Nov 6th-10th: Norfolk in late autumn

Early November meant it was time for our annual trip up to Norfolk. We had to change the dates twice because of train strikes then they called them off at the last minute, by which time it was too late to make any further changes. I met up with John & Janet at Kings Cross on Sunday morning and we took an early train up to Kings Lynn. Going through the Fens we passed several flocks of Whooper Swans, the first ones I’ve seen this year. The next leg of the journey was a bus to Hunstanton, seeing Red Kite en route and we arrived at our hotel at lunchtime.

We spent the afternoon walking south along the beach, almost as far as Heacham. The tide was out so there were plenty of waders, especially Oystercatchers, Turnstones and Sanderling. On the inland side we also managed Marsh Harrier and Cetti’s Warbler, both new ones for this particular walk.

Hunstanton beach looking south

With the weather looking ominous we turned around and popped into a cafe for a hot drink before heading back to our hotel. The evening was spent in The Mariner where they have a good selection of pub meals and a nice pint of Wherry. We made plans for the following day, electing to go to Holkham as there was rain forecast for late afternoon.

We had an hour on the seafront pre-breakfast: on the sea there were two Red-throated Divers and a close Razorbill, as well as a good migration of 3,500 Starlings along with a few Chaffinches and Fieldfares. Once at Holkham we walked down Lady Anne’s Drive. The marshes either side were bone-dry and consequently had almost no birds on them.

We went out onto the beach to search for the Shorelarks. As we arrived at the roped-off area, a couple of birders had them in view so we didn’t have to spend long looking for them. They were feeding out in the middle and regularly disappeared into the vegetation but we got good views of at least four birds eventually.

Somewhere out there is a flock of Shorelark

There was no sign of any Snow Buntings so we had a seawatch from the edge of the dunes. There was a flock of Gannets feeding inshore close between two sandbars, while further out were a few Common Scoter. Walking through the pines we heard a couple of Firecrest and had lunch in one of the hides overlooking the marshes. Raptors were constantly in view, both over the marshes and the estate across the coast road with multiple Red Kites, Common Buzzards and Marsh Harriers. Three Great Egrets were feeding out the front, whilst at the west end we saw a flock of six Cattle Egrets. Surprisingly there were no Little Egrets around. Starlings continued to fly west in large groups.

Back at the centre we decided to stay until dusk to look for Barn Owl but failed to see any before the bus arrived to take us back to Hunstanton.

The following day we headed over to Titchwell. At the first lagoon, the roosting waders were being regularly harassed by a Peregrine. Golden Plovers were constantly in the air before dropping for a rest on the islands. 

Golden Plover

Scouring through waders we found a dozen Ruff and a few Dunlin. On the next lagoon was a tame Curlew.

Curlew

We carried on to the beach; by now it was low tide so everything was a fair way out. A Slav Grebe had been reported but we couldn’t find it, however we did locate a Red-necked Grebe instead. We spent some time in the hide looking through the ducks and waders then heard about a Green-winged Teal which had just been found along the main track. We hurried over but it had gone into the vegetation with a large flock of Teal. We looked through as many Teal as we could see but many more were either asleep or hidden and no one else managed to see it that afternoon. We walked through the woodland adding a few passerines and a lazy Muntjac.

Muntjac

Afternoon coffee beckoned then we went back on the main track again. It wasn’t for long as a nasty squall arrived and we retreated to the hide for shelter. This ended up being productive as we could watch the Marsh Harriers come into roost. After a while I picked up a male Hen Harrier with them and it then spent the next half hour hunting over the marsh. We stayed until dusk again looking for Barn Owl but the only thing we managed was a couple of Chinese Water Deer.

Double rainbow over Titchwell

Titchwell after a squall

Distant Hen Harrier

As we had an extra day this trip because of the train strikes we thought we’d try somewhere new and began at Thornham Harbour. Although there hadn’t been any reports of Twite this winter, this has always been the primary site for them recently. We found a flock of Linnets and John managed to find a Twite amongst them but it flew off before we could get on it.

Thornham Harbour

Black-tailed Godwit

We walked around the main coastal path towards Holme. There were Pinkfeet and Brents in the fields on the way round. We stopped at the dunes to scan the sea and found an Egyptian Goose right out in the middle of The Wash! A better sighting was a flock of 30 Pintail that flew west. We had intended to visit the reserve at Holme but it was closed with no explanation. We carried on but didn’t see a great deal. There was a bit of time before the bus was due so we walked inland along Peddars Way and saw our only Red-legged Partridge of the trip. We finished the day off with a celebratory meal at Chives.

On our last day, there was time to do our usual pre-breakfast seawatch although it was too windy to watch from our usual lookout. Starlings were again on the move and we counted over 7,500 and we added a couple of Eider to the trip list which finished on 105. All too soon it was time to get the bus back to Kings Lynn and then the train to London where a tube strike meant finding an alternative way home.