Dave, Roger and I decided to
go to West Norfolk today in the hope of seeing some drift migrants.
We called at Choseley Barns on
route where we found four Grey Partridge but there was very little else and so
we continued onto Titchwell.
As we approached the centre at
Titchwell they were emptying a moth trap and so we stayed a few minutes to see
what they had a caught, the best being a Purple Bar, which was new for me. We checked the book as we passed through the
centre and found out that the warden had seen a Pied Flycatcher, a Spotted
Flycatcher, a couple of Whinchat and a Wheatear at Thornham Point. It was quite breezy as we walked along the west
bank and there was very little on either Thornham Pool or Reedbed Pool and so
we continued along the path stopping just before island hide to view the fresh
marsh. There were plenty of Avocets and
c.200 Bar-tailed Godwits were roosting with circa fifty Black-tailed Godwits
feeding on the marsh. A careful scan
produced a few Dunlin and three Knot and we also found a few Ruff. Dave picked up ten Grey Plover in flight and
another was observed on Thornham Marsh but Dave then decided he was going to go
straight to the sea, while Roger and I decided to take a more leisurely
approach. We hadn’t gone too far when we
saw Dave hurrying back as apparently he found out that there was a Curlew
Sandpiper on the fresh marsh. Dave then
found in flight with a party of Dunlin and Roger and I found it after the flock
had landed and like yesterday’s Rutland Water bird it was a juvenile. Whilst we were watching the sandpiper a
Spotted Redshank flew off the marsh and over Thornham Marsh. Having seen the sandpiper Dave set off for
the beach and it wasn’t too long afterwards when we joined him as the water was
very high on Volunteer and the Tidal Marshes and there were few birds.
There were seven Eiders just
off shore to the left and we saw about a dozen distant Common Scoter flying
west and seven Gannets heading east. I
also saw a couple of Fulmar heading west and Roger found another three Eiders
on the beach towards Thornham Point.
There were plenty of distant terns over the sea, which were probably
mainly Sandwich Tern, as we did see three juveniles fairly close in and we also
had a very distant Skua flying west.
With the sea being fairly
quiet and no new news we decided to head off to Thornham Point. We went on the south side of the copse as it
was more sheltered and also catching the sun.
Initially we saw very little with just a couple of Pied Wagtails and
several Meadow Pipits feeding on the salt marsh. A passerine then flew from the eastern end to
the brick building at the western end, which turned out to be the Spotted
Flycatcher. After some time I then found
a Wheatear and shortly afterwards a Whinchat but there was no sign of the Pied
Flycatcher but three more Grey Partridge was a surprise. A Whimbrel was heard calling but we were
unable to locate it. As we headed back
to Titchwell we saw five rather nice Grey Plovers on the beach but there was
very little else and so on reaching the path we set off back towards the car
park. There were now far fewer birds on
the marsh with the roosting Bar-tailed Godwits having gone back to the
shoreline and there was no sign of the Dunlin flock but there was a nice party
of Golden Plovers and a Whimbrel flew over.
Just after passing island hide we heard Bearded Tits calling but
although they continued to call they remained very elusive. There was news of a Greenish Warbler at
Stiffkey and after some lunch we set off in the hope we might see it.
Ruff on the fresh marsh
When we arrived on site there
were a few birders scattered around and the news was that it had been calling
and showing briefly and intermittently.
We remained on site for three hours and heard it call just once and
possibly seen it but all to brief to be certain. Whilst we were looking for the warbler we had
a Sparrowhawk and a Hobby and also at least three Little Egrets and a Spoonbill
on the salt marsh. The vegetation was
quite dense and with the wind birding was quite difficult. I had several sightings of birds in the
bushes but only managed to identify a Whitethroat and a Chaffinch as they
skulked amongst the vegetation.
After what had been a
reasonable morning it had been a little disappointing this afternoon. News we received later was that there were
two other Greenish Warblers, an Icterine Warbler and a Barred Warbler, all of
which were proving difficult to see.
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