Guided Birdwatching Tours and Holidays in Norfolk

The undoubted highlight of the first winter period, and probably the year, was the discovery of an adult White-crowned Sparrow over-wintering in a garden in Cley village which was only the fifth to be recorded in Britain and Ireland. Found on 3rd January, this transatlantic vagrant went on to stay for over two months, delighting many birdwatchers and passers-by during its prolonged stay. Towards the end of its residence it could often be heard in song, and thanks to seed that was being put out for it, it regularly showed very well at close quarters. With bad press often being levelled at twitchers, it was very welcoming to witness what was a very well organised event, which in turn allowed thousands of visitors to enjoy this stunning bird. By the end of its stay, over £6300 had been voluntarily donated to the on-site collection which is to be given to the restoration fund for Cley church.

At Salthouse 3 or 4 Lapland Buntings remained from the double figures that were present in Nov/Dec and due to the seed that was regularly being put out for them, they had been joined by an ever increasing flock of Snow Buntings which peaked at around 70 birds. Being incredibly tame at times, they gave impressive views and were a popular attraction for birders throughout January and February. Although being rather scarce this winter, 3 Shorelarks were to be regularly seen nearby along the shingle bank at Cley from late Jan into April.

Geese are always well represented in the county and, as has become the norm, these were joined by a number of scarce and rare species. 4 Ross's Geese and 2 Snow Geese were present within the Pinkfeet flocks that returned to the county, and also a few Tundra Bean and Barnacle Geese were also to be seen within the flocks. Up to 7 Black Brants and the odd Pale-bellied Brent were to be seen amongst the Dark-bellied Brent Geese that winter along the north coast, and as usual both Taiga Bean and White-fronted Geese had returned to winter in the County.

Other highlights during January included a Waxwing which spent most of the month coming to feed on berries in the co-op car park in Cromer, a Smew on Holkham Park Lake, Shag in Wells harbour, Richards Pipit on Terrington Marsh, Grey Phalarope at Waxham and a Great Grey Shrike on Roydon Common. In the Norfolk Broads up to 27 Common Cranes were to be seen as they flew to their roost, with 3 (a pair with an immature bird) regularly being seen in roadside fields.

February

The main highlight of February was a Bittern which took up residence on a small pond on Beeston Regis Common. Having apparently been seen by dog walkers since early January, news of the birds presence eventually filtered out mid-month whereupon it enthralled its admirers as it gave stunning views out in the open only feet away. Its diet consisted mainly of frogs which it painstakingly stalked, often freezing for minutes on end looking for the slightest movement in the water below before expertly catching its prey which it proceeded to swallow whole, a remarkable feat given the size of some of the frogs it caught as illustrated in the photo on the right!

Other notable records during the month included a Rough-legged Buzzard which was regularly seen in the Burnham Norton area as it hunted the fields and saltmarsh. A Dark-breasted Barn Owl (the race which occurs in mainland Europe), was discovered wintering in the south of the county on Wacton Common, and was to be seen most evenings through Feb and March, and a Great Northern Diver spent a couple of weeks inland on Blickling Hall Lake.

Both Snow Goose and Ross's Goose remained throughout the month but had now relocated with some of the Pinkfeet from north Norfolk over to the east of the county, and up to 7 Black Brants remained with the Brent Goose flocks along the north coast. Up to 25 Common Cranes were in the Broads, with the family party of 3 still to be seen on most visits. The White-crowned Sparrow remained all month, and on the warm sunny days at the months end could be heard singing, a useful aid for locating it now it had moved from gardens over into an overgrown paddock opposite. At Salthouse the Lapland and Snow Buntings continued to be a regular attraction for visiting birders.

Three Great Grey Shrikes were present in the county during the month, with one in the Brecks, one in Burnham Overy Dunes and one which took up residence on Kelling Heath. The latter was the most popular due to its extended stay into April, although the local small bird and lizard populations were not so keen on its arrival as they became its regular diet!

March

The first couple of weeks of the month were dominated by long staying birds from February, with the White-crowned Sparrow, Rough-legged Buzzard, Ross's and Snow Geese, Black Brant, Dark-breasted Barn Owl and Great Grey Shrike all continuing to delight visitors.

The first notable new arrival for the month was a juvenile Glaucous Gull at the mouth of the River Yare at Gorleston, which, like most gulls, could be readily attracted to close quarters with the aid of a loaf of bread.

After spending February along Blakeney Point, the 3 Shorelarks returned to Cley where they favoured the shingle bank around the top end of the East Bank and were seen daily throughout the month and into April. Being in a national decline, Twite were again fairly scarce this winter with only a couple of flocks in the north west of the county earlier in the year, so a small group found at Morston Harbour were welcome, with some of the birds being colour-ringed from the scheme based on their breeding grounds in northern England.

