in and then a smart grey male Hen Harrier drifted across and landed out on the saltmarsh. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew past over the back of the saltmarsh too.

Just after 3pm, we picked up a ringtail harrier flying out from the fields to our left. As it turned, we could see its slim wings and pointed ‘hands’, with only four visible primary tips, the Pallid Harrier! It flew across low over the saltmarsh towards us, and we could see it had a bulging crop, so it had fed well. Then it dropped down onto the saltmarsh out of view behind some bushes.

Pallid Harrier – flew in early

We waited a couple of minutes to see if the Pallid Harrier might come back up quickly, but it could sit there now until it was time to roost. We had already been here some time and it couldn’t be called warm, so with mission accomplished we decided to call it a day.

As we made our way back up the track, several skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew in over the fields calling. A lovely sight – and sound – against the pink-tinged clouds and a fitting way to wrap up our three days.

11th Nov 2023 – Late Autumn Day Tour

A group Late Autumn single day tour in North Norfolk today. It was a cloudy start, but with some nice spells of late autumn sunshine. There was a brisk WNW wind with a bit of a chill to it this morning, but it eased off during the day.

There had been some Waxwings at Wiveton yesterday, and with the news that a small group was still present there this morning, we decided to call in first thing on our way to the coast. As we got out of the minibus in the car park, we could see the Waxwings perched in the top of a large tree on the other side of the green. We got them in the scope and had a look from here, just in case they should fly off before we got across.

Waxwing – a nice start to the day

Once everyone had a look at the Waxwings, we walked across the green and got the scope on them again. It wasn’t long before they dropped down to feed in the cotoneaster in the back garden of the pub, a couple of them landing on the wires above first, before joining the others. They quickly gobbled down some berries and then flew back up to the top of the tree. A Mistle Thrush flew past too. Then suddenly the Waxwings were off – they flew up and away over the green, six of them at first, but joined by two more which seemed to come up from the other side. We lost sight of them as they flew off calling over the trees. Perfect timing – they would not be seen again until late afternoon!

It looks like we are about to have a Waxwing Winter, the first for several years, when large numbers of Waxwings come over here from Scandinavia, normally in response to a failure of the berry crop over there. Fingers crossed, that will mean lots more Waxwings to come in the months to come! One of the locals had told us there was a nice bank of Wrinkled Club fungus on the other side of the green, so we walked round for a quick look on our way back to the car park.

Wrinkled Club – fungus

Then we dropped down to the coast and parked in front of Walsey Hills. A pair of Gadwall were on Snipe’s Marsh and a Cetti’s Warbler shouted from the ditch across the road.

Gadwall – the connoisseurs’ duck!

Up on the East Bank, a couple of Marsh Harriers drifted out across the reedbed. There was a nice selection of wildfowl out on the grazing marsh – we stopped to look at some of the Wigeon and listen to them whistling. There were lots of Teal too, plus a few Shoveler and a pair of Shelduck on Pope’s Pool, along with a single female Pintail. There were fewer waders here today – still a few Lapwings out on the grass, four Dunlin on the edge of the Serpentine and a lone Black-tailed Godwit on Pope’s Pool.

Marsh Harrier – flew over the reedbed

We bumped into a couple of birders from the village by the main drain and were joined by George the Warden from Cley Marshes. We could see all the machinery and piles of spoil out towards North Scrape and as we hadn’t yet discussed the works which are currently underway, George very kindly gave us a short explanation. It all sounds very exciting, particularly the prospect of a new hide overlooking a rejuvenated North Scrape!

A drake Pintail flew over the bank and dropped down on the Brackish Pools and as we walked on we could see several around the water. One drake was busy upending and we could see that it had not yet finished growing its long pin tail. Twelve Little Grebes were out on the water too. Arnold’s Marsh is very full with water at the moment, and apart from more ducks, all we could add was a Curlew asleep at the back.

There were a few birds moving this morning. As we walked out, a succession of small flocks of Starlings flew over and continued on away to the west, presumably freshly arrived from the Continent for the winter. Several Skylarks flew over too and a single Rock Pipit – they have all been coming in off the sea in recent days too, so at least some of them were presumably active migrants.

It was cold out on the beach in the breeze. We had a look out to sea, but despite the WNW wind there was very little apart from gulls moving now. A Great Crested Grebe and a single Razorbill flew past, but there didn’t seem to be anything much on the water today. We had a good scan up and down the shingle bank but all we found was a single Stonechat. There were quite a few people walking up and down and no sign of any Snow Buntings. We decided to head back and get out of the wind.

Glossy Ibis – still at Stiffkey

Next, we drove west and stopped just before Stiffkey. We walked down along the permissive path to the corner of the flood and scanned, quickly locating the Glossy Ibis which was feeding out on the wet grass. It was joined at one point by a Curlew – we admired both their long, downcurved bills. Otherwise, there were lots of Wigeon and Teal and a small gaggle of Greylags out on the flood. We had a quick look further down the footpath, put could only find a pair of Egyptian Geese and half a dozen Redshanks, so decided to move on west.

Our next stop was at Wells. After a short break to get a coffee at the Beach Cafe and use the facilities, we walked up to the harbour. The tide was out but we could immediately see the two Common Scoter asleep down in the channel. Scanning further up, we found two Shags and after a while, a single Red-throated Diver appeared too, all diving continually. One of the Shag eventually walked out onto the shore just beyond the channel and we could see that it was colour-ringed. There have been lots of Shags displaced south down the North Sea this winter so far, most that have been ringed have been from colonies in the Firth of Forth, so it will be interesting to find out where this one had come from. A single Common Seal was floating out in the middle.

Common Scoter – these two are lingering in the harbour

There were lots of waders out on the mud. The highlight was a single Greenshank in the edge of the water opposite, a scarce wintering species here, with a small group of Redshanks. There were a couple of smart Bar-tailed Godwits and a Grey Plover on the near bank in the sunshine. Scanning the other side of the water, we could see lots of Oystercatchers and Turnstones, a few Knot and Dunlin, and a few Ringed Plover. There were several Sanderling on the sand way out towards the beach, then one appeared on the edge of the water the other side of the entrance to the moorings, where we could get a much better look at it as it ran around on the sand like a clockwork toy.

Bar-tailed Godwit – in the harbour

There were lots of Common Gulls and Herring Gulls out on the mud across the harbour, and several of them were picking up shellfish from the beach. They kept flying up a short way and dropping it onto the shingle below, hoping to break it. It seemed to take several goes before they managed to crack into them. Five Red Kites were chasing each other round over the edge of East Hills.

There were lots of Brent Geese loafing around in the channel back towards town – we had a quick scan through them as we drove past the quay earlier, to see if one of the Red-breasted Geese might be with them. Now we walked back halfway along the harbour wall towards Wells to have a better look, but we still drew a blank. There were more Brent Geese on the saltmarsh beyond, but we couldn’t see anything different in with them either. It was time for lunch, so we headed back to the Beach Cafe and made use of the picnic tables there.

After lunch, we drove on west to Holkham. Scanning the grazing marshes, the first thing we found was a Great White Egret out on one of the small pools. After a while it flew, chasing a second Great White Egret up from further over and the two of them flying back to the trees. Most of the cattle seem to have been brought inside already, but we could see a distant herd still. We scanned around the feet of those we could see, but there was nothing white obviously with them. Then a little while later, we picked up a Cattle Egret flying past in the distance, which then passed another one heading in the opposite direction.

Looking through the Greylags we found a few White-fronted Geese in with them. Through the scope, we could see the white surround to their pink bills and the black belly bars on the adults. A small group of Pink-footed Geese flew over calling and disappeared off inland. There were several Chinese Water Deer out on the grass too and we saw several Common Buzzards and a couple of Marsh Harriers, plus two Sparrowhawks which came out of the trees.

White-fronted Geese – in with the Greylags

A few finches kept flying round and landing briefly in the tops of the trees, before dropping down out of view, presumably to feed. At one point, a single Brambling appeared with a Greenfinch, and then a small flock of Siskin dropped in. A tit flock came through the bushes and past us too, Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits and Great Tits, and a Goldcrest flew between us into the hedge the other side. A flock of Stock Doves came up too and circled round, before disappearing off east.

Our last destination for the afternoon was Warham Greens. As we got out onto the edge of the saltmarsh, there were already several people scanning. Apparently, no one had managed to find either of the Red-breasted Geese with the Brent Geese out here either. We walked a bit further east, stopping to look at a Redwing which perched up briefly in the hedge. Several small flocks of Golden Plover came up from the fields inland and overhead, before dropping down out on the saltmarsh. There were also Little Egrets, Curlew, Redshank and three Grey Plover around the pools, as well as several more small groups of Brent Geese.

There were a few Marsh Harriers out over the far edge of the saltmarsh, but otherwise little raptor activity at first this afternoon. It seemed like, with the nice weather, the birds were taking advantage to stay out hunting later. We did have a brief Merlin which shot out low over the saltmarsh, before turning and disappearing off east.

We made our way back to where the others were standing, and were just walking up when someone called out ‘it’s up’. We turned to see a ringtail harrier heading straight away from us, before landing out on the saltmarsh again. The Pallid Harrier had apparently reappeared a little earlier and just flown up again. We got the scope on it, before it took off again, flying further back and this time landing out of view.

A few more Marsh Harriers came in, but there was no further sign of the Pallid Harrier for a bit. We figured it still needed to fly to its roost site, so we waited a little longer. Then we heard Pink-footed Geese calling behind us and as they got louder we realised there were skeins and skeins, several thousand of them. They came high overhead before whiffling down towards the sands. We watched them landing on the beach through the scope. Amazing to watch.

