13th
The Oriole trip to Norfolk was not meant to really start
until the following morning but after picking up three of the crew from Kings
Lynn it seemed very rude not to stop in South Wooton to have a look for the
Lesser Yellowlegs in the failing light as it was quite literally on my route
and required just a two minute walk to view the settling lagoon for one of the
many new housing estates springing up all around this part of Norfolk.
We walked up to the heras fencing an it only took a few
seconds to find this elegant American visitor high stepping around looking all
spangly. Four Green Sandpipers, 18
Black-tailed Godwits and 13 Snipe were on the pool with it and with The Wash only
a short distance away, hopefully it will remain open and wildlife friendly as
the estate nears completion.
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| Lesser Yellowlegs |
A few Pink-feet and Greylags flew over and a flock of Canada
Geese may well be the only ones we see this week. There were a couple of Redwings calling and
Grey and Pied Wagtails around the pond edges.
With that we were back on the bus and off up the coast in
the gloom to Briarfields in Titchwell, our base for the week.
14th
The pre-dawn chorus consisted of thousands of Pink-feet nudge
nudge wink winking over the hotel in organised squadrons. I will never ever tire of this classic autumn
experience.
Wavy lines of Starlings headed strongly west although I am
not sure if they were leaving roost somewhere or where immigrants. There were a few Chaffinches and the odd
Brambling going the same way and the first Red Kites and Marsh Harriers were up
and about.
Breakfast and then on the road although I was following my
nose and not the diversion signs and ended up turning round at Burnham Overy
Staithe Mill and parking up on a now empty road where Cattle Egrets were dotted
around us and moving between the herds of cattle. Blackbirds moved overhead and we added Jay
too.
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| Cattle Egrets |
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| Cattle Egret |
A wiggle through the back passing a Buzzard on the way and
then past Holkham and through Wells to North Point Pools which was to be a main
stop for the day. It was drizzly and
murky and I had high hopes of migrants still being on the move but the pools
and fields held our attention to start with as we worked our way through the dabbling
ducks and picked up Curlew, Ruff, Redshank, Greenshank, Snipe and Black-tailed
Godwits. A Red Kite was down at a hidden
carcass and a Raven was in close attendance and everyone got a look in the
scope before it headed off towards town.
A scarce but increasing Norfolk bird it is never an expected
bird on these trips. The Kite hopped up
on the fence and seem replete and dozy after its feast. It was magnificent.
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| Raven |
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| Red Kite |
Behind us there were more Cattle Egrets with 15 in the first
field but only loosely with the livestock and eight more in a green field
further back. The fortunes of this species
continue to grow and at this point we had not seen one Little Egret although
that changed as we neared the saltmarsh.
White bellied Water Pipits and seeping Meadow Pipits flew
around the pools and several Marsh Harriers and a couple of Buzzards and Kestrels were on
patrol. The Harriers were frequently
spooking the Teal and Wigeon and one had a green wing tag that I could not
read.
The big hill field was full of Skylarks, a couple of Yellowhammers
and more Meadow Pipits and the Ivy and Elm copse added Goldcrest, Blue Tit,
Song Thrushes and black billed Blackbirds.
The weather was at best trying; with waves of light but
irritating drizzle drifting across the Brent Goose and Little Egret strewn
saltmarsh. The grumbling Dark-bellied Brents could be
heard long before we got to see them. A Glossy Ibis was picked up over the saltings but soon dropped down but thankfully it got again ten minutes later and flew almost straight over our heads and over the hill to the pools. How long before they become as commonplace as the Egrets?
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| Glossy Ibis |
The Hawthorns were disappointingly quiet given the fact that
Garden Drove (where we were heading) had Yellow-browed and Radde’s Warbler but
we kept looking and listening and found high flying migrant Dunnocks dropping
in, ticking Robins and the odd Goldcrest.
News of roosting Long-eared Owl reached us just a short
distance from the bird and before long we were all watching this slightly
bedraggled migrant sitting on an Elder branch full in the open and not far off
the ground. It did not look amused. We, however, we elated and it was a new bird
for some of the group. A Cetti’s Warbler
was scolding but was not brave enough to venture close or into the open and
only a Reed Bunting popped in to see what the fuss was about.
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| Tawny Owl |
The Radde’s had not been since just after dawn and not even
a call had been heard so we went to the leeward side of the trees and found a
couple of Chiffchaffs before walking up along the outside of the Garden Drove
double hedge which very quickly gave us close encounters with a Goldcrest flock
that contained a bold Firecrest and two stripy Yellow-browed Warblers although keeping
tabs on them was tricky.
A big flock of Linnets was in the adjacent field with a few
Goldfinches and more Meadow Pipits and Chaffinches while some invisible
Crossbills gypped over. They were
calling loudly but we were unsighted.
A glance out over the saltmarsh saw a wall of white drizzle
descending and speeding our way and it was soon upon us so with lunch overdue
we started the walk back to the van stopping only to watch a Redwing perched up
with a Song Thrush, a smart plump Grey Plover on the mud, a zipping orange
flash of Kingfisher and a lark-hunting Sparrowhawk.
It had abated at the van and a pleasant lunch was taken with
Cattle Egrets one way and the Red Kites and host of bathing Geese and dabblers
the other. A female Stonechat popped up on the fence for us too.
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| Cattle Egrets |
From here we headed east slightly to Stiffkey campsite wood. Our walk through the wood was disappointing as
the wind had got up and the temperature had dropped so we aborted half way
along after just hearing a couple of Goldcrests and dropped down on to what
should have been the more exposed coast path which was rather strangely very
calm although the trees above us were shaking leaves avidly.
Brents mumbled away and skeins of Pink-feet moved from the sand
to inland fields but there were no raptors out over the salting at all. Activity in the Sycamores drew us to the
canopy of one particular tree where several Chaffinches and more importantly at
least six Brambling fed silently giving themselves away with movements at odd
to the flapping foliage. At least two
were smart males with still mostly black heads while all had glorious orange fronts
and white rumps.
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| Dark-bellied Brent Geese |
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| Dark-bellied Brent Geese |
With the weather clearing but the wind increasing we opted
to call it a day and poodled back along the coast seeing more Geese, Kites and
several Chinese Water Deer in the process.
It had been a grand first proper day in the field.
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| Pink-footed Geese |
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