Norfolk Birding

The weather was not so great on day two and three, but at least it didn't rain. I wandered to the sea and was delighted to see good numbers of Little Terns going past. These were joined by Common and Sandwich Terns. I had a distant Whimbrel on Arnold's Marsh, and the odd Bearded Tit in the reeds, but it certainly seemed a little quieter.

That said, it certainly got a lot better, when news of a Hoopoe came through, and just around the corner from my parents too. I was lucky enough to get a couple of shots of it on a roof, before it made off out of view. What a special bird.

You can view my latest adventures here:

Hoopoe

Little Tern

Sedge Warbler

Wheatear

Whimbrel

Bearded Tit

Bar-tailed Godwit

Wall Brown

High Tide at Hoylake

A couple of weeks ago I headed over to the Wirral coast to watch the waders moving during the high tide. I ended up at Hoylake where an hour before high tide the sea looked a good mile or more away. It moves quite quickly here and it was fun watching the birds shuffle closer together before taking flight to find a dry bit of sand. The usual suspects were in attendance, with Oystercatchers, Curlew, Dunlin, Sanderling, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover and Knot all mingling together. At one point a Peregrine flew through which caused pandemonium. It left empty handed though.

A couple of Bar-tailed Godwits were a welcome addition to the day list, and as I don't go to the coast as often as I should they're a bird that I don't get to see all that often. With them were hundreds of Knot. Again a bird I'd not seen for a year or two, mainly due to me not visiting the areas they like to hang out. All in all though it was a very good few hours and reminded me I need to do this more often.

Bar-tailed Godwir on the left with a supporting cast of Knot.

Knot in flight

Single Knot

And more Knot

Salthouse - Norfolk

There is a pool of water at the bottom of Beach Road, Salthouse, that I always stop at to have a look. It can appear to many at first glance as quite insignificant, but I've had some good birds here over the years, so I am always happy to spend a good half an hour or more watching and waiting. This visit was also productive as it added two more to the year list, in the form of Ringed Plover and Bar-tailed Godwit. A pair of Avocet were working the water, and a Little Egret dropped in too.

In the fields around the pool were Lapwings, Oystercatcher, Linnets and the Yellow Wagtail that I found on my way back to the car. It may not look like much to most people, but it's always worth a stop and look to see what's around and on the pool. As always, the early morning is the best time. The Early Birder catches the bird 😉

Bar-tailed Godwit

Little Egret

One of two Ringed Plover at the pool.

Morning Glory

Early mornings in Norfolk are great. If you can be out before the early dog walkers you can find some true gold. Much like these Golden Plover at rest with a few Lapwings. The sun was just starting to rise and the light was a nice orangey gold. I've said it many times, but this really is my favourite time of the day. When it's just me and nature, it feels like it belongs to me. Only I am seeing it at that time, and it feels special. Just need a few more of them to be bright like this, and not cloudy. Here are a few pictures of what I saw.

Golden Plover with a few Lapwings.

Grey Heron looking rather cold.

Grey Plover

Bar-tailed Godwits

Bar-tailed Godwit scouring the coast line

Black-tailed Godwit

Holy Island - Lindisfarne

After further stop offs for Osprey at Kielder Waters, and Red-necked Phalarope at Grindon Lough, I finally made my way to the North East.
Holy Island, Lindisfarne was my destination to finish the first day of my holiday. I had checked the tides and could see that from 2.30 I would be safe to cross the causeway. Twice a day the island is cut off from the mainland as the tide comes in. If you time it wrong you can be stuck for a few hours.
The weather was still quite good (dry and a little breezy) as I pulled into the car park.

Most people headed off to the castle, but I made my way down to the shore line to see what was about. There wasn't a lot, but it was more about quality than quantity. After a little scouring I spotted a Godwit working the beach. I assumed it was the Black-tailed variety, but closer inspection showed it to be a Bar-tailed Godwit, in very fine breeding plumage too.

The slightly upturned bill giving this bird away as Bar-tailed Godwit. It did take flight one stage to reveal and confirm it's barred tail.

 I spotted a Little Tern not too far out, and it came close enough to get some pictures. I was hoping for Terns on this trip, but the Little Tern was not one that I was expecting to see. Pretty glad though as I needed it for my year list.

Little Tern

Lindisfarne Priory. Built in the late 11th century, to a much better standard than we see it in today, I'm sure.

Lindisfarne Castle. Built atop a volcanic mound in 1550 to defend against attack from the Scottish, and anyone else that felt obliged to attack by land or sea. 

Curlew

The sound of the Curlew on my patch really does signal the beginning of Spring. I also recently found out it was my Nan's favourite call from when she was younger on the farms in Ireland. Even more reason to be fond of them.
I caught up with lots of them in Norfolk. The beach at Titchwell held quite a few, and that's where I took these pictures.

The sea was the calmest I've seen it here. Usually it's blowing a gale and it's really choppy. On this day you can see the waves just gently lapping while the birds go about their business.

Curlew (right) with a Bar-tailed Godwit.

Titchwell

The beach at Titchwell is often just too far away for my little legs to muster the energy. When I do bite the bullet though and follow the path the whole way from the car park it is quite often well worth it. My problem is that I stop (a lot) on the way and look for other things, and it can take me a good while to get there. Then I'm thinking about heading back.
Anyway, on this particular day I was pleased to see some Bar-tailed Godwits on the shore line. A year tick for me.

The bird in flight showing its barred rather than black tail feathers.

One of the obvious differences from the Black-tailed Godwit is the upturned bill. Slight curvature can be seen on this bird.

Brent Geese in flight. Always a safe bet at Titchwell.

A Cormorant taking a breather.

And in flight shortly afterwards.

A Lapwing enjoying the mud in the sunshine.

Holme-next-the-Sea beach

I love an early start to my bird watching day, so when the opportunity arises I like to grab it. In Norfolk (back in February) I got myself up and out to Holme beach for sunrise. It was cold, but the sun always makes things better when it comes out.
I had no idea what I was hoping to see, so anything was a bonus and there were a few too.
The tide was well out and it took me a good five minutes to get near the shore line. Redshanks were dabbling around the pools left by the outgoing tide and a few Sanderling and Dunlin were scurrying about as if it was last orders at the bar. Some Godwits turned out to be of the Bar-tailed variety.
There was a constant stream of Cormorants going across the sea and then a few flocks of Brent Geese came from the Snettisham direction.
A stunning morning which was just me and the birds.

A Redshank looking none to impressed.

Sanderling

Bar-tailed Godwit

Brent Geese

 

 Some that I found later in the fields feeding.

Norfolk. Not quite abroad. (Part 1)

I spent a fantastic couple of days with my parents in Norfolk last weekend. The birds to be found in this part of the country are quite something, and not what I find in my own back yard. So it made a nice change to see lots of waders and sea birds plus some more unusual birds that we didn't expect to show up.
We were based in Snettisham which has a stony beach and a vast area of mudflats. Ideal for waders of all varieties.

Bar-tailed Godwits on a flypast. 

 A Common Tern against the slate grey sky.

A Mediterranean Gull.

An Oystercatcher. Very common and very noisy, but also very colourful.

At Titchwell there were plenty of Resdshanks, Avocets, Shelduck and a few rarities flew in to make it even more enjoyable. A Spotted Redshank was a first for me, as were the Little Gulls that showed themselves very nicely, and the following day a Spoonbill dropped in, although it was too distant for my camera.

A Common Redshank.



A Spotted Redshank. (Apologies for the colour, the light was on the wrong side on a dull day.)



Come back soon for part 2 and some nice close ups of the very photogenic Avocet.