A Private Tour today in North Norfolk, looking for Winter Birds and Owls. It was a lovely winter’s day, mostly bright and sunny with crisp clear blue skies. Glorious weather to be out birding!
We started the day looking for Barn Owls. With a wet night last night, we thought they might be hungry today and out hunting still. But as we drove round some favoured meadows we drew a blank. We stopped and got out to scan overlooking the marshes where we have seen several different owls going into roost this year.
There were lots of Curlews feeding out on the wet grass and a pair of Egyptian Geese getting broody already. A few Marsh Harriers started to circle up and we picked up a distant ringtail Hen Harrier flying across. A nice bonus.
We were just watching a Marsh Harrier which had appeared on a post in some nearby reeds when we spotted a Barn Owl. It flew across and briefly skirted the edge of the meadow. We thought it might stop to hunt but instead it turned and flew up over the neighbouring reeds, making a beeline for a nearby barn. It didn’t fly in today though but disappeared round the side. There was no sign of it coming out again, unfortunately. Still, we waited a short while to see if any of the other Barn Owls might appear but they had possibly gone in to roost early. We decided to move on.
Our next target for the morning was Tawny Owl. As we walked down the footpath a Great Tit was singing in the hedge and further on a Coal Tit was singing in the trees. A sign that hopefully, spring is not far away. Round the corner and we could see that the Tawny Owl was in situ at the entrance to the tree hole where it likes to perch. Last time, it dropped down quickly so we got the scope straight on it and made sure everyone had a look. It seemed very settled, but when a couple of Jackdaws landed in the branches above it, the Tawny Owl disappeared into the hole.
We stood chatting for a few minutes, talking about owls. When we looked back, the Tawny Owl had reappeared at the entrance to the hole. Another chance for more prolonged great views of it, as it appeared very settled and not at all concerned by our presence. We eventually had to tear ourselves away.
One of the group had never seen a Kingfisher and asked if we might be able to find one. Fortuitously, there is one which we often see not far away. We dropped down to the coast and round to one of the quays. The Kingfisher often likes to perch on the mooring ropes of the boats but we couldn’t see it now. We stopped to scan the saltmarsh beyond and picked up a small group of Brent Geese feeding out in the middle. One stood out, with noticeably paler flanks – a single Pale-bellied Brent in with the regular Dark-bellied Brents.
While we were watching the geese, the Kingfisher shot past us low over the water, a flash of electric blue. It disappeared in under the quay out of view but then came out again and flew further up the channel. Helpfully, it landed now on the vegetation above the edge of the water where it perched in the low morning sunshine. Great views now, we watched it diving into the water catching fish.
After a while, the Kingfisher took off and flew back towards us up the channel. It flashed past and landed on the mooring ropes behind us. The ropes were in the shade, but we had some nice close views of it perched in the scope now. Eventually it flew back round and disappeared under the quay out of view.
Further along the coast now, we had a quick stop at the beach at Cley. From the top of the shingle, we quickly picked up the large raft of Common Scoter offshore, a little to the west. The two Long-tailed Ducks in with them were relatively easy to see, being much whiter, although they were diving constantly. Two Velvet Scoters were much harder to pick out but helpfully at one point they separated out on the end of the flock. They also started preening, showing off the white in their wings. There were a few distant Red-throated Divers and Great Crested Grebes on the sea and flying past.
A large flock of Brent Geese were feeding in the Eye Field. When something spooked them, they flew up and round low right over our heads, chattering noisily. Lovely to watch and hear. We also picked up a small group of geese coming in over the sea and when they got closer we could confirm they were Pink-footed Geese. At this time of year, they are more often leaving us, heading back north, than arriving.
We had a quick stop at the Visitor Centre to use the facilities and let them know what we had seen on the sea. Looking out over Pat’s Pool, we could see a long line of Avocets. We counted over 30, an increase on the small number which over-wintered here. Birds are already starting to move back north and they obviously find the water levels here now to their liking.
Continuing the goose theme, we continued on along the coast to Weybourne now. Parking by the Mill, we could see the large flock of Pink-footed Geese feeding in the harvested sugar beet field below. There were a couple of people scanning from here. A couple of Tundra Bean Geese had apparently been seen earlier, but they had walked over the brow of the hill out of view. Two White-fronted Geese were just about visible beyond the ridge, if you stood on the top of the bank.
We decided to walk down the lane beside the Mill and view the field from the other side. There were lots of Pink-footed Geese scattered across the field. From the gate, we started scanning through them to see if we could find anything different. It didn’t take us long to find a pair of Tundra Bean Geese. One of the main differences from the Pinkfeet is their dayglo orange (not pink!) legs, but the Tundra Bean Geese were feeding in a dip in the field and it was hard to get a clear view of their legs.
