It’s been a while since I spent a whole day dedicated to birding - and even longer since I did that in my former haunt of North Norfolk. But with a couple of species I wanted to catch up with and exclusive use of the car Saturday was the day.
First port of call were the roadside floods east of Stiffkey where I drew a frustrating blank apart from flushing a Kingfisher from the Stiffkey River. So it was a quick detour to the floods to the west of the village for a Glossy Ibis which I luckily found nice and easily. It then emerged that my quarry from earlier, the 7 Lesser White-fronted Geese from the Swedish re-introduction scheme were still present but on a hitherto unknown flood around the back of the hill by the coast road! Hot-footing it back there I found the spot just in time for them to wander into view from behind some reeds. A Cattle Egret in the same spot was an added bonus while 5 Red Kites circled about.
With my mission at Stiffkey complete I headed for Walsey Hills at Cley to look for the wintering Siberian Chiffchaff in the spruces on the top of the hill. Sadly, despite a hour and a half searching I drew a blank with just a single Chiffchaff and my first Red Admiral and Comma of the year to show for my efforts. 24 Curlew were by the East Bank viewed from my lofty position.
After lunch I decided I had time to visit Natural Surroundings at Glandford as Jeremy had given me details of a rare fungi there quite a while ago. Being a bracket fungus I was pretty sure it would still be there even if it was past its best. And so it proved as I found the Benzoin Bracket quite quickly. It being on the biggest fallen pine there helped in locating it! Comma and my first Marmalade Hoverfly of the year were around a patch of comfrey there. A quick Look along the riverside path revealed several patches of Moschatel but no flowers yet. Over the other side of the entrance track I scorched (trespassed!) onto the Bayfield Estate to get some close views and photographs of the female Goosander on the lake there.
After that I had just one more place I wanted to visit - Warham Greens for the raptor roost. Parking up on the concrete pad on Garden Drove I looked west and immediately saw the adult female Pallid Harrier hunting along a distant hedgerow - and I mean immediately! A ringtail Hen Harrier was there too and that promptly flew out to the saltmarsh and east right past the end of the drove. I made my way down the track to the edge of the saltings and began my vigil. The Pallid Harrier came into roost at 17.46 as the light was fading but before then I was entertained with 3 Hen Harriers, 5 Marsh Harriers, 2 Merlin, 1 Red Kite, 1 Peregrine and even a Spoonbill that flew east.
All in all a marvellous and highly productive day!
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| Hen Harrier |
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