Little Hadham Birding: 3 Days in Norfolk, mothing and birding

Set off for Stiffkey last Sunday for a few days mothing. birding and camping at High Sands Creek campsite. Wonderfully, traditional campsite, perfectly placed in the middle of North Norfolk. Plan was to meet up with Jess, Richie and their family whom Wendy and I met some years ago at the same site. Eldest son, Sidney, is an enthusiastic lad when it comes to moths,butterflies and insects, so always a pleasure to set up the trap, pot the haul in the early hours and then show them to the children on the campsite the following morning.
I arrived in temps in excess of 30C, pitched the new small tent easily and headed off to Wells for supplies.
Later had a beer with Richie and caught up with the children. Great to see them all again.
That evening, I placed the 15Watt heath trap on the footpath between the saltmarsh and a row of oaks and sycamores, taking several species unusual to me due to the habitat. In amongst this haul were several saltmarsh plume. There were 100's of these on the marsh, as I discovered the following night when the trap was placed actually on the saltmarsh. The final night it was threatening to rain, so I placed it under a large sycamore, close to the campsite.
In total, over 500 moths of 54 species, including 143 saltmarsh plumes on the 2nd night and an August thorn on the 3rd night. On the first night the moth of the evening was my first Evergestis pallidata, a rare moth for Hertfordshire, not yet sure of its status in Norfolk. Other notable ones were first of the year catches of flounced rustic, 6 striped rustic and rosy rustic.

August thorn

Looking at the catch with enthusiastic youngsters

Trap set on Stiffkey saltmarsh

Sunset over Stiffkey

Dusk at Stiffkey

Sidney checking the catch

1 of the 143 Saltmarsh plumes taken on the Monday night

During the day I managed some birding time. On the Monday I spent the day around the Cley Square. The temperatures were again over 30C so I had already decided to not cart the scope around with me: just binoculars and camera. Some good birds with the first arrival of migrating waders. A green sandpiper from Daukes Hide was a year lister. Other good birds were common sandpiper, marsh harrier, bearded reedlings pinging in the reeds, a reed warbler family moving through the reeds and, finally as I was leaving the main set of hides, a single wood sandpiper popped in for a few seconds before moving on as I focused the camera. Another year lister. I then walked to Richie Richardson hide at the end of the East Bank where more bearded reedling were heard, a family of tufted duck dived in the dragonfly pond and from the hide, numerous black tailed godwit. I retreated to the Visitors' Centre to cool down with a drink before heading back to the campsite.

Heat haze photo of juvenile pied wagtail

Green sandpiper

ruff

avocet

Little egret

House sparrow

tufted duck

marsh harrier,juvenile

same bird over the East Bank

Reed bunting in moult

The following day it seemed even hotter as I headed off to Titchwell. Migrant waders were arriving all along the coast so always the chance of something unusual being caught in with them.
A large 60+ strong flock of curlew arrived over from the east, settling on Thornham Marsh. A scan through the bins picked out 2 birds of differing size in amongst them, a knot and a black tailed godwit.

3 curlew and a knot

4 curlew, on calling to keep the flock together

Part of the 60+ curlew Note the leader doing the calling. Black tailed godwit top right

On the Freshmarsh, plenty of female ruff and a few early arrival juveniles, avocets, black tailed godwit and pied wagtails. Overhead, a party of spoonbills came in to feed with others already present on the far side of the Freshmarsh. Canada geese and greylags were in the middle of the marsh as were a single greenshank, several redshank and a solitary spotted redshank. A search for migrating yellow wagtails proved unsuccessful. There were plenty birds in the middle of the Freshmarsh to go through, but nothing else was added to the list. As I headed back to the car, bearded reedlings flitted through the reeds but not settling for a photo. A movement on the mud caught my eye, 3 little ringed plover scurried around before the regular birds around the centre got on to the list: greenfinch, chaffinch, tits and blackbirds. Lovely to spend time here before into Wells for a pint in The Globe before off to the campsite for a rest before a final night of trapping.
In all, a superb 3 days in glorious weather.