Reed and Sedge Warblers - Cley

A May walk from the Cley visitor centre to the hides brings a cacophony of noise from the reeds, grasses, bushes, shrubs and trees. Sometimes the birds singing will be kind and show themselves to you before dropping down out of sight again. It can be a long wait and you have to be ready with the binoculars or camera for the brief glimpse. 

I was fortunate to have some decent light and some quick views when I last visited my parents. 

Reed Warbler

Sedge Warbler

Hickling Broad

The weather forecast was good, but it turned out to be a bit gloomy on my visit to Hickling Broad over the Easter weekend. It seemed as though there wasn't a great deal around either as we followed the 3 mile path around the Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve. The reedbeds were very quiet, and not much was on the water or flying overhead. Quite possibly things will hot up a bit in the coming weeks.

That said though, and on reflection, we did see and hear some very good birds. One of my warbler highlights of any year, is the return of the Sedge Warbler. A fantastic little bird that will sing and climb the sedge or reeds that it is in. This was my first seen of the year, so it was a nice to see it performing.

Sedge Warbler

Another unexpected find was this Egyptian Goose, that was stood alone in a field.

Initially when I saw this swan in flight I thought it could be a Whooper Swan, but having taken a few pictures and zoomed into it's bill, I am more convinced that it is in fact a Bewick's Swan. At the time it was very distant and difficult to tell. 

Bewick's Swan

There were lots of Chiffchaffs around and to hear. Not as nice as hearing a Bittern booming though. We heard one of these booming several times as we sat in the aptly named Bittern Hide. Unfortunately we didn't see it, but it was nice to sit and listen to it.

Chiffchaff

Cley Marshes - East Bank

A walk along the East Bank at Cley is always a must for me when I'm in Norfolk. With my parents living so close to it I will usually do it several times during a stay. There is always something decent to see and through the different seasons you get a really good variety. The wintering geese have left for the time being, barring the Greylags and a few Canadas and Egyptian, but the summer migrants have arrived.

I was lucky to watch a Hobby fly over as it was catching insects. The warblers are in too, in the form or Sedge and Reed. The sound coming out of the reed bed is something to behold as the competition for space and territory takes a grip. I picked up the ping of a group of Bearded Tits. I always hope to see some when I'm here, but that is never an easy feat. Being in the right place at the right time, or good fortune is usually involved. This time they were working their way through the reeds close to the edge. The odd one would break cover and dive over the top of the reeds. A very good addition to the year list.

With Curlews, Lapwings, Redshank, a lone Spoonbill, Skylarks and the overflying Terns at the beach end it really was a great couple of hours spent here. Come the autumn time the waders will be back and the wintering wildfowl on the pools, which will make for a very different walk but still with a good amount of variety. It's a great place to watch birds and time go by.

Hobby

Little Egret

Marsh Harrier

   The Sedge Warbler is a real favourite of mine. I love the distinctive eye-stripe and it's song.

    The Bearded Tit never make it easy to see them, but maybe that's why it's such a thrill when you do.

Barn Owl

The joy of going out early at this time of year is that you may just get lucky and see a Barn Owl. I'd normally be happy to see one from the car in the distance or maybe along the verge, but when in Norfolk I got more than I bargained for a couple of times. I was minding my own business on my walk, when I turned the corner to seen an owl quartering a field . I watched it for a short while before it started coming towards me. I managed to get some shots of it before it moved out of view. Some of my best views.

As normality resumed and my heart rate returned to a more acceptable level I paid more attention to the other birds around me, like this lovely Sedge Warbler.

Lunt Meadows Nature Reserve

A super early alarm set for last weekend, had me out in the car by 5am. In these times of social distancing it makes good sense to beat the dog walkers, joggers, and generally others. Not that this has ever been a problem for me in the past, as I always like to go out early when the Spring and Summer is here. I've been social distancing for many years now😄

It's a great reserve with a good mix of wetland habitat, reedbeds, scrapes and grassland. Next to the reserve there is a lot of farmland, so it attracts many different species. Plenty of waders in the form of Black-tailed Godwit, Little Ringed Plover and Ringed Plover.

There was a Corn Bunting singing from the power lines as I got out of the car. Not a bird I see very often, so this was a good start.

Corn Bunting

There were a few pairs of Avocet on the scrapes, with a couple of freshly hatched chicks being closely monitored.

Avocet

Probably one of the most numerous birds around the reserve was the Sedge Warbler. I had not seen one so far this year, so it was good to get it ticked and great to hear them singing again. Things I usually take for granted as the summer roles on, it was nice to just stand and watch these birds going for it full throttle.

Sedge Warbler

Lapwing

Little Egret

Shelduck

Shoveler

RSPB Geltsdale

RSPB Geltsdale near Carlisle held such a variety of wildlife that I am already looking forward to a visit again next year.
On leaving the car I could see Hares running in the fields. As they had not seen me, I took some time just to observe from a distance.

Enjoying the early morning sunshine.

Meadow Pipits were plentiful and they were constantly hopping onto the dry stone walls. It felt like they were keeping me company as I went on my walk.

 From the viewing screen there was a lot of activity, with birds constantly flitting around the trees and shrubs. It was difficult to pin them down sometimes as to what they were.

 This Reed Bunting showed itself briefly through the branches.

This Sedge Warbler was busy feeding young and can be seen here with some grubs in it's bill.

The more distant and more common view of the Sedge Warbler.

Sedge Warbler

It's a fabulous time of year for watching birds. Everything is a bit later this year, but finally things are getting into full swing, as is the weather.
I took a trip to RSPB Burton Mere for a fix of warblers and waders. I wasn't disappointed as the reed beds and scrapes were alive with activity. One warbler that I do really enjoy seeing, and hearing, is the Sedge Warbler. Their song is so varied and vivid it brings any reed bed to life. I found a few last week, and they were all busy on territory. This meant that they would sit up nice and proud to project their songs. It helped with the pictures I got too.

What a fantastic bird.