A day in West Norfolk - January 21, 2016

Roger and I had decided to have a day in Norfolk as the forecast wasn’t too bad with light winds south easterlies.  We set off a little later than intended as I had, unusually over slept and after picking Ken up in Uppingham we continued on towards Wisbech.

We had discussed the possibility of going to Downham Market in the hope of seeing a female Serin that had been present since the 17^th and with news coming through that it was still there as we approached Wisbech we headed off the A47 towards Downham Market.

On arrival we soon located Fairfield Road and parked as suggested by the level crossing.  After going over the crossing to a concrete path the rough ground by the concrete road wasn’t too obvious.  We met two other birders who were also having difficulty and when a lorry that had been to the sewage works was querying whether or not he cold back across the crossing Roger went to move his car.  Ken and I walked to the end of the road but still couldn’t find the rough ground and as we walked back I realised that the lorry driver had driven the tanker off the road and was now stuck.  As we walked by him one of the birders summand us on and on reaching them we were able get pretty good views of the Serin that was just a few feet away.  It was feeding amongst the dead vegetation and though it wasn’t clearly visible I was hopeful of getting some photos if I remained patient.  Unfortunately a train then approached and the bird took to flight and after circling the area several times flew off towards the sewage works.  We came down off the embankment and walked back towards the sewage works hoping for more views but we weren't sure where the bird was now.  We saw Blue Tit, Dunnock, House Sparrow and Goldfinch as we walked when suddenly a small bird flew from cover and headed back to where we had seen the Serin earlier.  We went back up onto the waste ground but hadn’t found the bird when another party of birders arrived.  They hadn’t been there too long when it flew over us and headed back towards the sewage works.  We decided at this point to call it a day and headed off to Flitcham.

On route we saw a couple of Buzzards perched in roadside hedges, one near Thieves Bridge Road and the other on the King’s Lynn bypass.

When we arrived at Flitcham we established that the Pallid Harrier had been seen about twenty minutes before our arrival and we settled down expecting a long wait.  However we hadn’t been there many minutes when someone cried harrier and the juvenile Pallid Harrier flew low over the stubble field and then along the hedge to the east before flying off further east.  The views were pretty good although it was a pity it didn’t hang around a little longer and just after we left the site it was relocated perched it a tree within fifty meters of the road.

We made our way north from the village towards Choseley and in particular to Chalkpit Lane hoping for Rough-legged Buzzard.  We were more exposed parked on the crest of a hill and felt pretty chilly in the now fresher south easterly wind.  I picked up a Marsh Harrier some distance to the east and there was another bird of prey perched on the hedge even further away, which we couldn’t make out.  Another birder who we had seen a Flitcham had arrived on site at the same time as us and he suddenly announced that there was a buzzard flying across the field.  I immediately locked on to it and recognised it as a Rough-legged Buzzard, which then alighted in a tree, giving some nice views of its tail and pale head.  When another party of birders arrived it flew from the tree but just landed a little further along the hedge but this time gave views of the dark belly.  A second bird was then picked up over the more distant conifer plantation and although further away it provided some nice flight views, particularly the tail pattern, as it hovered for a while before flying off to the south.  The first bird was then seen flying towards the same plantation before it disappeared behind it.  With news of a Grey Phalarope at Cley we decided that our best option was to go and try and see it.  As we were getting ready to depart a Peregrine flew through heading off to the west.

We parked at the end of the East Bank and walked the short distance to the new Babcock Hide at Cley and when we entered the hide found that the Grey Phalarope was only a few meters away.  It was feeding by walking over the muddy area in front of the hide and provided some excellent photo opportunities.  There were also circa fifty Dunlin on the mud, along with at least fourteen Ruff and three Knot.  We also located three Snipe skulking amongst the more distant reeds and a Water Pipit also provided some nice views.

Grey Phalarope

After getting back to the car we set off up the East Bank to view the sea and found out that there was a party of Snow Bunting on the single to the east.  However after walking beyond the end of Arnold’s Marsh there was no sign and presumably they had flown off as other birds were now getting the same results.  We had seen circa eighty Golden Plover, two Grey Plover, circa forty Dunlin, three Black-tailed Godwits and several Redshank as we walked along the bank but the sea was very disappointing with just a Great Crested Grebe and eight Common Scoter, along with several Herring Gulls and a single Great Black-backed Gull being seen.  As we walked back we found a Rock Pipit but saw little else.

We made a brief stop at the centre where we saw a Red-necked Grebe and five Black-tailed Godwits on Pat’s Pool and we had also seen at least five Little Egrets and a couple of Marsh Harriers during our visit.

Our final port of call was Roydon Common but we perhaps arrived a little later than we wanted but we did see another Marsh Harrier, a single ring-tailed Hen Harrier and a Barn Owl during our brief stop.

I had recorded just sixty-seven species, which is not great for a Norfolk trip but we had seen some quality birds in terms of the Pallid Harrier, Rough-legged Buzzard, Grey Phalarope and Serin, all of which were new for the year as were the Ruff at Cley, which moved my year total onto 133.  The Serin was particularly pleasing as it was my first UK record since one at Cromer in January 1996.