Day 2 of a 3-day Spring Migration tour. A cloudier morning was followed by a brighter afternoon. The wind had swung round to the NE and picked up, gusting up to 30mph, and it was very cool and blustery on the coast, slightly milder inland. We spent the morning on the North Norfolk coast and retreated inland later in the afternoon.
On our way up to Titchwell, we stopped briefly at Choseley. As we got out of the minibus, we noticed the chilly wind for the first time. A Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the hedge right next to the layby but kept itself well tucked down. A couple of Yellowhammers flew out and round over the field in front, but dropped back into the bushes out of view.
We heard Mediterranean Gulls calling and looked up to see a pair flying overhead. From below, we could appreciate their translucent white wingtips. They had been muckspreading on one of the fields recently – the distinct aroma was hanging in the air – and lots of Black-headed Gulls were feeding on the ground in the stubble. Several more Mediterranean Gulls were with them, so we got the scope on a pair, noting their extensive jet black hoods and brighter red bills.
At least the raptors were enjoying the wind. We counted at least six Red Kites in the air at once. Several Common Buzzards were perched on the hedges or on the ground in the field beyond, occasionally lifting up on the breeze. There were a few Red-legged Partridges hunkered down in the spring barley and lots of Brown Hares. A couple of the latter chased each other round briefly, but seemed in no inclination to start boxing.
We were just climbing back in to the minibus when we looked behind us to see a smart male Yellowhammer on the wires. Needless to say, by the time people had got out again it dropped down into the field below out of view. We got back in again and drove on down to Titchwell. Three Robins and two Dunnocks were feeding on the tarmac on the entrance road.
The car park wasn’t busy yet, so we walked down past the overflow parking where several Blackcaps were singing and we found a couple perched up. A Willow Warbler was singing too, in the trees above us but on the other more sheltered side, and a Song Thrush was singing from deep in the bushes. We hoped we might find some wagtails in the paddocks but someone was out with the horses and there was only a single pair of Oystercatchers sat down in the grass.
There were several commoner birds in the sallows on the way to the car park. Blue Tits and Great Tits, another Blackcap calling. A Wren picked its way around a fallen tree trunk in front of us.
Having checked in at the Welcome Hub and had a quick chat with Trev in the Visitor Centre to get updated on the morning’s sightings, we set off out to Fen Trail first. A Chiffchaff was flitting in and out of the nettles low down by the path and at one point came up with a hoverfly. A Reeve’s Muntjac was feeding by the start of the boardwalk and showed no sign of moving off as we approached. Far too tame and a reflection of the fact that they have no predators here.
The Tawny Owl is still roosting in its usual tree along Fen Trail, but the sallows in front are starting to come out into leaf, which will soon make it impossible to see. We trained the scope on it and could see its bottom half until the wind parted the branches from time to time and we could get a view of its face.
Round at Patsy’s Reedbed, a drake Common Pochard flew off as we arrived but the female remained, diving over in front of the far edge of the reeds. There were several Tufted Ducks too, a few Coot and a Mute Swan, but not much else. We had hoped to hear the Cuckoo round here, seen earlier, but it had gone quiet. Very few migrants seemed to be moving this morning, probably held up by the cold wind. A single Swallow seemed to just have come out from the stables in the paddocks.
Several more Mediterranean Gulls flew in and out over the reedbed, presumably commuting between here and the fields at Choseley. Lots of Sandwich Terns came up from the Freshmarsh calling noisily and we had a brief glimpse of a juvenile Kittiwake too, in the melee. We would try to find it again when we got out to the Freshmarsh.
We cut back round to the main path via Meadow Trail. There had been a couple of Whinchats reported on the fenceline across the Thornham grazing marsh so we walked the short distance back to take a look. Two people were staring down into the ditch and as we joined them we could see two Water Rails in the water at the bottom. Unfortunately several of the group were still distracted on Meadow Trail and by the time they arrived the Water Rails had run off out of view up the ditch.
There was no sign of the Whinchats along the hedge now, so we walked back up the main West Bank Path and out of the trees. We scanned the brambles out on the grazing marsh, where a Stonechat and a couple of Linnets were perched up. There was no sign of the Grasshopper Warbler now, it was probably just too windy, but a Sedge Warbler was in the spirit, singing from one of the small sallows and repeatedly songflighting up.
