Norfolk, September 2009
With the recent lack of decent birds and photo opportunities I decided at the last minute a holiday was in order.
My first plan was going to the Calf of Man for a week, hopefully to see some migrants going through but that idea was quickly knocked on the head when I found out it was completely booked up for September! Who on earth is going to the Calf ! Nutters.
I was going to just forget about it but then I thought what about Cornwall? It would have meant driving my furthest in England ever by like 300 miles...scary!! I emailed Chris to ask him what he thought and he came back with try North Norfolk as finding birds in Cornwall is hard work and probably too much for a non-expert. The drive seemed just as long but I investigated and found out it could be done. I knew Chris couldn't come as he’s off to South Africa in a few weeks but my Haweswater birding buddy Wendy was up for it.
Sorted ! Norfolk here we come .
We found a place to stay near Blakeney on the North Norfolk coast and decided to go 21st to 25th Sept.
At that time of year anything could turn up if the wind had any easterly in it. Looking at the forecasts though, they were saying permanent westerlies. Dohh. Never mind, even in those winds in the weeks before there had been Red necked Phalarope, Icterine Warbler, Booted Warbler etc... lifer tastic !.
Monday 21st September
The wind had picked up and it was cloudy for our crossing. There was a chance for Manx ticks for up to 2 hours out which is what me and Chris have decided is Manx waters. But before then we got our trip list up and running while we sat on the Ben in the harbour with Grey Heron, Herring Gull, Cormorant and Gannet. We seawatched all the way across which started with the common Fulmar, Shag, Razorbill but then I spotted another Auk very close to the Ben. Getting my bins on it I shouted Puffin! A bird I really didn't expect at this time of year. Then Wendy said what’s that flapping in the sea. I didn't get a spot of it but from the description Wendy gave it sounded very much like a Sunfish at the surface. Smart ! .
After a few hours with Heysham in sight we picked up Kittiwake, Great black-backed Gull and then Wendy clocked a dark bird further out. After watching for a few minutes we got enough to tell it was an Arctic Skua. As we approached the harbour we saw several Lesser black-backed gulls then a flash of a gull flew past I said I'm sure that was a Med but having only had a nano second view I didn't call it. A med gull would be a lifer for Wendy so I didn't want to increase stress levels for nothing. Suddenly Wendy said what’s this gull its really white? I got my bins on it and there was a mint Adult winter Mediterranean Gull. Excellent!
It flew round the boat giving superb views for a few minutes. If only I had taken my camera on the boat. Dohhh. Still we couldn't complain, we hadn't even landed in England and had already chalked off a lifer for Wendy.
Our plan originally had been to stop in Nottinghamshire at a place called Budby. Hoping for Woodlark but on the evening before leaving I saw on Birdguides that a Great Grey Shrike had been seen at Lound which was a big pile of gravel pit workings just a few miles north of Budby. I checked online and when I saw 2 Black necked grebes were near resident there our mind was made up and we changed our route.
Before exiting Lancaster though we got to witness the quality driving of the English. ;) A 4x4 towing a boat refused to let a car merge into lane and the car collided into it ripping the back end of the trailer clean off. Neither car stopped either! Mentalists. Just deserts really as the 4x4 had been driving like a plank all the way through Lancaster.
No wonder I have been scared of driving in England for like 14 years!
On the way between Heysham and Lound we picked up some more common birds for our trip list.
Feral Pigeon, Jackdaw, Rook, Wood Pigeon, Common Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Magpie, Starling, Kestrel and Swallow.
As we arrived at Lound we saw Chaffinch, Collared Dove and lots of House Martins. It was now sunny and hot (grrr!) but we had only planned to walk up the edge of the reserve to a bridge for the GGS and come back, it didn't look far and would only be an hour (we thought).
We walked along a small river which edged the pits but at several places you could see into them. At the first scrape we saw Shoveler, Mute Swan, Gadwall, Coot, Mallard, Canada Goose, Tufted Duck & Teal. In the fields nearby there were a lot of Lapwing and a flock of Golden Plover flew in. In a small tributary there was a Pied Wagtail and a Moorhen. A bit further on and there was a scrubby area. From here four Stock Dove flew off closely followed by six Yellow Wagtail but with us only having a poor view of them flying, Wendy wouldn't claim her lifer. Shame.
By now we had been walking quite a way and had still not found the bridge. Whoops. We were thinking of turning back as time was critical but carried on like troopers. Finally, after an hour we saw the bridge appear. In the hedges nearby we found Wren, Goldfinch, Goldcrest, Blue tit, Great Tit, Linnet, Chiffchaff, Blackbird and Reed Bunting. The area was literally alive with birds.
