I left home with my wife
around 10:00 on Friday the 14th for a week’s holiday with the family
in West Norfolk but wasn’t too happy as there was a Siberian Accentor in
Easington, East Yorkshire, which the crew were going for tomorrow. We headed for Titchwell and arrived around
12:40 and after some lunch we walked along the west bank to the beach.
There was the usual array of
waders on the Freshwater Marsh that included four Avocets, four Ringed Plovers,
100+ Golden Plover, a Little Stint, several Dunlin, forty-three Ruff and a few
Black-tailed Godwits, Curlew and Redshank.
There was also Brent Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard and
Shoveler. As I approached the far end of
the Volunteer Marsh there were two Rock Pipits but they didn’t stay long and
flew off towards the east.
Black-tailed Godwit on the Volunteer Marsh
There wasn’t much on the Tidal
Marsh with a Little Grebe and Little Egret being the best. On reaching the beach the tide was receding
and there were plenty of waders scattered along the shoreline. They were mainly Oystercatchers and
Bar-tailed Godwits but there were also two more Ringed Plovers, a few Knot, a
single Sanderling and several Black-tailed Godwits, Curlews, Redshanks and
Turnstones. I found a single Common
Scoter on the sea and whilst scanning the sea I noticed a dark wader in flight,
which then landed on the exposed rocky area, which turned out to be my first
Purple Sandpiper of the year.
We eventually walked back to
the centre and whilst my wife returned to the car I went to Patsy’s Reedbed as
a Ring Ouzel had been reported in the field between the road and the
reserve. I stood by the gate overlooking
the field and looked down the edge of the field. Song Thrushes were dropping out the hedge
quite frequently and also several Blackbirds and whilst talking to other
birders to explain what I was doing the Ring Ouzel appeared briefly. I stayed another ten minutes but there was no
further sign but I did hear a Yellow-browed Warbler calling but it failed to
materialise.
When I got back to the car it
was approaching 15:45 and so we set off to our holiday cottage in Cley and
arrived at around 16:30. After unloading
the car I went down the beach road to view the sea but it was pretty quiet with
just four Gannet and a Guillemot being seen out to sea. There was a Brambling on the landside of the
shelter but other than a Little Egret and a Kestrel I saw little else.
I went down to the beach again
at Cley on the morning of the 15th but again the sea was fairly
quiet. I did have two Red-throated
Divers, twelve Gannets, two Ringed Plovers, circa thirty Dunlin, forty-seven
Curlews and a Guillemot and the Brambling was still around the shelter. I heard another birding shouting and looking
back towards the marsh saw eight White-fronted Geese flying over, which were my
first of the year. There were two
Peregrines on the beach that made the occasional sortie out to sea, presumably
trying to take migrants, although few migrants were actually seen, with four
Fieldfares being the best. On route to
and then back from the beach I saw ten Pink-footed Geese, two Little Egrets and
ten Swallows.
Whilst having breakfast we were deciding what to do and my wife and daughter decided
they would go to Holt but with news of a Radde’s Warbler at Morston I decided
to go and have a look.
I parked in the National Trust
car park and walked west along the costal path where I met another birder who
had a grid reference for the bird. We
didn’t see a great deal as we walked along the path and on reaching the grid
reference were surprised that there were no other birders in sight. We were eventually joined by a few other
birders and were obviously in the right area.
One of the birders played a tape of the birds call, which didn’t get a
response but it did make me aware of its call.
Whilst talking to another birder I heard it call on two occasions and on
walking in the direction of the call a bird came out a bush alongside the path
and dived into some thick vegetation on the opposite side of the path. It looked warbler sized and also rather dark
and was possibly the bird but we couldn’t relocate it and another possible
sighting had the same result, with the suspected bird just disappearing. There were a few migrant thrushes in the area
and I saw five Fieldfare and at least thirty Redwings. A Merlin flashed through on the far side of
the scrub and I managed to get a reasonable view as it went across a
clearing. After over two hours on site I
eventual called it a day and decided to go to Wells Wood where an Olive-backed
Pipit had been reported.
