David, Malcolm, Roger and I
had decided to have a day in West Norfolk and we left David’s at around
06:40. We didn’t see a great deal on
route as we ran into some light rain and drizzle, which had eased as we approached
Choseley. We were hoping to find some
Grey Partridge but as has been the case recently there was no sign and we had
to be content with a few Red-legged Partridge and a Stoat.
We had considered our best
option was to go to Holme, where there had been a selection of migrants
yesterday but as the reserve was not open until 10:00 we called at Thornham
first. We drove around the back of the
village before turning down the road to the harbour and saw a Kestrel as we
approached the old coal shed.
After parking at the far end
of the road and the rain easing I got the scope and scanned the marsh and
shore, seeing four Oystercatcher, two Ringed Plover, three Knot and a Turnstone
on the shore. There was a flock of Brent
Geese to the east and there were quite a few Curlew and Redshank scattered
around and a Marsh Harrier flew over to the west.
On arrival at Holme we parked
in the NOA car park where we had a Blackcap and a Song Thrush, the Song Thrush
being my first since the 12th of August. It is surprising how scare some species
become after breeding until the start of the autumn migration.
As we walked to the NOA
visitors centre we saw a Spotted Flycatcher in the pines and after paying for
our permits we went onto the footpath behind the reserves. The first bird we had here was a Redstart and
a mixed party of birds then began to move through the area. David got on a Yellow-browed Warbler but the
rest of us missed it and so we moved further down the path following the mixed
flock of birds.
It was quite difficult getting
onto anything as they were constantly moving but there were good numbers of
Blue, Coal and Long-tailed Tits and Goldcrests.
We did have a second Redstart, a few Chiffchaff, a Blackcap and a
Brambling and a Yellow-browed Warbler was called several times but none of us
managed to get on it. Redwings were
called and I manged to get on one as they flew over the pines, heading inland. We recovered our tracks seeing a couple more
Chiffchaff, a Whitethroat and fifteen Black-tailed Godwits dropped onto the
marsh. I heard a Water Rail and a
Brambling on a few occasions but couldn’t locate it or the Chaffinch calling
from the pines.
We saw another Blackcap and
Song Thrush whilst having lunch back at the car and then decided we should do
another circuit of the reserve. As we
stated to walk along the track back there was a small group of birders gathered
a little further along. They were
watching a Yellow-browed Warbler and we had some decent views as it fed in a
Sycamore. It then flew into a nearer
Sycamore but remained at the back of the bush before it disappeared. We also saw another Redstart whilst watching
the Yellow-browed.
David and I continued to the
reserve entrance and when it started raining again we went into one of the
hides until the rain had passed. Roger
joined us informing us that the Yellow-browed Warbler had reappeared just after
we left and that he and Malcolm had, had further views.
We joined Malcolm back on the
track where Roger found a Garden Warbler, which I managed to get on briefly
before it flew to our right and disappeared.
We continued back onto the track behind the reserve but this time found
the area almost devoid of birds, except for a party of Goldfinch, a Wren and a
Robin. A look out onto the sea produced
a few Gannets and a large raft of Common Scoter but with little else we went back
to the track. It became clear that most
of the birds had moved on and so we decided to go to Titchwell.
The early rain and now gone
and it was bright and sunny when we arrived at Titchwell and feeling quite
warm. We headed for the west bank track
and as David and I approached Thornham Pool we saw a distant Marsh Harrier and
heard a Bearded Tit. There was a Chinese
Water Deer on Thornham Marsh and I got a few photos before it moved into the
reeds.
Chinese Water Deer
Chinese Water Deer
Chinese Water Deer
Malcolm and Roger then caught
us up and Malcolm was taking some photos and we assumed they had also heard the
and could see a Bearded Tit but Malcolm was trying to get photos of the Chinese
Water Deer before it finally disappeared and they hadn’t heard the Bearded
Tit. The Bearded Tit called again and we
had brief views before a juvenile posed quite nicely in the reeds.
Bearded Tit
Bearded Tit
Bearded Tit
A male then appeared but all
to briefly after which we only saw the reeds moving on a couple of occasions
and then they were gone. When we reached
the Freshwater Marsh, there appeared fewer birds than our last visit but a scan
produced good numbers of Golden Plover, four Little Stints, circa ten Dunlin,
fifty-plus Ruff, a Snipe, thirty-plus Black-tailed Godwit and five Bar-tailed
Godwit. There were also several Curlew
and Redshank but surprisingly no Avocets.
The tide was out and
consequently Volunteer Marsh was mostly devoid of water and other than a few
Grey Plover, a couple of Bar-tailed Godwit, several Curlew and Redshank and a
single Turnstone in the end channel it was quiet.
Turnstone
There were more birds on the
Tidal Marsh, including more Grey Plover, two Bar-tailed Godwit, a Curlew, a
Greenshank, thirty-plus Redshank and circa fifty Turnstone and also three
Little Grebe.
On reaching the beach the tide
was coming in again and much of the feeding area was covered. There were plenty of Oystercatchers but
otherwise it was quiet with just a few Grey Plover, two Bar-tailed Godwit and a
few Curlew. The sea was also quiet with
a Guillemot being the best but there was also a few Common Scoter and a couple
of Great Crested Grebes.
As we walked back there was a
Bar-tailed Godwit quite close on Volunteer Marsh but we didn’t add a great deal
else, although Malcolm, who had lagged, sneaked another Yellow-browed Warbler
near the centre.
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
The journey back was petty
uneventful with just Egyptian Goose and Red Kite being added to the day list.
