A single day Spring Migration tour in North Norfolk. After a cloudy start, it brightened up late morning and by the afternoon it was mostly bright and sunny. There was still a slightly chilly ENE/E wind in off the sea, which made it harder to decide how many layers to wear.
Our destination for the morning was Burnham Overy. On our way through Holkham, a Common Swift shot over the trees by The Victoria and several Barnacle Geese were in the grass the other side of the road a little further along. Parking at the top of Whincover, a Common Whitethroat was singing in the hedge the other side of the road and we could hear a Skylark over the fields. A couple of Brown Hares were chasing each other round in the field across the road.
Walking up the lane, there were more warblers singing in the bushes. The Blackcaps remained unusually well hidden but a couple of Chiffchaffs perched up nicely in the trees. The Lesser Whitethroat rattling in the hedge was more typically skulking and another Common Whitethroat perched up singing. A Cetti’s Warbler shouted from somewhere deep in the bushes.
Out along the track between the grazing marshes, there seemed to be a Sedge Warbler singing from every second bush. The first refused to show itself, but further on we had a great views of several of them perched up and giving their all. Great to watch.
Scanning the grass, we quickly located a couple of Whimbrel and got them in the scopes. Spring migrants on their way north, stopping off to feed before heading over the North Sea to Scandinavia. We got a good view of their humbug-striped crowns, at least when the local Lapwings weren’t trying to chase them off.
There were three Wheatears in the grass too, a male and two females. More spring migrants. It felt like a good start and we were hopeful there might be more migrants to find out in the dunes.
A Mediterranean Gull flew over high calling. We would hear them on and off all morning and see them flying over, admiring their translucent white wingtips from below. A couple of Spoonbills flew over too, heading back towards the breeding colony at Holkham from where they had been feeding out on the saltmarshes.
Another Common Swift flew past. It was still cloudy and it was feeding low down. Later, we saw another two but they were much higher once the sun had come out. After our first of the year yesterday, they seemed to be moving through much more widely today.
From time to time, a Great White Egret would fly up out of the reedbed. Further up, we found one walking across the grass on the edge of the reeds. A dark-billed bird, in breeding condition, it too attracted the ire of the local Lapwings. One swooped at it repeatedly. A Marsh Harrier drifted over the back, and the Lapwings set off after that too, as did an Avocet. It is that time of year – when they are breeding, the waders spend all their time chasing everything else away.
Up on the seawall, the tide was out in the harbour channel. There were more waders on the mud here, several Avocets and Redshanks. Another Whimbrel was preening and posed nicely in the scope. But the highlight was a super smart Grey Plover in breeding plumage, sporting its summer black face and belly. A Common Tern was perched on a buoy in the channel further back.
The reedbed pool held a few Tufted Ducks, a drake Common Pochard and a couple of Little Grebes. One or two Egyptian Geese were scattered around amongst the Greylags further back. We could hear our first Reed Warblers singing in the reeds here, much more metronomic than the mad song of the Sedge Warblers we had been hearing all the way out.
Some large skeins of Brent Geese flew round over the saltmarsh. From the corner, we got a couple of them in the scopes for a closer view. They are always later to leave us than the Pink-footed Geese and will be here still through to the end of May. It doesn’t thaw out in northern Siberia until late!
A Meadow Pipit perched up nicely on the Suaeda, so we could get a really good at it. Just beyond, a smart male Reed Bunting was singing from the top of another Suaeda bush. A Skylark fluttered up into the sky singing and another flew low over the path and landed out on the edge of the saltmarsh.
The pools before the dunes are quickly drying out now. We were hoping there might be some migrant waders here but all we could see were the nesting Lapwings and local Redshanks. The boardwalk bushes were quiet too, apart from a single Sedge Warbler. Our first Wall butterflies were fluttering round in the dunes just beyond.
We set off through the dunes to the east, to have a quick look to see if we could find anything else freshly arrived. There were lots of Linnets on the bushes by the fence and a pair of Stonechats. A Willow Warbler flicked up briefly, a hint that there might still be some migrants to find out here this morning and enough to keep us going.
The dunes beyond were quiet though, at least in terms of birds, apart from the local Meadow Pipits, more Linnets and another couple of Common Whitethroats. Two Swallows flying west were the only sign of any visual migration. There had been a Hoopoe out here for the last five days, although elusive at times, but there was no sign of it this morning. Perhaps it had moved on, or there was just too much disturbance out here today. In the sunny weather, there were lots of walkers and dogwalkers out enjoying the dunes this morning.
If we turned around now we could be back in good time for lunch. So we didn’t walk all the way to the edge of the pines but only around halfway through the dunes before we started to walk back. Another male Stonechat was singing from the top of a small tree in the middle of the dunes. Almost back to the boardwalk bushes, a Moss Carder Bumblebee was buzzing around the flowers, a scarce species in Norfolk which is mainly known from this site.
