A late morning and afternoon in West Norfolk - May 29, 2014

I female Black-headed Bunting had been reported at West Runton yesterday evening and was on Bird Guides quite early this morning and after phone calls to David, Roger and Ken we decided to go over as it was new bird for David, Roger and myself.  Dave drove and we were to pick Ken up at Uppingham before continuing to West Runton.  As we approached the bottom of Wardley Hill a Hobby flew over the road and then alongside the car briefly and after picking up Ken we continued to West Runton without seeing anything else of note.  We arrived at about 12:20 and after getting some gear on as it was quite cool we walked to where others were watching.  Steve Beale was just leaving but he hadn’t seen it and looking across the field to the bushes and feeling the fresh and cool easterly wind I thought we might be in for a long wait.  No more than two minutes after Steve had left both Dave and I picked up a bird that had flown out of the field and landed in the closest hedgerow.  It sat facing us and initially it appeared quite yellow and was slightly obscured but we were soon certain that it was the bunting.  We watched it for almost thirty minutes in which time it barely moved, giving us reasonable views of the underparts and head.  We finally decided to have some lunch and it disappeared just after we had walked away.  After a bite Ken went back for another look as it was obviously back and he called us over as it was now back on and we were able to see the upperparts for the first time.  It was perhaps a little brighter than I had expected, particularly the underparts with the upper breast and throat appearing quite yellow.  The head was brownish–olive being of similar shape to a male’s.  The back and rump were similar with some faint streaking, which was not always obvious and the tail was blackish with no white in the outer feathers.  The coverts and flight feathers were blackish-brown and obviously edged yellowish-brown, giving a scruffy appearance.  There was the suggestion of a wing-bar across the lesser covers but this was not always obvious.  Whilst we were watching it two parties of Gannets moved east along the coast and a Whitethroat was also observed.

The bunting then disappeared again and we decided to go to Kelling Heath in the hope of seeing a Dartford Warbler but had no joy, although we did see a Hobby, a Green Woodpecker and a Woodlark.

News of a Spoonbill between Cley and Salthouse sent us in that direction and we found the bird from the iron road but it was on a distant pool quite close to the shingle bank.  A quick visit to Cley produced a Marsh Harrier and fifty-nine Black-tailed Godwits.

On the way home we were held up around Peterborough in a traffic jam but we did have three Red Kites, two Buzzards and several Kestrels between Kings Lynn and Uppingham.