At the bridge a bloke appeared driving up the 2 mile track we had just walked up!! dohhhh. He proceeded to get out and scan the copse nearby which made me think aha that must be Shrike area. But unfortunately he moved off quickly. We had a scan of the copse and then decided to follow him. :) This was a bad move though as the walk went was quite long and we eventually lost him. In the end we had to call it a day and turn back, We checked for the Shrike the whole time but there was no sign at all. Boooo.
When we got back to the bridge the bloke appeared in front of us so Wendy, like a woman possessed , went after him.. She wanted answers. She was off like a rocket and I couldn't keep up! When she caught up with him she found out the Shrike hadn't been seen today.. (so it wasn’t just us being rubbish) Trying to rescue the situation I asked him about the Black necked grebes. He replied with “oh yes follow me” and guided us down to look over another pit. This pit was massive but while scanning it we found Common Snipe, Great Crested Grebe & Ruddy duck. Whilst chatting to this chap we found out his name was Ian from Lound bird club and when we said we were from the Isle of Man he replied with “ah yes where Ted is!” Seems Ted is a bit of a celebrity and we were regaled with tales of the Fair Isle and the Scillies. After 10 minutes of scanning (and stories) we realised we had to go as we were extremely behind time but Ian said “give me 2 minutes more I’ll find the Black Necked grebe it’s definitely here.”...... 2 minutes later he realised it was a lost cause as “Team Jinx” were on the scene.
“Dipping on the Black-necked Grebe”
He must have noticed our slight panic about the time and amazingly offered to drive us back to the car! What a lifersaver. We were already very late and a 2 mile walk back would have messed us completely up and probably knackered me right out. Back at the car Ian then guided us out of the area and back onto the A1. He had even offered to brew up some coffee to satisfy Wendy’s coffee addiction! How friendly is that!
We finally arrived in Blakeney at 9.00pm so it was straight to bed to get up for an early start.
Tuesday 22nd September
Today we had planned a day of checking North Norfolk’s migrant hotspots to see if we could find anything for ourselves. At the start of the trip we had to decide whether we should go to migrant areas and try and find stuff ourselves or watch the alerts come in and go for whatever anyone else found.
We decided on trying to find our own stuff and hopefully have some time left in the day to pick up anything good that was about. Neither of us had pagers (obviously) but I already had text alert credits with Birdguides so before leaving I set that up for Norfolk. We also decided to try RBA’s similar system out to see which was the best/quickest.
The weather was clear and sunny with a stiff westerly breeze as we left at 7.36am.
Our first port of call was Holkham Pines, in recent weeks this place had had Yellow-browed Warbler, Icterine Warbler, Red-brested flycatcher etc etc. On the way we started seeing (what would eventually become thousands by the end of the week) Pink Footed Goose flocks flying in.
We got to Holkham pines at 8.02 and walked left into the trees. First off was a Long tailed Tit flock (nothing with them though) and half way down the track on a pond were some Little Grebe. Flying around the area were some Curlew and briefly I got very excited by a falcon only to see it was a Peregrine. Dohh. At the George Washington hide which overlooks the fields back towards Holkham and this nice looking freshwater pool, were a few Bar-tailed godwit.
“Looking over the Holkham area”
After leaving the hide we cut through the pines towards the sea on a boardwalk. All the time listening out for a tit flock as we knew if there was going to be anything good the chances are it would be in a roving tit flock. Unfortunately we didn’t hear any flocks but as we approached the sea side of the pines we heard a few Goldcrest. After a few seconds of trying to see the Goldcrests I heard a very similar call but for some reason I was sure of what it was and I called it. I still hadn’t managed to locate the Goldcrests but then I saw a bird moving through the tops of the trees that seem to be in the vicinity of this other call. I intently watched the bird from miles below it, dieing to see any detail from the side (without it disappearing completely) when after what seemed like hours but was more like 10 seconds it moved round a branch and I saw the head pattern clear as day… Firecrest! I couldn’t believe I had managed to pick it up on call as I’ve only ever seen one before but now panic set in as I tried to get Wendy on the bird. Giving directions in the trees was near impossible and the bird flew. NOOOOOOO! After an agonizing 5 minute wait and scanning every slight movement in the top of the trees I refound it and Wendy got onto it. Not the best view but enough for her lifer. No chance of a photo but still brilliant!
Boyed on by this I was now desperately trying to listen out for a Yellow-browed call but by the end of there had been nothing. At the Holkham gap area we found Treecreeper and Coal Tit in a small tit flock but nothing else. We had a small walk along the beach as 23 Snow Bunting had been reported the day before and Snow bunts were a lifer for Wendy but there was no sign.