A helicopter flew over and all the geese from the back of the field flushed and flew round. They landed again slightly more out in the open, which should make things easier. Scanning across, we quickly located a pair of White-fronted Geese, but they promptly sat down and went to sleep, tucking their heads in before anyone could get a look at them. Then we found a pair of Tundra Bean Geese, which promptly did the same! Thankfully, we managed to find a second pair of Tundra Bean Geese and these ones were awake and feeding. Much easier to see their legs now.
It was still just before midday, so we decided to head for Holkham for lunch, with a quick stop on the way. When we got to Stiffkey, we parked on Greenway and walked across the road. Looking from the top, we couldn’t immediately see any sign of the Glossy Ibis and from down at the bottom of the steps we couldn’t initially either. Shifting around to view further up behind the trees, we did eventually locate it but it was in the long grass and very hard to see.
Something then spooked the Wigeon which were feeding on the grass there as well and as they flew out the Glossy Ibis did too. They all landed in the middle of the flood, where we could get the Glossy Ibis in the scope now. As it turned in the light, we could see its body feathers catching the sun and flashing bronze and green. When it eventually moved back into the long grass, we decided to head on for lunch.
We made use of the picnic tables outside The Lookout cafe at Holkham for lunch, and it was nice sitting outside in the sunshine today. A pair of Stonechats were feeding in the long grasses and bushes right beside us while we ate. When a Red Kite drifted in over the marshes and almost overhead, it seemed like it was trying to check out our sandwiches!
There were lots of Wigeon out on the grazing marshes, with good numbers of Teal and a few Shoveler. We picked up several Gadwall on the pool nearest The Lookout too. Several Common Snipe were feeding around the edge of one of the islands, which we got in the scope for a closer view. Two Ruff were feeding with several Black-tailed Godwits out on the wet grass the other side. A Great White Egret was in and out of the channels over the far side.
After lunch, we were planning to walk out to the saltmarsh. Under the trees by the start of the boardwalk, a large family party of Long-tailed Tits were feeding on the ground with a single Coal Tit. Two Goldcrests appeared in the large holm oak nearby.
The Shorelarks had not been reported from here the last couple of days but were back in the cordon this morning, so we decided to head straight down to see if we could find them. Walking out, the saltmarsh was rather quiet. A couple more Red Kites drifted overhead. People walking back told us there was no sign of the Shorelarks again now and when we got there we couldn’t find them either. We tried all round, but the cordon was completely devoid of life.
From up on the dunes, we had a quick scan of the sea. We could see a couple of large rafts of Common Scoter but they were quite a long way offshore today. A couple of Sanderling were running around down on the shore. As we walked back beside the saltmarsh, we picked up a small flock of pipits now. Looking through them, we could see there was a mixture of Scandinavian Rock Pipits and Meadow Pipits. We managed to get the scope on one or two of the Rock Pipits for a closer look.
The afternoon was already getting away from us, and we had a few more things we wanted to try to squeeze in. The group had not managed to see the White-fronted Geese at Weybourne earlier, so while we were at Holkham we went to see if we could find any on the grazing marshes. We did locate a small group, albeit very distant. We could see the white surround to their bills when they lifted their heads.
Something flushed all the Greylags from the marshes further along and they all flew round in front of us. We managed to pick out a single White-fronted Goose with them too and a group of six Barnacle Geese flew past. A small group of Pintail was upending on one of the pools. There were a few Chinese Water Deer out on the marshes and two Common Buzzards perched up in the afternoon sun.
We called in at Wells briefly on our way past. The tide was already coming in fast but scanning the edges of the harbour, we found several Bar-tailed Godwits. There were lots of Oystercatchers and further round, lots of Dunlin, plus a few Ringed Plovers and Grey Plovers too. A Greenfinch was perched in the top of one of the trees by the car park.
The plan was to finish the day with another look to see if we could find any Barn Owls out again. As we set off back along Beach Road, we were about to say that this used to be a good area for Barn Owls when we spotted one out hunting. There is nowhere to park and get out here these days but we pulled up and watched it from the minibus. It flew fairly quickly away from us over the reeds. As we drove on, we found another Barn Owl over the edge of the old pitch and putt. Again, it just flew away from us and out over the field beyond though.
We thought this was a good sign, perhaps the Barn Owls were hungry after last night’s rain. As we drove back along the coast road, we checked out lots of traditional sites but drew a blank. Back where we had been this morning there was no sign of any out there either. Obviously not hungry enough! The light was starting to go fast now, so time to call it a night. A lovely winter’s day birding, with some very good winter birds.
