A Winter weekend break in Norfolk. (1 Viewer)

[Pam_m]

Last weekend was to be a weekend visiting family friends in Norfolk and meeting up with my daughter Emma who had made the journey to Norfolk the previous Tuesday (16th).

On the journey 4 Kestrels were to be seen hovering. At the B&B early in the morning as I walked along the track and in the B&B garden I saw Moorhen, Kestrel, Wren, Wood pigeon, Blackbird, Jackdaw, Crow, Dunnock, Magpie, L.T.Tits and Fieldfare. I had great views of one Fieldfare as it vied with the Blackbirds for the fallen apples in the garden of the B&B. I walked the short distance to the Common where I had my encounter with the Dark Breasted Barn owl in April but sadly no Owl of any description was to be seen this time.

On Saturday the day was spent at Hickling Broad which has vast expanses of open grassland, marshes and water. Hardy Eastern European ponies, cattle and sheep are grazed here to keep the restored areas of the nature reserve clear of invasive vegetation. Marsh Harriers were regularly seen quartering and perching, at one time 11 were in view, a great sight to see. A Peregrine appeared and was mobbed by a Marsh Harrier but the Peregrine stood it's ground and then perched high on a tree surveying the marshes. Coots, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe and a Sparrowhawk who almost flew into the Bittern hide were seen along with a Heron who caught a rather large fish and then flew off with it! The day was overcast and drizzle was to be with us for most of the day. Not ideal lighting for photographs.

Later that afternoon we walked to Stubb Mill Raptor roost watchpoint. We had distant views of Marsh Harriers, flocks of Geese and Barn Owls. 3 Common Cranes flew across the marshes which was a first for me and a nice end of year tick. 2 Chinese Water Deer were seen grazing, another first for me! A quiet roost but nonetheless very enjoyable to see.

I have added a few photo's taken over the weekend and I know that Emma wishes to add a few photo's of her own and a short resume of her time in Norfolk.

 

[NIK III]

Shame about the weather Pam but you saw some interesting things. That number of Marsh Harriers at one time must have been really special, not to mention one mobbing a Peregrine. A Heron strike, the Barn Owls, Cranes and the deer must have all combined to make it a really good day. Even the B&B sounds interesting. Nice to hear about your weekend and see the pics, especially the Fieldfare.

 

[palval147]

That B&B sounds a good place to stay for birds, Pam. I like the photo of the Fieldfare. It does look as if it was very cold there from the scenic photo's.
Do you know what breed those Eastern European ponies that graze Hickling Broad are? Trust me to ask thato

 

[Kits]

That sounds like a very enjoyable break, Pam, and you certainly saw a good selection of birds. I am glad you all had such a good time.

 

[brianfm]

Glad you enjoyed the weekend Pam.

I have been to both Stubb Mill and Hickling Broad and in fact I'm sure I stood where your telescope is pictured at Stubb Mill and saw a Chinese Water Deer too! ;-)

Great that you saw so many M Harriers at one time. Wonderul birds and flight.

I seem to remember it was March some years ago when I was down there and it was freezing cold.

 

[Pam_m]

Thanks for your kind replies Roy, Val, Kits and Brian.

Val, they are are konik ponies. We had a good view of four of them, quite an endearing pony. I wish I had taken a photo of them now! I will if I go there again.
http://images.google.co.uk/imgres?i...3&prev=/images?q=konik+ponies&um=1&hl=en&sa=N
I thought of you today, Val! I was at Upton Warren collecting the Christmas dinner from the farm and saw these 2 little charmers who wanted their pic taken!

You probably did stand in the same place, Brian, the photo was taken at the 'Watchpoint'. The deer were directly in front of the point, I wish the weather and daylight had been better for a photo.
I must say that if anyone intends to visit either of these places to be prepared for a good walk! Well worth the walk though!:t:

........................

 

[Peewit]

hi Pam

I loved reading your report about your adventures in Norfolk. Your picture of the Fieldfare is super. They are such difficult birds to see at the best of times. :t:

What a fabulous sounding weekend with Emma, and the amount of BoP's that you managed to see goes without saying. To see a bird taking it's fish dinner with it must have been a special moment for you. :-O

To see the Common Cranes would have been a different experience. They are such graceful birds. The Cranes where featured on one of the TV programs recently - I think it was Natures top 40.?

Like Val has asked, I would have asked the same question about the ponies. I hate to say this but I have never seen a Konik pony before. They must be a rare breed.
Lovely colours, and they look all round Moorland ponies, hardy, and can put up with being outdoors all year round.

Love to see more anyday! :-O

 

[palval147]

The Konik ponies are sweet, Pam. I love that chestnut colouring with flaxen mane & tail. They look a bit like Haflingers.
The black Shetlands are cute too. It's very good of you to think of me when you are out & about. Thank you.:t:

 

[Pam_m]

I am pleased you enjoyed my report, Kathy, thank you!

I also thought they looked similiar to Haflingers, Val!

I remembered that you asked awhile ago if I had taken some horse photo's when I reported on a bridleway walk, I am like an elephant...never forgets!o

 

[pie]

You always seem to have wonderful adventures in Norfolk Pam, what a super report.
I'm having pc probs & can only view pics as thumbnails at the mo, but I can see they look good.
Looking forward to Emma's report.

 

[Emma]

I would like to share my Norfolk birding adventures to RSPB Titchwell and RSPB Strumshaw Fen in the broads with you all!

