Norfolk Revisited at Last!

Saturday 17th April

With Marcus

Norfolk

After 15 months away it was so reassuring to go back to Norfolk with Marcus and the group.  Obviously we had to follow the Covid guidelines; our party was made up of 4 birders only, we used our own vehicles to get around and it was only for 1 day so B&B accommodation was not needed.  It meant setting off from home at 04.00, getting to our rendezvous point just after 07.00 leaving a little time to have a nap before the start at 08.30.  Proceedings finished about 16.45 and I was home by 20.15.

The weather was bright and sunny but very chilly out of the sun.  We spent most of the day at Burnham Overy targeting Ring Ouzel and Wheatear plus as many migrant birds as we could find.  In the afternoon we relocated to the east side of Wells before finishing the day with a 1 hour stop at Morston.

Burnham Overy

• While I was waiting for the event to start I was encouraged by the sight of a Red Kite circling overhead and providing superb views.  Then I found several Grey Partridge and about the same number of Red-legged Partridge at a different part of the field. 
• On the track down to the dunes the highlight was a close sighting - yes sighting - of a Cetti's Warbler as it sat at the very top of a low bush and posed for the cameras.  

                                                                     courtesy of Marcus Nash

• A stunning Sedge Warbler was also seen at close range.  

 courtesy of Marcus Nash

•  Incredibly we saw no sign of Whitethroat or Lesser Whitethroat.
• A Great White Egret flew by and shortly afterwards we saw a couple of Spoonbills flying east.

 courtesy of Marcus Nash

• The pools either side of the track gave us sightings of Knot, Grey Plover,Golden Plover, Little Grebe, Black-tailed Godwit and Whimbrel among other more common species. 

Time spent on the dunes was a huge anticlimax with no sign of Ring Ouzels, Wheatears, Hirundines or even Stonechat.  There were scores of Linnets and Meadow Pipits but no sign of any bird movement relating to migration.  We went as far as the tower hide in Holkham Woods and viewed the area from ground level at the side of the hide. 

• The most notable bird was a Reed Warbler singing away before showing itself.  
• Further views of the Spoonbills feeding by the edge of the water in the field kept us going as did the intermittent sights of the Great White Egret flying to and fro. 

courtesy of Marcus Nash

• On the way back we picked up good views of several Pink-footed Geese, albeit not in good condition, that had remained when their compatriots had left a couple of months ago.

Wells-next- the Sea

After lunch we moved to the North Point Pools just east of Wells-next-the-Sea.  

• On the marsh adjacent to the car park we added Ruff and Common Gull to our list for the day. 
• Then we moved north about 100 metres to another marsh to get excellent views of the Grey Phalarope that had been around for 4-5 days.

                                                                          courtesy of Marcus Nash

• Next we moved slightly west to view from the back of the original marsh.  Marcus thought he saw a Jack Snipe fly in to the vegetation 30 metres in front of us.  When we looked all we could find was a Common Snipe but Marcus remained confident that he had seen a bird with a shorter bill.  We moved to the top of the bank to look from a higher vantage point and lo and behold the Jack Snipe showed itself.  It was right in front of the Common Snipe, enabling us to contrast the ID features, principally size, bill size and head pattern.  What a master class in birding from Marcus!
• We even managed to find a couple of Swallows and Sand Martins.

With just over an hour to go news came in from Titchwell of a Bluethroat sighting.  After a brief discussion, we decided unanimously not to drive there; the bird had been seen 5 hours earlier and had just reappeared and there would be problems parking at this late hour.  Marcus was anxious for us to see a Ring Ouzel and proposed that we moved east again to Morston where 3 had been reported earlier.

Morston

• We didn't find 3 in our short time there but we did locate a superb male lurking near the hedge.  Not long after it moved out into the open field  for all to see and the photographers had a field day!

 courtesy of Marcus Nash

• By way of a bonus we saw 2 of the 3 Whimbrels known to be there as well as a cracking Greenshank in the channel.
• Just as we headed back to the car we could hear clearly the call of a Tawny Owl from the trees in the nearby church.

A splendid trip!  Spring migration was clearly on hold here too but we made the most of what we had and it was great to be back to somewhere near normal.