Pink-footed Geese – thousands came over our heads at dusk

The Pallid Harrier came up again, and flew back further again, dropping down out of view presumably to roost. The light was starting to go now, so everyone decided to call it a day and we walked back to the minibus. There were still more Pink-footed Geese to come though, and as we got back to the concrete pad we stood and watched another huge succession of waves of geese fly over calling. Even as we eventually managed to tear ourselves away, there were still some smaller skeins of Pinkfeet coming in to roost. A stunning end to the day.

4th Nov 2023 – Late Autumn, Day 2

Day 2 of a three day Late Autumn Tour. It was forecast to rain heavily for most of the morning and into the afternoon, but thankfully yet again the forecast was wrong. There was heavy drizzle for about 15 minutes mid morning, and some short spells of light drizzle at times through the rest of the day too, but nothing like as bad as we were led to expect by the Met Office.

Given the forecast, we headed over to Titchwell this morning, where we could get into the hides. On our way, we could still see clear skies away to the north and the bank of high cloud as overhead as the front arrived from the SW. We had a quick look round the car parks first. Scanning from the gate at the far end, we could see a few Blackbirds and Starlings in the paddocks. A Redwing appeared in the hedge, where we could get it in the scope for a closer look.

Continuing round, several finches flew over – Greenfinches, Chaffinches and a couple of Siskin. A Kestrel was hovering over the edge of the paddocks, and seemed to flush a few Meadow Pipits and a Reed Bunting which came up and over us too. The bushes in the overflow car park were quiet this morning, but we came across a tit flock in the main car park – Long-tailed Tits and Blue Tits. A Goldcrest flitted through the oaks. We followed the flock to the far corner where it disappeared quickly into the sallows towards Fen Trail.

It started to drizzle while we were in the car park, which we thought might be the beginning of the forecast rain, but it stopped again almost immediately. We carried on round past the Visitor Centre, and as we walked up along the main path we noticed movement in the ditch below us. A Water Rail was picking around in the bottom of the ditch – we watched it feeding furtively. They can often be found here in the winter, but this might be the first one here this autumn.

Out of the trees, and a Marsh Harrier was up over the back of the reedbed and a Kestrel was hovering in the distance, but there didn’t seem to many birds moving today. Several Coot in the channels and two Common Pochard on the reedbed pool were new for the trip list. There were a few Curlew, Redshank and Little Egrets over the saltmarsh, where several Skylarks and pipits chased each other round too, the latter a mixture of Meadow Pipits and one or two Rock Pipits.

Black-tailed Godwit – on the Freshmarsh

As the weather was still holding off, we decided to head out to the beach first, and then head back to the hides when the rain arrived. We stopped at the freshmarsh to have a quick scan and get the scopes on two Common Snipe which were feeding on one of the islands. There were lots of Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits roosting further back on the first compartment, as well as a selection of ducks, but not much on the next compartment.

Pushing on, the tide was high on Volunteer Marsh now. A Great White Egret was over in front of Parrinder hide. It flew up and landed a little further back, helpfully right next to a Little Egret so we had a great comparison view through the scopes and could really appreciate the size difference between the two.

Great White Egret – with a Little Egret

There were a few Teal in the channels, including a drake displaying to two females already, bobbing its head up and down as it swam after them. There were lots of Wigeon too and a single Great Crested Grebe at the back of the big channel at the far end of Volunteer Marsh. Several Curlew, Redshank and a Dunlin were feeding on the muddy edges. Another Little Egret was down at the front, although its yellow feet were a bit muddy.

Continuing over the bank to the Tidal Pool, and the first bird we noticed was a Greenshank on one of the muddy islands close to the path. It seemed unconcerned by people walking past and we had great close views. A Spotted Redshank was feeding a bit further back, which we got in the scope so we could see its needle-fine bill. Both species are mainly passage migrants through here, in spring and autumn, but small numbers stay for the winter, feeding mostly in the saltmarsh channels at low tide. It was high tide now, so a good time to find them on here.

Greenshank – on the Tidal Pool

Further on, we could see a flock of Dunlin feeding out on the saltmarsh island, along with a few Turnstones, and a line of several Grey Plover roosting on the edge of the water. A small flock of Brent Geese were feeding on one of the pools on the Thornham side of the bank.

We pressed on and out to the beach. With the tide in, a large group of Oystercatchers was roosting out along the beach to the east, and through the scopes we could see a smaller number of Bar-tailed Godwits in with them. A couple of Sanderings and a Turnstone were closer to us on the shore. Looking out to sea, we could see a large raft of Common Scoter offshore, and several Great Crested Grebes. Looking away towards Brancaster, we picked up a Red-necked Grebe just off the beach. Unfortunately it dived and we lost track of it before everyone could get a look.

We could see dark clouds approaching from behind us now and it started to drizzle. The visibility out to sea steadily deteriorated, until we couldn’t even see down to Scolt Head any more. Half of the group decided to head back to Parrinder hide now, but three of us decided to stay a little longer to see if we could find the Red-necked Grebe again.

After a short while, we looked back again and the skies seemed to be brightening up to the south, so we decided to stick it out. A larger flock of Sanderling flew in and landed right in front of us, running past on the high tide line fearlessly. We picked up one or two small passerines coming in off the sea distantly to the east, but we couldn’t make out what they were in drizzle. Thankfully, the rain quickly cleared through, it brightened up and dried out.

Sanderling – feeding on the beach

We scanned the sea again and relocated the Red-necked Grebe, a bit further away to the east now, but a particular target for one of the members of the group who had stayed out through the rain. We looked more carefully through the raft of the Common Scoter, but couldn’t see anything in with them, then found a single Velvet Scoter on its own further over. We could see the white flash in its wings.

We headed back to Parrinder Hide now to meet the others. The Greenshank was still on the Tidal Pool but there was no sign of the Spotted Redshank now. The channel on Volunteer Marsh was still full of water.

In Parrinder Hide, we found the others watching some Teal on the bank in front of the hide. They were repeatedly walking up the bank to break off bits of vegetation in their bills, then going down to the water to wash it. A single Dunlin was on the bank opposite and a Ringed Plover flew across to the island in front. The Black-tailed Godwits were still on the next compartment over, but the Avocets were now scattered all round. A Kingfisher shot across in front of the hide, but disappeared into the bank away to the left.

We had a quick look on the other side of Parrinder Hide, overlooking Volunteer Marsh. Over the last ten or so years the mud on here has become nearly completely vegetated over now – a small open patch in front of the hide held a single Redshank, and a Grey Plover was further back on a small area of mud in front of the reeds. There was no sign of the Great White Egret now.

As we walked back, a smart male Marsh Harrier was perched in the dead trees at the back of the reedbed. We cut in round along Meadow Trail and Fen Trail, which was quiet apart from a few Long-tailed Tits and Blue Tits in the trees. A couple of Goldfinches flew up from the edge of the Tank Road and a Reed Bunting perched up in the hedge. We could hear a Greenshank calling as we walked up to Patsy’s, and we found it out in the shallow water with the bathing gulls, before it flew off. A pair of Shelduck were out on the water too and a couple of Marsh Harriers flew back and forth over the reedbed beyond

We headed back to the Visitor Centre for lunch and a welcome hot drink. The tables were damp, but the weather was still dry now so we could sit outside. We had originally intended to head over to Snettisham this afternoon to look for Shorelarks, but a Red-breasted Goose had been found at Warham Greens earlier and last winter’s Pallid Harrier had reappeared there in the roost again last night, so we decided to head over there instead.

As we drove back east, the Warham tracks looked very busy, so we continued on to Stiffkey Greenway, which would be closer for the goose but perhaps not such a good place from which to look for the harrier. As we walked west along the coast path, it started to drizzle again. Several small flocks of Brent Geese were out on the saltmarsh, along with Curlews, Redshank and Little Egrets. Several Blackbirds flew out of the bushes ahead of us – more lingering migrants possibly arrived from Scandinavia.

Red-breasted Goose – with the Brent Geese

The Red-breasted Goose had been reported from the saltmarsh west of the Whirligig, so we scanned first from the tarmac path there. We couldn’t see the goose but we could see a few people standing further down along the coast path, so we headed over there. Before we even got to them, we could see the Red-breasted Goose out on the saltmarsh with a small group of Brent Geese. It was a bit misty at times, due to the drizzle, but we all enjoyed good views through the scope as it fed with the Brents.

Wild Red-breasted Geese are very occasional visitors here, although they are common in captivity and escapes sometimes turn up too. Breeding in Arctic Siberia, they spend the winter mostly around the Black Sea. Our Dark-bellied Brent Geese breed in Siberia too, so lost Red-breasted Geese can sometimes join up with the flocks of Brents and follow them here to the UK for the winter. We had one with the Brents at Cley and Blakeney for several weeks early in 2022, but this is a different bird, a juvenile born this year.

With good views of the Red-breasted Goose secured, we turned our attention to the other bids. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew through low over the middle of the saltmarsh and off east and several Marsh Harriers patrolled up and down further back. A large flock of Golden Plover came up off the saltmarsh over towards Blakeney harbour, but disappeared into the mist as they climbed up.

We could see patches of blue sky behind us, the drizzle stopped and it started to brighten up. Just at that moment, a gas gun bird scarer went off with a loud bang behind us. The geese all took off and flew back away over the saltmarsh, splitting up into several splinter groups. We lost track of the Red-breasted Goose. There were more flocks of waders, large groups of Knot, whirling round over the beach in the low sunlight now.

The Pallid Harrier had first been seen late last night, and then again this morning. It had probably roosted here, as it did for most of last winter. There had already been a report of is again this afternoon, but further to the west of us at Garden Drove. We kept scanning the saltmarsh away to the west, and some of the areas it liked to perch last winter, to see if it might be coming in to roost, but there was no sign yet. We figured it was probably still out hunting, given how nice the weather was now.

