Spring break in Norfolk

May 16-19th 2022

We decided to have a change this year and booked a few days in Norfolk this spring rather than down in Weymouth. We met up at Kings Cross station which seemed particularly busy for a Monday, not helped by a horde of Harry Potter fans casting spells. At least they weren't playing Quidditch! We soon boarded the Kings Lynn train to escape the hustle and bustle of London. The train mostly emptied out at Cambridge and only a few passengers made it all the way to the end of the line.

At Lynn, we crossed over to the bus station and within a few minutes we were heading off on the last leg of our journey, winding through the town then a few sleepy villages. Somewhere just past Snettisham I saw a Grey Partridge in a field then as we went through Heacham a Fulmar cruised over the rooftops a few hundred metres inland. At Hunstanton we made our way past the small flock of zombie Mallards that hang around in the town and checked into our hotel.

We spent the rest of the afternoon walking along the promenade, firstly up to the cliffs to get proper views of the breeding Fulmars. To the uninitiated they can look a bit like gulls but are actually related to albatrosses. The tide was well out and there wasn’t too much to see at this time of year but we saw a few waders and other birds as walked down towards Heacham before turning back and stopping for coffee and an ice-cream. We finished the day off with a large plate of fish ‘n’ chips washed down with a Ghost Ship.

Fulmar

Tuesday morning started with a pre-breakfast scan out to sea where we saw our only Gannets of the trip. After a large breakfast we took the Coastliner bus the short distance to Titchwell where we spent the rest of the day. It was already warm and sunny when we arrived and got out quite hot in the end. There was a Spotted Flycatcher by the feeders so we had a look at that; I rarely see them in spring anymore so it was nice to catch up with one so early in the year. We took the East Trail, seeing a few Marsh Harriers and a flyover Red Kite along with plenty of butterflies and some dragonflies that wouldn’t land but could have been Hairy.

Red Kite

The path looped around to the main track where we heard a Grasshopper Warbler singing. The lagoons were heaving with birds and at the first hide we located the long-staying Little Gull which was asleep on a bank. Fortunately it woke up after a while and went for a swim. We scanned through the mass of Avocets to look for other waders, seeing Black-wits, Turnstones and Common Sands. Among the few Common Terns that were on the reserve were a pair of Little Terns and the occasional Sandwich Tern flying over. A Hobby circled high over the lagoon and a Spoonbill dozed on an island. There was still the occasional reminder of winter with over 40 Brent Geese still around.

Little Gull

Avocet

We had lunch on the beach with the tide out then wandered towards the sea to get closer views of the waders. There were over 100 Grey Plover, mostly in their summer finery and a few Sanderling and Dunlin. We strolled back to the centre for afternoon tea, seeing a very close Little Ringed Plover along the way and a splendid Great Egret along a channel.

Great Egret

Little Ringed Plover

After a break we did a small circuit back to the main track and had another look at the lagoon. John found a sleeping drake Garganey and a pair of adult Med Gulls flew around.

We headed back to the coast road to the bus stop having seen 86 species at the reserve and there was still time before the bus arrived to see a Wall butterfly, a species that has virtually disappeared from the London area but is still plentiful on the Norfolk coast.

Wall

We had dinner at The Old Mariner and it was even warm enough to sit outside and watch the antics of the zombie Mallards, one even drinking out of a dog bowl.

The following day we headed over to Holkham. Walking along Lady Anne’s Drive we saw a Cattle Egret and two Pink-footed Geese which were left over from the winter. We crossed over the beach, seeing a few late migrant Wheatears and some breeding Meadow Pipits.

Meadow Pipit

We had a look at the sea but, like yesterday, it was very quiet. As we cut through the woods I heard a Treecreeper singing which we tracked down. We spent some time in the hide overlooking the fresh marsh and saw several Spoonbills flying past and a couple of Great Egrets in the closest pool.

We carried along the path for a while, seeing Four-spotted Chaser, Azure Damselfly and some more Wall butterflies before making our way back to the cafe. We stopped for drinks and a last scan of the marshes then took an early bus back to Hunstanton. To round off our short break, we dined out at Chives.

The following morning we left straight after breakfast and took the bus back to Kings Lynn where we finally caught up with Stock Dove, our 106th bird of the trip.