A little further on, we heard a Bearded Tit call from the reeds on the Thornham side of the path and looked over to see it fly up. It zipped across over the path and disappeared into the reeds behind the borrow pits. Not a day for Bearded Tits in this wind, so we were lucky to see one today. A male Reed Bunting was perched up obligingly in the top of a small willow bush in the reeds.
A Spoonbill flew in over the saltmarsh and dropped down out of view. There was a good selection of regular ducks on the Reedbed Pool, plus a single Common Snipe on the exposed muddy patch of cut reed close to the front.
The water level on the first compartment of the Freshmarsh is still very high, all the islands still completely underwater. With the wind whistling in from the east as well, there was no point in going in to Island Hide, so we pressed on towards Parrinder Hide where we could get some more shelter. A Marsh Harrier drifted across over the back of the Freshmarsh and put up all the gulls as well as lots of Sandwich Terns, which circled round calling before landing back down again.
There is more mud on the next compartment up on the Freshmarsh and as we walked up to the bund, a Common Sandpiper was picking its way along the edge of the water. A single Ruff was on the mud, looking much smarter already having moulted its body feathers but not yet started to get its ornate ruff.
Round in Parrinder Hide, we were out of the worst of the wind. Most of the gulls and terns were on the eastern compartment and we now had a chance to look at the Sandwich Terns properly. We counted around 550-600, presumably sheltering here from the wind. Several pairs were displaying, but they will move back to Scolt Head to nest. There were lots of Mediterranean Gulls on here too, in with the Black-headed Gulls, so we had a closer look at those through the scopes. We couldn’t find the Kittiwake on here though.
The Common Sandpiper flew in and landed on the nearest island, presumably the same bird we had seen earlier. A few Black-tailed Godwits were feeding in the deeper water.
From the other side of Parrinder Hide, a couple of Common Terns were dozing out on the mud in front. Two Little Ringed Plovers were on the island and we got the Ruff in the scope again. Scanning over towards the main path, there was the Kittiwake! A 1st winter, it was swimming on the water and looking decidedly miserable. Presumably it had come in off the sea to escape the wind.
We decided to brave the wind and walk out to the beach. There were lots of Brent Geese out on the saltmarsh as we passed. The tide was just starting to go out and all we could see were just a couple of Redshanks and a Curlew on the Volunteer Marsh channel. The Tidal Pool was almost empty too, apart from another Curlew and a Black-tailed Godwit.
Out on the beach, there were very few waders. A few Sanderlings were running around on the wet sand further up towards Thornham Point, being pushed further west by someone walking along the shore. A couple then flew round and landed a little closer. We couldn’t see anything out on the sea, so we decided to walk back and get out of the wind.
It was lunchtime by the time we got back to the car park, so we took our packed lunches to the picnic area, which was a bit more sheltered. The usual Robins and Blackbirds were hanging around the tables looking for crumbs and a Goldcrest appeared in the trees next to us.
After lunch, we decided to head inland to try to find somewhere out of the wind. We drove over to one of the heaths. As we parked and got out, a Siskin flew over calling. It was sheltered in the trees as we walked in. A couple of Long-tailed Tits were flitting around in the bushes. Further down, we stopped to look for a Willow Warbler which was singing from a small grove of young birches. It was keeping low down much of the time, out of the breeze, but came up once or twice into view.
While we were watching the Willow Warbler, something else flew in from behind us and dropped straight down into the trees. We didn’t immediately recognise what it was, so we walked round a little to look into the back of the birches and found a male Common Redstart. It was hard to see as it kept flicking further in out of view. Not all the group managed to get onto it before it flew out the far side and disappeared into some other trees further back along the path. We walked over but there was no further sign of it.
Out on the heath, it was still cool and breezy despite being in the lee of the trees. A pair of Stonechats flicked about in the heather ahead of us as we walked along the path. A Raven dropped down onto the middle of the heath, where it was mobbed first by a Herring Gull and then by a Marsh Harrier. It flew up with something with its bill into the trees and shortly after a second Raven flew round above us calling.
The walk round the heath was pretty quiet otherwise, so we cut back on the next path into the trees. We stopped to look at a couple of Coal Tits in the pines and then a little further on we found a pair of Nuthatches. A Green Woodpecker yaffled from somewhere deeper in the trees.
Back at the minibus, we decided to head back for tea and cake. Having warmed up a little, no one had any desire to go back up to the coast and into the wind again. Another day of Spring Migration tomorrow, and the forecast was for the wind to drop too.