We were just watching a Marsh Harrier over one of the old dune ridges to the NE, when one of the group noticed a harrier high over the saltmarsh just in front of us. We looked up, and as it circled round it looked distinctly falcon-like, with very pointed wings. The Pallid Harrier! We got the scope on it, and could see it only had four long primaries, which gives it the more pointed wing than Hen Harrier, which has five. It gradually drifted out over the saltmarsh as it circled, then it turned and flew off west.

Pallid Harrier – circled over

We were doing well for raptors already, and this is a good spot for Merlin at this time of year. We had just said as much when someone to our right said he could see one hunting pipits high in the sky. It was clearly very distant, and he had no reference point, so we couldn’t work out where he was looking. He lost sight of it and we continued to scan the saltmarsh, and quickly fount it or another Merlin on a post out on the edge of the beach. It was distant too, but through the scopes you could see what it was.

It was a lovely early evening now, and the Pink-footed Geese were starting to fly in from the fields inland, dropping down onto the sand bar out on the beach to roost. Half of group decided to start walking back – the path was muddy and it had been slow going on the way out. The rest waited a little longer, taking in the scene. As we eventually headed back, we stopped to talk to one of the locals who was stood beside the path. We looked back and noticed another ringtail Hen Harrier coming straight towards us, hunting the bushes either side of the path. It saw us and flew round behind the bushes on the inland side of the path but when it came out the other side it flew straight past us. Stunning close views!

Hen Harrier – flew past

The light was starting to go now. It had been a great afternoon, and the day had been a long way from the washout which it was predicted to be.

10th Feb 2023 – Three Winter Days, Day 3

Day 3 of a three-day Private Winter Tour in Norfolk, and we were back on the North Norfolk coast. It was a cloudier and somewhat windier day than the previous two, but thankfully remained pretty much dry throughout (we did get a couple of brief spots of rain, which were not in the forecast!!). Certainly nothing to stop us getting out and making the most of our last day.

Our first destination was Holkham. As we drove in along Lady Anne’s Drive, a small group of Pink-footed Geese were on the grass close to the road so we pulled up for a quick look, contrasting them with the Greylags which were in the next field back. There were lots of Wigeon out on the grass and Shoveler and Teal on the pools.

A message came through to say that the Ruddy Shelduck which had been here recently was with the Pinkfeet to the east of Lady Anne’s Drive. We couldn’t see it from where we were, so we walked up towards The Lookout and managed to find it from higher up. It was still hard to see, as all the geese were feeding in amongst the tall dead thistle heads, but the Ruddy Shelduck eventually came out into the open where we could see it.

Ruddy Shelduck – with the Pinkfeet

There was a Chiffchaff feeding in the holm oak at the north end of the Drive and then a large tit flock came out of the pines too. Several Long-tailed Tits dropped down to feed on the gravel under the tree and were joined by the Chiffchaff. The Firecrest has been with this flock recently, so we scanned the birds as they flew in, but at first all we could see were a couple of Goldcrests. The Firecrest then appeared but was promptly chased off by one of the Goldcrests and disappeared into the biggest holm oak. The Firecrest reappeared just as the Ruddy Shelduck came out of the thistles, so it was a question of which to look at first!

Chiffchaff – feeding on the ground

When the tit flock disappeared into the pines, we set off to walk out to the beach. When we got out onto the edge of the saltmarsh, we had a quick look out along the inner edge of the dunes to the west of The Gap. We could see Skylarks and Linnets, which were then flushed by a loose dog running round, but no sign of any Shorelarks, so we decided to try our luck down at the cordon to the east. There were a few Brent Geese and a large group of Redshanks out on the saltmarsh as we walked down, but no sign of anything in the cordon.

We carried on out to the beach and scanned the sea. The big groups of Common Scoter were mostly very distant, but we found one male a bit closer. There were several Red-breasted Merganser and a single 1st winter drake Common Eider too. We managed to find the Red-necked Grebe, but it was busy diving and spent a lot of time underwater, making its way off west and further out at the same time. A Harbour Porpoise broke the surface several times. Two Sanderling flew past along the shoreline.

There was still no sign of life in the cordon, as we made our way back. Before we got to the boardwalk, we stopped to scan the saltmarsh away to the west again, and this time we could see there was a Shorelark in with the Skylarks. We had a quick look through the scope from here, but we could see several dogs running around in the dunes nearby, so made our way round as quickly as possible. Thankfully, when we got closer, we could see they were still there. Now we could see there were actually all nine Shorelarks here.

Shorelark – one from the other day

After another quick look, we moved a bit closer. Now, from a safe distance, we could get a really good look at the Shorelarks. They had taken some finding today, but everyone it was well worth the effort! As well as quite a few Skylarks still on the saltmarsh here, there was a large flock of Linnets and a single Goldfinch with them too.

As we made our way back through the pines, we ran into a big tit flock. We had nice views of a couple of Treecreepers feeding on the trunks of the hold oaks, but despite looking carefully we could only find several Goldcrests and no sign of the Firecrest with this group. Then it was back to The Lookout cafe where we rewarded ourselves with a coffee break.

After coffee, we got back in the minibus and drove east. After disappearing for a couple of weeks, the Long-eared Owl had reappeared in the garden of Cley Spy (North Norfolk’s premier optics retailer!) in Glandford this morning. Not something to be missed! When we arrived, there were a surprisingly large number of people there, but we found a spot to set up the scope. Great views of the Long-eared Owl!

Long-eared Owl – back at Cley Spy

Even better, there was a Tawny Owl roosting in the garden too today. It was a little more obscured and facing away, but it was a strikingly rufous individual, possibly good camouflage for roosting in a young oak tree among the orange leaves!

Tawny Owl – two for the price of one!

Time for lunch now, we were planning to head for Wells but given the time decided to divert to Blakeney. There was no sign of the Kingfisher in the harbour today, but the tide was out and slack. We amused ourselves watching the Black-headed Gulls and Jackdaws angling for scraps.

We had decided we would have another go for the Pallid Harrier this afternoon, so we only had about an hour or so to play with now. We drove to Wells and had a quick look out in the harbour. There was a nice selection of waders again – lots of Oystercatchers, Grey Plover and Ringed Plover, Bar-tailed Godwits, Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin and some small groups of Knot at the back. Not bad, considering the disturbance from the people collecting shellfish in the harbour at the moment.

We still had about half an hour, so we thought we would have a very quick look in Wells Woods to see if we could find the redpoll flock. There were a few Tufted Ducks on the boating lake, but the trees beyond were very quiet. The wind had picked up and was whistling through now. We had a quick look at the Dell, and then walked back through the birches, but barely saw a bird.

We thought we had got to Warham Greens in good time, but we were only half way down the track when we got a message to say that the Pallid Harrier had just flown in and dropped down out of view. When we got out to the edge of the saltmarsh, the small group of people there seemed unhelpfully sketchy on where it had actually gone down, but it was clear it had disappeared. We stopped to scan, but all we could see were two or three Marsh Harriers. When all the waders came up off the flats beyond, we spotted a Peregrine flying across. It seemed to catch something and we then found it again on a post way out on the beach, where it seemed to be eating.

Time slipped by and it increasingly felt like our luck might be out again. There were mentions of ‘dipping’ and a suggestion that we should only give it 10 more minutes. But the Pallid Harrier had not gone down where it likes to roost, so surely it would have to move again at some point. The 10 minutes was almost up, when we picked it up coming out of the grass. Just in time! It kept dropping down into the grass again, then coming up and flying round for a short while. Eventually, everyone got a look at it through the scope.

Mission accomplished, and good to not be defeated at the last – a nice way to end, we decided to call it a day and head for home.

2nd Feb 2023 – A Day on the Coast

A Private Tour today, along the North Norfolk coast. It was a cloudy start, but brightened up through the morning and there was then some nice winter sun at times in the afternoon. It was a very mild day, up to 11C, but didn’t feel quite so warm in the rather blustery WSW wind.

We drove down to Holkham to start. A pair of Grey Partridge were feeding on the grazing marsh by the north end of Lady Anne’s Drive as we walked out towards the beach. A Mistle Thrush was singing from the tops of the trees. The Shorelarks have been very mobile in recent days, and we decided to try the cordon first. There was no sign of them there, but a scan of the sea produced a Long-tailed Duck flying west through the breakers and then a second Long-tailed Duck diving with a small group of Red-breasted Mergansers offshore.

We walked back west and went to have a look at the saltmarsh the other side of the Gap. As we approached, we could see movement and through the scope confirmed that there were the Shorelarks, along with a couple of Skylarks. We headed over to where they were feeding and stopped briefly to watch a small flock of Linnets overhead. When we looked back the Shorelarks had gone. We had a quick look to see if they had gone out to the beach, but there was no sign there – they had probably gone back to the cordon. There were some large flocks of Common Scoter on the sea off this side, but they were too distant today to see anything else in with them.

Treecreeper – with the tit flock

We had seen the Shorelarks and with lots to to today we decided against trying to find them again. As we walked back through the pines, we came across a nice mixed tit flock, with great views in particular of two Treecreepers feeding on a tree trunk right in front of us, and a couple of Goldcrests. We checked the holm oak at the top of Lady Anne’s Drive but it was very exposed here, the branches were being blown about and we couldn’t see anything in there. We stopped to watch a large group of Long-tailed Tits feeding on the path just to the west. As we walked back towards the minibus, a Raven was out on the grass right beside Lady Anne’s Drive, before it flew off.

Raven – by Lady Anne’s Drive

White-fronted Goose was on the target list for the day, but it was a question of whether to walk down to the old Joe Jordan hide and look from the wall or try to save time and view from the road side. We decided to try the latter but when we got round there, a couple of people were scanning but hadn’t seen any. We worked our way through the geese carefully and located four White-fronted Geese asleep in the grass with the Greylags on the other side of one of the pools. Then a large flock of at least 80 more White-fronted Geese flew in and landed on the grass on the old fort. There were three Great White Egrets here too, one showing very well out in the open in the scopes in the sunshine.

