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Summer (June to mid July)
Although the summer months are traditionally a quiet time of the year, that is certainly not the case in Norfolk. A visit at this time of the year gives you the opportunity to see some of the most scare and rarest breeding birds in the country, plus a good number of non-breeders that remain in the county throughout the summer months.
The rarest breeders are naturally protected and to avoid any disturbance to them, official viewpoints have been set up so that we can still enjoy watching them but from a sensible distance. Such viewpoints give us the chance to see species such as Honey Buzzards, Montagu's Harriers and Golden Orioles.
A visit to coastal marshes and reedbeds will produce Marsh Harriers, Bearded Tit, Sedge, Reed and Cetti's Warblers, and the booming call of the Bittern can still be heard with occasional flight views as they move from one area of the reedbed to another. Little Egrets, once a rare bird in the county, began breeding in 2002 and are now a familiar sight along the coast.
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Bittern Golden Oriole Little Egret |
Tern colonies are another feature of the summer with Sandwich, Common and Little Terns all breeding in the county, with the odd pair of Arctic Terns also occasionally being present. Non-breeding Roseate Terns often make a summertime appearance, and Mediterranean Gulls often chose the protected tern colonies to summer and hopefully raise young.
On the heaths Woodlark, Tree Pipit, Nightingale, Stonechat and Woodcock are present, and as dusk falls the churring of the Nightjar is a regular summertime sound. Common Buzzards and Hobbies are to be seen in the skies and Chiffchaff, Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethoat and Garden Warbler are busy breeding and filling the air with their song.
With young to feed, Barn Owls can regularly be seen hunting during daylight hours and Little Owls are also active well before dusk. The introduced Egyptian Goose can be seen, often in small summer gatherings, and other wildfowl are well represented throughout the summer with Gadwall, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted Duck and Shelduck all breeding in small numbers. A few Teal, Pintail and Wigeon summer, pairs of Garganey are often present, as are the occasional Ruddy Duck, and non-breeding Common Scoter and Eider can be seen offshore.
In Broadland, some of the wintering population of Cranes remain for the summer, Stone Curlews can be seen in the Brecks and although considered a flat county, Norfolk does have a few areas of cliffs around the coast which are home to a number of pairs of Fulmars. Offshore Gannets can be seen and by the end of the period the first Arctic Skuas are returning and can be seen harassing terns out to sea in pursuit of their food.
Waders continue to be well represented during this period with Little Ringed Plover, Knot, Sanderling, Black and Bar-tailed Godwits, Grey Plover, Curlew, Turnstone and Dunlin all present. Return migration of waders can start from as early as mid-June with species such as Spotted Redshank, Greenshank, Ruff, Common and Green Sandpipers amongst the first to arrive back. However the star wader of the period is the Avocet with many pairs gracing the scrapes and water meadows along the coast.
Spoonbills and Quail frequently occur during the summer months, and this period has always got the potential to produce something special.
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