“Holkham Gap”
The entire time at Holkham pines there were literally thousands of House Martins coming in off the sea. It was an amazing sight to see a constant stream of visible migration and they were still coming in as well left.
Next stop was just a bit east at Wells Woods which we reached at 10.30. This area is similar to Holkham and in the same wooded coastal belt but from recent reports sounded like it got more migrants. Only a few days earlier 2 Red breasted flycatchers were sighted there. A bird I would love to see. First off we had to find an area called “The Dell” . Before going to Norfolk I had bought a great book called Best birdwatching sites in Norfolk (2nd edition) and this gave pinpoint instructions on how to find this section.
Obviously, with perfect instructions, we messed up like a right pair of idiots and ended walking all over the place getting completely knackered in the process.
“where the F is the dell”
As we were wandering Wendy spotted a far off Marsh Harrier. On the return walk we spotted a chap scoping some bushes so stopped nearby hoping to see what he was looking at. After a few minutes I located it. A lovely Common Redstart hopping in and out of a bush. When the chap moved off I got into position to try and get some photos.
“Common Redstart”
Whilst I was doing this, a nice lady appeared and got chatting to Wendy and told her the exact location of “The Dell”. Very helpful!. 80% of the people we had come across so far were birders and everyone had been very friendly.
So off we went and found the Dell instantly. This was an area of Birch trees that was in the middle of the Pine trees. Straight away we could hear the roving tit flock but after scanning like maniacs couldn’t pick anything out.
“searching for a Ybw in the dell”
We decided to hang around and wait for the flock to reappear which it did about 10 minutes later. This time I spotted something flying a bit different. I got the bins on it and bingo Pied Flycatcher not the Rb fly I wanted but this was still a new bird for Wendy.
Once again panic set in as I tried to give directions into the tops of the trees. Luckily the bird flew and perched high up in the open giving a good view of the white in the wing. Lifer number 3 for Wendy already!
Happy with that we moved off …. and ended up getting lost again. Idiots!! But things happen for a reason and we managed to find ourselves on this really smart track through bushes and brambles. Here there were lots of birds mainly common ones but we picked out a Blackcap and then nearby we glimpsed another Sylvia which got my pulse racing. After an agonizing few minutes wait it revealed itself to be a Lesser Whitethroat. Not the Subalpine or Booted Warbler I was hoping for but still a nice bird. We eventually found our way back to the car and left at 14.17.
Last place on the itinery for the day was another migrant hotspot Warham greens. By now Wendy had received 5 texts from RBA (mainly about a Glossy ibis near Norwich) but I had had 0 from Birdguides! Not a good start for BG text alert at all. Nothing was close enough to go to though so it looked like this place would be our last of the day.
We knew where to look from the Norfolk book so went left towards a scrubby depression called “the quarry”
“ The quarry”
I could instantly see why this place gets good migrants. It felt superb, tons of sheltered bushes right on the shore. Niceee. I wished we had somewhere like this in the Isle of Man. Standing by the bushes I tried some “pishing”. It didn’t quite attract birds as hoped as a Barn Owl blasted out of the bushes scaring us half to death. Nothing else of note was in the quarry which was a shame but what a smart spot. Now we had to retrace our steps then continue on to a place called the Iron Gibbet. Although I kept accidentally saying Iron Giblet. On the way out on the marsh were about 1.5 Billion Little Egret and a couple of Greenshank. Also a Harrier came gliding past but it was only a Hen Harrier. Doh . On the way out to the giblet I heard a “tacking” from the brambles. I knew tacking could at worse be a Blackcap but at best be something mindblowing so we stopped and waited. The bird was keeping quite low down and deep in the bush but it gave enough of a view to confirm a Garden Warbler. Again an ok bird and a migrant but not the crippling rarity I’d dreamt of finding.
When we got to the Iron giblet the area I wasn’t as impressed with the area as I was with “the quarry”. This place was just long grass with some gorse bushes. I couldn’t see how it had been getting better birds than the quarry (unless they are easier to find) .
“Iron giblet area”
We didn’t even hear a bird here so went back spotting Common Gull, Ruff and Common Redshank on the marsh. As we drove back up the track I joked that the book had a tale about Grey Partridges here. That would have been nice but before I could finish laughing Wendy said “err what’s that stuff up there?” I stopped the car and before I got my bins up she was whoooping and cheering. Sure enough there were 15 Grey Partridge! Lifer number 4 for Wendy and a bird I hadn’t seen in about 15 years! We left Warham greens at 18.00 So with still an hour of light left we moved West up the coast to a place near Burnham Overy where we watched a Barn Owl and a few Marsh harriers which I assumed were coming into roost.
