Long time no post - Norfolk (Part 1)

Norfolk is one of those places that when you mention it in passing to a birder you generally get the response.... "ahhhhhh, birder's paradise!".... And here's a reason for that.... No matter what time of year you visit, the bird-watching in Norfolk is spectacular.... go in spring and anything could be seen.... Red-rumped Swallows, Bee-eaters and Golden Oriole are regulars (the latter still holding on as a breeding species there), but other megas are possible... In the last 10 years it has had spring Great Snipe, Black Lark, Collared Flycatcher, Killdeer, Alpine Accentor and Pine Bunting to name a few! Summer can pick up some pretty amazing stuff too, Greater Sand Plover, Dark-eyed Junco, Trumpeter Finch, (the list can go on and on).... But really, autumn and winter are the real hum-dinging times in Norfolk.... some of the most ludicrously rare birds have turned up during the hallowed months of September and October, last years was a Rufous-tailed Robin that spent just the one night near Wells... the year before that the well-twitched Empidonax flycatcher sp. at Blakeney Point (thought to be Yellow-bellied Flycatcher.), but plenty of scarcities to make up the numbers; Blyth's Reed, Barred, Greenish, Raddes, Dusky, Arctic, Pallas's, Yellow-browed and Hume's Yellow-browed Warblers, Red-flanked Bluetail, Woodchat, Red-backed and Great Grey Shrikes, Nearctic waders and others are now annual vagrants giving visiting birders plenty of opportunity to go ut and find their own rares.

Winter, though, is Goose season... thousands upon thousands upon thousands of Pink-footed and Brent Geese litter the north Norfolk coastline and more often than not bringing in rare wildfowl like Black Brant, Red-breasted, Ross's, Snow, Taiga and Tundra Bean Geese. The last couple of years have also brought in a couple of Lesser White-fronted Goose... the jewel in the crown for birders across the country. The spectacle of watching these enormous skeins drift across the wintery skies is a must for any avid birdwatcher and with this in mind, I decided to go across with my mate Ross for a couple of days earlier last year to experience winter in Norfolk for the first time.

Day 1

I picked Ross up from the train station in Watford on the way and by 10 am we were parking up at Titchwell RSPB reserve to have a look for a Coue's Arctic Redpoll that had been present for the last few weeks. Coue's Arctic Redpoll are a (fairly) recent split from the fast growing family of Redpolls, but this time from Arctic Redpoll. The nominate race hornemannii is mostly seen up in the north with the Shetlands enjoying the vast majority of records. Indeed, when I was up there in October 2009 we ended up seeing 7! These guys in my mind are true Arctic Redpolls, just a massive fluffy snowball of a bird whereas the Coue's Arctic subspecies exelipes is slighter and has a smaller and "pinched-in" bill. The main diagnostic feature though are the undertail coverts which are gleaming white, usually with a narrow dark shaft-streak down the longest feather. It was not showing very well when we eventually found it, flitting in the tops of the alders with a large group of Lesser Redpolls, and with the weather taking a turn for the worse, we decided to mooch down to Cley and Salthouse Car Park to look for Snow Buntings and try the Redpoll again if the weather improved.

This was a great decision, as we got to the car the heavens really opened but thankfully, by the time we got to Salthouse, it had subsided. It was getting colder though, and with the forecast stating heavy snow, we wanted to do as much as possible without getting stuck out in the whiteout. As we turned up to Salthouse car park, the flock of Snow Buntings appeared as if they were waiting just for us and fed all around the car. I can't get enough of these cracking little buntings and these weren't bothered by us at all.

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) at Salthouse Beach car park

Not only were the Snow Buntings showing well, but also the Knot and Turnstone were only feet away giving me a chance to use my new camera set-up (a Canon 7d and a 100-400mm lens) to full effect!

Knot (Calidris canuta) at Salthouse Beach Car Park

Knot (Calidris canuta) at Salthouse Beach Car Park

Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) at Salthouse Beach Car Park

Turnstone (Arenaria interpres) at Salthouse Beach Car Park

All the while we were there, huge skeins of Pink-footed Geese were flying over squeaking away.

 

Pink-footed Geese (Anser brachyrhynchus)

After spending a while with the Knot and Turnstone, it started to snow a little, so we thought we'd head back tothe hostel for a cup of tea and prepare for the next day.... At the hostel we met another birder who told us about a place just up the road at Burnham Overy Staithe where Barn Owls hunting by the roadside every evening. So after fuelling up (and getting some much needed heat into the fingers) we set off for the site.

On arrival there indeed was a Barn Owl hunting over the back of the fields.... then another..... then another.... then a fourth flew into view! For two hours we watched these fantastic birds floating across the fields, sometimes getting close enough for some great views, the weather was a bit dull though so alot of my photos were pretty pants! This was the pick of the bunch!

Barn Owl (Tyto alba)

After a couple of hours we headed back to the hostel to get ready for the next days birding.