North Norfolk Birding Trip
Paul and group (Andrew, Ian and Brenda, Christine, Alan, Paul and myself)
- We were based at the Chequers Inn at Thorham, just 5 minutes from Titchwell. This proved to be good value for money with decent food and accommodation.
- Conditions were not good for rare birds with the winds coming from the west rather than the north easterlies we needed.
Day 1 Thursday 23/10/14 Titchwell and Holkham.
The headline of the day was made by the male Surf Scoter seen in the afternoon at Holkham Bay. After spending most of the morning and a good part of the afternoon at Titchwell we relocated to Holkham and followed the grapevine news to find the Surf Scoter showing well alongside a couple of Common Scoters some 50 metres away out at sea. Although distant we could still make out the prominent white patch on the head and a hint of orange around the bill. This was a lifetime first sighting for me and one that was made much easier by the relatively calm sea and excellent lighting.
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| Male Surf Scoter Library picture |
The bird had arrived recently and, thankfully, it had stayed over until today. Indeed it was still there when we left the following Sunday, this time having being joined by a Velvet Scoter.
Earlier, at Titchwell we had seen lots and lots of birds, as you would expect. Perhaps the pick of the bunch was the "ringtail" Hen Harrier which Paul saw flying west, parallel to the shore line before dropping down into the dunes; a first of the autumn for all of us. Pink-footed Geese and Brent Geese dominated the scene in the skies, providing the magnificent backdrop that we came here to witness. There were lots of waders to see including Ruff, Golden Plover and Godwit with a smattering of Avocet. Surprisingly the sea watch did not produce the expected divers and ducks although we did see a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers and the odd Razorbill. The most amusing event involved a Black-headed Gull trying to emulate a Tern ( or a Gannet!) by jumping into the air for a metre or so before plunging head first into the water in the narrow channel of water just in front of us.
We finished the day on the Holkham Nature Reserve looking over Burnham Overy from the sand dunes. There were several Marsh Harriers, a couple of Buzzards and a Great White Egret showing well in the evening light. On the way back to the hotel we stopped off on the A149 to look for Barn Owls but we were unlucky and just missed out. We were also just too late to see the male Hen Harrier that had passed through, presumably on it's way to roost at Titchwell. We compensated by watching the Little Egrets flying over to their evening roosting grounds - there must have been 20+ in the short while we were there.
A lovely first day with a couple of special birds showing well and a species count already into the high seventies.
Day 2 Friday 24/10/2014 Burnham Norton and Burnham Overy.
There were a couple of "star items" on day 2.
- While we were walking inland to the beach at Burnham Norton a noisy flock of 13 Bearded Tits flew over us and landed in the reeds just a few metres to the west of us. We spent a very pleasurable couple of minutes enjoying the show before they went on their way again. This was the first time I had seen Bearded Tits flying in large groups which, apparently, often happens in the autumn.
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| Bearded Tit flock Library picture |
- With the expected rain just about due we headed off in the afternoon to Burnham Overy where the Rough-legged Buzzard had been seen regularly over the past couple of days. From the car park on the A149 we got a good, though distant, view of one as it hovered over the sand dunes ahead of us before coming down in the fields.
We then made the long walk to the dunes - just as the rain started to come down. After a while we observed the bird in the fields below us. 
Rough-legged Buzzard flying
Library picture
We were then able to pick up on the main ID issues pale face and white tail etc. Another fantastic sighting - another "lifer"!
Rough-legged Buzzard Perched
Library picture
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| Rough-legged Buzzard relocating Library picture |
We again were out of look with Barn Owl sightings on the way back to the hotel.
Another very productive day with the species count now approaching 100
Day 3 Saturday 25/10/2014 Cley, Salthouse and Stiffkey.
We had spent a lot of time since arriving on Thursday combing the beaches looking for Snow Buntings and Shore Larks with no luck at all. Today was much the same this time after a long walk from Cley along the coastal path to Salthouse.
- Just as we were getting downhearted we picked up a message on BirdGuides of a Grey Phalarope that was showing well on the roadside pool in Salthouse - a mere 100 metres from us. The views were superb with the bird no more than 30 metres away and very active.
Lighting conditions were really good for the photographers among us.
Grey Phalarope
Library picture
- Not long after we added Black Brant to our list of rare birds - it was among a flock of 50 or so Brent Geese quite close to us. In the picture below you can see the tell-tale prominent white barring down the side.
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| Black Brant Goose Library picture |
- We spent the evening at Stiffkey where we were fortunate to see 2 Merlins as well as the usual Marsh Harriers.
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| Merlin Library picture |
Another very good day and after a slow start we saw some really special birds.
Final Day Sunday 26th October 2014 Holme, Titchwell and Lynford Arboretum
We used the extra hour gained by the clocks going back to do a pre-breakfast walk by the sea at Holme. There were lots of waders around as it was nearly high tide. The highlight was the House Martin seen flying overhead and the Wheatear seen on the footpath ahead of us.
As there was not much happening at Titchwell we decided to move inland and go south to Lynford with the target bird being Hawfinch. Although we did not succeed in this we did manage to add several other woodland birds to our species list.
A rather quiet finish to our trip but we all left quite content with our experience.
Overall a tremendous trip with 110+ species seen and some excellent sites visited. There was a marked absence of rare birds which we expected with the prevailing winds working against this. Nevertheless we managed to find some and missed very little.
Additions to UK 2014 Year List:
Surf Scoter (266)
Rough-legged Buzzard (267)
Black Brant (268)
Additions to UK Life List:
Surf Scoter (279)
Rough-legged Buzzard (280)
Trip species count = 112
Species List:
Little Grebe
Great-crested Grebe
Gannet
Cormorant
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Greylag Goose
Pink -footed Goose
Brent Goose
Canada Goose (10)
Egyptian Goose
Shelduck
Gadwall
Mallard
Teal
Wigeon
Pintail
Pochard
Shoveler
Tufted Duck (20)
Red-breasted Merganser
Common Scoter
Buzzard
Marsh Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Kestrel
Merlin
Peregrine
Pheasant
Red-legged Partridge (30)
Grey Partridge
Coot
Moorhen
Avocet
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Lapwing
Knot (40)
Sanderling
Dunlin
Ruff
Black-tailed Godwit
Bar-tailed Godwit
Curlew
Snipe
Greenshank
Redshank
Spotted Redshank (50)
Turnstone
Black-headed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Great Black-backed Gull
Razorbill
Collared Dove
Feral pigeon
Woodpigeon (60)
Barn Owl
Tawny Owl
Green Woodpecker
Great-spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
House Martin
Meadow Pipit
Rock Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Dunnock (70)
Wren
Robin
Wheatear
Stonechat
Blackbird
Mistle Thrush
Redwing
Cetti's Warbler
Chiffchaff
Goldcrest (80)
Bearded Tit
Marsh Tit
Blue Tit
Coal Tit
Great Tit
Long-tailed Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Jackdaw
Jay (90)
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Rook
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Linnet
Siskin (100)
Bullfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellow-legged Gull
Surf Scoter
Great-white Egret
Rough-legged Buzzard
Black Brant
Yellowhammer
Great Northern Diver
Red-throated Diver (110)
Grey Phalarope
Mute Swan
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