A long week end was looming, the first of the year. We had booked ourselves a cottage in Brancaster for the Easter period - not the best time to go but anyway we planned to visit as many places as possible and see as much as we could. I don’t have a pager and I later found out I couldn’t even get onto birdguides to find out what was about. No Wi-Fi spot except a couple of petrol stations. So not twitching exactly but we did buy a couple of local bird books. Most other trips usually involve a couple of hours driving to Norfolk, just visiting one place, usually Titchwell and then the long haul back again. But this time we planned to immerse ourselves in a long week end of birding. I was really looking forward to it.
We decided to do Minsmere first - it was furthest away from our base and there was a Lesser Kestrel and a Great Grey Shrike at Westleton Heath to start the trip if they proved longish stayers. On the way I kept looking at kestrels from the car to see if I could make out any moustache, blue gray upperwing panel or any other distinguishing marks which would turn it into a Lesser. When we arrived it was freezing and a group of birders were already huddled there. No one had seen it and the word was it might have gone. Still I settled down to wait in the bitter cold. I overheard some chat about some Woodlarks but couldn’t pick those out either. I resolved to concentrate more. Surely if it was still present it would be.. well behaving like a Kestrel. Hovering and not that difficult to spot. The one I saw in Greece was perched on a fence. Then a shout went up, it had just flown down. Could I tick it? I was looking in the general direction at the time after all. Could I tick it as Lesser Kestrel just because someone else said it was? Maybe I could list it as I was "present when seen". Ellen got bored staring through a scope at one spot for ages and went to talk to another group... who had just seen Dartford Warbler. Should I give up and go for that instead? Maybe I should start a Dipped list. We upped tripods and went and had a look. After a while came the next decision - whether to stay or to go. We had waited so long it would be a waste if we left now. How secretive could a kestrel be? But a whole morning had gone and I had Pheasant, Magpie and Blue Tit on my list so we decided to drive round the corner to Minsmere. There I had a problem of a different sort - actually leaving the nice warm restaurant. We went down to the North Hide and I was bowled over by how packed it was. It was heaving with birds and I settled down to happily work my way through them. Barnacle and Canada Geese, Redshank and Shoveller, Shelduck and Tufted and lots of Gulls to sift through hoping for a Med or a Little Gull. After a while we made our way to the Island Mere hide where Penduline Tit had been seen. We had been lucky with them here before. But the word was they hadn’t been seen either. (Typically they were to return a few days after our visit). On our way back we saw some people looking up at a tree we had passed a short while ago and joining them we were amazed to see a roosting Tawny Owl. We had obviously walked straight under it on our way to the hide. Not only were we missing out on birds which had gone we were missing ones that were there.
Then someone told us of a Pallid Swift at Kessingland and as it was on our way we decided to go for it. He gave us directions we still managed to drive pass twice before finding the unmarked path to the sewage works. We parked up and had brilliant views of a Pallid Swift, shorter, browner and well more pallid than the Swift. We eventually trudged back to the car tired but happy - only to find everyone rushing back from their cars - an Alpine Swift had been announced on their pagers! We gave it a miss I am ashamed to say. Twitching is hard going and it was April Fools day. Instead we drove back up to the holiday cottage in Brancaster content with our lot after a long and tiring day.
The next day we decided to go to Chosely Barns to try for Tree Sparrow. Getting out of the car I immediately heard the trilling of Corn Buntings, Yellowhammers and Skylarks. It was like being transported back in time to my youth. We spent a while trying to find them in the scope when we had a stroke of luck. A blackbird flying across the field had a white ring on its upper breast, clearly visible in the bins as it flew. We had latched on to a Ring Ouzel, it even flew closer towards us giving great views. But no Tree Sparrow so we went to Titchwell - where I read in the log that a Tree Sparrow had been on the feeders just twenty minutes earlier! Making our way up to the beach we couldn’t help noticing the difference between here and Minsmere - that had been heaving. Here it was virtually empty. I knew they had had problems with sea water coming in and had lost the Parrinder hide but it was still a shock. But we did see Avocet, Pochard, Spotted Redshank and a couple of Ruff. Marsh Harriers were also present. Near the old Parrinder hide we saw a really stunning Water Pipit in full spring plumage and several Swallows flying around, my first of the year. From the beach we scoped a huge raft of Common Scoter and managed to pick out three Velvet Scoter, Goldeneye and two Merganser. On the way back we found a handsome looking Wheatear on the field opposite the shop, eventually finding 4 of them. We spent so long admiring them we were the last to leave. But not before spending some time trying to pin down Woodcock on the path leading to the car park where we had seen it twice before - but without any luck. It was a great relief to know that in five minutes we would be at home sipping tea and relaxing instead of the usual slog back home getting stuck behind slow moving traffic with nowhere to overtake.
