24/10/2015 to 27/10/2015 Norfolk Trip

Saturday 24th October to Tuesday 27th October 2015
North Norfolk Coast

This year's trip was similar to the previous two years.  An absence of NE winds meant that scarce migrant birds were not present and we had to work really hard for our year ticks and life ticks.  Only a week earlier there had been a glut of twitchable birds around in the more favourable weather conditions.   Nevertheless we had a great time and managed to see loads of birds.

• The only life tick I managed was a Little Auk which we saw on Monday afternoon on the sea at Titchwell.  Thankfully the seas were calm and the bird showed very well just below the horizon as it headed east.



Little Auk
Library picture



• I also managed a year tick when we called in at Caister-on-Sea on Saturday morning on the way up to our hotel.  A lovely male Siberian Stonechat sat very obligingly on the wire fence less than 100 metres away from the assembled birders and provided some brilliant views.

Siberian Stonechat
Library picture

• Norfolk in autumn would not be right without the geese.  On Saturday morning, after our twitch of the stonechat at Caister-on-Sea, we visited Horsey where we sighted our first big flock of Pink-footed Geese.

Each morning, starting at 06.15 and finishing at 08.00, we went on Paul's legendary pre-breakfast birdwatches.  We had varying degrees of success:-

• The highlight of the Sunday morning walk was watching a Peregrine take out a Teal from a small flock that were flying over the marshes at Holme Dunes NNR. 
• On Monday morning at Gypsy Lane, on the north-east side of Titchwell village, the main focus of attention was the Barn Owl seen hunting over the dunes at first light. 
• Amazingly, on our last morning at Titchwell, we had no success in our search for Snow Buntings or the Shore Lark but we did get excellent close up views of Sanderlings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After breakfast each day, we visted various well-known birding locations on the north Norfolk coast:-

 

• At Cley next the Sea, on the first day, we saw our first ringtail Hen Harrier of the trip and a Black Brant among the many Brent Geese on show.
• The main birds of interest at Burnham Norton, on Sunday morning, were the 50+ Egyptian Geese on show and the Bearded Tits seen flying over the reed beds.
• Unlike last year, we had no luck at Burnham Overy in our search for the Rough-legged Buzzard on Sunday morning.
• We took in the roost from Warham Greens on Sunday evening where we had spectacular views of ringtail Hen Harriers and Marsh Harriers. 

 

 

 

 

 

The best birding experience of the whole trip was at RSPB Titchwell on Monday afternoon.

 

• After a pretty uneventful morning on the reserve, we were about to go for lunch when Chris spotted a Bittern flying west in front of the Parrinda Hide.  In near-perfect lighting, we enjoyed superb views of this special bird. 

• At lunch, news came through of a sighting of the Great Grey Shrike on the east bank on the autumn trail, where we had no luck earlier.  We returned quickly to where we were and lo and behold there it was displaying from the dead tree away to the east of us. 
• While we were admiring the shrike we witnessed an altercation between a corvid and a Rough-legged Buzzard.  The buzzard looked majestic in the bright sunlight as it moved around before disappearing behind some trees.
• We abandoned our plans to go to see the roost on the high tide at Snettisham to stay at Titchwell and boy were we rewarded for this!  We saw 8 Red-crested Pochards on the Freshwater Marsh and the Little Auk on the beach.

•  We took an hour to go the short journey from the beach back to the car - such was the rich pickings we made.  There were Short-eared Owls, ringtail Hen Harriers and a Barn Owl to see and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tuesday was a huge let down for us.  After drawing a blank on the pre-breakfast jaunt up and down the beach at Titchwell we headed home, calling in at Breydon Water for an unsuccessful attempt to twitch the American Golden Plover and also visiting Waxham for another "dip" with a Pallas's Warbler. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



Despite the disappointing end to the trip we had a great time overall with well over 100 birds seen and some memorable moments!







Addition to BUBO UK Life List of Birds:
Little Auk   (307)


Additions to BUBO UK 2015 List of Birds:
Siberian Stonechat   (267)
Little Auk   (268)

Trip Species List:
Avocet
Bar-tailed Godwit
Barn Owl
Bearded Tit
Bittern
Black-headed Gull
Black-tailed Godwit
Blackbird
Blue Tit
Brambling   (10)
Brent Goose
Bullfinch
Buzzard
Canada Goose
Carrion Crow
Cetti's Warbler (h)
Chaffinch
Coal Tit
Collared Dove
Common Gull   (20)
Common Scoter  
Coot
Cormorant
Curlew
Dunlin
Dunnock
Egyptian Goose
Eider
Feral Pigeon
Fieldfare   (30)
Gadwall
Gannet  
Goldcrest
Golden Plover
Goldfinch
Great Black-backed Gull
Great Crested Grebe
Great Grey Shrike
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Great Tit    (40)
Greenfinch
Greenshank  
Grey Heron
Grey Partridge
Grey Plover
Greylag Goose
Hen Harrier
Herring Gull
House Sparrow
Jackdaw   (50)
Jay
Kestrel  
Knot
Lapwing
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Lesser Redpoll
Linnet
Little Auk
Little Egret
Little Grebe   (60)
Long-tailed Tit
Magpie  
Mallard
Marsh Harrier
Marsh Tit
Meadow Pipit
Moorhen
Mute Swan
Oystercatcher
Peregrine     (70)
Pheasant
Pied Wagtail  
Pink-footed Goose
Pintail
Pochard
Red Kite
Red-breasted Merganser
Red-crested Pochard
Red-legged Partridge
Redshank    (80)
Redwing
Reed Bunting  
Ringed Plover
Robin
Rock Pipit
Rook
Rough-legged Buzzard
Ruff
Sanderling
Shelduck   (90)
Short-eared Owl
Shoveler  
Siberian Stonechat
Siskin
Skylark
Snipe
Sparrowhawk
Spoonbill
Spotted Redshank
Starling   (100)
Stock Dove
Stonechat
Tawny Owl (h)  
Teal
Tufted Duck
Turnstone
Water Rail (h)
Wigeon
Woodpigeon
Wren   (110)
Yellowhammer  
Yellow-legged Gull  

(112)















Siberian Stonechat

• The Siberian Stonechat is migratory and insectivorous.
• It breeds in open rough scrubland and rough grassland with scattered shrubs. The breeding range covers most of temperate Asia, from about 71°N latitude in Siberia, south to the Himalaya and southwest China, and west to eastern Turkey and the Caspian Sea area. It also breeds in the far northeast of Europe, mainly in Russia, but occasionally as far west as Finland.
• The wintering range is from southern Japan south to Thailand and India, and west to northeast Africa.
• On migration, small numbers reach as far west as western Europe, and exceptionally as far east as Alaska in North America.

• It resembles the closely related European Stonechat, but is typically paler, with a white rump and whiter underparts with less orange on the breast, and with distinctly longer primary feathers in the wing.

• In this last feature it more closely resembles the Whinchat, in both an adaptation to long-distance migration.
• The summer male has black upperparts, lacking the brownish tones of the European Stonechat, a conspicuous white collar, white scapular patch and white rump, a restricted orange throat and black head

Little Auk

• The little auk is a small seabird, the size of a starling. It is black above and white below, and in flight it shows dark underwings. It has a black stubby bill, and a short neck and tail.
• It flies with very fast whirring wingbeats low over the sea.
• It is a winter visitor to the waters around the UK in small numbers each year.
• It breeds in the Arctic and winters in the North Atlantic.
• Some birds enter the North Sea in autumn and large numbers can be seen passing offshore during gales.