Two days in Suffolk & Norfolk

[John]

Part 1

Saturday 21st January 2006.

This year I have decided that chasing most rare birds is not going to be economically viable so I have stayed closeish to where I live but this weekend I let myself loose and visited Suffolk and Norfolk. I did target certain birds but actually deliberately ignored some due to maximising my time.

Apart from seeing quite a few birds I wanted to try for some photos, possibly of birds I hadn’t got before but more to the point getting better shots of those I already had.

I must admit that the end product of the two day venture was brilliant with some incredible sights and sounds around me.

I started Saturday at Lowestoft after Purple Sandpiper and Black throated Diver (both of which I saw) then onto Haverigg after the Tundra Bean Geese and again found them easy enough. Onto great Yarmouth, by the Marina, for the Med Gulls and yet again got good views and one or two photos of them.

From here I ventured to Caister after a reported large flock of Snow Buntings. This is a bird I have always wanted to get a photo of. Surely this would be easy??

Arriving at the 2nd Avenue car park I started my walk northwards along the beach. For the first 500 yards nothing then a little cloud of small birds could be seen. Soon possibly over 300 of the little beauties could be seen dropping onto the beach. I crept closer but they were very flighty and kept on taking off. Soon it became obvious that there was one area more than most that they returned to, near some rocks, so whilst they were further down the beach I moved closer to those rocks and just stood and waited. Many times they dropped nearby but would always take off again almost straight away. Thankfully they became more and more confident with me being there and almost two hours later they flew all around me and landed with me being in the middle of them. Now they were too close to photograph as my camera was attached to my scope but eventually they took off and landed about 50 yards away. Just the ideal distance but even so they were constantly on the move and never posing for the camera. Many times they would take off and land all around me and it was a brilliant feeling as I had dozens of these little crackers grubbing around my feet. I daren’t move for fear of frightening them so stood stock still each time until they had moved slightly further away. In the end I spent three hours in their company. A stunning moment in my life and one that won’t be forgotten easily.

From here it was onto Filby Broad after the Black necked Grebe, which I found about 400 yards on the other side of the broad and then onto my final site of the day, Stubbs Mill. This is at the side of Hickling Broad and is famous for the Harrier and Common Crane roost. Unfortunately only 4 Cranes were visible this time as there have been up to 29 reported at times. The upside was the sighting of 22+ Marsh Harriers, 2 Hen Harriers, 4 Merlin, 4 Barn Owls, thousands of Pink footed Geese overhead and an escaped Harris Hawk in the roost that was being constantly mobbed by the Marsh Harriers.

A good end to a very good first day. Some photos will follow once I have edited them.

[Tinkerbell]

I wonder how many folk who live in the areas you visited John are aware of this spectactular birdlife in their midst. It's so very easy to take our own surroundings for granted - but obviously your trip was well worth the effort.

[John]

Originally Posted by Tinkerbell

I wonder how many folk who live in the areas you visited John are aware of this spectactular birdlife in their midst. It's so very easy to take our own surroundings for granted - but obviously your trip was well worth the effort.

I think a good proportion of people in that area know of these places but whether they bother to visit them is another matter. I was watching people walking along Caister beach taking absolutely no notice of the Snow Buntings. Even if I wasn't a birder I don't think I could walk past over 300 of them without stopping and watching. Perhaps the majority of people take nature for granted.

[John]

Part 2

Sunday 22nd January 2006.

It was 17:00 when I left the Stubbs Mill roost and I drove northwards through Cromer then followed the coast road to Wells next the sea where I parked up for the night on the harbour car park. Over the road was the chippy and soon a bag of chips was purchased and devoured. I listened to my CD's until 22:30 got in my sleeping bag and settled down for the night. I awoke at 04:45am to –1.5C and a very cold nose.

I managed to doze off again after having the car engine on for a while; to warm the car up, then woke up just after 06:00. After breakfast a lovely skyline of dark cloud with broken areas of light could be seen and I tried to capture the moment with my camera. Hopefully it has turned out and if so I will post it in this thread.

My first port of call was Lady Anne’s Drive, Holkham, famous for the visiting wintering geese. Arriving at 07:30 I was soon joined by a few more birders with the same thoughts as me, to witness the daily arrival of these geese. Within ten minutes the Pink Feet could be heard and soon skein after skein could be seen as thousands arrived and then swooped to the ground under a cacophany of noise from their calls. A few minutes later and more could be heard and then seen. This is an incredible sight and sound and if any of you haven’t witnessed this I urge you to try it as it is awesome. One of the sights and sounds of Norfolk that all birders know and love. I have tried to capture some of these moments on camera and will post any that have come out ok.