The parking at the beach car
park at Wells is now quite extortionate being £8 for the day or £6 pound for
four hours and so I decided to stay for just two hours, which is still
£3.50. I went down the left hand track
on the south side of the Dell seeing just a Jay before I walked off into the
Dell. There were a lot of Goldcrests but
I wasn’t seeing too much else and after observing a particular tree, which was
alive with Goldcrests I found out that a couple looking at the same tree had
seen a Firecrest.
I spent a little longer
scanning the tree but eventually the Goldcrest moved on and there was
nothing. I did locate what were probably
the same group of birds slightly further on but again all I could find were
Goldcrests and I moved back on the path.
Several birders were looking
in an area from the path, which again contained Goldcrest but also a Chiffchaff
was giving nice views. Several birds
then flew into the top of a tree and I eventually managed to locate a Siskin
and two Lesser Redpolls. A tweet then arrived
indicating that the Olive-backed Pipit had been seen near the drinking pool and
so I went there with another birder.
When we arrived there was a small gathering of birders but the bird had
been flushed and was now lost. There
were quite a few birders walking around the area and after twenty minutes with
no further time as my two hours was coming to an end, I started to make my way
back to the car park, seeing a male Blackcap on route.
It had been quite a
frustrating day having only heard the Radde’s Warbler and just missing the
Olive-backed Pipit, which was seen again just after I had left.
With a fresh south-easterly
wind on the Sunday morning I went for an early morning walk along the East Bank
at Cley. Most of the birds were to the
east and with sun just coming up it wasn’t easy viewing but there were plenty
of Wigeon and I also saw Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, seven Pintail and Shoveler
before I reached Arnold’s Marsh and twenty-two Pink-footed Geese flew over
along with several parties of Greylag Geese.
When I reached Arnold’s Marsh there was clearly quite a few waders but
due to the light they weren’t easy and so I walked east to get a better
view. There were plenty of Redshanks
scattered around the marsh and I counted sixty-two Dunlin. Whilst counting the Dunlin I also found a
single Sanderling and a juvenile Curlew Sandpiper and there was also a single
Black-tailed Godwit and seven Curlews. I
had seen three Little Egrets and three Marsh Harriers and heard a Water Rail as
I had walked along the East Bank.
It had rained quite a bit
during the rest of the morning but had cleared up by early afternoon and so we
decided to go for a walk from Cley to Blakeney.
It was still quite breezy as we set off along one of the sea walls and a
signpost informed us that it was three miles to Blakeney, although the villages
are only about a mile apart the sea dykes are not in a straight line and
consequently it is much further.
A Cattle Egret had been
reported earlier and I was hoping to see it and my hopes were raised further
when a couple of birders walking in the opposite direction had seen it amongst
a group of cattle further on. I had seen
a Marsh Harrier, a Little Egret and a Yellow Wagtail but little else when I
could see the cattle in the field but there was no sign of the egret. The heavens then opened and we got soaked on
the last leg of the walk.
Cley Windmill
The family on the early part of the walk
Greylag Geese over Blakeney Fresh Marsh
The wind was blowing the rain
into our faces and when I reached Blakeney my trousers were soaked but I had
fortunately kept the camera quite dry. I
found out that the Cattle Egret was still with the cattle and was visible from
Friary Hills and so while the rest of the family headed for the pub to dry off
I went in the other direction to see the Cattle Egret.
When I reached the top of the
hill I scanned the area with the cattle and could see two egrets in the field,
one was a Little Egret whilst the other was the Cattle Egret and another year
tick. When I got back to the road the
egret was visible but it then flew off south and headed off in land.
I was now almost dry and
joined the family in the pub before we started to walk back along the road to
Cley.
There had been reports of a
couple of Jack Snipe on the pool below Walsey Hills and so I went to take a
look towards the end of the day. There
were at least seven Snipe on the pool and a Jack Snipe had been seen just
before I arrived but it didn’t appear whilst I was there. I heard a Water Rail and a Cetti’s Warbler
whilst looking for the Jack Snipe and I counted twenty-two Black-tailed Godwits
in the area of the Serpentine. With no
sign of the hoped for Jack Snipe I decided to take a short walk along the path
to Blakeney in the hope of seeing a Barn Owl.
