Malcolm, Roger and I had decided to go to Norfolk today hoping that the
probable Two-barred Warbler might perform, although its identity is still
uncertain. Roger picked me up at 06:00
and then drove to Malcolm’s who then drove for the day.
We left Market Harbour around 06:30 and headed for Corby and then onto
the A47 towards Peterborough. We had a
Common Kestrel as we passed along the Peterborough bypass and a Common Buzzard
near Eye and we had two more Common Kestrel before reaching the Guyhirn
roundabout. There was another Common
Buzzard as we approached Hillington and a skein of c.100 Pink-footed Geese flew
over as we approached Great Bircham. We
headed for Burnham Market after passing through Great Bircham, where we were to
pick David up, who was in Norfolk for the week.
Whilst we were in the village a Red Kite and then two Pink-footed Geese
flew over.
We arrived at Lady Anne’s Drive at around 09:00 and after parking walked
to the pines and then west along the footpath towards the crossroads, which is
where David had brief views of the Two-barred Warbler yesterday. There was a Common Kestrel perched on a bush
as we drove along the drive and several Pink-footed Geese were in the field to
the east. When we reached the pool there
were at least four Little Grebes and numerous Mallard on the pool and a
Eurasian Jay and three Eurasian Siskin flew over, whilst a Cetti’s Warbler was
heard.
We had another Eurasian Jay before reaching the house, a singing Cetti’s
Warbler appeared quite close but remained elusive and two Western Marsh
Harriers performed over the marsh. As we
walked by the house it was clear that there were a few birds in the trees and
we stopped for a while to observe them.
Most were Goldcrest, but we also had a Coal Tit and a Eurasian
Treecreeper.
Two more Eurasian Siskin flew over before we approached the crossroads,
where several birders had gathered. It
soon became clear that they were watching something and as we scanned the
bushes we had a brief view of a Yellow-browed Warbler. When we moved closer there were a couple of
Common Chiffchaff and we eventually had further views of the Yellow-browed
Warbler before it went up into one of the larger trees and disappeared. We moved into the area where David had seen
the warbler yesterday and had two more Common Chiffchaff, several Goldcrest and
a Coal Tit.
David and Malcolm then went further down the track to try and find a
Red-flanked Bluetail that had been seen twice during the last three days,
whilst Roger and I remained hoping the warbler would show. We just continued to seeing more of the same
but when it went quiet we returned to the crossroads, where we had another
Common Chiffchaff.
We eventually went a little further down the path before stopping as some
other birders had seen another Yellow-browed Warbler. A party of Long-tailed Tits passed through
but there was nothing unusual with them but shortly afterwards I picked up a
Yellow-browed Warbler, which then performed for at least thirty minutes in an
oak but was out of view for most of the time.
I tried unsuccessfully to get photos as it was seldom still and moved
around the oak. David and Malcolm then
returned and watched the bird for a while before it flew out of the oak and
disappeared. Whilst we were watching the
warbler another Cetti’s Warbler was heard and a juvenile Eurasian Hobby flew
over several times.
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
With still no sign of the target bird we headed back to the car for lunch
only to find the juvenile Eurasian Hobby perched at the top of a tall conifer
and we were able to get some nice photos before it flew off.
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
Juvenile Eurasian Hobby
When David and I reached the hide, Malcolm and Roger were some way behind
and I called Malcolm to let him know that we would go along the boardwalk to
view the sea. He then informed me that a
Great Grey Shrike had been seen from the hide earlier and so David and I went
into the hide to see if it was still there but there was no sign, but I did
find a European Stonechat.
When Malcolm and Roger arrived, we found out that the shrike was now in
scrub 200 meters beyond the end of the pines and so we decided we should go
back before having lunch. Just after
passing the crossroads another birder coming back indicated that there was no
sign of the shrike as it had flown further west and so we finally went back to
the car for lunch.
David and I went into the new centre and as we were coming out Malcolm
and Roger were arriving, and Malcolm said that there were some Grey Partridge in
the field. We scanned the field and
found eight birds not too far away, but they were tending to keep low in the grass,
but I did manage to get a few photos before finally going to the car for lunch.
Grey Partridge
Grey Partridge
Pink-footed Geese at Holkham
We had learnt that the Great Grey Shrike was visible from the boardwalk
at the end of the path from Burnham Overy Staithe and so drove the short
distance and parked overlooking the marsh.
There was no further news and no sign of any birders potentially looking
for the shrike and so after some discussion we decided to drop David back in
Burnham Market and then go to Titchwell to finish the day. Whilst we were at Burnham Overy Staithe we
saw c.1000 Pink-footed Geese, five more grey Partridge and a Western Marsh
Harrier.
When we arrived at Titchwell we walked to the west bank and then as far
as Island Hide. As I approached the path
to the hide I had a brief view of a Water Rail and other birders were watching
a Jack Snipe, which we were able to see and get some photos of, although it was
feeding amongst vegetation.
Jack Snipe
Jack Snipe
After watching the Jack Snipe for a while, we moved a little further
along the path to view the Freshwater Marsh and found around six Pied Avocet,
260 European Golden Plover, sixteen Black-tailed Godwit and fourteen Ruff and
there was also twenty-one Common Shelduck amongst the more numerous Eurasian
Wigeon and Eurasian Teal. I then heard a
Bearded Tit and two performed briefly in front of us, one being a male and
Malcolm and I then heard a Whimbrel calling but we were unable to locate
it. We all then heard a Common
Greenshank and suspected there was more than one and we then picked up seven in
flight. They landed on the end of one of
the spits but didn’t stay long and were soon off again. Finally, six Brent Geese dropped in and we
found a single Northern Pintail.
Pink-footed Geese over Titchwell
Golden Plover over Titchwell
As we walked back along the path there was a single Western Marsh Harrier
over the reedbed and c.150 Pink-footed Geese flew over, but we had seen nothing
else of note before reaching the car.
We saw a Common Kestrel as we approached Choseley Barns, five Egyptian
Geese near Docking and another three between there and Great Bircham and
finally another Common Kestrel was seen near Kings Lynn.
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