The winds had blown themselves out the next morning so we went to Snettisham. The far hide is some trek from the car park especially when you keep scanning round for Shore Lark. In the hide we had huge flocks of 100s of Knots, Godwits, Avocet and Oystercatcher all neatly huddled in separate flocks waiting for the tide to go back out. We also found 4 very smart Med Gulls. We made our way back stopping here and there hoping to find a late staying Shore Lark. At Dershingham Bog we had a quick look round. Though there was nothing there we decided to come back later in the year for Nightjar. Stopping along the grass verge we settled down to wait for Golden Pheasant at Wolverton which I have missed twice before and had no expectation of finding. But the United game was on the radio and I didn’t mind waiting when almost straight away it crossed the road and stayed feeding on the grass verge in front of us, giving crippling views. A spectacularly dazzling bird. I remember reading that there were only 2 in the whole area so it was a great find. Back at Cley we walked along the East Bank to the beach and scanned from the dunes hoping to find the Spoonbill someone told us was there. But we headed back to the reserve restaurant without finding it and sat down for a coffee at the huge windows they have there offering fantastic views of the reserve. And saw the Spoonbill ! Later near Holkham pines we saw a Barn Owl flying over the road so we stopped and had great views of that and a Buzzard. At Holkham Hall itself we read Lesser Spotted Woodpecker were present so we stopped off there, squeezing ourselves into a tight gap at the side of the road between two cars only to find an empty car park just up the road. Going through the archway and turning right to the monument you can hear Nuthatch everywhere in the trees. We also managed to photograph Treecreeper. It is possible to find all three woodpeckers here but we only got Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker. There were hordes of people at Lady Anne’s drive so we gave it a miss and missed out on the Shore Lark that was seen there! We had another quick look around Titchwell and found a Snow Goose in company with a Canada Goose. Probably an escape but still nice to see in a very empty looking reserve.
The next day was our last. It had been a great trip. I had missed some I had hoped to find, seen others I wasn’t expecting at all and managed to find 108 birds in all. On the way back we stopped off at Thetford Forest near the Desert Rats Memorial and saw a Woodlark and Willow Tit. Also at Lakenheath we missed out on the Garganey that had been there a while but managed to hear one solitary Sedge Warbler singing weakly from the reeds as well as some more Swallows. Soon the rest will follow and we will definitely be back in a few weeks for a day visit.
