Well my first trip to Norfolk.....actually my first major trip anywhere since i started bird watching at the beginning of the year.
A very enjoyable long weekend with beautiful countryside and some good birds.
Started off near Weeting looking for
Stone Curlew but i think having not got there till 9am i had missed the morning parade but managed a few
Grey Partridge and a couple of
Skylark in a neighbouring field.
From there i had a quick look at Lakenheath airbase (i'm a plane buff as well) and nearly ran over a couple of
Quail as they crossed in front of me on the track round by the Warren.
Drove over to Lakenheath Fen and had a wander around the site.A bit early for the
Orioles but had a nice view of a
Common Buzzard climbing out and circling the area and some very fleeting views of
Bearded Tit bottoms as they scarpered away from the wife and i.
Nothing much else here,a few
HouseMartins flitting about,some
Tufted Ducks,G.C Grebe.
A very quiet reserve with lots of potential i think.
Onwards to Weeting Heath for a second bash at
Stone Curlew but alas we had missed a pair by about half an hour plus also a passing
Wheatear.Nothing much else here apart from loads of
Goldfinches and a few
Mistle Thrushes.
Onwards to Hunstanton for a well earned Coffee and a Sausage butty by the cliffs.The usual Gulls plus 2
Fulmars and some
Oystercatchers on the Golf Course.
Took a wrong turn as we left here and went up Cliff Road by mistake and happened across a group of about 20 birds which i though were
Ringed Plover feeding on the grass by the road.They didn't have the full white ring round the throat though.........this was partly white but had a lot of brown speckled spots in it.We had a camera but forgot about taking a pic.
Anyone help with these?
Moved onto Holme almost running over a
Stoat as we entered the reserve.
Not a lot about but my saw my first
Avocets here and a
Barn Owl flew over as we left.
Got to our base of Wells about 5ish and got unpacked and had a wander along East Quay as the tide was out and saw a load of
Redshank and
Curlews as well as the hordes of
Black Headed Gulls
In the morning it was off to Cley and we got there as the
Marsh Harriers were out and about.Saw three different birds over a 30 minute period and what a marvel to watch.
When we pulled up here the car park was heaving so we went up to the visitor centre in time to see loads of birders running around shouting what sounded like "
Killdeer".I just put this down to to much to drink the night before but when we went back outside all the cars had gone or were going.Strange i thought to myself.
Anyway we went round the reserve..........not a great deal going on there then we decided to go off to Blakeney Quay for a bite to eat.
As i got out of the car these blokes say to me "wheres the
killdeer then mate".If you are reading this then i apologise for looking stupid when you asked me that but i didn't have a clue what he was on about.
Anyway by now i had deduced that something was up so got my book out and had a look and found the pic and description of it.
Had a look around and decided to follow where everyone else was heading and found the little beauty after a short walk.
Lucky me.......not a bad bird for my first proper trip out.
Next was a visit to Stiffkey Marsh where a couple of
Little Egrets had just landed.A few passing
Meadow Pipits and a
swallow helped the list here.
Here we met a retired couple called Margaret and Eric who took us under there wing and walked with us through the woods here.They gave us a tip on where to watch
Barn Owl flying later in the evening.
Thank you both if you are reading this for your kindness and sharing your knowledge.
So off we went to Glandford that evening and parked up by the field and we sat there for 45 minutes in the pouring rain.The rain stopped and we were just about to go when out of the corner of my eye it appeared gliding over the top of us and into the field where we watched it hunting for at leat 10 minutes...........FANTASTIC.
Well the last day was spent at Titchwell joining the guided tour led by David Hawkins.What a fantastic place it is.More spectacular views of
Marsh Harrier plus all the usual waders etc. including a
Little Ringed Plover.
Lastly we popped into Holkham Pines and Hall but nothing of consequence except a few
Chiffchaff
All in all a very enjoyable weekend with about 60 birds listed.
Not a particularly long list for a long weekend but i put that down to my inexperience and lack of knowledge plus the bloody cold wind which blew for all 4 days which kept the birds hunkered down.Some local birders i met said this was the coldest April they had known for ages and it had slowed down the migration somewhat.
Anyway my thanks to John for his info and help with some facets of my trip.
The next trip is being planned as i type.
Cheers
Mark
Full species list below for those interested
Avocet
Bar Tailed Godwit
Barn Owl
Bearded Tit
Black Headed Gull
Black Tailed Godwit
Blackbird
Brambling
Brent Goose
Canada Goose
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Collared Dove
Common Buzzard
Common Gull
Coot
Crow
Curlew
Dunlin
Dunnock
Egyptian Goose
Fulmar
Garganey
Gold Finch
Great Black backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe
Great Tit
Grey Heron
Grey Partridge
Grey Plover
Herring Gull
House Martin
House Sparrow
Kestrel
Killdeer
Lapwing
Little Egret
Little Grebe
Little Ringed Plover
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Meadow Pipit
Mistle Thrush
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Oystercatcher
Pied Wagtail
Pheasant
Quail
Redshank
Ringed Plover
Robin
Ruddy Duck
Ruff
Shoveller
Siskin
SkyLark
Snipe
Spotted Redshank
Starling
Swallow
Teal
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Water Rail
Wood Pigeon
Wren
Yellowhammer
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