Day 1 of a 3-day Spring Migration tour. It was a lovely sunny day, albeit with a fresh SE wind which picked up into the afternoon. We spent the day on the North Norfolk coast.
On our way up to the coast, we stopped off at Salthouse Heath. There had been some Ring Ouzels here for the past couple of days and when we arrived, we found a few people already parked by the gate. We found somewhere to park a little further on and walked back. Apparently the Ring Ouzels had just been flushed by a passing RAF transport plane on low flying exercises, but they had just flown back over the trees at the back.
We started to scan the grass and the first bird we found was a Woodlark out feeding on the short turf, not something we would usually expect to find here. There were several Linnets in and out too and Stock Doves around the barns beyond. A Blackcap was singing in the trees behind us, then a Chiffchaff appeared too and a Goldcrest a little further back along the road.
A Common Buzzard drifted over. It was starting to warm up and the butterflies were out, a Holly Blue landing on the alexanders next to us.
It wasn’t too long before a Ring Ouzel reappeared, a male flying in and landing on the short grass in the middle. Unfortunately, just at that moment, the field owner drove out from the barns and round the edge and it flew off again. Another four came up out of the trees at the back too, all of them then seeming to drop down towards The Hangs.
We were just about to drive further up and go for a walk over The Hangs to see if we could find one, when all five Ring Ouzels flew back in. Good views of them now, feeding out on the short grass with at least three Mistle Thrushes. We could see the males with their brighter white gorgets, which were more subdued brownish on the females. While some Ring Ouzels breed on the uplands of the UK (and we saw a couple of those in Scotland recently), these birds are heading further north, up into Scandinavia. Having come up from North Africa where they spent the winter, they stop off here to feed before heading on over the North Sea.
After watching the Ring Ouzels for a while, we decided to move on down to the coast. Along the main coast road at Cley, our first Spoonbill flew out over the reedbed. We parked at Walsey Hills and had a quick look at Snipe’s Marsh. A smart drake Common Pochard was on the pool, along with a couple of Little Grebes, Coot and some Greylags. Several Shelduck flew over and a Cetti’s Warbler was calling from the brambles across the road.
As we walked up to the East Bank, a couple of Sedge Warblers were chasing round in the catchwater drain and one then started singing from the reeds. Further up, a female Common Pochard was on Don’s Pool (perhaps she had fallen out with the male across the road?) and a Little Grebe laughed from the reeds. A pair of Greylag Geese chased off another two then when they swam out we could see why. The adults were shepherding six small goslings across the water. A couple of Reed Warblers were singing from the reeds behind but were tucked well down out of view.
We looked back to see two more Spoonbills fly up out of the trees across the road. They circled over a couple of times before landing back down again and we could see at least three now perched in the tops. Through the scopes, we got a great view of their yellow-tipped spoon-shaped bills and shaggy nuchal crests. Three Great White Egrets flew up out of the middle of the reedbed but quickly dropped down out of view again.
There were a couple of Marsh Harriers out over the reedbed. One, a juvenile from 2024, flew right towards us and over the path right in front of us.
Looking out over the grazing marshes the other side, there were several Redshanks and Lapwings in the grass. Some of the Redshanks were displaying – we watched a male fluttering its wings, calling to a nearby female before mating. A couple of Lapwings flew up and chased off a crow which had drifted over. Further back, we found at least six Whimbrel in the grass too, more spring migrants on their way north. There was a flock of Curlew out here too and a single female Wheatear was hopping about on the grass between them.
Up at the Serpentine, a small group of Black-tailed Godwits were feeding in the shallow water, most now looking resplendent in their rusty breeding plumage. There were a few Avocets too, plus a single Little Ringed Plover briefly. A single Pink-footed Goose was dozing on the grass behind with three Greylags. Through the scope we could see it was much smaller and darker, and when it lifted its head we could see its more delicate dark bill with a pink band around it. There were a few ducks here too, Teal, a pair of Gadwall, a pair of Shoveler and a few Eurasian Wigeon.
There had been a drake American Wigeon yesterday at Kelling (first identified by this correspondent & son!), a rare visitor here, but we were disappointed there was no sign of it there this morning. It would have been a new bird for most of the group (though not so interesting for the North Americans with us!). We were not far from Arnold’s Marsh when we got a message to say it was out there this morning, so we hurried on. We quickly found it out on the grass at the back, with three Eurasian Wigeons. Noticeably different from the drake Eurasians, with pink flanks and a streaked white head with green mask back from the eye. A great bird to see.
There were a few waders out on Arnold’s Marsh too. A Grey (or Black-bellied) Plover, a couple of Common Ringed Plovers, several Dunlin some with their summer black bellies already, plus more Redshanks and a couple of Curlew. Four Bar-tailed Godwits were sleeping right over in the far corner, possibly birds stopping off to rest on their way north. A pair of Pintail were on the Brackish Pool behind.
