Norfolk with Marcus Nash for Marsh Warbler

Saturday 19th June 2021

Norfolk

With Marcus Nash

6 of us met up in Wells-next-the-Sea before starting out on our trip which took in Kelling and Cley in the morning and finished at Titchwell in the afternoon.  The heavy overnight rain had cleared and, thankfully we were dry all day, even enjoying some intermittent sunshine. 

We headed out to Kelling first thing, to look for the Marsh Warbler that had been around all week.  We joined an already assembled group who were listening to the bird singing away in the reedy dyke near the small copse between the water meadow and the beach.  

• This bird is a great mimic and the experienced birders picked out the song of the bee eater among others in its repertoire.
• It wasn't long before we got the first of several views of the bird as it flew to a new position and the started singing again.

courtesy of Simon Dennis and Twitter

This was only my second sighting of this species in the UK and, by far, a big improvement on my first encounter last year at Kings Mead in Bedfordshire.

• We continued out to the beach where we saw a flock of Gannets which soon increased in size to well over 20, a lovely sight as they flew majestically on their way.
• We were also lucky to see several Mediterranean Gulls at close range as they flew low over the water.

                                                                                   courtesy of Marcus Nash

• On the way back we saw a cracking Cuckoo on the hill to the east of us.

                                                                           courtesy of Marcus Nash

Next stop was Cley and the east side leading to Arnold's Marsh where we came across a number of interesting species.

• Pick of the bunch were the 2 Spoonbills that were at the far end.  Unfortunately they were asleep for most of the time only showing their bills occasionally.

                                                                          courtesy of Marcus Nash

• We managed to find at least 2 Bearded Tits in the reed bed.

                                                                                 courtesy of Marcus Nash

• A single Yellow Wagtail was showing well.
• Not far away from the wagtail was a lovely Little  Ringed Plover.
• There was also a distant Ringed Plover and a couple of Little Gulls on the ground nearby.
• On the beech we were thrilled to see 20+ Little Terns flying over the water and diving spectacularly to grab some food. 

Lunch was at the Visitor Centre at Cley which allowed me time to leave the group and head up to Cley Spy to pick up my Swarovski binoculars which had been returned from Austria after a repair to clear "fogging".  It was great to be reunited with them after nearly 5 weeks.  I must say Cley Spy had dealt with the transfer superbly. 

Swarovski had done a brilliant job to replace the seals to stop the fogging on the inside of the chamber.  They also carried out a complementary,  full service to bring them back to almost as-new condition.  And all this for free!

After lunch we all made our way to RSPB Titchwell for the final session.  Thankfully all the hides were now open.

• Perhaps the most interesting find were the 7 Spotted Redshanks in full summer plumage.
• There were a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits showing alongside considerably more Black-tailed Godwits.
• The usual Titchwell regulars were there of course including Avocets, Redshanks, Turnstones and Marsh Harriers. 

Another splendid visit and a rare chance to catch up with a Marsh Warbler.