A quick stop at Wells Harbour produced a nice selection of waders. We wanted to see Bar-tailed Godwit in particular, and a couple of large flocks whirled overhead calling before we had even got the new lifeboat station. There were also lots of Oystercatchers, Sanderling and Turnstone, Ringed Plover and Grey Plover, Dunlin and a few Knot. A small group of Red-breasted Mergansers diving in the channel further up looked stunning in the sun.

We stopped for lunch at the Visitor Centre at Cley, scanning Pat’s Pool from the picnic area where we could see a few Avocets, lots of Golden Plover with the Lapwings and a few Ruff. Then after lunch we parked again at Walsey Hills and walked up the East Bank. There were lots of Wigeon out on the grass, and a few Shoveler, Teal and some smart Gadwall on the Serpentine, along with a couple of Black-tailed Godwits. We could see a small group of people on the bank so we walked up to join them, just as one had located the Long-billed Dowitcher asleep in the grass. It was not a good view at first – all we could see was its rear end! But then it came out and even better flew right down to the near edge of the water right in front of us – some of the best views we have had since it arrived here first in mid-October.

Long-billed Dowitcher – showing well

The main item on the agenda for this afternoon was to try to see the Pallid Harrier at Warham Greens. We could see the Snow Buntings now distantly on the shingle ridge, to the north of Arnold’s Marsh, but rather than go out for a closer look we decided to keep the eyes on the prize and head back. With the wind, it was not a day for Bearded Tits but we heard one calling behind us a couple of times and then looked round to see it briefly flying over the reeds.

As we walked down the track at Warham the hedges were alive with thrushes – Redwings, Blackbirds, and a Fieldfare came out tchaking ahead of us. A few people were already looking from the far end and had just seen a grey male Hen Harrier. It didn’t take us long to get onto it and we were treated to some great views as it flew up and down over the saltmarsh. There were lots of Marsh Harriers, several Red Kites and Buzzards, a distant Peregrine and a brief glimpse of a Merlin too.

The Pallid Harrier sometimes comes in early and lingers out over the saltmarsh and other times comes in late and goes straight in to roost. It was almost 4.30pm when we finally picked it up flying in low and heading straight for the roost site. Thankfully we all got a good look at it through the scope before it dropped down out of view. We needn’t have worried, as it came up again a couple of minutes later and proceeded to fly up and down over the back of the saltmarsh for the next fifteen minutes, giving us a much better chance to appreciate it. At one point we were watching the Pallid Harrier as the male Hen Harrier flew through the same view, followed immediately by a Barn Owl across in the foreground! A Merlin zipped across the view too at one point, but all eyes were on the Pallid Harrier.

Sunset – to end a great day

The light was starting to go as the Pallid Harrier finally disappeared from view. There was a glorious sunset too, as we walked back to the minibus – a great finish to the day.

2nd Jan 2023 – New Year’s Birding Day

A Private Tour today in North Norfolk, a chance to catch up with some of the rarities which are still lingering here and some of our other winter specialities and kick off the New Year’s birding. The weather gods were in our favour – it was a mostly bright & sunny glorious winter’s day, with the wind having dropped from the last couple of days too.

We met in Wells and headed straight for Holkham, hoping to avoid the worst of the bank holiday crowds. The first thing we saw as we got out of the minibus was a White-tailed Eagle! It was rather distant, perched in the dead trees in Decoy Wood, but a good view through the scope. This is one of the released birds from the Isle of Wight and has been hanging around here for some time now. A great start to the day!

There were lots of Wigeon and Pink-footed Geese on the grazing marshes and flocks of Lapwings flying over. The Grey Partridges were back in their favoured field today and looked great in the morning sunshine.

Grey Partridge – in the sunshine

We made our way through the pines and out along the edge of the saltmarsh, stopped only to admire a small mixed group of Rock Pipits and Meadow Pipits feeding in the vegetation close to the path. There were a couple of people already out at the cordon admiring the Shorelarks and the flock of around 50 Snow Buntings on the edge of the dunes beyond. We didn’t know where to look first. The Shorelarks were close to the fence at first, giving some stunning views, the low winter sun causing their yellow faces to glow so we concentrated on those.

Shorelark – a photo from here yesterday

By the time we had finished admiring the Shorelarks, the Snow Buntings had flown further down. We found them again as we walked round towards the beach and now we picked up the orange colour-ringed bird which is in the flock at the moment. They were so close, we could read the code through the scope – ‘FD’. It turns out this individual had been ringed in France at Dunkirk just on 10th December, and it is very unusual that it should be in Norfolk just three weeks later in mid-winter. Fascinating what you can learn from colour-rings – and thanks to the ringer, Quentin Dupriez, for getting back to me with the details straight away. The Snow Buntings looked stunning too, as they whirled round in the low winter light.

Snow Buntings – whirling round

We made our way out onto the beach and looked out at the sea next. We quickly found several Slavonian Grebes, at least three, and a single Red-necked Grebe which helpfully spent some time sitting on the water next to a winter Great Crested Grebe for comparison. There were three Long-tailed Ducks diving just offshore, some gorgeous Red-breasted Mergansers, a Goldeneye and a scattering of Common Scoter too. A Red-throated Diver completed the set. Out on the beach were a few Sanderling and Oystercatchers. Someone further along the beach messaged to say he had relocated the Black Guillemot offshore, which we had found here yesterday, but as we had other things to do today we decided not to walk up to try to see it. Good call, as it had already disappeared when others did walk over to look for it.

As we walked back through the pines, a Chiffchaff was flicking around in the edge of the holm oaks the other side. With a short break to use the facilities, we stopped to scan through the flocks of Pink-footed Geese on the grazing marsh and found two Russian White-fronted Geese with them. While we were admiring them through the scope, we looked over to Decoy Wood to see the White-tailed Eagle flying round before heading off up into the pines.

White-fronted Goose – one of two with the Pinkfeet

We particularly wanted to see the Hume’s Warbler at Brancaster today, so we headed over there next. Beach Road was very busy and there were lots of people out for a walk on the seawall. The Hume’s Warbler was flicking around in the back of the trees below the seawall when we arrived, but quickly disappeared further back across the pool. We could still hear it calling on and off, and we didn’t have to wait too long before it appeared in the top of the one of the bushes. We had a good view of it flicking around in the sunshine through the scope.

It was time for lunch already now, so we made our way round to Titchwell for a quick bite to eat. We wouldn’t have long here, as we wanted to get back to look for the Pallid Harrier this afternoon, but we did have enough time for a quick look at the Freshmarsh. On our way out, we scanned the ditches and found the Water Rail again – giving fantastic views out in the open at times.

Water Rail – showing well

The Freshmarsh held a nice selection of waders – the colour of the Golden Plovers and Lapwings on the bank also accentuated by the lovely light, a few Black-tailed Godwits and Dunlin, and the small hardy band of over-wintering Avocets. The ducks were looking stunning too – Pintail, Teal, Wigeon, Mallard and Shelduck. A couple of small groups of Shoveler spinning round in the water below the bank were each closely accompanied by a Black-headed Gull picking at the surface for any food the ducks had stirred up. A female Goldeneye was diving continually at the back and three Tufted Ducks were hiding on the back of one of the islands.

Then it was back east past Wells and a walk out to the edge of the saltmarsh at Warham Greens. There were a few people already there scanning, but they hadn’t picked up the Pallid Harrier yet. They had seen a couple of Merlin and scanning we quickly found one of them chasing something out on the marsh. It disappeared behind a bush and when we walked down for a change of angle we found it again chasing and then catching a pipit. It landed out on a bush where we could get a good look at it in the scope.

A ghostly grey male Hen Harrier patrolled up and down the back of the saltmarsh and while we were admiring it through the scope it flushed a slimmer harrier with rich orangey underparts from the vegetation below – the Pallid Harrier! The two circled together for a minute or so, a nice comparison, the Pallid Harrier clearly slimmer than the Hen Harrier which drifted off out of view.

Pallid Harrier – over the back of the saltmarsh

We followed the Pallid Harrier as it flew slowly up and down over the back of the saltmarsh. A juvenile female, very different from the male from which it gets its name, we could see its distinctive pale collar and dark ‘boa’. Eventually it dropped down into the vegetation out of view.

There were other things to see here too – a distant Great White Egret and flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing out on the saltmarsh, a big flock of Knot over the beach beyond, a pair of Stonechats on the suaeda in front of us. The Pink-footed Geese started to fly in to roost, a huge flock flying out over the saltmarsh away to the east and whiffling down onto the sands. A ringtail Hen Harrier flew in from the west and out towards East Hills. Then the male Hen Harrier flew back in from the other direction not far out over the saltmarsh, lovely close views.

Hen Harrier – the ghostly grey male

Mission accomplished and with the sun starting to set, we decided to call it a day and walk back. And what a great day it had been!

30th Oct 2022 – Desert Surprise

An Autumn Migration group day tour in North Norfolk today. The clocks had changed overnight so it felt like a later start than it was when we met up in the morning. The forecast was for showers, particularly around the middle of the day, but it ended up drizzling on and off for much of the morning. Unperturbed, we carried on and we were very glad we did! Thankfully, then it cleared and brightened up into the afternoon.

As we set off on our way up towards the coast, a Chiffchaff flicked across the road ahead of us and into the hedge the other side – a reminder of how mild it has been so far. Our destination for the morning was Cley and thankfully we managed to find somewhere to park at Walsey Hills. With a couple of rarities around the area yesterday, there were quite a few cars here already, presumably mostly come to admire the Long-billed Dowitcher at nearby Salthouse.

First, we stopped to scan Snipe’s Marsh and it didn’t take long to find a Jack Snipe out on the mud. It was well hidden at first, crouched in amongst the stubs of the cut reed, and all we could see were the horizontal golden stripes on its back. But then helpfully it started to feed – it’s distinctive bouncing now making it much easier to see.

