Norfolk/Suffolk Days 3-4

I headed out to Westleton Heath in the morning, which was where I would be starting the day. I arrived at the main entrance and began to walk up and down the many tracks, taking a different route to the one I had taken months earlier.

Near the entrance, I heard a very distant Stone Curlew, unfortunately very hard to hear with the wind and traffic masking the sound.

It was quiet at first, but as I got deeper in the heath I saw many Graylings landing on the paths, showing how well they can camouflage. There were also Small Coppers and a couple of Brown Argus. 

Grayling

However, there were few birds, with the best a Dartford Warbler. Once again no Turtle Dove, and I couldn't find anywhere where the habitat looked promising. 

Next to Minsmere, where there were even more waders! Birding started when a Hobby flew past the visitor centre, and many Sand Martins flew around near the sandy cliff. 

I visited the East Hide, where there were 6 Little Ringed Plovers and lots of Common Sandpipers, including one right in front of the hide. A Green Sandpiper showed itself briefly, while Common Snipe showed well in the open. There were many Common Terns including a nest with 2 chicks.

The next hide was exciting because there was a Wood Sandpiper walking around directly in front of the hide, giving prolonged and close views, which were better than I had ever had of this species.

Walking round to the other side of the same pool, I saw a Greenshank and numerous Spotted Redshanks, which were seemingly everywhere I looked! Some were in their smart summer plumage, some were in winter plumage and some had a plumage that was sort of in between.

Greenshank

 Amongst the Dunlin there were at least two summer plumage Curlew Sandpipers, another wader for the already huge number for the day. An Oystercatcher, Turnstones and two Golden Plovers also showed from the hide. Sandwich Terns called loudly, and juvenile Mediterranean Gulls sat on the grassy strips between the scrape. 

In this hide, we met John Grant, one of the experts who was running the gull watching evening later, and he pointed out a Little Gull flying past, although it didn't stay for long. Others Gulls from the hide included some Kittiwakes, which would call loudly whenever they were disturbed by something.

I returned to the visitor centre, where I was amazed to see a Hummingbird Hawkmoth on a Buddleia plant. On the same plant there was also a Painted Lady butterfly, which stayed only briefly. 

Hummingbird Hawkmoth

It was then on to the main event...the gull staring. We joined the hide with various gull experts including John Grant who found another Little Gull, this time one in the water that I got to view for a longer time. Lesser Black-Backed Gulls started to fly in, although apparently not in the numbers they had been in the previous few weeks. It wasn't long before John spotted a 3cy Yellow-Legged Gull within the flock, which was a plumage I had never seen. 

Yellow-Legged Gull

The six Little Ringed Plovers showed well, along with a female Gadwall and a few Common Sandpipers. Someone in the hide noticed a limosa Black-Tailed Godwit, which, apparently, has plainer feathers, although this was difficult to see because of distance. 

A juvenile Yellow-Legged Gull was picked up, an interesting bird that I would have put down as a juvenile Lesser Black-Backed if I were alone, so it was lucky I was with experts who could correctly identify it. 

Yellow-Legged Gull - Juvenile 

The last bird of the day was a Green Woodpecker as I headed back to the car.

So although gull numbers weren't as high as in previous weeks, it was still a good evening watching Yellow-Legged Gulls, and an amazing variety of waders.

The final day of the short holiday was only a half day, but there was still time to get a lot done. I had received advice the previous day on where to look for Turtle dove near Westleton, so I tried there first.

The first stop proved unsuccessful, but there were many Chiffchaffs, more distant calling Stone Curlews that remained out of sight and a surprise Bullfinch. There were dozens of Graylings along the path, including one that landed on my hand.

Next I headed to Westleton Common where I walked around the heath and scanned the wires. The dead trees held nothing expect a couple of Wood Pigeons, and the path I took didn't produce anything at all.

Eventually, after scanning the wires numerous times, I decided that the doves were probably skulking in the bushes, and was already making a plan for Turtle Doves next year when I noticed a small Dove on a post. I rushed to get the scope on it and to my delight I saw that it was a Turtle Dove!

Turtle Dove

It showed well for about 5 minutes until it flew away, where it was not seen again.

Next we headed to Sizewell, where I had been told to check the Gulls out. I picked a good spot to watch the numerous birds feeding offshore including Kittiwakes, Common Terns, and a few other species of Gull, but no Little Gulls. With nothing else out at sea, I turned the scope to the power station, where Black Redstarts breed. The power station was huge with a lot of dense vegetation around it, so I wasn't expecting anything.

To my surprise, however, the first bird I saw was a Robin sized bird that was black all over except for the red tail and white forehead...a male Black Redstart!

The views were distant and brief, so I rushed closer to the power station. Unfortunately, when I reached the area it was, there was no sign of it. But after about 5 minutes, a bird flew up to land on the railings - the male Black Redstart again. I got amazing views of it dropping down to feed on the grass, flying up to land on the concrete floor then watched it land on the railing again until it disappeared. 

Black Redstart

Another 5 minutes passed with no sign until another bird dropped down on the grass again. This time it was the female, although she didn't stay for long. I spent the next half hour standing on the dunes, watching both the male and female Black Redstarts return about every 5 minutes, but never together, and got great views of both of them. Another definite highlight of the holiday.

Black Redstart

After scanning a few pig fields with Gulls in them, I headed home after a holiday that had seen three lifers and loads of other awesome birds, especially waders!