Tuesday 1 October 2024

Norfolk Autumn Migration Tour for Oriole Birding - 1st October 2024

The weather deteriorated very quickly yesterday evening and getting from the rooms to dinner required a small dingy in the end.  It lashed it down all night. Windows rattled, doors shook and it was not much better while we had breakfast.  The plan was to head east as hopefully it should be clearing from that direction. Thankfully they were correct for once and it had basically stopped by the time we parked up at Walsey Hills for a walk down the East Bank.


It was grey but the wind had dropped and we had quite a pleasant walk down with flocks of Shoveler, Wigeon and Teal disturbed by works on the main reserve flighting overhead onto the Serpentine and Arnolds Marsh.
  Waders were thin on the ground once again with four plump Ringed Plovers, several Snipe and Black Tailed Godwits on the first sections and then a flock of Curlews and Godwits on Arnolds where two Bar-tailed Godwits and some Dunlin and Redshank were also seen.

New rig on the move


Wigeon

Grey Heron


Greylag


Marsh Harriers spooked the duck and gulls regularly and we picked up Reed Buntings, Stonechat and Bearded Tits in the reeds either side.  A Yellow Wagtail flew over calling and was highly unexpected.

Down at the sea I was expecting a continuation of the wader and wildfowl movement reported earlier but there was quite literally not one bird out over the sea and just a few mixed Gulls following the beach.  We could see the weather turning again with a squall heading our way from further out and only just got to the shelter in time where every bod on the wall tried to squeeze into for the next 15 minutes.




A 1w Caspian Gull was our reward for hiding from the rain.  With news of five Yellow-browed Warblers at Walsey Hills we started to head back pausing to look at a migrant Robin feeding from the reed edge and two Great White Egrets showing their displeasure at the Marsh Harriers.

Great White Egrets

Robin

Before too long we were in the willows and literally surrounded by the occasionally appearance of these stripy little gems.  Four Yellow-broweds were seen and with patience everyone got excellent views.  They were rather reticent to call but I was pleased when a couple of them decided to break radio silence.



There is something very special about hearing a YBW in the autumn and I think it was a new bird for everyone in the group. There were good number of Gold and Greenfinches around the feeders but little else so we headed to the NWT visitors centre for lunch which was interrupted by 15 Cattle Egrets out with a herd of black cows and superb performances from both Red Kite and Buzzard while groups of vocal Curlew and floppy Lapwings moved from field to marsh.

 Red Kite

 Red Kite

 Lapwings

Back west now and a good walk at North Point Pools.  We did not see any Pallid Harriers but raptors were a theme with Kestrels, Sparrowhawks, Buzzards, Marsh Harriers and Red Kites.  A juvenile Spoonbill flew along the coast and great flocks of Golden Plover periodically lifted off from hidden fields and circled high above before splitting into regimented Vs and drifted back to another field.  There were great flocks of Wood Pigeons too and a few Stock Doves while we found nine Ruff moved between the pools and stubble fields with the Lapwing and Jackdaws.  Five Siskins headed inland and a flock of Skylarks were the first we had seen and Swallows and House Martins still drifted along the coast.

Buzzard

Some Pink-feet were up on a field ridge but we had not really had any all day but the Brent flock out on the saltmarsh was now about 200 strong.  With more rain starting to obscure Blakeney Point to the east we escaped again and headed back toward Briarfields seeing a buck Fallow Deer with six Red Deer in a roadside field just west of Holkham Hall and at least three Great White Egrets down on the fresh marsh while a final brief stop at Burnham Norton gave the crew good Egyptian Goose views but not the hoped for Barn Owls and Cattle Egrets.  With drift migrants appearing along the coast in the late afternoon, hopefully tomorrow will be the day that brings some further scarce passerine joy.

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