I walked out to the sea to see what was out on the water and was rewarded with some nice birds including huge rafts of Common Scoters and Eiders.

I visited other places en-route to my final destination of the Welney Wildlife Centre, including Choseley Barns for the large flock of Corn Buntings (but missed out on the reported 12 Lapland Buntings). Into Titchwell to try for a few more photos, but Titchwell was remarkably quiet for once. Then onto Hunstanton Cliffs for the resident Fulmar. Easy enough to see but this time they were staying low and distant so no flight shots of them today.

Last call before Welney was an area known as the Wolferton Triangle, near Sandringham. Here is a small resident population of Golden Pheasant. These birds are amongst the gaudiest birds you are likely to see and with their brilliant colours you would think they are easy to see. Not a bit of it. They are one of the most reclusive of birds and usually you need quite a few visits before you see one. In fact it was 7 years at this site before I actually saw one. To get a photo you can more or less forget it. Anyway I drove around the perimeter of the small wood very slowly, stopping every now and again. The idea is to watch from the car as it is frowned upon if you enter the wood. In any case if they hear you walking in there they slink off under the huge Rhododendron bushes never to be seen until you have gone.

Suddenly two birds emerged from under one of the bushes. I slowly eased the brakes on and gently came to a stop. Got my camera out and put on my 5x teleconverter and slowly opened the door, just as a cyclist passed me. The two birds disappeared straight away but I thought I would stay where I was for a while. 20 minutes elapsed and I thought of moving slightly further down the road when one of them popped out again. I just had enough time to fire off one shot before it rushed across the road to my side and then stopped for a few seconds, allowing me one more quick shot before disappearing for good. They are not the best of photos but I will post the best one of the two later tonight.

It was now time to go to Welney. I came off the A10 and passed over the 40 foot drain and along a narrow lane that can be very productive at times. A couple of miles along there I came to a field full of Lapwings and Golden Plover. There were literally thousands of birds in those newly ploughed up fields and it was a joy to watch them free flying in the sun. It’s at these times I wish I also owned a DSLR as my camera isn’t the best at flight shots. It was getting late and I carried on but a few fields on I came to a field full of distant Bewick Swans, which I watched, and photographed. The light by now wasn’t brilliant and the birds were distant so I only managed a couple of record shots of them. Moving on I came across a field full of Whooper Swans and again stopped and did a bit of photography. This time they were closer and I managed a few half decent shots.

Then onto Welney but I had taken my time too much and arrived just as the feeding of the Swans had finished. Still I did manage a few more shots of Whoopers and a final shot of the sunset over the main observatory. The resulting photos (if they are good enough) I will add to this thread.

I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend, as I nearly always do in Norfolk. Hopefully you have enjoyed reading my account of the weekend and the resulting photos from it, which I will post later tonight.

John

[nightshade]

I am no birder but wish I could have been in with those snow buntings,and the other birds, thanks john, I could almost have been there

[Fourwings]

A fantastic report on what sounds like a very memorable weekend, thanks for posting it.

Just think of the Snow Bunting images you would have if you had that DSLR & a medium zoom lens
Either way what an awesome experience & all due to your knowledge & patience.

[John]

Originally Posted by Fourwings

A fantastic report on what sounds like a very memorable weekend, thanks for posting it.

I'm glad you enjoyed it

Originally Posted by Fourwings

Just think of the Snow Bunting images you would have if you had that DSLR & a medium zoom lens

Tell me about it. lol

I have posted a few for you to look at.

Originally Posted by Fourwings

Either way what an awesome experience & all due to your knowledge & patience.

It was an awesome sight and well worth being patient, something I might not have acheived if I was chasing rarities like I normally do.

John

[John]

A few more photos to look at.

1. Meditteranean Gull
2. Robin
3. Bewick Swan
4. Whooper Swan
5. Pink Footed Goose

[Mark43]

Sounds like a lovely 2 days John.....i'm not jealous at all.

Stubbs Mill sounds interesting.........i love birds of prey and would like to see a Marsh Harrier or 10

[wildone]

Hi John

I notice that several of these birds have been rung. Did you manage to read any of the numbers to be able to know where they have been rung?

Regards

PS Any chance of posting some of these in the Gallery, please.