Norfolk Bound

 A first visit to Norfolk this year in the company of my brother David and former resident of this parish John Barn. The weather for the most part stayed fine even if the wind got a little cooler in the afternoon. We enjoyed a decent day's birding which delivered a steady supply of interesting stuff to look at.

Stonechat and Reed Bunting

Our first highlight was a roadside Barn Owl seen in the fens between Peterborough and Guyhirn. We made our first stop of the day at Dersingham Bog where we spent an interesting forty minutes or so strolling around. Best bit was seeing four Woodlarks but they were ably supported by my first Cuckoo and Grasshopper Warbler of the year as well as Stonechat and Crossbills while a Siskin flew over the car park. From here we moved on to Holme where David had arranged to meet Mr Barn.

Ring Ouzel and Cuckoo.

John had already seen what he thought was a probable Ring Ouzel before we arrived and it didn't take long for a sighting of a female to confirm his suspicion. We walked along the coastal path towards the reserve seeing some good birds as we went. Two more singing Grasshopper Warblers and my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year were heard and Cuckoo was heard and then seen. The Cuckoo was later joined by a second bird and they had a bit of an aerial spat before going their separate ways. Two Grey Partridges were my first for several years while singles of Ruff and Greenshanks were the only ones that we saw today. Having arrived at the observatory and paid for our permits we set off back towards the car park. Along the way we picked up two fine male Ring Ouzels, a male Wheatear and a Whimbrel.

Greenshank and Marsh Harrier

Before going on to Titchwell there was a detour to a spot near Brancaster where we sadly failed to find the reported Wryneck but did get an overflying Mediterranean Gull. There were quite a few more Meds at Titchwell which also hosted four Sandwich Terns. While the reserve did not really scale the heights that it has in the past it wasn't too bad. John saw and I heard Bearded Tit and there was a decent sized flock of mixed waders that included Sanderlings and Knots amongst their number. There was not much on the sea other than an immature drake Eider though we didn't linger too long at the beach as the wind was pretty cold. We didn't add too much more to our day list though all three of us were content with our haul. Not much other wildlife was seen other than Brown Hares, Muntjacs and a few Peacocks. Apologies for the rather poor nature of some of the record shots but with the hides closed at both reserves it was difficult to get close to the subjects!

Blackcap and Muntjac