A group of Lapland and Snow Buntings were at Cley from mid-month, which like the birds at Salthouse allowed close approach and good photographic opportunities, with the male Laplands occasionally being seen singing from the fence posts bordering the eye-field.

As the month progressed, Avocet numbers rapidly grew with birds returning to breed adding to those that had overwintered on the north coast, and both Dartford Warbler and Woodlark were to be enjoyed singing on a local heath along with the resident Stonechats. Sightings of Mediterranean Gulls moving along the coast increased with the adult birds now in their resplendent summer plumage.

Spring migration was slow to commence, with cold northerly winds not helping matters so a Chiffchaff in my garden over the snow-bound Easter weekend was hopefully a taste of things soon to come, and as the wind finally swung round to the south-east in the last week of the month a stunning male White-spotted Bluethroat was found at Winterton on the 26th, staying till the next day to the delight of many observers.

As the month closed, Wheatears, Black Redstarts, Firecrests and Blackcaps were also evident in small numbers heralding the arrival of spring.

April

April began with old favourites such as the Black Brant, Shorelarks, Glaucous Gull and Great Grey Shrike still present, and a few Sand Martins and Swallows trickling through.

Stone Curlews were now to be seen in the Brecks and at Sheringham 2 Purple Sandpipers joined the Turnstone flock on the sea defences along the promenade, with a few Rock Pipits also present there.

After the invasion of Cattle Egrets into South-west Britain in December 2007, and with around 100 still remaining in the Country throughout March, as hoped, one finally made it into Norfolk when one was found at Stiffkey from the 4th onwards, with it or another being seen in the Burnham Norton area at the months end where the Rough-legged Buzzard was still to be seen.

On the morning of the 8th, a Black Kite flew through my patch and was subsequently tracked right along the north coast, when it transpired that there were actually two birds moving separately west that morning. The following few days saw more summer visitors and common passage migrants moving through the county, a pair of Garganey had a short stay on Kelling Water Meadows and by mid-month Montagu's Harriers had returned to the county to summer. The 19th saw an Iceland Gull found at Trimingham and a Common Crane was tracked eastwards along the coast.

A keen easterly wind had been blowing for a few days now, and this produced the second major rarity in Norfolk this year when a male Black Lark, only the 3rd British record, was discovered at Winterton on the afternoon of the 20th. As it proved to be quite a flighty individual it was sensibly watched from a distance to avoid flushing it, but it also gave good views as it flew overhead on a couple of occasions as it moved around the north dunes. Many thought the bird on Anglesey in June 2003 was a once in a lifetime occurence, so this record reinforced the potential that Norfolk has in producing the wholly unexpected. It was still present early the following morning but quickly moved on, but as some consolation both Hoopoe and Wryneck were found by those searching for it later that day.

Migrants continued to arrive with the beautiful song of the Nightingale now being heard, Reed and Sedge Warblers had returned to the coastal reedbeds, and reeling Grasshopper Warblers were also starting to arrive. The first of a good influx of Black Terns along the coast were recorded at Stiffkey Fen, a pair of Ruddy Ducks delighted many as they set up home on a roadside pool at Cley, and on the 26th two trips of Dotterel were found at Acle and Choseley, with the later group going on to stay for a couple of weeks. A Whiskered Tern graced Holkham freshmarsh for the afternoon and evening on the 28th and as the month closed, a superb male Redstart was at Beeston Bump.

May

The month began with a Richards Pipit at Kelling, a drake Green-winged Teal at Salthouse, and a Subalpine Warbler at Sea Palling.

Black Terns continued to be evident along the coast, with the most popular birds being at Stiffkey Fen and Kelling Water Meadows, and Little Gulls also began to pass through with good numbers congregating at Titchwell throughout the month.

As usual passage waders began to move through the county from early in the month, with Temminck's Stints to be seen at Cley, Titchwell and Stiffkey Fen, Wood Sandpipers were also evident in small numbers, including 6 at Salthouse along with a couple of Little Stints, the odd Curlew Sandpiper was also to be found, along with small numbers of Common Sandpipers, Greenshanks, Spotted Redshanks, Ruff and Little Ringed Plovers. Summer visitors such as Turtle Dove and Cuckoo were also now to be seen.

A Baikal Teal found on Blakeney Freshmarsh on the 8th caused initial excitement, but subsequent reports that it bore a ring relegated it to the escape category. On the 10th, a male Grey-headed Wagtail was found amongst a flock of Yellow Wagtails on a cliff-top field at Beeston Regis, along with a probable female and a second male bird which is pictured right, however this second male had a fairly pronounced white supercilium which pointed to it probably having influences from another race of yellow wagtail as intermediate forms regularly occur.

