Norfolk/Suffolk Part 3

It was the third day of bank holiday birding in Norfolk, and today it was the plan to head down to Suffolk to go to Westleton and Minsmere. 

The day was extremely hot and cloudless, and remained that way all day. We parked at Westleton and began to walk through the extensive heath. Almost as soon as I stepped out the car I could hear the distant and constant song of a Woodlark. Walking towards the sound, I noticed a small bird fly from a bit of heather, then land out in the open - a Dartford Warbler, a lifer, but one I'm surprised I hadn't seen already, considering I have visited heathland habitat numerous times in the past. The day was already going well as I searched for my next targets.

Record shot...but at least it can be identified as a Dartford Warbler

I was accompanied by the song of at least one Woodlark all the time as I walked through the many tracks, but never managed to locate the bird. There were many Stonechats perching on the tops of bushes, carrying food.

Just as I approached an area with many trees and dense bushes, I heard the distant, but unmistakable, song of a Nightingale! As I approached the area where the song came from, it became apparent that there were three singing. The next half hour was filled pacing and waiting for one to fly in to view, and eventually, I got a very brief view of one sitting in the bush before it dropped back down in to the dense undergrowth - 2nd lifer of the day. The Nightingale was also accompanied by a singing Garden Warbler, a bird that was new for me last year but one I have seen and heard 5 of this year, and during the weekend I had heard 3.

The rest of the time spent at the heath wasn't as productive as the start, with no new birds seen. I tried every corner of the heath but couldn't find a Turtle Dove. I then managed to get lost, but this led me to seeing a Common Lizard. 

Eventually making it back to the car, we headed down to Minsmere, where we didn't have much time but I was hoping to try for Savi's Warbler. However, after spending an hour in the hide I realised that a warm, cloudless bank holiday at a popular reserve meant it was very busy inside the hide with the door constantly opening and closing, so the chances of hearing a distant Savi's Warbler were pretty slim. The hide did have a couple of Common Terns, a Great Crested Grebe and a lot of Reed and Sedge Warbler though. So after one disappointing search of the wader scrape and a Bittern briefly landing out in the open, I headed home after a successful weekend.

Norfolk/Suffolk part 2

The Sunday began early. 3:00am saw me getting up and heading down to Hickling for a boat trip. It sounds strange to get up this early, but the main point of the morning was to try to hear some of Hickling's birds that are more vocal early on.

Tawny Owl flew in front of the car as we were heading down, which was only the second I had ever seen. As I arrived at Hickling, another Tawny Owl hooted from a distant tree. Beginning the walk, I heard two Grasshopper Warblers singing before we boarded the boat, and there were also a couple of booming Bitterns. 

As the boat sailed through the many Dykes, I added Reed and Sedge Warblers, Common Tern, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant and Grey Heron to the day list. We eventually reached a metal tower, where another Grasshopper Warbler was reeling. We went up the tower and saw a deer and a flock of three Cranes, flying past at quite close range, as well as hearing many more. 

Grey Heron on a post

Next we visited the two hides, but these turned out to be very quiet, as it was apparently a very bad year for waders because of the high water levels. So we headed back, and arrived on land, where there was enough time to see a singing Garden Warbler before breakfast. After I had eaten, I went out to have another look at the Garden Warbler and had very brief views of a female Bullfinch. 

Next, we headed to Strumpshaw where Hobby was new for the weekend, as was Marsh Tit.

It was only 3:00pm, but there was really no other places to go nearby, and I had got up early so thought we should just head home and prepare for the next day. However, just as we were driving through Norwich, where I was staying, I checked my phone and saw news of a Wood Warbler just a couple of minutes away...in a nearby part of Norwich. 

So I rushed over there and found quite a large group of people with their heads pointing upwards to the top of the tree... must be the Wood Warbler!

Then there was a short wait before I heard the distinctive spinning song of the bird. Then another short wait before someone noticed it at the top of a tree. I got a very brief view of the bird, before it was once again obscured by leaves. But another short wait later and the bird dropped down on to one of the branches and showed itself very well! (For a Wood Warbler, most of the bird I could see was the underside). For the next few minutes the bird went in and out of sight, showing itself well at times, and constantly producing its song. 