By the end of the second day of our trip we were on 80 birds and Wendy had 4 lifers. A great start!
Wednesday 23rd September
Today was the big day for me as we planned on walking out to Blakeney point. Several people had warned us off because it’s 4 miles out there on shingle but if we were going to find something good like Wryneck this was the place to do it. It was cloudy with a light westerly wind which was handy as sunny and hot would have probably killed me!
Before leaving we were treated to a superb sight of a Barn Owl hunting over the fields, viewable from the window! Nice :)
Before going to Blakeney though we went to Stiffkey Fen for a muscle warm up and gentle walk (so I thought). We had two options here - 1 was to park near the further away campsite and walk along a wooded area good for migrants then out to the fen (which didn’t look far on the map….err.whoops) or 2 park on a layby on the main road and walk a short distance to the fen. Me being the daft plank that I am chose the campsite. Again I could see why this area gets migrants, it was a deciduous belt of trees right up against the saltmarsh. Going through them though, we didn’t see or hear anything new. As we got to the end of the wooded area I heard a Siskin fly over then heard a very unusual call which I sort of recognised. Luckily enough I got my bins on it and was pleased to see a Snow Bunting. Only problem was Wendy didn’t get on it so once again missed out on seeing Snow Bunting.. dohh. Not to be outdone though she quickly shrieked into life with a scream of Kingfisher but I couldn’t get on it… (might have been down to the fact Wendy’s directions are something like “over there … by the grass. in the sky” etc :P ) Somewhere in that vicinity we saw Turnstone (I can’t remember the details :) ) and I heard and then we saw a few Skylark fly over.
After a ridiculous long time I was starting to think I had got the wrong path or something as we hadn’t come across a fen at all. Initially we had planned to be starting the walk to Blakeney at 10am but it was now 9.15am (an hour after arriving) and we hadn’t found the fen yet. Finally, after what seemed like hours, the oasis of the fen appeared.
“Looking to the fen in the far distance!”
I wasn’t that impressed by it to be honest though. I could see why it gets the birds like, shallow freshwater right by the coast, yes please but viewing it was a nightmare. We picked out some Black-tailed Godwit and Shelduck then quickly left. On the way back we didn’t pick up anything new and left at 10.17. Very behind schedule.
After taking a big detour to fulfill Wendy’s coffee addiction and the subsequent side affects of that ;) we started the long walk at 11.15.
After a while I honestly wasn’t that bothered about the shingle. Whether it was my flatfooted nature or the massive overhyped pain we were supposed to be feeling I don’t know but I was still smiling 1 hour in. This didn’t go down well with Wendy who was grumbling about my over optimism and cheeriness most of the way hahaha. :)
I knew we would either see something superb or nothing at all on this walk but I didn’t expect it to be 30 minutes in before even seeing a bird! First bird we found near the Sueda was a Northern Wheatear. At home we would rarely check Wheatears (oops) but out here the potential was there so we were noting every detail. It was still a Northern Wheatear though. Closer to Halfway house just as I was saying isn’t it weird there’s no waders here, we came across a wader flock. It was mainly Dunlin and some Ringed Plover. As at home, when getting Dunlin flocks we check these thoroughly as even a Curlew Sandpiper would have been good. There was nothing in the first flock but there was a flock further on that needed checking. As we got closer to them, in the middle I thought eh up and said to Wendy “looks like a Curlew Sandpiper here”. She took this with a pinch of salt… (more like “yeah right you total plum”) but as we got nearer and nearer and I explained the id features, including the white rump, the bird flew and showed the white rump.. AHA! defo Curlew Sandpiper .. cue a massive nerrrrrr told you so dance. A bit tricky on the shingle but still totally necessary.
Luckily I got a record shot before the bird flew to record the 5th lifer of the trip for Wendy.
We reached halfway house at 12.22. Not bad at all. Only an hour and 7 minutes even with stopping for the Curlew sand.
“Halfway house”
Two days earlier there had been Blyth’s Reed Warbler and Yellow Browed Warbler here but with the wind blowing through the Sueda, anything in there would be keeping it’s head well down and so it proved as we saw nothing. While there, another two birders appeared, looked for about a nano second and left within a minute! Not a good sign. After finishing our lunch we moved on and approaching the dunes I got very excited as this would be the place to find Wryneck. (slighty over optimistic I think) Best we could do was a Hare and another mammal hiding in the Sueda which Wendy tried to coax out with her very good shrew impression.
