Day 1 of a long weekend of tours today and we headed up to NW Norfolk. It was a lovely, sunny start to the day and we had high hopes of seeing some birds on the move.
We started at Thornham. There have been a couple of Ring Ouzels around the cricket pitch in recent days and as soon as we got out of the car we picked up a fine male on the far side by the hedge. We got it in the scope and got a great look at it, its white gorget shining in the morning sun. Nearby, a slightly duller, browner female Ring Ouzel was on the edge of the cricket square, with a Mistle Thrush for company.
Ring Ouzel – the male at Thornham this morning
Our next destination was Snettisham Coastal Park, where we hoped to see some visible migration in action. The bushes were alive with warblers – lots of Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, plenty of Willow Warblers and several singing Chiffchaffs, Sedge Warblers and Cetti’s Warblers. There were lots of Linnets in the bushes and more small groups moving south overhead, together with a few Goldfinches.
The real star migrants of the morning were the Yellow Wagtails. It started with one or two moving along the coast, their sharp ‘pseep’ calls giving them away as they flew overhead. It peaked with a single flock of 20 which flew south past us, calling as they went. Great to see. There were also a couple of Wheatears which moved south through the bushes, stopping briefly as they went.
Wheatear – stopped briefly on a bush on its way through
There has been a Little Bunting at Snettisham Coastal Park for the last couple of days, but it has been very elusive, so we held out little hope of seeing it. As we got further along, we were told that it had just been showing, so we decided to have a look. There was no sign of it at first – it had flown into a dense area of low Sea Buckthorn bushes and disappeared. As we waited, we had the odd glimpse of movement as it worked its way slowly round on the ground below, but even when we got a slightly better look at it, it was hard to get everyone onto it. Eventually the Little Bunting flew out and landed briefly on the grass in the open. Unfortunately, it didn’t stay long, before darting straight back into cover. Not great views, but at least we had all finally seen it! We decided to move on.
A little further along, we could hear a Grasshopper Warbler reeling from the bushes. We worked our way round and saw it sitting in the top of a low Hawthorn, but before everyone could get onto it it dropped down out of view. When it started reeling again it had moved over to the other side of the bushes – by the time we managed to get round there it had disappeared, probably back to the original side!
As we walked back round to the beach, we could hear Sandwich Terns calling offshore. From up on the seawall, we had a quick look and immediately latched onto a Little Tern flying past. At one point, we even managed to get the Little Tern in the same view as the Sandwich Tern, a great size comparison. As it worked its way past, we could see it had brought its friends – a loose group of 8 Little Terns flew past. The Little Terns have only started to arrive in the last few days, so it was really good to see them.
Little Tern – a group of 8 were off Snettisham this morning
We gradually made our way back to the car for lunch. As we sat outside in the sunshine eating, a flock of about 20 Curlew flew past over the edge of the Wash. A quick scan through revealed a bonus – a couple of Whimbrel in amongst them. After lunch, we drove round ‘the corner’ to Titchwell, taking a diversion along the cliff tops at Hunstanton to admire a Fulmar flying past.
At Titchwell, the car park was very busy and so rather quiet for birds. We walked out onto the reserve, pausing briefly to look at the Thornham grazing marsh pool – this is still dry and now rather devoid of birdlife. A pair of Mediterranean Gulls flew over, calling, and flashing their white wingtips.
Mediterranean Gull – a pair of adults flew over, calling
The reedbed pool held a couple of pairs each of Tufted Duck and Pochard, but no sign of the Red-crested Pochard today. Thankfully, it didn’t take us long to find them. A little further on, a smart pair of Red-crested Pochard were on the freshmarsh, right by the main footpath (we later saw more flying over and 6 on Patsy’s Reedbed).
Red-crested Pochard – this pair were right by the main path today
As usual, there was a good selection of dabbling ducks on the freshmarsh as well and we stopped to admire the Teal, Shoveler and Gadwall in particular, all looking rather splendid in their spring finery.
Gadwall – such a subtly pretty duck up close
There were not as many waders on the freshmarsh as in recent weeks. Just one Black-tailed Godwit, two Dunlin, a couple of Ruff and two Little Ringed Plovers on the islands. Lest we forget them, there were at least lots of Avocet and several of them were feeding right in front of Island Hide, affording us up close and personal views.
Avocet – no post about Titchwell is complete without a photo!
The Volunteer Marsh was also rather quiet today, but the Tidal Pools were slightly more interesting. As well as several more Black-tailed Godwits to admire, in both winter and summer plumage, a Greenshank was feeding quietly along the edge.
Black-tailed Godwit – no sign of summer plumage
The beach was where the action was at today. The tide was just going out, and the waders were just beginning to gather. As well as lots of Oystercatcher and Turnstone, we found a few Sanderling on the beach and a small group of Grey Plover and a single Ringed Plover on the rocks. While we were watching the waders starting to spread out along the beach, we picked up a single Whimbrel in with the Grey Plovers along the shoreline. It looked like it was fresh in, taking a short rest, before it flew off again calling. A little later, we saw a small flock of Whimbrel further out, flying west.
There were a few terns offshore too. A couple of Sandwich Terns were feeding off the beach, plunging into the sea. Three more Little Terns flew west close inshore. While we were watching them, a single Common Tern flew past, further out to sea – another good one for the day.
There were small numbers of hirundines flying along the coast all day today, but perhaps not as many as we thought there might be today. As we walked back a flock of 11 Sand Martins whisked through over the reedbed.
We took a quick detour on the way back via Meadow Trail. There were lots of Blackcaps in the sallows, presumably some migrants as well as some planning to stay for the summer. The Marsh Harriers were showing well from the boardwalk near Fen Hide, and we paused to admire them. Patsy’s Reedbed was rather quiet, apart from the aforementioned Red-crested Pochards, although a smart summer-plumaged Little Grebe did grab our attention as it swam past.
We finished the day with a quick drive round via Choseley drying barns. There were several bright Yellowhammers in the fields on the way up and a couple of Stock Doves by the barns themselves. But the highlight was down in the fields beyond the barns. The wind had picked up a little and lots of Yellowhammers were feeding down on a recently sown patch of ground. Amongst them, we found two pairs of Corn Bunting. We got them in the scope and had a good look at them, before they were spooked and flew up into the hedge. We could hear a male singing – rather like a bunch of jangling keys. We had decided to call it a day and were driving off when we realised all the Yellowhammers had flown out to the other side, on a bare strip beside the road. There, in amongst them, was a Corn Bunting – great views and a good way to end the day.
Corn Bunting – feeding on a bare strip by the road this afternoon