Jack Snipe – on Snipe’s Marsh still

We wanted to head round to the Iron Road to look for the Long-billed Dowitcher ourselves, but it was very grey and overcast so we figured it might be better going there later and starting out along the East Bank. A distant Marsh Harrier was out over the reedbed and a Little Grebe was diving on Don’s Pool. A male Gadwall on the edge of the reeds was still emerging from eclipse.

We hadn’t gone much further along the bank before it started to drizzle. We continued on up to the Serpentine, and stopped to scan. A Lapwing was on the grass by one of the small pools and there were a few Black-tailed Godwits and an Avocet on the Serpentine itself. We noticed a group of smaller waders on the wet grass just beyond to we walked a little further and got them in the scope. There were two Little Stints with the Dunlin and we had some nice views of them feeding together despite the rain.

Wigeon – on the Serpentine

Looking further out, towards Pope’s Pool, there were more Black-tailed Godwits and a couple more Avocets. A Turnstone and two Ringed Plovers were feeding on the grass just in front. A lone Common Snipe was standing out in the open on top of one of the islands, its long bill out facing into the rain, given us a chance to compare with the Jack Snipe we had just seen earlier. There were lots of Wigeon on the pool too, along with a Shelduck and a couple of Shoveler.

We heard occasional pinging from the reedbed behind us but looking across we couldn’t actually see any Bearded Tits today. There were several Reed Buntings flying in and out of the reeds. A Water Rail squealed from somewhere in the reeds and a couple of Cetti’s Warblers remained typically elusive while shouting from deep in cover. A young Marsh Harrier perched in one of the tamarisk bushes out in the middle. A skein of Pink-footed Geese headed off inland over North Foreland wood calling.

With the drizzle intensifying, we made for the shelter overlooking Arnold’s Marsh. There were lots more Dunlin feeding on here this morning, presumably pushed out of the harbour by the tide, but despite scanning through carefully we couldn’t find anything different in with them. More Turnstones and Ringed Plovers were scattered around the shingle islands. There were Redshank and one or two Curlew too, and several Grey Plover including one in the samphire closer to the hide.

Grey Plover – on Arnold’s Marsh

A small group of Ruff were feeding in the samphire off to our left too, mostly juveniles with one female dwarfed by the much larger males. There were two orange-legged adults, one white-headed and the other more conventionally grey. Ruff really are the most confusing of waders for the uninitiated!

The sky seemed to be brightening a little away to the west, so we went out on the other side of the shelter to scan the brackish pools. A Kingfisher shot across in a flash of electric blue and disappeared down into the main drain. We couldn’t see any Pintail from here today, but there were lots more Shoveler and Teal dozing round the edges. A large flock of Golden Plover came up from the scrapes in the middle of the reedbed in the distance and whirled round high in the sky.

It was while scanning from here that the plan for the morning suddenly changed. A small bird caught our eye as it flew up onto the rope fence way out on the beach behind the brackish pools, over towards the old North Hide. It was only there for a second before it dropped down again but the first reaction was that it looked different, rather ‘chatty’. So when a Kestrel flew over the shingle and it flicked up onto the rope again we quickly got it in the scope. It was indeed a chat, but not one we were expecting today – it was a male Desert Wheatear!

Everyone had a look at the Desert Wheatear through the scope, noting its black face and black wings, contrasting with its sandy body. When it dropped down again, we made our way quickly out of the beach and along towards North Hide over the shingle to try to get a closer look. But despite scanning we couldn’t find it again at first.

There were a few other distractions – a lone Golden Plover on the shingle, flocks of Linnets and Goldfinches, a Red-throated Diver close in off the beach. We could see a moulting drake Pintail now from here on the brackish pool. There was a report of a Pallid Harrier flying in our direction from Salthouse, but despite scanning we couldn’t find it, and it sounded like it had dropped down in the reeds.

We put the news out about the Desert Wheatear and quickly reinforcements arrived from the direction of the beach car park. Looking out from the old hide someone relocated it now on the back of the shingle further along. Finally we could get a better look at it. It was very active, perching up on the dead yellow-horned poppy seedheads, then dropping down onto the stones, running around chasing insects, flying back and forth. When it flew, we could see its distinctive square pale rump and black tail.

Desert Wheatear – a 1st winter male

Desert Wheatear is a rare vagrant to the UK, averaging only about 4-5 records a year nationally. It breeds in North Africa, the Middle East and through Central Asia, with birds from the eastern part of the range migrating to North Africa to winter. A fantastic bird for us to find on our day out today!

There was quite a crowd starting to gather, so having had great looks at the Desert Wheatear, we decided to move on. We had a quick look to see if there were any Snow Buntings along the beach north of Arnold’s Marsh, but we were a bit late now and there had been quite a few people walking through the area. Rather than continue round to Salthouse how, we decided to make our way slowly back.

From the East Bank, we could see a couple of adult Gannets circling just offshore now, catching the light as they turned. We stopped again at the Serpentine – now that the rain had stopped, we could have a more leisurely look at some of the birds we had seen more briefly on the way out. The Little Stints were still showing well with the Dunlin. Back at Snipe’s marsh, the Jack Snipe was now standing out on a more open patch of mud, so we stopped for another look at that.

Little Stints – showing well on the way back

It had certainly been an exciting morning, so now we headed round to the Visitor Centre for a break and some lunch. With the weather much improved, we sat at the picnic tables and looked out across the reserve. Even here, there were good birds to see. A shout from up on the balcony alerted us that the Pallid Harrier had reappeared. We couldn’t see it at first – we subsequently found it had dropped onto Simmond’s Scrape and was obscured by reeds from where we were. All we could see was a Marsh Harrier circling.

Then the Pallid Harrier came up again. We watched as it flew low across over the scrapes, before gaining height and heading over the hides. It was distinctively smaller and slimmer than the Marsh Harriers, a juvenile, orangey below and dark above with a white square at the base of its tail. As it flew out over the Eye Field, it was chased by two corvids and we eventually lost sight of it as it disappeared over the West Bank and dropped towards Blakeney Freshes. Another good rarity here!

After lunch, we drove back towards Salthouse. There was nowhere to park now at Walsey Hills or at Iron Road itself, so we stopped in the village and walked back carefully along the road. As we walked down Iron Road, a couple of flocks of Starlings flew over heading west. They are just arriving now, coming in over the sea from Scandinavia for the winter.

The Long-billed Dowitcher was feeding obligingly down at the front of the pool when we arrived at the gate, so we got the scope straight on it. Like a rather plain grey snipe, it was feeding very actively, probing its long bill repeatedly into the water like a sewing machine. Long-billed Dowitcher is another rare visitor here, breeding mainly in Alaska and NE Siberia and wintering in the southern USA and Central America. Juveniles like this one occasionally turn up in the UK, mainly in the autumn. Another nice bird to see. When it flew over to the back of the pool, we walked a bit further up.

Long-billed Dowitcher – on the Iron Road pool

A large flock of Linnets whirled up occasionally from the weedy dried up pool in the field opposite. Some people looking out that way told us roughly where the Shorelarks were but they were still very tricky to see, creeping around in the weeds. Occasionally a head would come up with a yellow face and black mask. We could see three, but there have been up to seven here in recent days. There were several Skylarks in here too.

Turning our attention back to the main pool, we scanned along the back edge. As well as a couple of Common Snipe, we found a single Jack Snipe too, our second of the day.

We had done very well at Cley and Salthouse today. With the clock change, we would not have too much more time now this afternoon before the light started to go, so with that in mind we headed round to Blakeney Freshes to try our luck at finding some owls. As we walked out along the bank we stopped to admire the view of Cley Mill. There were obviously a few thrushes arriving from the continent this afternoon, as first a Fieldfare flew in past us and then a Song Thrush flew up out of the saltmarsh further out.

The Marsh Harriers were starting to gather to roost. A couple circled distantly over the reedbed at Cley and while we were scanning three more flew in over the Freshes and continued overhead towards Cley. A couple of Common Buzzards were perched on the posts out on the Freshes too. A flock of Brent Geese flew over chattering and disappeared off towards Blakeney Harbour and a lone Pink-footed Goose flew over high calling, presumably looking for more geese to roost with.

Marsh Harrier – heading in to roost

We continued out to the Blakeney Chapel corner and stopped to scan. There had been a Short-eared Owl around in recent nights, but the time it had been first seen recently came and went. There was no sign of any Barn Owls tonight either – a couple of Little Egrets and a Black-headed Gull were the only pale birds flying out over the saltmarsh now. Eventually, with the light starting to go, it was time to start walking back.

We hadn’t gone too far when we noticed a couple of people on Cley West Bank focusing their scopes on something behind us. We turned and there was the Short-eared Owl, quartering now where we had been standing a couple of minutes earlier. We watched as it flew up and down a couple of times, with its distinctive stiff-winged rowing wing action. We walked back to the Chapel corner, but by the time we got back it was heading off west.

One of the group looked round behind us, and there was a Barn Owl out now too, hunting one of the fields back along the bank. We walked back and watched it flying round, up and down along the back edge of the field in the last of the light.

Better late then never – two owls, a nice way to wrap up the day. What a day!

13th Sept 2022 – Autumn & Waders, Day 2

Day 2 of a three day Autumn Migration & Wader Spectacular tour. It was a lovely day, bright with sunny intervals and hazy high cloud, though cooler in the light-moderate wind which had swung round to the N today.

On our way down to the coast this morning, a Green Woodpecker flew up from the side of the road as we passed. A little further on, we were being tailgated by someone in a hurry, so we pulled over by some barns and looked down the line of buildings to see a Little Owl perched under the ridge of one of the roofs. So we got out and set up the scope on it. The Little Owl was warming itself in the morning sun, and gave us no more than a passing glance.

