North Norfolk - 13th October 2023

A www.blueeyedbirder.com adventure: 

From inside the car at 8am at Lady Ann’s Drive it felt quite snug and the outside was bright and shiny but in reality it was blowing a hard north-westerly and was incredibly cool.  We have been spoilt for too long with the late warmth of autumn and this was a real shock to the system.

It only took a few seconds to get the first quality birds of the day under the belt with two Cattle Egrets and two Great White Egrets parading around with the cows alongside us with Red Kites and Buzzards gliding overhead and skeins of high Pink-feet heading out to search for a suitable grazing field.

How times change...

We were glad of the respite from the wind amongst the trees and we walked west along the inside path but the predominating westerlies had prevented any small bird movement and the woods were quiet save for a few resident Jays, Goldcrests, Treecreepers and Tits.  The odd Siskin and Redpoll went over but it took two hours before we saw a Chaffinch and there were no autumnal Thrushes at all.

Serene pines - Enid Barrie

The pond at held sparkling Mallard and Gadwall and four fluffy Little Grebes while three Buzzards played on the edge of the marsh and one was vocally very much like a Red Kite of which there were many visible every time you scanned the tree line of the park inland.

Buzzard

The view from the Washington Hide added several more Great White and two Cattle Egret while Marsh Harriers quartered the marsh spooking flocks of Wigeon and Teal and even two Green Sandpipers.  Pink-feet moved over but most had obviously left for the day but we still found Greylags, Egyptians and a party of Barnacle Geese. 

Two Red Deer stags glowed rusty cinnamon and we decked out with full antler finery.  They were about a quarter of a mile apart so there were no clashes to be witnessed.  Muntjac grazed the same fields.  We were hoping for the White-tailed Eagles but could not see one and so moved on down to the sea.

Red Deer and Muntjac 

The tide was in and it was rough out there. The wind precluded us leaving the shelter of trees and the heat haze was a problem but we stuck with it for a while and managed Manx Shearwater, two adult Pomarine Skuas, Arctic Skua, 30 Scoter, Red-throated Divers and a few Gannets and Auks.

If only you could feel the wind! - Enid Barrie

The odd Skylark and Meadow Pipit moved east but there were no other incoming passerines so we retreated to the warmth of the tree belt again where there were now Darters and Red Admirals flitting around.

Common Darter

A Goldcrest flicked across the path and suddenly was joined by an all too brief Yellow-browed Warbler which bounded off into the pines never to be seen again.  It never called once!

Feeling slightly disgruntled we moved on to be told by the next people that the White-tailed Eagle had been seen but had flown off… oh well.  We peered Chad-like over the wall at the Joe Jordan Hide (will they ever repair it?) and almost immediately I picked up an Eagle heading our way with Red Kites hot on its tail.  Unseen Pink-feet erupted from the marsh and amazingly I lost it in just a few short seconds.  Only Simon had seen it!

Ten minutes later I picked up an Eagle again further east and up over the park.  It may have been a long way off but it was magnificent! We watched it for at least ten minutes as it played with the breeze and was unphased by the Red Kites and Buzzards that kept tabs on its movements.

White-tailed Eagle #1

White-tailed Eagle #1 - it was a long way off! - Antony Wren

We were about to go when a message saying the other one was perched up just east of Decoy Wood came through. That is exactly where we were and I raised my bins and there it was perched on top of a tiny dead tree! We had a couple of minutes with it before it shuffled and dropped off and away as an estate vehicle approached it too closely.  It must have been the first bird that had snuck in while we were concentrating on the sky!  I was somewhat pleased having never seen any of the Isle of Wight re-introduction programme birds as they always seem to be just before or after any visit I make. With a third bird at Minsmere at the same time and a ‘wild’ adult knocking around their future in East Anglia looks set fair.

White-tailed Eagle #2

Two Ravens appeared on top of the Decoy Wood snags before noisily kronking off over the trees.  Still a rare bird in Norfolk but I think they are fairly reliable here now.

The walk back was full of smiles and we spent some quality time looking at the numerous Migrant Hawkers and Ruddy and Common Darters along with some good fly action, fabulous Fungi, several gleaming Wall Browns and some quality moth leaf mining – as ever.

Custer Flies - Pollenia sp 

Pollenia sp and Mesembrina meridiana

Robber Fly

Helophilus pendulus

Eristalis tenax

Mesembrina meridiana

Migrant Hawker

Common Darters

Common Darter

Wall Brown

Wall Brown

Pisaura mirabilis

A calling Phyllosc at Meals House had me puzzled – clearly Chiffchaff-esque but less di-sibyllic.  The bird was olive and crisply marked but I did not get very good views.  Mmm. A Kingfisher perched up at the pond and one of the two White-tailed Eagles was once again in the air and we watched it circle lazily around on rectangular wings and long splayed hands.

Back at the cars the Drive was heaving with gazillions of ‘people with hounds’ so we had lunch watching the Pinkfeet come over and the vigilant Kites and a covey of four Grey Partridges that appeared as if by magic right alongside us.

Pinkfeet

Grey Partridge

Escaping the madness, we headed east and made our way to North Point Pools where that pesky Pectoral Sandpiper was still elusively residing.  I did not fancy our chances once again but Alan Davies and Ruth Miller and their party had just refound it so it was a slightly brisk squidgy trot down the path before it vanished again into the Mint and Juncus.  None of the group had seen one before and thankfully it was on the closest edge and allowed them all to get a good look at this well marked juvenile. 

The ’at least four’ Whooper Swans were still present and once they woke up and moved around a bit became ten glorious Icelandic wanderers.  There were many Pintail amongst the Teal and Wigeon an Snipe, Black-tailed Godwits and Ruff were also new waders for the day.   A male Marsh Harrier was hunting the periphery but most bird stayed put until the last minutes and Sparrowhawk, Kestrel and several Kites and Buzzards were seen.  After a quick catch up with Jim Lawrence and Dawn Balmer we moved on again towards Cley and hopefully a seawatch finale.

Joining others down at the beach car park gave us immediate access to the sea where a melee of birds off shore included a mixed flock of Arctic and Common Terns, Common Gulls, Gannets, Razorbills and five Manx Shearwaters.  Over the next 90 minutes birds came closer and we were treated to views just over the top of the breakers of all these species along with three Grey Phalaropes whizzing by, Guillemots, Red-throated Divers and Sandwich Terns.  Red Admirals were seen battling their way to shore after an epic crossing too.  It was a grand way to end the day and a final pass by one of the Manx Shearwaters was a fitting time to pack up the scopes.

Gannet

Common Terns

Common Terns

Arctic Tern

Arctic Tern

Red-throated Diver - Antony Wren

Surfs up - Antony Wren

Black-headed Gull - Antony Wren

Manx Shearwater -  Antony Wren

We were saying our goodbyes and I mentioned that there had been Cattle Egrets here too.  I looked up and five were circling around over the marsh before heading towards Blakeney.  Three more were seen with the cows on the way back out!

Cattle Egrets - Antony Wren

Quite a day.