Bird List
Red necked Grebe
Great crested Grebe
Little Grebe
Cormorant
Bittern (heard)
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Spoonbill
Mute Swan
Bean Goose
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Barnacle Goose
Brent Goose
Shelduck
Egyptian Goose
Mallard
Gadwall
Pintail
Shoveler
Wigeon
Teal
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Common Scoter
Velvet Scoter
Goldeneye
Red breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Marsh Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Common Buzzard
Kestrel
Red legged Partridge
Pheasant
Golden Pheasant
Water Rail
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Avocet
Ringed Plover
Grey Plover
Lapwing
Knot
Sanderling
Turnstone
Dunlin
Redshank
Spotted Redshank
Black tailed Godwit
Curlew
Snipe
Ruff
Black headed Gull
Common Gull
Med Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser black backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collard Dove
Tawny Owl
Barn Owl
Pallid Swift
Green Woodpecker
Great spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Woodlark
Swallow
Water Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Wheatear
Stonechat
Song Thrush
Blackbird
Ring Ouzel
Blackcap
Sedge Warbler
Cetti’s Warbler
Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Willow Tit
Long tailed Tit
Bearded Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Rook
Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellowhammer
Corn Bunting
We decided to do Minsmere first - it was furthest away from our base and there was a Lesser Kestrel and a Great Grey Shrike at Westleton Heath to start the trip if they proved longish stayers. On the way I kept looking at kestrels from the car to see if I could make out any moustache, blue gray upperwing panel or any other distinguishing marks which would turn it into a Lesser. When we arrived it was freezing and a group of birders were already huddled there. No one had seen it and the word was it might have gone. Still I settled down to wait in the bitter cold. I overheard some chat about some Woodlarks but couldn’t pick those out either. I resolved to concentrate more. Surely if it was still present it would be.. well behaving like a Kestrel. Hovering and not that difficult to spot. The one I saw in Greece was perched on a fence. Then a shout went up, it had just flown down. Could I tick it? I was looking in the general direction at the time after all. Could I tick it as Lesser Kestrel just because someone else said it was? Maybe I could list it as I was "present when seen". Ellen got bored staring through a scope at one spot for ages and went to talk to another group... who had just seen Dartford Warbler. Should I give up and go for that instead? Maybe I should start a Dipped list. We upped tripods and went and had a look. After a while came the next decision - whether to stay or to go. We had waited so long it would be a waste if we left now. How secretive could a kestrel be? But a whole morning had gone and I had Pheasant, Magpie and Blue Tit on my list so we decided to drive round the corner to Minsmere. There I had a problem of a different sort - actually leaving the nice warm restaurant. We went down to the North Hide and I was bowled over by how packed it was. It was heaving with birds and I settled down to happily work my way through them. Barnacle and Canada Geese, Redshank and Shoveller, Shelduck and Tufted and lots of Gulls to sift through hoping for a Med or a Little Gull. After a while we made our way to the Island Mere hide where Penduline Tit had been seen. We had been lucky with them here before. But the word was they hadn’t been seen either. (Typically they were to return a few days after our visit). On our way back we saw some people looking up at a tree we had passed a short while ago and joining them we were amazed to see a roosting Tawny Owl. We had obviously walked straight under it on our way to the hide. Not only were we missing out on birds which had gone we were missing ones that were there.
Then someone told us of a Pallid Swift at Kessingland and as it was on our way we decided to go for it. He gave us directions we still managed to drive pass twice before finding the unmarked path to the sewage works. We parked up and had brilliant views of a Pallid Swift, shorter, browner and well more pallid than the Swift. We eventually trudged back to the car tired but happy - only to find everyone rushing back from their cars - an Alpine Swift had been announced on their pagers! We gave it a miss I am ashamed to say. Twitching is hard going and it was April Fools day. Instead we drove back up to the holiday cottage in Brancaster content with our lot after a long and tiring day.
The next day we decided to go to Chosely Barns to try for Tree Sparrow. Getting out of the car I immediately heard the trilling of Corn Buntings, Yellowhammers and Skylarks. It was like being transported back in time to my youth. We spent a while trying to find them in the scope when we had a stroke of luck. A blackbird flying across the field had a white ring on its upper breast, clearly visible in the bins as it flew. We had latched on to a Ring Ouzel, it even flew closer towards us giving great views. But no Tree Sparrow so we went to Titchwell - where I read in the log that a Tree Sparrow had been on the feeders just twenty minutes earlier! Making our way up to the beach we couldn’t help noticing the difference between here and Minsmere - that had been heaving. Here it was virtually empty. I knew they had had problems with sea water coming in and had lost the Parrinder hide but it was still a shock. But we did see Avocet, Pochard, Spotted Redshank and a couple of Ruff. Marsh Harriers were also present. Near the old Parrinder hide we saw a really stunning Water Pipit in full spring plumage and several Swallows flying around, my first of the year. From the beach we scoped a huge raft of Common Scoter and managed to pick out three Velvet Scoter, Goldeneye and two Merganser. On the way back we found a handsome looking Wheatear on the field opposite the shop, eventually finding 4 of them. We spent so long admiring them we were the last to leave. But not before spending some time trying to pin down Woodcock on the path leading to the car park where we had seen it twice before - but without any luck. It was a great relief to know that in five minutes we would be at home sipping tea and relaxing instead of the usual slog back home getting stuck behind slow moving traffic with nowhere to overtake.