“Dr Doolittle at her best”
At the end of the dunes we heard a very unusual call. To me it sounded like a cross between a Dunnock alarm call and the alarm tacking of a Blackcap. It was constant too which made it even more weird. The bird was hidden deep in the Sueda and despite waiting for about 10 minutes we didn’t even see a bush branch move at all. God knows what that bird was, probably the big find I had dreamt of!
Nothing else happened and we got to the point at 13.55. It had taken us 2 hours 2 minutes to get there and with us both feeling fine with no pains we were quite happy. In celebration we both visited the grubby public toilets. At the point, looking out into the bay area we found a Knot but with the tide out nothing else was identifiable. We sat down at “the plantation” as Bill Oddie said sit and wait, there are always birds in there……….. hmm yeah.. there was nothing.
“The Plantation”
We are probably the first people in the world to not see a bird there. Team Jinx at their best !
We left the point at 14.35 and with the tide being out were able to walk along the hard sand all the way back. Nearly back at the car park we spotted a large blob in the sea very close in. Getting the bins on it we could see it was a juvenile Gannet. It’s the first time I had seen a Gannet in this plumage even though we see tons of Gannets round the Isle of Man. Unfortunately as we got closer it was clear this bird had a problem as some of its feathers were fluffed up in a way I don’t think they should be.
Shame to see such a majestic bird this way but natural selection and all that.
Nearly back we heard the massive roar of aircraft engines. We both like seeing something new so were scouring the skies to see what it was. We were excited to see two American F15 eagle fighters doing what looked like dummy bombing runs further up the coast. This went on for 10 minutes or so. Very cool. After standing and watching that we got back to the carpark at 16.00. 1 hour and 25 minutes.. zoooom tastic.
Reviewing injuries, even though Wendy had carried a rucksack she only had a sore heel and my only problem was my neck was sore from carrying the 6kg of camera and lens out there and back. Apart from that no problems at all. I might run it next time :P
Whilst on the way out of Blakeney to feed more Coffee into Wendy, her Rba text alert went off to say 23 Snow bunting at Cley east bank on the shingle. We were really close so went straight there to do our first bit of “pagering”. As we walked nearer we could see no other birders which didn’t bode well.
“Viewing the marsh off East bank”
But before reaching the shingle we checked this smart looking pool on the right. I think it’s called Arnolds marsh. Straight off we could see 2 more Curlew Sands but then Wendy went “oooo are they Spot shanks?…. No hold on they’re just Redshanks”… I asked where and she managed to point me to them and confirmed she was right the first time. 2 Spotted Redshanks . Excellent . Lifer number 6 for Wendy.
At the shingle ridge we looked up and down it but we couldn’t see any movement or hear any calls. We decided to go over the ridge to have a look at the sea and what a great decision that was, as at the top looking over it we saw 16 Snow Buntings fly past giving a great view for Wendy's lifer.
By now I needed petrol so whilst heading inland we picked up Mistle Thrush on some wires and a Red-legged Partridge that was hanging round with Wood Pigeon. Talking of Wood Pigeon … how many millions of them are there in Norfolk!! Every other bird was a Wood Pigeon. Absolutely Mental!! On the way back we had a Muntjac Deer cross the road in front of us. Cool.
Thursday 24th September
It was back to being Sunny with the same westerly again. We desperately wanted some Easterlies but it looked like we would be out of luck for our trip. Still we carried on with our plans to visit places to try and find more of our own migrants. Today though I think the week was catching up with me and I was feeling pretty ill. I struggled on though like a brave soldier (more like Wendy would have not allowed me to give up! )
First stop was Kelling Quags which we arrived at at 8.00. This is a shallow muddy pool surrounded by hedges and its right up behind the shingle ridge.
We could again see the potential but there was very little on the pool. On the fence near the pool there were a couple of Stonechat and a Grey Wagtail flew in. We went over the shingle ridge and stood by this old pillbox (which severely stank of wee!) to check the sea and saw some Sandwich Tern flying past. Whilst watching them we spotted a Porpoise break the surface a few times. After that we started wandering back up the path when I felt my phone go off. Wendy had had nothing from Rba so I just found it funny I had got a Glossy ibis text before her (or so I thought). I got my phone out and nearly dropped it when I read “Red necked Phalarope at West bank in Cley” reported 6 minutes ago!!. My illness disappeared in a second and Wendy shot off up the track like a woman possessed. This was going to be her first proper twitch (albeit a small one as a Rnp had been in Norfolk a few weeks earlier). Unfortunately the initial adrenaline rush dropped off rapidly and I had to stop half way up the track close to puking up. I decided at that point to drop Wendy at the Phalarope twitch and I would go back to sleep for the rest of the day. It meant missing out on a lifer but I was feeling that rough. By the time we got to Cley though, I luckily had a second wind (not of the parp type) On the way we saw the feral/wild (whatever) Egyptian Geese We parked up and saw that there was already about 10 people there which was a good sign . Up on the bank Wendy found the Phalarope straight away in the bankside marshy pool and guided me onto it.