Little Owl – sunning itself

Our first destination for the morning was Stiffkey Greens. It was a big high tide this morning and the saltmarsh was completely flooded. As we got out of the minibus and started to scan the water, a couple of Greenshank flew past calling. The waders were all struggling to find somewhere to roost today. Two Common Sandpipers flew round and landed on a suaeda bush which was poking out of the water.

There were lots of Oystercatchers and Curlew roosting on the shingle islands out on the Binks. More Redshanks were scattered around all over the saltmarsh, perched in the tops of many of the suaeda bushes. In one group, we could see a noticeably paler bird with a longer bill, a lone Spotted Redshank. There were even Redshanks roosting on the handrail of one of the saltmarsh bridges away to the east and several Turnstones were roosting on the gunwales of one of the old boats moored out on the back of the marsh.

Turnstones – roosting on the gunwales

A line of five Brent Geese flew across, out at the back of the saltmarsh, and a Kingfisher disappeared off east. Lots of House Martins were hawking back and forth out over the water too. There were Little Egrets scattered liberally all over the view. A migrant Rush Veneer moth (Nomophila noctuella) flew up out the grass at our feet.

There was a lot to see just from here, but eventually we decided to tear ourselves away, and set off along the coast path to the west. A Wall butterfly basking on the path was the first of many we would see today. Several Skylarks, pushed in off the saltmarsh by the tide, came up from the stubble fields behind.

Wall – basking on the path

There were lots of House Sparrows in the brambles along the start of the path. We stopped to scan the bushes and found a Garden Warbler perched up in an elder with a several Dunnocks. A couple of Common Whitethroats appeared too and one perched up nicely in the top of a large hawthorn.

Further on, something flicked across the track ahead of us and disappeared into the bushes the other side. We stopped to see if it would come out again, but there were lots of dog walkers along here today and it had disappeared. We walked on and as we got to the thicker bushes ahead of the whirligig we noticed some movement in the trees, a Spotted Flycatcher. It was hard to see in the branches and quickly disappeared deeper in. We stood and waited and after a while it made a quick sally out above the bushes, then flew out back the way we had come. We tried walking back but couldn’t find it again.

There were several Blackcaps in the bushes here too and as we walked round onto the whirligig path, a Lesser Whitethroat flew out and landed in a low briar ahead of us. We looked back along the other side of the bushes by the path, but there was no further sign of the Spotted Flycatcher, just several Linnets perched up in the sunshine.

From the far end of the circular path, we stopped to scan the saltmarsh again. Three Greenshanks flew round with a couple of Ruff, looking to find somewhere to land, and another Greenshank was picking round the top of a submerged suaeda bush. One of the group spotted a single Bar-tailed Godwit roosting in the top of another bush with three Grey Plover.

Out on Stiffkey Binks, we could see several Grey Plover now too, some still sporting the remains of their black summer bellies. There was a large flock of ducks on the water in front, mostly Pintail and Wigeon, accompanied by a couple more Brent Geese. Another small flock of Pintail flew across in distance. Two Stock Doves flew past with a single Woodpigeon.

Peregrine – a juvenile

We could hear Golden Plover calling from the fields behind, but suddenly there was a whoosh of wings and a large flock came low over our heads and out over the saltmarsh, pursued by a Peregrine! The Peregrine, a juvenile, broke off and disappeared off west, before flying back east past us shortly afterwards and chasing low over the water. It probably still didn’t quite know what it was doing.

On the walk back, the bushes were much quieter now. We drove west along the coast to North Point next, to have a quick look at the pools there. Scanning the field by the parking area, we found four Wheatears feeding out on the ground, one a male sporting a bolder black face mask. When a big flock of Swallows appeared over the fields on the edge of Wells, we looked over to see a Sparrowhawk circling up below them.

Wheatear – one of four

There are lots of geese loafing around on the fields here at the moment, mainly Greylags but there were quite a few Egyptian Geese too – some on the dried up pool west of the track, and more in the grass in front of the east pool.

One white goose over on the far side was a domestic ‘Greylag‘, but another white shape on the near bank of the pool, half-hidden behind the rushes, looked suspiciously taller. Through the scope, we were convinced it was a Spoonbill but it was fast asleep and we couldn’t see much of it. From further down the track, we confirmed our suspicions. We could see it much better now, and it was indeed a lone Spoonbill. At one point it even woke up briefly!

Spoonbill – asleep

There were quite a few Ruff on the mud here, mostly brown juveniles, and lots of Lapwings, but no sign of any other waders today. From the track, we could see two Barnacle Geese in with the Greylags.

Continuing on, we walked down through the bushes to the seawall. Several butterflies flitted round in the sunshine – a pair of Wall were displaying on the head of a dandelion and a couple of male Common Blues chased past. There were lots of Blackcaps here and a Lesser Whitethroat flew out of the hedge ahead of us and landed in top of a large hawthorn. A Chiffchaff was flycatching from the top too.

As we climbed up onto the seawall, another Lesser Whitethroat came out of the trees beyond, flew across past us and disappeared into the bushes the other side. A Sparrowhawk flew low across the saltmarsh and landed in the trees behind us. We had a nice view of it in the scope. Then it flew back out across the saltmarsh, chased by Black-headed Gulls.

Sparrowhawk – landed in the bushes

Down to the corner, we stood on the bank and scanned the fields. It was rather quiet here today, but there was a single Stonechat hawking from a small elder along one of reedy ditches. As we walked back, a flock of Long-tailed Tits worked its way along the hedge past us, dragging with it several Blue Tits and Blackcaps.

We had a better view of one of the Barnacle Geese as we passed the Greylags again, very close to the path now. We could see it was carrying a colour ring, yellow ‘L60’. Presumably one of the feral breeders from Holkham Park, which were ringed in number last summer, it has been hanging around here for a while now.

Barnacle Goose – ‘L60’ from Holkham?

We decided to head round to Holkham for lunch, as we could make use of the picnic tables in the sunshine. Our luck seemed to be in as a parking space right down at the far end of Lady Anne’s Drive became available just as we drove up and as we walked up towards The Lookout there was a single picnic table free. Little did we know what was coming next!

It was warm and sunny now, as we settled down to eat. Several raptors circled up over the grazing marsh – a couple of Marsh Harriers, and five Common Buzzards together. Some people on the table behind us asked us about the raptors, so we pointed out one of the Marsh Harriers to them.

The next time we happened to look back, there was another harrier circling low over the bank right behind us. It was clearly smaller and slimmer than the Marsh Harriers and despite the fact we were looking into the sun, we could see it had a white rump patch, a ringtail. There had been a report of a Hen Harrier over towards Wells earlier but as it turned now we could see it had very narrow wings, particularly the hands. It was definitely not a Hen Harrier – it was a Pallid Harrier!!!

Pallid Harrier – a juvenile

Everyone got onto it, and we watched as it circled and gained height rapidly in the warm air and started to drift away. We tried to follow it, but by the time we got down to Lady Anne’s Drive it had gone quickly off west. It was a juvenile Pallid Harrier and looking at the photos afterwards, we could clearly see the distinctive pale collar and dark ‘boa’ on the sides of the neck.

Pallid Harrier is a rare visitor here, although records have increased in recent years as the breeding range has expanded westwards. They breed in northern and eastern Europe and migrate down to Africa for the winter. What a great surprise, a real bonus. Our luck really was in today!

There had been a large flock of Pink-footed Geese on the grazing marshes earlier but apparently they had been flushed and flown off west. As we finished lunch, we heard them calling and looked round to see them flying back in from behind the trees. They dropped down out on the grazing marsh again, but there was too much vegetation now to see them. The Pink-footed Geese are already starting to arrive from Iceland for the winter – and will hopefully provide the soundtrack for the next five or so months here.

There had been a Greenish Warbler reported from Weybourne Camp this morning, a private site with no access, but at least it hinted that some migrants might still be arriving. We had something else we wanted to do this afternoon, but we decided to chance our arm and have a quick look in Wells Woods first.

As we walked past the boating lake, we could see lots of Little Grebes and a single Tufted Duck out on the water, plus several Coot and a Moorhen along the far edge. Cutting in through the birches, round on the east side of Dell and back out onto the main path, it was all rather quiet. A Great Spotted Woodpecker was calling from the trees by the back of the boating lake and we heard a Siskin calling somewhere over the trees. We stopped to watch a Coal Tit feeding in the pines and had great views of a Jay perched low in the trees in the sunshine, preening.

Jay – preening in the sunshine

Cutting across to the open area south of the main path, a Small Copper butterfly landed by the path, basking in the sun. Another Jay flew out of the bushes, but there was no hint of any migrants here today.

Back across the track, we made our way round the north side of the Dell. Finally we found a tit flock in the birches, a big group of Long-tailed Tits and several phylloscopus warblers with them. They were mainly Chiffchaffs, but we saw a couple of Willow Warblers with them in the birches too. As the flock moved on, we followed and the Long-tailed Tits lead everything up into the pines where we spotted another smart lemon yellow Willow Warbler.

It didn’t seem we were likely to find anything more unusual in here, so as the flock disappeared into the pines, we made our way back to the car park. We headed south now, a bit of a drive down into the north of the Brecks and our final destination of the day.

We parked by a gate and got out to scan the weedy field the other side. Immediately, we spotted a couple of Stone Curlews half-hidden the vegetation, just what we were looking for. Scanning across the field, we counted 15 on the first pass. But as we stood and watched, they started to get more lively – more and more got up and started preening or walking round in the field feeding. By the end we were up to at least 68 Stone Curlews and almost certainly more were still hidden from view. Wow!

We had some lovely views of the Stone Curlews through the scope – big staring eyes with a yellow iris, a yellow base to the bill and long yellow legs with knobbly knees. The post-breeding gathering of Stone Curlews is one of the highlights of this time of year and always a favourite way to finish the day.

Stone Curlew – 1 of 68 today!

Having drunk our fill of the Stone Curlews, it was time to head back. What a day it had been! And still more to come tomorrow!