I drove back and parked near the entrance to the sea wall and then
walked a short distance to view the marsh from the sea wall. I could see an owl box out on the marsh and
was convinced that a bird was sitting outside and so I moved a little further
along the track to get a better and sure enough a single Barn Owl was surveying
the surrounds from the self at the front of the box. As I watched the owl a second bird seemed to
appear from the box and almost knocked the first bird of the shelf as it
dropped to the ground and out of sight.
It wasn’t long before the first bird followed suit and also disappeared
behind the vegetation. I remained for
quite some time afterwards hoping to see them hunting over the marsh but
neither reappeared and I eventually headed back to the holiday cottage. A Peregrine had flown over along with a
Kestrel whilst I was on the sea wall and six Swallows were also observed
between the wall and the windmill. Three
large bats, which I couldn’t identify, were also observed.
Early on the Monday the 17th
I went to the pool below Walsey Hills to look for the Jack Snipe again but
there wasn’t any Snipe visible, although I did see three different Water Rails
and there was also a Little Egret. I
then walked down the East Bank to Arnold’s Marsh and then walked east to get a
better view. Circa sixty Pink-footed
Geese and seventeen Dunlin flew over as I walked down the bank and there were
two Little Egrets to the west and as I neared Arnold’s Marsh a party of Canada
Geese flew over with a single Barnacle Goose amongst them. To the east I found five Pintail and three
Ruff amongst the more numerous Wigeon.
There were more waders on Arnold’s this morning that included a Golden
Plover, three Grey Plover, a Knot, twenty-eight Dunlin, five Curlew and
twenty-seven Redshanks. As I got back
towards the car there were two Stonechat, one either side of the path but a
further look on the pool for the Jack Snipe produced nothing and I returned for
breakfast.
The family were off shopping
at Burnham Market and Wells today and I was told I didn’t need to go if I
didn’t want to as it would mean taking two cars. I didn’t take too much encouragement and
decided to have the day on the Cley Reserve.
After paying the entrance fee
I initially went to Bishop’s Hide on Pat’s Pool but found it rammed and decided
I would walk east to Babcock Hide. When
I reached the East Bank I went across the road to see if there was any sign of
the Jack Snipe on the pool. There were
now a number of Snipe on the pool most of which were roosting but the second
bird I looked at closely was the Jack Snipe, success at last. I went back to the path and continued on
towards Babcock Hide. As I scanned the
field towards Arnold’s Marsh I picked up a White-fronted Goose and on closer
inspection I found eighteen.
When I arrived at Babcock I
was surprised that the hide was empty but I was joined by another couple just
shortly afterwards. At first all I could
see was a Little Egret to the left of the hide and five Curlews roosting on one
of the islands.
Little Egret from Babcock Hide
I spent quite some time in the
hide, which gradually paid off as more birds began to appear. A Redshank appeared just to the left of the
hide and then I found three Black-tailed Godwits and a Pintail further out and
a further three Curlew flew in. Four
birds then dropped into the reeds to the left of the hide but disappeared
immediately but a few minutes later two Barded Tits flew out and were then
followed by two more. As I continued to
scan the small patch of reeds I found a Stonechat and a Reed Bunting and then I
noticed a Snipe that was barely visible on the opposite bank. The lady of the coupe then said she had a
small bird feeding at the edge of some distant reeds. I could see that it was a small wader but
couldn’t be sure what it was and therefore got it in the scope and was able to
confirm that it was a Little Stint.
Redshank from Babcock Hide
Redshank from Babcock Hide
Finally having exhausted the
Babcock Hide area I walked back to the car park and after a quick bite went to
Teal Hide on Pat’s Pool. This was less
crowded than Bishop’s Hide and there were plenty of waders of Pat’s Pool with
eight-eight Dunlin, sixteen Ruff and eight-six Black-tailed Godwits. I then noticed a single Golden Plover drop in
and on closer inspection found fifty.
I moved into Dauke’s Hide to
view Simmond’s Scrape where there were lots of wildfowl, which were mainly
Wigeon but also Teal, Mallard and Shoveler.