“ Red necked pool”
It was still there a Red-necked Phalarope. What a fantastic little bird. We watched it feed like a hyperactive nutter for about 30 minutes. In which time the crowd got a little bigger
“ Red necked Twitch”
but everyone was calm so it was a good introduction to twitches for Wendy. The bird was a bit of a distance away so I stacked my 1.4tc and 2x tc together to get a record shot of it. I had to lie on the ground though to get some stability which got me some funny looks. (I hope there was no dog poo about!)
Whilst watching the Phalarope there was also several Bearded Tit flying about ping pinging all the time. Only a few months ago we both got a lifer on Bearded Tit but already we were hardly even looking at them. Bad form!
After getting our fill of the Phalarope we went back to the days plan but we dropped Walsey hills out of it. This place was for migrants only and with the poor winds I didn’t have any confidence in it so next off was the Cley marshes reserve itself. Before going to the hides Wendy experienced the drinks and food. Her review was the coffee was very nice and the Cheese scone was the best in the world! Praise indeed. We got there just at opening at 10.10 but it was already starting to fill up, the place is extremely popular. We went to the hides on the left first (can’t remember their names) and saw Avocet and Pintail but nothing close in which was a shame. Round at the hide on the right we spotted two mid sized waders on the distance spit. Even over the distance it was obvious these were the Green Sandpipers that had been on the reserve for a while. Lifer number 10 for Wendy. I got a horrific record shot of these birds. Again at the stacked 1400mm! urghh
Whilst in the hide which was full of quiet birders Wendy suddenly shrieked “KINGFISHER KINGFISHER!” … hahaha this time I got onto the bird flying off but tried to shuffle away to distance myself from the shrieking nutter. :) Luckily enough all the birders in there were cool and most of them just laughed and were grateful to have it pointed out to them.
“ View from Cley hide”
Nothing much else happened here so we left at 12.35. (The next day we found out a Spotted Crake was seen the day we were there and was showing well! ARHGHGHGHGh text alert fail there! )
Next stop was Salthouse. This was a bit east along the coast from Cley on the shingle ridge by the sea and has a really shallow small pool just by the shingle. In winter it’s the place for Snow and Lapland Buntings but today it was completely dead. It was so dead I haven’t even made a note of it in my notebook.! Although Wendy tells me the Coffee from the bloke in the Coffee van was absolutely superb.
Yet again there was tons of time left over from completing the days plans so we brought a Friday location forward and went to Holkham hall. This is a stately home surrounded by like 1 billion acres of woodland and a lake. I had nearly guaranteed a Green Woodpecker for Wendy here but the place was absolutely dead. All we heard was a Nuthatch. I don’t know if it was because it was late ish in the day (14.35) but I was shocked at the lack of birds and lack of bird noise too. We were completely knackered by now and staggered around the grounds like a pair of drunks and got lost (again!) We eventually found our way out at 16.00.
For some stupid reason I suggested trying Holkham pines again as a Yellow Browed Warbler was reported on Tuesday evening and I was dieing to see a ybw. So the pair of drunks staggered off to the western end of the pines which hadn’t looked far on Google earth…..oops.. it was flipping miles away! We really needed to find the Tit flock but nothing was calling. Near the western end Wendy spotted a Great spotted Woodpecker doing its undulating flight as it flew over.
On the way back I thought I heard a Firecrest again but couldn’t locate the bird and there was no sign of a ybw so we left the area a bit disappointed.
“Given up on the YBW”
After a very, very, long, hard day and the depression of realising it was our final full day in Norfolk it was brilliant to hear a pair of Tawny Owls twit – twooing to each other just before going to bed.
Friday 25th September
It was once again sunny with a slight westerly for our last day in Norfolk.
Today, to get back to Heysham in time for the Ferry we had to leave Norfolk by about 17.00. It was going to be a very long day travelling so it meant a short plan on the itinery and a late start. (Although the late start was because Wendy couldn’t get the dishwasher to work. When I checked, I was slightly bemused to see a fully wrapped up dishwasher tablet sitting in the dispenser!!! Hahahaha Classic!)
The idea was to work our way west out of Norfolk so first plan was Titchwell Rspb reserve. On the way Wendy realised we hadn’t seen House Sparrow yet, unbelievable! A quick detour through Morston village and we spotted a few in a bush near a house. Phew.
Nearing Titchwell we went to Choseley drying barns first.