24th Apr 2018 – Five Days of Spring, Day 4

Day 4 of five days of Spring Migration tours today. After three days up on the North Norfolk coast, we headed down to the Broads – not least because there were several good birds to see down there. It was thankfully less windy than yesterday but, after spitting on and off from late morning, it finally started to rain around 3pm, unusually around the time it was forecast!

It was a long drive down to the Broads this morning. A Pallid Harrier had been found on the coast between Horsey and Winterton yesterday and was reported to be still around today, so we headed straight over there first. We parked in the car park at Winterton and set off north through the dunes.

We could see four or five people standing on the top of a tall dune in the distance and we met one of the locals coming back who told us that was the best place to head for first, even though the bird had headed off north. As we made our way over the dunes, there were Wheatears everywhere, flying off in all directions ahead of us.

Wheatear – there were lots in the North Dunes today

When we got up onto the top of the tall dune, the message was the same as we had heard earlier – the Pallid Harrier had been seen flying off north and lost to view. Still, it had been back once or twice already, so this seemed like the best place to stand for now.

There were several dog walkers out this morning and one of them flushed a small group of Ring Ouzels, which flew off ahead of them and landed in the tops of a small group of scrubby trees down in the bottom of the dunes. We just got them in the scope before they were flushed again and flew off further north.

While we were all watching the Ring Ouzels, one of the group asked ‘what’s this bird over here?’. We turned around to see the Pallid Harrier a short distance away! It was chasing a Skylark over the dunes, twisting and turning. The Skylark got away and the Pallid Harrier turned towards the dune where we were standing and flew right past just below us. Wow!

Pallid Harrier – came right past just below where we were standing

We could see the Pallid Harrier‘s pale collar, set off by the dark ‘boa’ just behind. It was much slimmer winged and more streamlined than a Hen Harrier too. It headed off south towards the car park, then turned and started to make its way back, along the seaward edge of the dunes. It came past us again, a bit more distant this time, and we watched as it disappeared away to the north. It was clearly doing a regular circuit of the dunes, between the beach car park and Horsey to the north.

Having enjoyed such fantastic views of the Pallid Harrier, we set off down into the dunes to try to get a better look at the Ring Ouzels now. There were more Wheatears here and a male Stonechat, which perched up obligingly in the top of a small tree next to the path.

Stonechat – this male perched up obligingly near the path

Before we even got to where we thought the Ring Ouzels had gone, we flushed one from a bramble clump ahead of us. It flew off over the crest of the dune calling. When we got to the top, we saw three Ring Ouzels fly again, from a ridge further over. They seemed to be very flighty today. We swung round in a wide arc to the north, to try to find somewhere to try to view them from a safe distance, but they were off again.

This time the Ring Ouzels, now four of them, flew across and landed in front of a large dune where some people were sitting looking for the Pallid Harrier. We made our way round to the back of the dune and crept up the side. When we looked over the edge we could see the Ring Ouzels on the next dune ridge over. They were feeding happily and we had a good look at them through the scope, several males and at least one female, before they dropped down the other side of the ridge out of view.

Ring Ouzel – at least four of them showed very well from a discrete distance

As we walked up to join the others on the top of the dune, they alerted us to the fact that the Pallid Harrier was doing another pass behind us. We followed it as it disappeared off to the south again, down to the car park. A few minutes later, it was back and we watched as the Pallid Harrier headed off north low over the dunes. Great views again! We had been spoiled now, with the performance the Pallid Harrier had put on for us, so we decided to move on and see what else we could find.

Pallid Harrier – we watched it do another couple of passes through the dunes

As we made our way back south through the dunes, there didn’t seem to be as many birds as on our way up earlier, particularly we didn’t see any more Wheatears. Probably they had all been flushed out of this part of the dunes by all the people walking through. There were lots of Skylarks singing and we did come across a smart male Yellowhammer perched in the top of a small tree.

We carried on south, over the road and on into the south dunes. As we got up to the first trees, we could see a small warbler flitting around in the bare branches and picking at the leaf buds which were just starting to open. It was a Lesser Whitethroat and we watched it for a couple of minutes as it worked its way through the branches. A Chiffchaff flew in and started singing from higher up in the same tree.

A little further on, we found a Willow Warbler and a Blackcap. The Willow Warbler was singing from time to time, a beautiful, sweet descending scale, and showed well in some low hawthorns. The Blackcap kept low in the brambles, subsinging.

Willow Warbler – we saw several in the south dunes

As we continued on south, there were more warblers in the trees and bushes. Another Lesser Whitethroat, another couple of Willow Warblers, another Blackcap. A Common Whitethroat started singing but disappeared off ahead of us.

There were not many birds moving today. We did see a small number of Swallows, but only about 4-5, heading north through the dunes, and next to nothing else. There were plenty of Linnets and a few Meadow Pipits in the dunes.

Linnet – still quite common in the dunes

As we turned to head back, a male Stonechat was singing from the brambles in the middle of the Valley. A particularly bright, lemon-yellow breasted Willow Warbler was flitting around in one of the small oaks in the next clump of trees. We made our way slowly back to the car.

News had come through that the Black-winged Stilt, which had been found at Potter Heigham yesterday, was still present today. So we made our way over there next. When we got there, it was time for lunch. As we ate, a male Marsh Harrier was displaying high over our heads, calling.

Scanning the first pool we passed, we spotted a very smart drake Garganey out in the middle, so we stopped to have a look at it through the scope. There were lots of other ducks on here too – Mallard, Gadwall, Teal, Shoveler, Pochard and Tufted Duck. Plus both Little and Great Crested Grebes, both in breeding plumage.

We had just started to walk on when we received a phone call to say the Black-winged Stilt had just flown over our way. Sure enough, we found it on the next pool, quite close, down towards the front. We got it in the scope, noting its black mantle and black markings on the head, suggesting it is a male.

Black-winged Stilt – this lone male was very mobile around the pools today

The water levels are quite high here at the moment, so there are not that many places for it to feed and it appears to be very mobile. The Black-winged Stilt made its way along the edge of a flooded grassy island, then flew over to the next pool. We watched it on there for a few minutes before it was off again, and flew over to the pools at the back by the river.

From here we could see two more Garganey on the bank at the back of this pool. A flock of hirundines was hawking over the water, mainly Swallows and House Martins. One Common Swift was in with them.

We were told that a couple of Spoonbills had flown in and landed on one of the other pools, along the access track. We walked back there but couldn’t see them at first – they were not where they had been earlier. Then we picked them up, feeding with their heads down half hidden behind a line of reeds. Eventually they put their heads up briefly and we could just about see them properly.

There were lots more duck on these pools and a group of five Garganey were down towards the front. There were four smart drakes, with bold white stripes on their heads, and a single browner female. It is great to see groups of Garganey like this – a scene more like spring in the Mediterranean than the UK. There was also a single drake Pintail lingering here.

Garganey – a flock of five, including four drakes

It was starting to rain now, but we wanted to see if we could find any Cranes. We headed back past the car park. A couple of Sedge Warblers were singing from the reeds and then we heard a Reed Warbler too – much more structured and rhythmical.

Continuing on, we came to an open area where we could scan a large expanse of grazing marsh. The first thing we set eyes on was a pair of Cranes over in the distance. We got them in the scope and there was no mistaking them. As it was raining harder now, we made our way back to the car. A Grasshopper Warbler reeled briefly from deep in the bushes out in the reeds.

Having achieved all our targets here, we decided to head back towards North Norfolk and stop to see if we could find anything from the car on the way. We made our way up to Cromer and turned west along the coast road.

Our first detour was at West Runton where we had a quick look in the paddocks along the road down to the beach. A single Wheatear was perched on one of the fence posts, looking decidedly soggy. It was too wet to have a look at Beeston Bump now, so we continued on to Salthouse and drove up the Beach Road. A single Wheatear was out in the grass just north of the main drain.

Our last detour was at Cley, where once again we headed down along the road to the beach. We stopped at the bend and scanned out along the fence line. The first bird we set eyes on was a cracking male Whinchat, preening in the wet. A great bonus at the end of the day! There were also dozens of Swallows here too, perching on the fence or hawking low over the reeds, along with several Sand Martins and one or two House Martins.

Hirundines – gathered on the fence in the rain

We had a quick look at the sea from the beach shelter, but there was not much happening offshore. A couple of Sandwich Terns flew past calling.

We had enjoyed a great day out, despite the rain setting in later, and see a really good selection of birds. We decided to call time and head for home.

5th Mar 2017 – Winter & Brecks, Day 3

Day 3 of a three day Winter & Brecks Tour, aiming to catch up with some of our wintering birds in North Norfolk, as well as the specialities of early spring in the Brecks, our final day. The weather forecast was not great again, with a band of heavy rain expected to move in quickly this morning and last for several hours, but as we have seen repeatedly over the last couple of days, it would be very foolish to rely on the forecast!

Having missed the Pallid Harrier over the last couple of days, the news that it was back early this morning was too tempting to miss. A quick visit by this correspondent on the way to collect the group confirmed where it was and soon we were all back watching this great bird.

Pallid Harrier – we finally caught up with the juvenile at New Holkham

It was nice and sunny first thing this morning in North Norfolk and excellent light. The Pallid Harrier was hunting over a more distant wheat field at first, flying low over the ground or down the hedge lines looking for food, trying to flush small birds or find small mammals. It was very narrow winged compared to the other harriers we had seen over the weekend, with a pointed ‘hand’, and an agile flight action.

Gradually the Pallid Harrier worked its way back towards us, at times disappearing behind a ridge. When it worked its way back along a hedge at one point, a Merlin appeared with it. The Merlin perched up on the hedge while the Pallid Harrier flew over the verge beside. The Merlin was probably looking for small birds flushed by the harrier, which it could chase after itself.