RSPB Titchwell
I made my way up the the North Norfolk coast with my birding chum Matt Green and once we got to Sheringham we then caught the coast hopper bus to RSPB Titchwell. The weather was very unseasonal and we were treated to clear blue skies and sunshine for the whole day!

As we made our way to the visitor centre we were greeted by several friendly Robins (see pic), 2 Goldcrest chasing among the trees and a group of Chaffinches having a spritely bath in a puddle alongside the road, they were probably going to dry off in the lovely sunshine afterwards!

Along the footpath to the beach we managed to see several Marsh Harriers, a Kestrel, a Little Egret, Linnets and a flock of 50 Common Snipe on the outskirts of one of the marsh pools. The sunshine made such a difference for everything, even the birds looked to be enjoying the weather and it also made a difference for my photographs, I managed a pic of 2 Black Tailed Godwits in the still water, it is a really serene pic to me! We also managed to see Shoveller, Teal, Pochard, Pintail, Wigeon, Goldeneye, Brent Geese and the waders included Avocet, Ruff, Dunlin, Lapwings and Golden Plover which put on several aerial displays for us! The sunlight caught their plumage perfectly while they were up in the sky but to me they looked even more spectacular as they were coming back in to roost as they made some unusual shapes as they came down, one being a 's' shape as it looked liked they had been caught up in a mini whirlwind!

Titchwell beach is usually very windy but today was a different story as it was calm and still with clear blue skies as far as the eye could see! We made our way down to the shoreline and were treated to some super close up views of the birds as the tide was going out and revealing the oyster/mussel beds where the birds feed, on here were Turnstone, Sanderling, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Grey Plover and Black Tailed Godwit.

On the way out of Titchwell we saw a Barn Owl quartering in one of the fields and were treated to a super sunset as we waited for the bus for the ride back to Sheringham! When we were on the bus we had a fly past of thousands of Pink Feet Geese and we also saw another Barn Owl near to Cley marshes, this was a super end to a brilliant day out on the coast!!

RSPB Strumpshaw Fen
Next on the agenda was a fleeting visit to Strumpshaw Fen in the broads to hopefully see my bogey bird the Bittern! Again the weather was un-seasonally dry and clear with lovely blue skies, this made the reed beds look even more spectacular than usual! At the visitor hide we managed to see Marsh Harrier, Greylag Geese, Cormorant, Shoveller, Teal, Tufted Duck and Pochard. We then made our way to the Fen hide and the broad was unusually quiet with just 2 Adult Mute Swan and 3 juveniles, a Grey Heron and a fly over by 4 Common Snipe being our initial sightings. As we scanned the reed beds we managed to see a Female Marsh Harrier perched close enough for a photograph and then I managed to get another pic of her in flight (see attached pic), she almost looks like an angel in the pic! After about 20 mins or so we spotted a large beige/buff coloured bird flying out from the reeds to the West of the hide.....it was a Bittern!!! I was soooo pleased to have finally seen my bogey bird and we were treated to super views of it flying in front of the hide over a cleared patch of reeds before it disappeared from our view, I didn't manage a pic of the Bittern as I decided to enjoy the sight with my own eyes and didn't want to miss a second of seeing this super bird!! My other notable highlight was hearing several Bearded Tits in the reeds close to the hide but I think they must have been camera shy on this particular occasion!!

Seeing the Bittern topped off a super few days and my Norfolk break was to get even better after our visit to Hickling Broad and Stubb Mill to see the Marsh Harriers and Common Cranes! What a brilliant end to a years birding!!

 

[Emma]

Just a few more pics!

 

[Peewit]

Hi Emma

Love your report as was mentioned by Pam. I loved reading it and the pictures are just the best to go along with your report, and precise. Of course Matt would has seen his quota too, so it is good to have two sets of eyes watching out for any interesting birds anytime. :t:

Between the two of you, you have seen a super selection of birds at different hides. Titchwell has a great selection of birds from what I can remember from past experience from this year :t:

Love the cheeky Robin in your pictures as he symbolises Xmas such a lot so he is my dear to my heart at the moment. :t:

So pleased that you managed to see your Bittern and even though you did not get a picture of him, it is still the thought of knowing that you have seen one - that is the main thing. :t:

The BoP's are always spectacular and where would we be without seeing them in our favourite places. :t:

Love the additional pictures too wow factor. The Marsh Harrier is a beauty anyday.

 

[Kits]

Fabulous account, Emma, you certainly saw lots - and well done on the Bittern! Lovely pics - especially the one with your shadows! Thanks for sharing your trip with us.

 

[palval147]

I enjoyed reading your report, Emma, brilliant you saw a Bittern. Lovely photo's, particularly I like the Marsh Harrier in flight, she does look like an angel.

 

[matt green]

Great report and pics, Pam and Emma:t:

Nice meeting up with you all again and glad you all enjoyed your Norfolk break! It was great that you both managed to see some of our Norfolk specialities including the Cranes and Bittern etc, shame we had a little bit of wet weather at Stubb Mill but seeing all those Marsh Harriers en-mass was worth it...wasn't it?

Matt

 

[Pam_m]

It certainly was worth it, Matt! Thanks for your guided tour! :t: I just wish I had been a day earlier..I have yet to see an elusive Bittern..:-Co

A super report and photo's, Emma!:t:

 

[Emma]

Thank you all for your replies!!

Titchwell never fails to provide me with some super bird sightings Kathy, it is one of those places that you could go back to everyday and always see something different!! I was hoping to get some good views of Snow Buntings this time but this didn't materialise on this visit....I will have to have another attempt in the New Year!!o