Three Sandwich Terns had flown east over the shingle ridge while we were in the Richardson Shelter looking at Arnold’s. Out on the beach, we could see another distantly offshore, but not much else. It was rather cool and blustery out here, so we decided not to linger and turned to head back.
On the way, a Reed Bunting perched nicely on top of a bush by the path. A Bearded Tit flew up out of the ditch but disappeared straight off over the top of the reeds behind. A Little Ringed Plover was now showing much better, on the mud on the near edge of the Serpentine.
Almost back to the road, a Spoonbill flew out of North Foreland plantation and out across the grazing marshes. It dropped down onto the Serpentine for a drink but then took off again and flew straight back past us and back up into the trees. A Little Grebe was now diving in the near edge of Don’s Pool.
We called in at the Visitor Centre next. As we arrived in the car park, a small group of Brent Geese flew past and headed inland over the fields. After a break to use the facilities, we set the scope up out on the terrace, looking out over Pat’s Pool. There were quite a few Black-tailed Godwits out on the scrape, but they kept getting flushed by a male Marsh Harrier which drifted over repeatedly. It was time for lunch now, so we went back down to the picnic area, where we had a good view out across the reserve as we ate.
After lunch, we got back in the minibus and drove the short distance east to Kelling. Three Swallows flew around over the barns by the road and the other side there were a few Goldfinches by the school. We could hear a Greenfinch calling. Walking up the lane, it was a bit more sheltered and there were several butterflies out in the sunshine – Holly Blue, Orange Tip, Small and Green-veined White, Speckled Wood, Peacock and Red Admiral.
A Chiffchaff flew up the lane and landed in the hedge in front of us, and another Chiffchaff was calling in the copse as we passed. We stopped to scan from the gate at the top of the Water Meadow. There were plenty of Rooks and several Brown Hares in the field beyond, along with a couple of Red-legged Partridges. A Lesser Whitethroat sang its rattly song from the hedge over the opposite side a couple of times, but it was too far over to see.
Walking on down past the pool, a couple of Egyptian Geese were asleep on the grass with two Greylags. Several Sand Martins (Bank Swallows!) were hawking round over the water beyond. A Common Whitethroat called from the other side of the hedge a couple of times but wouldn’t show itself at first, until it eventually flew out and landed on the top of the bushes opposite, singing. There were a few Linnets in the hedge here too and we could see a very distant Stonechat on a bush at the top of the ridge, on the edge of Weybourne Camp.
Continuing on a short way along Meadow Lane towards Salthouse, we stopped on the corner to scan the Quags. There had been four Wheatears out here yesterday afternoon but today we could only find one, a single female. A Sedge Warbler was singing from the reeds in the ditch and a pair of Oystercatchers and a pair of Avocets were on the Quags pool, along with a lone Pied Wagtail.
We walked back round via the cross track and down towards the Quags. There were lots more Linnets in the bushes here, some of the males starting to get a little pink on their breasts. Then another bird hopped up onto the brambles beside us.
We were hoping for better views of the Stonechat but we looked over and were surprised to see a stunning male Whinchat. An increasingly scarce passage migrant in spring, there have been few records here so far this year so this was an especially nice surprise. It kept flicking down and back up again, or flying up flycatching. We got it in the scopes for a closer look.
Eventually the Whinchat moved further back and disappeared. As we walked up the track towards the gun emplacements, it hopped up onto the fence ahead of us again. It dropped down a couple of times to the path, which was sheltered, out of the wind. Then it flew further back onto the corner of Weybourne Camp.
As we walked on up the hill, a pair of Stonechats were feeding around the bushes over by the beach. They eventually worked their way round closer to us and we had a great view, the male perching obligingly on a dead umbellifer stem, despite the wind blowing it around quite a bit. Looking out to the sea beyond, a single Common Tern was lingering just offshore.
We wanted to make one last stop this afternoon, so we decided to make our way back the way we had come, rather than continue on round. We were glad we did. As we rounded the corner by the north end of the Water Meadow, one of the group who was in front asked ‘what is that?’. We looked up to see a Common Crane flying over. It started to circle over the Quags and slowly drifted off west, towards Salthouse. A ‘wanted’ bird for one of our North American guests and a lucky find as they are scarce over here in the spring.
Very pleased with the proceeds from our visit here, we walked back up the Lane to the village. Returning to the minibus, we drove back west to Cley, but this time we drove down the Beach Road. Some other birders had just checked the cows out on Keeper’s Marsh and there was no sign of any Yellow Wagtails, so we didn’t stop. As we drove on towards the beach, a male Northern Wheatear was out on the grass in the Eye Field near to the road, so we pulled up for a closer look.
Parking in the beach car park, we got out to scan the Eye Field. There had been a Yellow Wagtail here earlier, but there was no sign of it now. We could see 2-3 Wheatears from here, plus a few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks.
The wind had picked up and it was rather cool now. We decided to head back for tea and cake. It had been a great first day of our Spring Migration tour, with a fantastic selection of spring migrants already.