“Chosely Barns”
It’s just up a road from Titchwell where you can nearly guarantee Corn Buntings which feed on the split seed. We got there and it was very quiet which was worrying. There was a chap there so I went over to him to ask and was told there had been 1 a quarter of an hour ago but that’s it. He said it had been a bad year for the Corn Buntings there….. oh poo.
We wandered around for about 20 minutes but apart from a nano second view of an unidentifiable bunting flying off nothing else was about. We left and moved to Titchwell and got there at 11.16. This is a flagship Rspb reserve but recently they have started some major work on the sea walls to try and alleviate the pressure on the freshmarsh. This meant half the reserve was a building site and will be till 2012 so it was a surprise to see the car parks absolutely chocka block.
On the way to the only open hides we were looking left at some marshy area when behind us I heard a bogey bird for me. I’ve only heard it once before but knew instantly what it was so turned round to see exactly what situation the bird was in. I felt pretty dejected when I saw the mass of bushes, reeds and trees. Very similar to my last encounter with this bird.
“Stupid bird”
I said to Wendy it’s a Cetti’s Warbler calling/singing, which would be a lifer for both of us. So she joined me at staring into the bushes. 30 minutes later there was no sign. How that bird moves around without shaking any reed or bush branch I do not know. So we gave up and moved onto the hides.
At the freshmarsh hides I was completely taken aback by the lack of birds and water. Everything was absolutely miles away.
“Emptywell”
I would have assumed they have control of the water levels on the freshmarsh, if so why hadn’t they increased the water levels to bring some birds towards the hides to give people something to look at as these were the only hides open at Titchwell. This was severely annoying as there were definitely Little Stint somewhere here but everything was too far away too ID.
Leaving the hide I was slightly vocal about the rubbishness of Titchwell which got me some evil stares from the nearby bird “watchers”. Whoopsadaisy. Depressed by everything happening here we moved off to go. Back at the Cetti’s bush it called again so we stopped and tortured ourselves some more. 15 minutes later Wendy moved slighty to the left as the bird was calling from about 6 foot away. Suddenly she screamed IT’s THERE!! In the blink of an eye I moved to look but it was gone. The Cetti’s Warbler had flew a few metres and dived deep into the reeds. I couldn’t believe it. Wendy’s first attempt at a Cetti’s and she gets it. Not only her lifer but also Gripping me off in the process!!. Nooooo. I fully expected an “in your face” dance but she was a too gracious for that.. I suspect she did it in her head though!. :)
To cheer myself up I went to the reserve shop and treated myself to some retail therapy then we left the frankly extremely poor Titchwell reserve at 13.15. Now we really had some extra time on our hands and the texts were coming in thick and fast. One said a Spectacled Warbler at Holkham and another said a probable Great reed Warbler at Cley. To be honest I didn’t believe either and both places were back east from us and we needed to go west so I added a curveball into the plan and said let’s try Holme dunes reserve (after trying Choseley again which was more dead than before!). Holme was west from Titchwell and it gets mentioned a lot on Birdguides so we moved off. As we did Wendy got an RBA text saying Hen Harrier at Holme reserve. Haha. Pretty useless information to birders from the Isle of Man but the bottom of the text said oh and btw still Wood Sandpiper here….Wooooot!
Foot down (but in the speed limits :) ) then as I’ve only seen a Wood Sandpiper once and it would be a lifer for Wendy. Getting to Holme we got some pinpoint directions for the Wood Sand from the extremely helpful Warden. So we shot off to the most distant hide. Getting in there it was a bit disappointing to again see the water’s edge a distance from the hide and the sun in our face. I like a lot of things in Norfolk like how it seems nature and birds are put first but one thing that does niggle me is some of the hide positioning, it really is baffling, this being a prime example. At no stage of the suns cycle, at any time of the year would the sun be behind the hide. Weird. Anyway getting in the hide we could just about tell the (relatively) nearest bird was the Wood Sandpiper but it was basically a dark silhouette.
“It’s that one honest”
After a few minutes a few blokes came in and one asked Wendy what was about. She told him and within minutes the same bloke said that anyone without a scope can look through his if they wanted to. I urged Wendy to, to be able to see some plumage detail on the Wood Sand so she did and got a slighty better view for her 12th lifer! Text alerts had worked for their 3rd time. Very smart.
What a nice offer from the bloke though. Another example of nice friendly birders which we saw right the way through the trip. There was nothing else at Holme but I can see why it gets the migrants with the sparse bushes right by the coast. We were now a bit late on our plans but had one last place to visit.