A female Marsh Harrier constantly caused havoc as it quartered the area
and at one point there were three, although the adult female was only one seen
on most occasions.
Female Marsh Harrier
Female Marsh Harrier
Female Marsh Harrier
Female Marsh Harrier
Female Marsh Harrier
There was a juvenile Wheatear
to the left of the hide, which came quite close on a number of occasions but
the bird was constantly moving due to the harrier disturbance.
Juvenile Wheatear
Juvenile Wheatear
Juvenile Wheatear
Juvenile Wheatear
Lapwing
Dunlin and a singe Ruff
Moulting drake Teal
Grey Heron
After calling my wife and
agreeing what time I would see them in the centre I walked back to Bishop’s
Hide, which was still pretty full but I did manage to get a seat. The birds were mainly the same as I had seen
from Teal Hide but a second Little Stint and another Jack Snipe were new.
After spending a little time
in the centre with my wife, daughter and grandchildren we returned to our
holiday accommodation.
It was raining heavily on the
morning of the 18th and I didn’t get out first thing but went out
just before lunch. I did a circuit from
Cley taking Salthouse and Blakeney and was attempted to find Grey Partridge but
failed. I stopped initially to view the
pool below Walsey Hills but there was nothing at all on the pool but I did
count nine Ruff and twenty-five Black-tailed Godwits on the Cley Marshes from there. I then stopped briefly at Salthouse to view
the sea and saw a couple of Common Scoter and a single Gannet but very little
else in the strong westerly wind. Once I turned inland I saw very little and
returned for lunch.
At the end of the day I went
to shelter at the end of the beach road but the wind was still a strong
westerly with frequent showers and therefore not great for sea watching. I did see eight Common Scoter, fifteen Gannet
and a Guillemot and on driving back along the beach road found a Black Brant
amongst a party of Brent Geese.
The forecast for Wednesday the
19th was for strong north-west winds and so I was planning to
revisit the shelter early morning.
However there was a flood warning issued between Old Hunstanton and Cley
due to a hide tide and the strong winds and so I had a change of plan and went
to Sheringham.
I left in darkness and dawn
was just breaking as I walked down to the shelter and found several birders
already in position, although I got a seat easily enough. It was still too early to bird but as the
light began to improve the sea seemed pretty quiet. I was there just under ninety minutes and
although there was a steady flow of birds there wasn’t a big movement. The only exception was a significant movement
of auks with 500+ passing during my brief stay.
I did see three Common Scoter, a single Velvet Scoter, ten Red-throated
Divers, a Sooty Shearwater, fifteen Gannet, a Red-necked Grebe, two Knot, six
Great Skua, a Sandwich Tern, a Guillemot and a Razorbill.
At the end of the day I was
back in the shelter on the beach at Cley where I had eighteen Common Scoter,
two Red-throated Divers, seventeen Gannets, twelve Dunlin, ten Great Skua and
adult winter Mediterranean Gull and there were c.150 Golden Plover over the Eye
Field.
The wind was still a fresh
northerly on the morning of the 20th and so I went back to the
shelter. I had a couple of Eider,
forty-three Common Scoter, two Goosander, seven Red-throated Divers, seven
Gannet, a Great Crested Grebe, four Arctic Skua, three Great Skua and four
Guillemots, plus forty-eight unidentified auks.
In the afternoon we all walked
down to the beach and my grandchildren tried flying a kite without too much
success as the string got tangled in the high wind. I went into the shelter and did a se watch as
the wind was still northerly. It wasn’t
too successful but I did see the following; seventeen Eider, fourteen Common
Scoter, five Red-throated Divers, a Black-throated Diver, thirty-five Gannet, a
Great Crested Grebe, a Dunlin, seven Curlews and Arctic Skua and a few auks.
The walk between the village
and the beach produced two Little Egrets and two Marsh Harriers.
It had been a good week as I
had accumulated eight year-ticks but I was still obviously smarting in missing
the Siberian Accentor, which remained until the 19th and with an
initial erroneous report on the 20th I was optimistic that it might
still have been there on Saturday. The
boys had also seen Pallas’s and Dusky Warblers on their trip to Spurn and
despite having eight year-ticks I was still envious.
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