Thank you to the patient birders who helped me to see the Wood Warbler, as I couldn't get on to it at first. I had some great views in the end. Another great lifer for the weekend.

Norfolk Weekend part 1

I can't imagine not birding on a bank holiday with perfect weather. So (although I planned this weeks ago and could not predict the weather), I spent the bank holiday in Norfolk, staying with my Aunt in Norwich.

The first day was North Norfolk, although I did not know exactly where to go. Usually when I bird North Norfolk I visit sites such as Titchwell, Choseley, Holme, Holkham and Cley, and I didn't stray too far from the usual routine on Saturday. 

So I started at Cley, where there had been a Purple Heron showing for a couple of days. After arriving, I headed straight for the West Bank. I didn't have to wait long before the Purple Heron got up and walked in to full view in perfect light. Amazing! After showing itself for a few seconds it flew up and started gathering height, but then dropped down again, after doing an extremely close flypast. It showed for a couple of minutes again before dropping down out of sight. A great way to start the trip - with a lifer. 

Purple Heron

In the reeds there were singing Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers, and the trail to the hides held a noisy group of pinging Bearded Tits. I had to follow a time limit so couldn't spend long in the hides, but I managed  to see two Little Ringed Plovers in the time I had. 

As we were driving to other parts of North Norfolk, I checked my phone and saw reports of 3 Dotterel at Choseley. This was to be the next destination, and worked well because we had already planned to go there. 

When we arrived, I checked the patch I think is supposed to be good for Corn Bunting, but didn't see anything. I have heard its the best site in Norfolk for them, but have failed to see them here about 5 times. 

Next, we drove down to road, where there was a pair of Grey Partridge crossing. The instructions to where the Dotterel were confused me at first, so we ended up doing a circular drive around Choseley (and were really looking for people with scopes rather than the Dotterels) and eventually noticed a group of people by the side of the road, scopes pointing in to the field. We got out and were given some helpful directions to an amazing female Dotterel sitting in the field, with another to her left. 

It was showing better than this photo suggests - the Dotterel

I really don't know how people find these things. Dozens of fields to search and someone finds a Dotterel sitting down behind a shrub at the back of a field and in the heat haze.

Saying that though, I actually had great views of one of the females, as she stood up and showed herself. 

Next I stopped off at Stiffkey where I failed to see the target Garden Warbler. There actually wasn't much here at all, except a few Swallows. 

So it was on to the final stop of the day, Holme Bird Observatory and dunes. It seemed to be a quiet day for migration so I din't really know what to expect, but Holme is always worth going to. 

I had a conversation with someone about what they had seen recently, and they told me about a Ring Ouzel in the dunes, and a lot of Green Hairstreaks. I told him I had never seen a Green Hairstreak, so he simply walked to the nearest patch of flowers and showed some to me, which were great and interesting to see. 

So while my dad and aunt had coffee, I walked along the dunes looking for the Ring Ouzel, but failed to find it, as it had probably moved on. 

Moving on to the observatory, we met Sophie, the warden there, and the first thing she did was ask if we would like to see a "good bird". We then followed her down one of the trails, to see that she had found an adult male Redstart, sitting out in the open on one of the posts! This was the first time I had seen an adult male, and it's a whole different experience to seeing a female. The male is neater and more colourful, and I spent a lot of time watching him fly from post to post. Sophie informed us that he had probably only arrived that afternoon, so we were lucky we turned up at the right moment. There was also a ringed Wheatear behind the Redstart, an individual that had apparently been around for a few days.

The Male Redstart 

I then headed up to the Redwell Marsh area, where there wasn't much in the hide. However, there was a very loud Cuckoo singing, which I eventually found sitting in a tree - always good to see. By the car park, I saw a small bird at the top of a hedge. It soon became clear that it was a Lesser Whitethroat. It then started moving through the bush, regularly producing its rattling song. 

This ended the first day in Norfolk, and it was definitely a successful day, which started off the weekend well and set the expectations high for the next two days.