Finally the Pallid Harrier came in over a stubble field, just across from us. As it banked and turned, the morning sun caught on its underparts, which glowed orange, typical of a juvenile. Its upperparts were contrastingly dark brown, with a white square at the base of the tail and a pale creamy patch across the coverts. Through the scope, it was possible to see the Pallid Harrier‘s diagnostic pale collar and dark ‘boa’, the brown patches on the side of the neck behind the collar.

It flew back and forth over the stubble field for a while, allowing us all to get a great look at it, then the Pallid Harrier flew across to one side, had a quick stoop at an unsuspecting female Pheasant, and disappeared across the road. Wow!

It had been well worth the stop. Although we were intending to head back down to the Brecks this morning, this was just about on our way. As we finally got underway again and headed south, it started to rain. It was a bit earlier than expected, so it was good that we had been able to make the most of the early sunshine.

Our first stop in the Brecks was at Santon Downham. When we got out of the cars, yes it was raining, but it wasn’t exactly raining hard. The conditions were a long way from ideal, but we decided to give it a go and have a walk along the river. Our real target here was going to be Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, but that was going to be a real challenge to find now. As we walked along, a couple of Green Woodpeckers laughed at us from the trees. It didn’t sound like they thought much of our prospects! A sharp ‘kik’ call alerted us to the presence of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and we looked up to see it flying through the tops and landing high in a bare tree.

There were other birds along here too. A Crossbill flew over calling and landed in the top of a tall poplar. Through binoculars we could see that it was a red male and it then started singing, a jumbled mixture of call notes and quiet wheezes and trills, not much to write home about as birdsong goes but interesting to hear. A couple of Marsh Tits called from further back in the undergrowth. A Nuthatch was piping from somewhere in the trees too.

When we got to the Lesser Spotted Woodpeckers‘ favourite trees, all was quiet. We stood listening for a few minutes, and while we were standing there we turned to look across at the alders the other side. There was a lot of activity in the trees. A pair of Treecreepers were chasing each other round and round between the trunks. A couple of Siskins were swinging in the branches. There were several tits there too and a Nuthatch.

One of the group caught sight of a woodpecker and as we turned to look, a Great Spotted Woodpecker flicked across onto a tree. Then a much smaller bird appeared on the trunk of the tree behind. Rather than the bold white shoulder patches of the Great Spotted Woodpecker, it was densely barred with white on its black back and wings. It was a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker!

Lesser Spotted Woodpecker – barred with white on its back and wings

It was a female Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, lacking the red crown of the male. It was hard to get onto at first, as it kept flitting between trees, climbing up the trunks and sometimes disappearing round the back or behind other trees. With a bit of perseverance, we managed to get it in the scope and everyone had a great look at it. What an unexpected result!

When it disappeared deeper into the trees, we decided not to push our luck and headed back the way we had come. We stopped to look at a large flock of Siskins in the alders and found at least one Lesser Redpoll in with them. There were a few Bramblings in the trees too and a large flock of Redwings flew up from the meadows as we passed.

It stopped raining as we walked back, which was a most welcome surprise! It seemed like the band of rain had passed over much more quickly than expected and without raining as hard. It was still grey and damp though. We had a quick look up around the churchyard to see if we could find any Firecrests, but that was pushing our luck too far.

Before lunch, we had a quick drive over to Thetford, to the delights of a recycling centre on an industrial estate – there is nothing if not a variety in our choice of venues! This has been a very good spot for gulls in recent weeks. A Sunday is never the best day to look for them here, as the recycling centre is closed, although they often loaf around on the roofs anyway. Perhaps because of the earlier rain, there were very few today, just a few Lesser Black-backed and Herring Gulls, so we didn’t stop long.

Lakenheath Fen was our destination for the afternoon. We ate our lunch in the visitor centre, looking out at the feeders. A steady stream of birds came in and out – mainly Reed Buntings, Goldfinches and tits. One of the volunteers kindly drew our attention to a Water Rail which was lurking in the cut reeds below the balcony, before it scuttled back into cover.

Reed Bunting – a variety came in to feed by the visitor centre

It had started to brighten up from the west over lunch, so we set off to explore the reserve. It was still cool and damp as we walked down the path to New Fen. A Marsh Harrier was quartering over the reeds – it was a young bird and was carrying green wings tags on its wings. Unfortunately, despite our best efforts with scopes, we were unable to read the code, however it had most likely been ringed here.

There were several ducks on the water in front of the viewpoint, mainly Gadwall plus a few Mallard and Teal. Gadwall are one of the most under-rated of ducks, the male’s apparently grey plumage actually being a variety of different patterns – barring, scalloping, streaking – so we had a good look at one through the scope. A Common Snipe flew up and landed back down on the edge of the reeds briefly before scuttling back into cover. A Cetti’s Warbler sang half-heartedly from deep in the reeds.

Gadwall – the most under-rated of ducks

We pressed on west. There was no sign of any Common Cranes from Joist Fen viewpoint. A Cormorant was on a post, drying its wings. Several Marsh Harriers were quartering over the reeds. A Common Buzzard was standing on a fence post at the edge of the paddocks. There were still some dark clouds coming in on the brisk wind, so we waited while they passed over, even though it did nothing more than spit with rain for a few seconds. Once they were gone, we headed up to the river bank.

Scanning the fields north of the river, we spotted a pair of Common Cranes some way over. We got them in the scope, and we could see they were two adults, with well-marked black and white heads and a red patch on the top. We presumed they were one of the two regular breeding pairs from the reserve.

Common Crane – one of the breeding pairs, in a field north of the river

While we were watching this pair, we could hear more Cranes bugling further over, which prompted the ones we were observing to respond. Then a second pair of Cranes flew in and landed right next to the first. This second pair started to display, duetting with their heads pointing skywards.This was all slightly perplexing, as it would be odd for the other resident pair to trespass in the other’s territory.

The original pair then took off and it looked like they would land again a couple of fields over, but instead they flushed a fifth Crane which took off too. Now we knew already from one of the wardens that one of the resident Crane pairs had just today been trying to kick their juvenile born last year out of their territory. In the last few days it had still been accompanying the two adults everywhere, but it had been seen on its own earlier. It quickly became clear that this was the juvenile we were seeing take off, chased by its parents.

These three Cranes flew off over the reserve and disappeared over the trees way to the south, and they were soon followed by the other pair. However, after a few seconds they came back and the three landed down in the edge of the reedbed. Through the scope, we could see it was the pair and the juvenile. Then the other pair flew over and they took off again.

All five Cranes flew up and landed on the river bank. At this stage, we were still assuming that we were watching the two resident pairs with the one remaining juvenile from 2016. However, while they were standing on the bank, another pair of Cranes walked up to join them, duetting as they did so. We could now see seven Cranes standing on the bank together, in a line!

Common Crane – seven birds in a line, on the river bank

The juvenile Crane was still with what we believed were its parents at this stage, but they were clearly not happy with it. The next thing we knew they started to chase after it. The poor juvenile scrambled down along the bank and back up the other side of the other two pairs of adults, where it was out of reach. It was all action  – it was like watching a Crane soap opera!

It was rather hard to keep track of them for a while. Different Cranes were bickering, two flew off down to the edge of the river beyond, but it seemed we were missing one of the adults and the juvenile. The next thing we knew, three Cranes took off again – one of the pairs and the juvenile. We wondered whether the juvenile was being chased at first, but by the end it was not clear whether it was just trying to follow its parents. The three flew round over the reserve, turned back to the river, and then came straight over and past us along the river. Stunning! They disappeared off east, beyond the poplars and were lost to view.

Common Cranes – two adults, followed by a juvenile

While we were watching the Cranes flying right past us, one of the group spotted a Great White Egret flying away along the river. All very confusing, we didn’t know where to look! After the Cranes had disappeared, we walked along the river to see if we could find it. A Little Egret flew off ahead of us and disappeared behind a bush. As we walked past, two egrets took off from behind it and we could see they were very different sizes. The Great White Egret dwarfed the Little Egret.

Great White Egret and Little Egret – one big, one much smaller

The two egrets landed out of view in a channel in the wet meadows north of the river. But almost immediately, a male Marsh Harrier flew right over, flushing all the ducks and the egrets. We got a good look at the Great White Egret as it flew slowly away.

There were some more dark clouds approaching, so we made our way back to Joist Fen Viewpoint and sheltered as a brief shower passed over. Then we walked back across the reserve, with the dark clouds moving away ahead of us, the low sun lighting up the trees in front, and a double rainbow across the sky. Quite a view!

It had been a great way to end the day, and draw a very exciting weekend to a close, watching all the action with the Cranes. We made our way back to Mundord where part of the group left to head off south, while the rest of us continued on to North Norfolk.

POSTSCRIPT – as we drove through Swaffham, we could see an enormous flock of Starlings already starting to gather – we had thought we might be heading back too early to catch them, now the nights are drawing out. We couldn’t resist stopping.

The number of Starlings here still seems to be growing – there were at least 20,000 the last time we came but it looked to be much more than that now. The sky was black with birds. They were mostly flying round in a loose flock at first, a vast cloud covering the sky, rather than making tight shapes. But it was mesmerising standing underneath them, even if we were in danger of being spattered! The flock was composed of different layers, circling in different directions, it was enough to make you feel dizzy. We just stood and watched in awe.

Starlings – a huge cloud over Swaffham

Gradually, as it started to get dark, the groups started to coalesce. The point before they actually go into roost is when the Starlings are at their most nervous. Now we started to see them making some shapes, swirling around. Finally, they started to drop into the trees. It was like someone had turned on a vacuum cleaner – the flocks circled lower and suddenly a stream of birds would drop like a stone and dive headlong into the bushes. It is amazing they don’t crash into each other.

The swirling flocks were remarkably quiet, apart from the hum from the beating of thousands wings, but once they get into the roost trees the Starlings start to chatter and their was a remarkable cacophony building as the sky emptied. Now it really was time to head for home.