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.