Field Trip to Norfolk

Sunday, January 25th 2004

Courtesy of major overnight roadworks on every road in Nottingham, I was twenty minutes late collecting Steven from Lowdham. My guilt was eased when I found out he had heard four Tawny Owls, the only records of the trip!

As we neared Norfolk, I urged the group to keep an eye open for Barn Owls as I usually see at least one on my travels in these parts. They seemed sceptical, but I had the last laugh when one popped up from the verge of the A148, the first of eight sightings on the day! We reached Holkham at 8.45am.

We managed to park on Lady Anne's Drive without the little man parting us of some hard-earned; always a good start. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and there was a frost on the ground, perfect conditions for a day on the Norfolk coast. A quick scan of the fields revealed the third Barn Owl of the day, plenty of Wigeon but no sign of their American counterpart. The geese were against the sun so we opted to go onto the marsh first.

We could see three people watching something on the marsh, so trudged across getting wet feet on the way. Those with wellington boots looked very smug though! We reached the birders, expecting them to have either Shore Lark or Snow Bunting in their sights, but they only had a flock of Mipits. Not to worry, a flock of about 80 Snow Buntings were soon being 'scoped by the group on the beach. The flock of Shore Larks landed across the wide creek from us, somewhat against the light, but all had reasonable 'scope views.

The Snow Bunts flew inland so we took the opportunity to gain higher ground in the dunes for a seawatch. The birds were quite distant but most people had views of Red-breasted Merganser, Common Scoter and a couple of divers flying east, too distant to positively identify but almost certainly Red-throated.

While we were concentrating on the sea, the flock of Snow Bunts landed within fifteen yards of us. I urged everyone to stay very still as we were silhouetted against the skyline. The Buntings put on a show for us for about ten minutes before heading inland straight over out heads: fantastic!

We were now on a roll, so I decided to head back to the road to try and pick out the American Wigeon, or preferably we would get back to find someone already 'on it'! No such luck, but we managed a poorish view of some White-fronted and Pink-footed Geese. When they took flight, however, they were a spectacular sight and sound.

Andy returned to the group after his solo wanderings but had failed to find the Firecrests or the Wigeon either. We left Holkham at about 11.00am, and I had a surprise stop in mind. I knew a good Owl field on the main road where I had had close encounters with Barns and Short-eareds last year. Sure enough, three of the former performed for us but no sign of the latter.

Titchwell provided much needed toilets and food, although the recorded message as you entered the toilets advising you to "protect your valuables, lock them out of sight" was a little disconcerting.

The group split up to cover the reserve at their own pace, but the walk along the main path was eventful. A Little Egret was seen in flight in the distance, a female Marsh Harrier glided over our heads and the plethora of ducks positively shone in the perfect light. (Dark-bellied) Brent Geese flew over our heads at regular intervals, then one of the target birds of the day was located on the brackish marsh: Sammy the Black-winged Stilt lives! On the Saltwater Marsh, Spotted Redshank could be compared to the ordinary Redshanks but the regular Water Rail was nowhere to be seen.

We noticed a large group of birders standing on the boardwalk near to the dunes, which meant only one thing: Twite, a species we had not seen at Holkham. Unfortunately, they were mainly hidden in long grass but briefly laneded on the short greenery by the boadwalk. Because of the number of people on the path, they didn't stay long enough to be 'scoped, much to the chagrin of Hilary who particularly wanted better views. They did, however, give a nice rendition of their call as they flew over our heads.

Some of the group were already on the beach, scanning the sea for goodies. There were many hundreds of Common Scoters in the distance, being harassed by Herring Gulls. Ainslie and Ian informed me that there were several Velvet Scoters within the flock, but try as I might, couldn't pick one out.

My hunt was interrupted by a shout from Steven (I think) that he might have a Purple Sandpiper on the beach. I clambered up the dune to look through his 'scope, and sure enough, there was a Purple Sand plodding around the shingle. Most of the group managed a quick view, but it kept disappearing around the back of the island. Meanwhile, many of the group managed a lesson in wader ID as they looked for the Purple Sand, as also on the island were several Bar-tailed Godwits, Knot, Turnstones, Sanderlings, Dunlin, Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers.

Another scan of the sea revealed a male Velvet Scoter flashing its wing-patches briefly, a few Red-breasted Mergansers and Goldeneye. I wanted the whole group to see a Velvet Scoter, though it wasn't going to be easy, Finally, I managed to pick out two birds on their own and most managed a 'scope view. Although they were distant, the white-wing patch on one female was very obvious.

The walk back to the van gave us all a chance to catch up on species not seen on the way out to the beach, and one Little Egret was seen on the marsh close to the path. No Bearded Tits were seen and neither was the Water Rail, but Titchwell had done us proud as usual.

I decided there was time to pull in a quick, unscheduled stop at Holme. Luckily, we managed to find a place to park the van and we were soon scanning the sea towards Gore Point for Long-tailed Duck. We managed to find three males, and all had reasonable 'scope views of this unmistakable species. Just to prove our luck was in, another flock of 59 (thanks Andy!) Snow Buntings flew past us, giving their distinctive call as they went.

It was now time for another target bird of the day: Golden Pheasant. We spent about thirty minutes driving around the Wolferton Triangle, peering into the dense vegetation, with only a Squirrel and a 'normal' Pheasant for reward. You could tell the tension was high as the minibus windows kept steaming up. One member of the party (who shall remain nameless) kept us amused with his snoring noises!

I decided to call a halt to the search in order to leave us enough time to get the full benefit at the raptor roost site. We arrived at Roydon Common at about 4.00pm, a bit apprehensive about leaving the bus in the car park as break-ins regularly occur at this site. I decided to park on the track, a choice that proved correct as a Barn Owl was seen over the common as soon as we disembarked! This was followed by a superb ring-tail Hen Harrier drifting past, complete with orangey breast.

The finale was provided by a stunning male Hen Harrier showing off for twenty minutes, bringing gasps of admiration from all watchers. I must admit that I have never seen harriers come in so early at this site; it is normally virtually dark when they arrive. What an end to the day: our eighth Barn Owl and a pristine, ghostly male Hen Harrier performing in perfect light conditions.

On the journey home, a vote was taken on the bird of the day. After much agonising by most (someone had managed thirteen 'lifers' on this trip!), now Bunting narrowly won the day over (my choice) of Hen Harrier, Barn Owl and one vote for Shoveler (those males did look super-smart in the sun at well). A total of 87 species were seen on the trip (not including the diver spp at Holkham), unless anyone can remember DEFINITELY seeing Rook, Water Rail, Stock Dove, or anything else you think I may have missed.

Neil Glenn