Good numbers of Sandwich Terns were to be seen offshore carrying food up to their breeding colony, with smaller numbers of Common and Little Terns also present in the area. A Garganey was at Cley, where pairs of Marsh Harriers could be seen carrying out food-passes and Bearded Tits could be seen regularly flying back and forth over the reedbeds. Also there, a Bittern could be heard booming and was occasionally seen in flight.

Golden Orioles returned to their main site on the Norfolk/Suffolk border near Lakenheath, with this site also hosting a pair of Red-footed Falcons mid-month, with the female continuing to be seen into June. Two Bitterns gave very good flight views as they flew around together for around five minutes, with very close views of hunting Hobbies and a Spotted Flycatcher in the poplar plantation adding to a very enjoyable visit to this newly established RSPB reserve. A fairly elusive Hoopoe was in Burnham Overy Dunes, where the Cattle Egret made another brief appearance.

During the third week of the month, the Honey Buzzards returned to summer and Nightjars could now be heard churring on local heathland. The morning of the 21st saw a Great Reed Warbler put in a brief appearance at Cley, and with fairly strong onshore winds on the 24th, small numbers of Manx Shearwaters (c10 per hour) could be seen passing offshore during the morning along with Gannets, Fulmars and Kittiwakes. The 24th also saw the finding of a Wood Warbler on Bodham Common which stayed into June.

Following a Bank Holiday weekend of north-easterly winds, rain and coastal mist, there was a good arrival of birds, with a Red-backed Shrike at East Runton, a Bluethroat at West Runton, Citrine Wagtail at Titchwell, Icterine Warblers at Sidestrand, Cley and Wells, and a Red-throated Pipit on Blakeney Point all found on the 27th, with at least 4 more Icterine Warblers found along the coast the following day, and as the month came to an end, a Tawny Pipit was found at Waxham which stayed into June.

June

June started with a bang with a Trumpeter Finch on Blakeney Point on the 1st, which was the 13th British record, and yet another first for Norfolk, the third such new bird for the county so far this year. Having been found the previous day, news was released once measures had been put in place to protect the nesting species in the area, and although initially being mobile and elusive, it finally settled down and showed well on and off for the rest of the day to the delight and relief of those who had made the gruelling hour long walk along the shingle beach. It went on to stay for a further 3 days and the regular boat trips across to the point from Morston came in handy for those who didn't fancy the walk!

The Tawny Pipit at Waxham stayed a couple of days into June, a Hoopoe was found in gardens at Stiffkey, going on to stay albeit elusively for a week or so, and a Dusky Warbler on Blakeney Point on the evening of the 4th was a surprise spring record for what is usually a late autumn vagrant.

A Common Rosefinch was at Cromer on the 5th, and on the 7th a Bee-eater was discovered behind Northrepps church, which due to the poor weather, kept faithfull to a small area throughout the day providing some with their first chance to catch up with one of these beautiful birds in the county. Despite the weather, it was feeding well and was seen to expertly take a number of bees during aerial sallies from its chosen perch atop a hedgerow or from nearby overhead wires. Still present the following day, it soon took advantage of the sunnier conditions moving off early morning.

Although they were initially very mobile, 2 Spoonbills which had been first seen on the evening of the 5th eventually settled down at Cley on the afternoon of the 7th where they were subsequently joined by a third bird. Numbers present then fluctuated for the rest of the month, with a fourth and a fifth bird also occasionally being present. Also at Cley mid-month were a Curlew Sandpiper, a few immature Little Gulls and a Ruff which was sporting its resplendent summer dress, and a Chinese Water Deer was a nice sight there too.

A few more Manx Shearwaters were recorded during occasional onshore winds and Common Crossbills continued to pass through the county including a nice flock on Kelling Heath which stayed for a number of days and were occasionally to be seen coming down to puddles to drink. Also there, and most curious, was a Nightjar which was singing during the day, and which we heard 'churr' 3 times in the space of an hour!

Spring Red-backed Shrikes traditionally occur into June, and this year was no exception with one briefly at Cley on the 6th, and then one around Waxham and Sea Palling from mid-month. Roseate Terns make occasional brief summertime appearances in the county, and three were found on Arnolds Marsh at Cley on the morning of the 19th with varying numbers being seen intermittently for the remainder of the month, with five birds being seen on the 26th.

At Hickling a Lesser Grey Shrike was found on private land on the 20th, but due to the landowners kindly allowing access we were all able to enjoy the bird over the next four days, and with Marsh Hariers, Hobby and Barn Owl hunting in the vicinity and Cranes to be heard calling in the distance, it was a very enjoyable area to visit.

A Lesser Yellowlegs was found on Cley NWT Reserve on the 24th and showed well on Simmonds Scrape and Pats Pool for the rest of the month. On the scrapes were also three summer plumaged Spotted Redshanks, Little Ringed Plover, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwits and good numbers of Avocets. A fairly early Arctic Skua was also seen to fly over Cley, and a few Mediterranean Gulls were seen moving along the coast.