Spring Migration

After a very quiet April it was time to look for some migrants on the Point.

The wet weather meant a cold and wet start to the walk and it was not long before there were Wheatears appearing everywhere.
On reaching halfway house a stunning male Pied Fly appeared with Willow Warbler nearby. It looked slightly pale rather than jet black on some of the feathers and may have been a first summer but beautiful bird anyway.
On reaching the plantation a male Whinchat and a male Redstart were briefly seen but no sign of yesterday's RBFly!
Still a great trio of migrants as well as the following birds seen:

Spoonbill
Whimbrel 6
Greenshank
Arctic Tern
Willow Warbler
Chiffchaff
Blackcap 2
Wheatear 30+
Swift 1
House Martin 20+(Salthouse)

On the return I bumped into one of the regulars who had seen a Wood Warbler! I could not find it in the area just after the Halfway House .. That would have been a good 'patch tick'

A beautiful male Garganey was feeding on a small pool next to the Salthouse beach road ...

May is a top month here in Norfolk

f f f f freezing April day

Quick morning visit to Cley... and it was cold! This cold North wind is currently blocking migrants and not making it much fun out there.

9+ Ring Ouzels were viewed distantly at 'The Hangs'. I have been birding in the area for years and did not even know about this site! Great view all around the coast from here. I think I will check this area more regularly
9 Ouzels is the most I have seen together

Cley held my Wheatear of the year (I know it is late!) along with Swallow, Spoonbill x 5 and a Merlin shot past the beach

He was cold ....

He was very cold .....

The Spoonbills, singing Sedge Warbler and Swallow tried hard to make it feel like Spring .. but with these cold winds it will be a while before some scarce birds start arriving

I then had my first 'dip' of the year. As I was sitting in the car getting ready to head to Cley cafe for a coffee a message came through that there was a Hooded Crow at West bank..right by where I was sitting! I had not seen it and rushed to join Gantlett and a few other birders on West bank ... the bird had already gone and was only seen by two Cley regulars.
They are scarce in Norfolk and in fact this site is the only place I have seen one before in the county ... 

Still, a good morning birding

Kite passage (1st April)

April 1st walk along coast from Holkham to Bunham Dunes (and back) in search of early migrants.
I was hoping to catch some of the Red Kite passage that now seems to be a regular feature along the Norfolk coast at this time of year. It was great to find two birds, one over Holkham Marsh and a more distant bird over Burnham Overy.
At one point there were Buzzards, Sparrowhawk, M Harrier,Kestrel and Red Kite all in the air at the same time!
No other migrants other than 15 Chiffs and a Blackcap. A singing Cettis was seen as well as heard (they are such a pain to see!)

Back to the Point...

It has been a long wait .. But as we rush into Spring I could not resist a walk to the Point.
Last year, on almost exactly the same date, I saw a few Wheatear and a Brambling.

This year the sun was shining and it felt like Summer.. Except for the birds, which were more in line with an October day!
1 Goldcrest (at the Hood), 2 Merlin along the shingle, 2 Fieldfare, a few Blackbirds and a youn male Eider close to shore..
There were plenty of Sandwich Terns (calling and a few seen distantly), which were my first for the year.

Sunny March days

Around Kelling today the Reed Buntings were singing. Not too long before they are having to compete for airspace with Sedge Warblers.

Stonechat, Gannet, 40+ Common Scoters were the only birds worth noting down

Cley held Avocets, Black-tailed Godwits, Ruff, Dunlins and good aerial displays from a hunting Peregrine

...... I feel a walk up to the Point is due soon

1st March

Well, what a difference two weeks can make to the English weather! Take a look at the photo of today and a reminder of how cold it was a few weeks ago ....

A walk along the sunny beach at Wells through to Holkham produced the following birds:
1 bright 'yellow faced' Shore Lark (three seen by other birders earlier)
10+ Rock Pipits and a few Meadow Pipits
10+ G C Grebes and a Razorbill offshore
2-3 Marsh Harriers
2 Grey Partridge
2 Crossbills flew over heading West along the Pines

Yesterday at Strumpshaw and Buckenham - a female Hen Harrier was the only year tick of note.

Not long before the first Spring migrants start arriving

January 26th - Late update

A reasonably mild but rainy day saw myself and Pete Chapman venture out to look for some birds around Strumpshaw and Buckenham. Pete is fairly new to birding, so he was hoping for a few ticks (Les White-front for example)
Although we could not locate the Goose, which had moved to Cantley for the day, we had a great day with plenty of good 'padders' for the year

Started at Strumpshaw and one of the first birds I saw was a female Red C Pochard ... a great find I thought, until it started diving and showing off a big yellow plastic ring on its left leg! There seems to be a large number of escaped/released diving duck in this area. I have heard rumours of a shooting lake in Suffolk that releases large numbers of ducks, including Ferruginous and Marbled Ducks!
Things got better in fen hide when we scored a Bittern in flight and the usual Chinese Water Deer. A Kingfisher back in front of the reception screen was also a nice addition (especially as I only saw one last year in December!). A 'chattering' flock of 30+ Siskin was also nice

On to Buckenham and here we saw: 40+ Taiga Bean Geese, 100+ White fronts, Ruff, Peregrine, singing Cetti's etc etc
There were workmen on the railway line which may explain why all the geese moved on to Cantley, including the Les W Front ! which we did not catch up with.

The final stop was at Ludham where right on queue a pair of Whooper Swans flew straight over us and into a nearby field giving fantastic views. This is never a numerous bird in this area and it was surprising to see Whooper with not one Bewick's Swan around.

A great finish to a good morning's birding

Now just waiting to see what this cold spell brings to the county ... I am hoping to find an Iceland Gull in the next few weeks at least!