Back along the seawall, we stopped to watch a Lapwing displaying. It flew back and forth, twisting and tumbling, and singing its distinctive song. A little further on, a Stoat ran through the grass just beyond the fence on the grazing marsh below. It had something in its mouth and when it stopped to look at us, we could see it was a Common Lizard. When we got back to the minibus, we decided to head east to Cley for lunch, figuring Holkham would be just too busy this afternoon. Several House Martins were now flying round over the road in front of the Victoria as we drove through Holkham.
Over at Cley, it was lovely out on the picnic tables in front of the Visitor Centre, enjoying the view in the sunshine. A Cattle Egret appeared with the cows on the grazing marshes across the road. A House Martin was flying round over the Warden’s House, apparently the first he has had back here this year. It seemed like there had been a decent arrival of them along the coast.
A male Marsh Harrier circled over the reeds right in front of us. Several times it came up with something in its talons, probably a small gosling, but despite a couple of females circling up too at times, they didn’t seem to show any interest.
After we had finished eating, we ran the scope over Pat’s Pool. There were a few waders out here. A Common Sandpiper was on one of the islands briefly but then did a disappearing act. There were a couple of Ruff, a smaller female with a Redshank for comparison and a dark male yet to start getting its ornate ruff. Several Black-tailed Godwits and Avocets were in the water and a couple of Little Ringed Plovers were on the islands.
The American Wigeon was still just along the coast at Salthouse this morning, so we drove over to see if we could find that now. We just managed to park at the start of the Iron Road and set off up the track. A Reed Warbler was singing in the reeds.
Scanning from the gate, we quickly located the American Wigeon out on the edge of one of the pools with a small group of Eurasian Wigeon. We got the scope on it and could compare it with a couple of male Eurasians in the same view. It has been here for over a week now and it will be interesting to see if it leaves when the remaining Eurasian Wigeon depart. After a while, the Wigeon all walked into the water and the American Wigeon swam out of view behind the low reeds.
There was not much else on the pools here, a couple of Common Redshank and a few Teal, plus three Pied Wagtails on the main Iron Road pool the other side. A couple of Sand Martins fluttered round low over the reeds beyond.
Walking on out to the beach, there were several Meadow Pipits which came up from the long grass. From up on the shingle ridge, we could see hundreds and hundreds of Common Scoter offshore. Most were rather distant, further east off Salthouse or Kelling, and too far to pick out anything different in with them. We got the scope on some of the nearer Common Scoter for a closer look.
It was chilly in the wind up on the shingle, with the easterly wind coming in off the sea. We turned to walk back. Several Redshanks flew round displaying and three landed on the fence posts ahead of us, calling. A Great White Egret was feeding in one of the saltmarsh pools close by.
We had time for one last stop. Parking in front of Walsey Hills, we walked up towards the East Bank. A Little Grebe was laughing from Snipe’s Marsh and we could see a couple of Coot out on the water too. As we walked up the Bank, a Cetti’s Warbler shouted from the willows but we couldn’t see it.
Scanning the grazing marshes, we found a distant Common Snipe in front of Pope’s Pool which was crouched down in the grass. A single Curlew was feeding by the edge of the water. Two Little Ringed Plovers were further up on the edge of the Serpentine. The single Pink-footed Goose was still with the Greylags, hunkered down in the grass, preening. From time to time it lifted its head so we could see its delicate, pink-ringed bill.
As we walked on, we heard Bearded Tits calling behind us. We turned to look and caught a quick glimpse of one or two flying over the tops of the reeds before dropping back in. The wind had picked up a little and it seemed unlikely they would perch up for us, but remarkably a group of five Bearded Tits proceeded to fly round repeatedly and several times a female landed in the top of the reeds where we could get a proper look at it. They obviously hadn’t read the manual!
Up at Arnold’s Marsh, there were quite a few waders out on the water today. We counted sixteen Bar-tailed Godwits, including several smart males coming into breeding plumage, their rusty underparts extending down under their tails. A small flock of Dunlin wouldn’t settle and kept whirling round nervously. Two other Dunlin were more obliging, feeding towards the back and we could see their summer black belly patches. A couple of Ringed Plovers were sheltering on the edge of the shingle spit off to the left, along with a single Whimbrel.
It was warmer out in the sunshine in the lee of Richardson Shelter, so we sat on the bench to scan the brackish pool. Two pairs of Pintail were upending, one in each of the two far corners. A single Turnstone was picking around between them on the back edge. It was nice sitting here in the warm but unfortunately we were out of time.
On the way back, a male Bearded Tit flew in and dropped down beside the ditch below the path. We could see it picking its way along the bottom of the reeds on the far side of the water. Down at the Serpentine, there was now another Common Snipe much closer and out in the open, which we got in the scope.
Back to the minibus, we headed for home. It had been another interesting day of Spring Migration on the coast, with a good smattering of spring migrants and a great selection of other birds, some of which had come for the breeding season and others which were yet to leave after the winter. Changeover time.