Flitcham Abbey farm is down towards Kings Lynn on the way out of Norfolk so we moved down there for a flying visit. Supposedly there is a 99.9% chance of seeing Little Owl here but obviously that percentage isn’t adjusted for Team Jinx. Arriving at the small hide at 16.45 which overlooks a freshwater pool near some trees, there were 3 other birders in there, all very friendly and we got chatting to them.
“Flitcham abbey Farm”
Whilst chatting, a Stoat made a few appearances in front of the hide. Wendy got a good view but I only got a shape moving. We then heard a weird cry from the Trees and Wendy asked the bloke what it was and we were told it’s the Little Owl! Try as we might we couldn’t see the bird though. We were also told Green Woodpeckers visit here often too but, as usual, not today..Dohhh. Whilst talking to the experienced birder we told him we were from the Isle of Man and yet again got the “ah where Ted is”!! We must have an A list celebrity on the island!!. I might get his autograph next time I see him. This bloke also told us there were some Tree Sparrows nearby so after a final look for Little Owl we left the hide to find them. Sure enough on the way through the village we picked up our final bird of the trip Tree Sparrow.
At the end of the trip we had seen 120 species which is quite impressive for a 4.5 day trip. Wendy got 12 lifers and I got 1.
As for the text alert experiment. RBA were quicker the majority of the time but on the major important one it was shockingly slow to a point we would have missed the bird. It’s definitely worth doing though as the text alerts helped us get 3 lifers for Wendy and 1 for me.
Overall it was very enjoyable as North Norfolk seems built for birders and birding and with everyone being friendly and helpful that made it even better, it was also great to be with the majority as nearly everyone walking around were birders.
Doing it in the week seemed a good idea too as no area apart from the reserves were that busy so with only a small walk you had places to explore in peace.
If only there had been an easterly wind the mind boggles! Maybe we will have to try again next year :)
Ps. If anyone finds a grubby green Adidas cap at Warham Greens send it to me, I miss it!
Trip list
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Mute Swan |
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Pink-footed Goose |
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Greylag Goose |
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Canada Goose |
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Egyptian Goose |
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Shelduck |
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Wigeon |
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Gadwall |
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Teal |
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Mallard |
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Pintail |
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Shoveler |
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Pochard |
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Tufted Duck |
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Ruddy Duck |
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Little Grebe |
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Great Crested Grebe |
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Fulmar |
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Gannet |
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Cormorant |
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Shag |
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Little Egret |
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Grey Heron |
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Marsh Harrier |
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Hen Harrier |
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Sparrowhawk |
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Buzzard |
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Kestrel |
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Peregrine |
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Moorhen |
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Coot |
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Oystercatcher |
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Avocet |
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Ringed Plover |
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Golden Plover |
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Lapwing |
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Knot |
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Curlew Sandpiper |
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Dunlin |
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Ruff |
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Snipe |
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Black-tailed Godwit |
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Bar-tailed Godwit |
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Curlew |
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Green Sandpiper |
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Spotted Redshank |
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Greenshank |
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Wood Sandpiper |
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Redshank |
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Turnstone |
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Red-necked Phalarope |
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Arctic Skua |
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Kittiwake |
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Black-headed Gull |
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Mediterranean Gull |
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Common Gull |
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Lesser Black-backed Gull |
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Herring Gull |
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Great Black-backed Gull |
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Sandwich Tern |
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Guillemot |
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Razorbill |
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Puffin |
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Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon |
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Stock Dove |
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Woodpigeon |
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Collared Dove |
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Barn Owl |
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Little Owl |
heard only |
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Tawny Owl |
heard only |
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Kingfisher |
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Great Spotted Woodpecker |
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Skylark |
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Sand Martin |
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Swallow |
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House Martin |
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Meadow Pipit |
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Rock Pipit |
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Yellow Wagtail |
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Grey Wagtail |
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Pied Wagtail |
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Wren |
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Dunnock |
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Robin |
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Redstart |
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Stonechat |
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Wheatear |
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Blackbird |
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Song Thrush |
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Mistle Thrush |
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Cetti’s Warbler |
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Blackcap |
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Garden Warbler |
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Lesser Whitethroat |
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Chiffchaff |
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Goldcrest |
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Firecrest |
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Pied Flycatcher |
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Bearded Tit |
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Long-tailed Tit |
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Blue Tit |
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Great Tit |
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Coal Tit |
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Nuthatch |
heard only |
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Treecreeper |
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Jay |
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Magpie |
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Jackdaw |
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Rook |
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Carrion Crow |
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Starling |
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House Sparrow |
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Tree Sparrow |
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Chaffinch |
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Greenfinch |
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Goldfinch |
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Siskin |
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Linnet |
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Snow Bunting |
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Reed Bunting |