Dave, Roger and I set off for
a day’s birding in west Norfolk and our first destination was to be Roydon
Common and hopefully Woodlark. We had
several tweets on route concerning a Glossy Ibis in the north arm at Rutland
Water, which several weeks ago would have us turning around and heading back,
but this being the third in the counties this year we continued on to Roydon.
On arrival the wind had
freshened quite a bit and it was now overcast but after parking the car we set off
through the gate to observe the field to the right of the path. An adult and two juvenile Woodlarks had been
seen here on the 5th, but there was no sign today, although we did
find a couple of Wheatear. Having spoke
to another birder we continued allowing the path where we had three male, a
female and three juvenile Stonechats but very little else. Roger and I walked up the slope to observe
another area that was suitable for Woodlark and then walked along the ridge to
rejoin Dave close to the original field.
There were several Lapwing chicks on this area but again there was no
sign of any Woodlarks and we had a third Wheatear as we walked back towards
Dave. We started to walk back to the car when I found an adult Mediterranean
Gull amongst a small party of Black-headed Gulls and then Roger found two
first-summer birds before they flew to a different area. As we walked back to the car I found a second
adult Mediterranean Gull and all four were now feeding with an increased number
of Black-headed Gulls. Dave had stopped
to scope something as we approached the car, which were a couple of Grey Partridge. There were also at least three Buzzards
showing over a distant wood. With still
no sign of any Woodlarks we decided to move on to Burnham Market and hopefully
Montagu’s Harrier, which had been reported this week.
Another birder present at the
site had not seen Montagu’s despite being there about four hours and after a
good forty-five minutes we had, had the same result. There were at least six Buzzards in the area
and we also had brief views of Marsh Harriers on two occasions. There were also three Grey Partridge in the
crop we were standing by, a Whitethroat was singing constantly close by and a
single Swift passed over.
With a report of three male
and two female Dotterel at Choseley Barns we decided to move and take a look
for these. Other birders were looking
for the Dotterel when we arrived but had not seen them. One of them then pointed out a hare in the
field and thought he might have one to the right of it. On finding the area there were in fact two
orangey looking blobs, which looked possible but we finally decided that they
were just brightly coloured stones. Dave
and I started looking in the field to the right and Dave picked one up and then
we found a second. The views were pretty
awful due to the bad heat haze, which was way we were fooled by the two stones
earlier. There were also two more Grey
Partridge and another Wheatear present.
We moved further up the road to the barns where we found a single Corn
Bunting singing from the telegraph wires and a Whitethroat was observed in the
hedgerow.
Goldfinch at Choseley Barns
At Titchwell we heard a
Cetti’s Warbler and Chiffchaff whilst having lunch. After lunch we set off down the west bank
towards the sea. The wind was still very
fresh but we did hear single Sedge and Reed Warblers before we reached Thornham
Pool but other than a few Tufted Ducks and a single Pochard there was little
else. As we scanned the Reedbed Pool a
Bearded Tit flew from one side to the other but there was nothing else. As we started to walk away Dave called us
back as he had found a drake Garganey doing an excellent job of trying to hide
in the reeds. Two Marsh Harriers were
also performing on the eastern edge of the reedbed. The weather was beginning to look at bit
ominous as so we went into island hide to avoid the approaching downpour. From the hide there was a nice party, of
mainly winter, Bar-tailed Godwits roosting on the Freshwater Marsh. On closer inspection we also found a few
summer plumage Dunlin and Turnstone and also a couple of Ringed Plovers and two
winter plumage Knot. There were also a
few Oystercatchers and Avocets on the marsh and a second drake Garganey was
also observed and Roger picked up two Little Terns flying over the marsh. The expected rain never materialised and so
we continued down the bank towards the sea.
The Volunteer Marsh looked very dry and almost devoid of birds but on
the tidal marsh there were three Grey Plover and several more Turnstone and we
had our first Little Egret of the day.
Avocet on the Freshwater Marsh
On reaching the beach the tide
was high and there were few waders but we did see several Sanderling and three
more Grey Plover. On the sea we found
six Eider and seventeen Common Scoters and Dave picked up a distant
Gannet. There were a few Little Terns
feeding just off-shore and so I walked down to the sea to hopefully get a few
shots. There were at least six Little
Terns and on returning to Roger and Dave I found our only Sandwich Tern of the
day.
Little Terns from the beach
As we walked back I noticed a
drake Pintail on the tidal marsh and a summer Turnstone provided an excellent
photo opportunity. I caught Dave and
Roger up as they were walking along the track to Parrinder Hide where they had
found a Wall butterfly and eventually we had two of this now quite scarce
butterfly. Overlooking the Freshwater
Marsh from near the hides the Bar-tailed Godwits were still having a snooze and
then Roger found a Common Sandpiper feeding on the close shoreline. It was his first of the year and only my
second and surprisingly they are quite scarce so far this spring. We continued walking back when Roger and I
saw a female Red-crested Pochard flying towards Thornham Pool and when we got
there Dave was watching a male and there turned out to be three males and a
female.
Bar-tailed Godwits on the Freshwater Marsh
Summer plumage Turnstone on the tidal marsh
Common Sandpiper on the Freshwater Marsh
We made a short detour to
observe the Southern Marsh Orchids but whilst there were quite a few they were
not fully out as yet and were rather disappointing but we did hear our only
Cuckoo of the day.
After leaving Titchwell we
drove along Hunstanton front where we added Fulmar to our day list.
The plan was to now heard back
and call at Rutland Water as the Glossy Ibis was still present. As we reached the far side of Peterborough we
ran into a very heavy shower, which stopped just as we reached Rutland
Water. The ibis was still present when
we arrived but was hiding behind some vegetation and it was some time before we
had decent views. There were several
other species added to the day list at Rutland Water, which included two Osprey
and two Little Ringed Plovers, and I finished the day on one hundred, a feat I
have not often achieved in the UK.
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