The winds had blown themselves out the next morning so we went to Snettisham. The far hide is some trek from the car park especially when you keep scanning round for Shore Lark. In the hide we had huge flocks of 100s of Knots, Godwits, Avocet and Oystercatcher all neatly huddled in separate flocks waiting for the tide to go back out. We also found 4 very smart Med Gulls. We made our way back stopping here and there hoping to find a late staying Shore Lark. At Dershingham Bog we had a quick look round. Though there was nothing there we decided to come back later in the year for Nightjar. Stopping along the grass verge we settled down to wait for Golden Pheasant at Wolverton which I have missed twice before and had no expectation of finding. But the United game was on the radio and I didn’t mind waiting when almost straight away it crossed the road and stayed feeding on the grass verge in front of us, giving crippling views. A spectacularly dazzling bird. I remember reading that there were only 2 in the whole area so it was a great find. Back at Cley we walked along the East Bank to the beach and scanned from the dunes hoping to find the Spoonbill someone told us was there. But we headed back to the reserve restaurant without finding it and sat down for a coffee at the huge windows they have there offering fantastic views of the reserve. And saw the Spoonbill ! Later near Holkham pines we saw a Barn Owl flying over the road so we stopped and had great views of that and a Buzzard. At Holkham Hall itself we read Lesser Spotted Woodpecker were present so we stopped off there, squeezing ourselves into a tight gap at the side of the road between two cars only to find an empty car park just up the road. Going through the archway and turning right to the monument you can hear Nuthatch everywhere in the trees. We also managed to photograph Treecreeper. It is possible to find all three woodpeckers here but we only got Great Spotted and Green Woodpecker. There were hordes of people at Lady Anne’s drive so we gave it a miss and missed out on the Shore Lark that was seen there! We had another quick look around Titchwell and found a Snow Goose in company with a Canada Goose. Probably an escape but still nice to see in a very empty looking reserve.
The next day was our last. It had been a great trip. I had missed some I had hoped to find, seen others I wasn’t expecting at all and managed to find 108 birds in all. On the way back we stopped off at Thetford Forest near the Desert Rats Memorial and saw a Woodlark and Willow Tit. Also at Lakenheath we missed out on the Garganey that had been there a while but managed to hear one solitary Sedge Warbler singing weakly from the reeds as well as some more Swallows. Soon the rest will follow and we will definitely be back in a few weeks for a day visit.
Bird List
Red necked Grebe
Great crested Grebe
Little Grebe
Cormorant
Bittern (heard)
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Spoonbill
Mute Swan
Bean Goose
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Barnacle Goose
Brent Goose
Shelduck
Egyptian Goose
Mallard
Gadwall
Pintail
Shoveler
Wigeon
Teal
Pochard
Tufted Duck
Common Scoter
Velvet Scoter
Goldeneye
Red breasted Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Marsh Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Common Buzzard
Kestrel
Red legged Partridge
Pheasant
Golden Pheasant
Water Rail
Moorhen
Coot
Oystercatcher
Avocet
Ringed Plover
Grey Plover
Lapwing
Knot
Sanderling
Turnstone
Dunlin
Redshank
Spotted Redshank
Black tailed Godwit
Curlew
Snipe
Ruff
Black headed Gull
Common Gull
Med Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser black backed Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collard Dove
Tawny Owl
Barn Owl
Pallid Swift
Green Woodpecker
Great spotted Woodpecker
Skylark
Woodlark
Swallow
Water Pipit
Meadow Pipit
Pied Wagtail
Grey Wagtail
Wren
Dunnock
Robin
Wheatear
Stonechat
Song Thrush
Blackbird
Ring Ouzel
Blackcap
Sedge Warbler
Cetti’s Warbler
Chiffchaff
Great Tit
Coal Tit
Blue Tit
Willow Tit
Long tailed Tit
Bearded Tit
Nuthatch
Treecreeper
Magpie
Jay
Jackdaw
Rook
Crow
Starling
House Sparrow
Tree Sparrow
Chaffinch
Linnet
Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Reed Bunting
Yellowhammer
Corn Bunting
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