Little Hadham Birding: Super day in Norfolk

Brancaster Staithe with tide rising. Gloriously blue!

Setting off at 6.30 had me enjoying a coffee and breakfast at Wells Next the Sea before 8.30am before I headed further east to Sheringham. Here, I parked on the clifftop carpark and checked the promenade for a purple sandpiper that frequents this area over winter. Today it was not present, just the usual gulls and turnstones.

Turnstone on the slipway

These birds show pale fringes to the feathers indicating this these are 1st year birds

From Sheringham I headed up to Kelling Heath hoping for wood lark and dartford warbler. Again, neither were seen but finches (chaffinch and goldfinch) along with tits and my first singing chiffchaff of the year got on to the day list. By now the temperature was rising and the clouds were disappearing. All looked good for a great day.

Chaffinch at Kelling heath

Onwards to Salthouse beach and Gramborough Hill. Always a good site for wheatear, but not today so I then parked at the East Bank at Cley to check Arnold's Marsh and the sea. Several pochard on the dragonfly pool, plenty of greylag and brent geese whilst on the marsh: redshank, curlew, dunlin and assorted gulls. Nothing out to sea. A reed bunting was in good voice as were several meadow pipits but the breeze was a little too strong for the bearded tits to pose on top of the reeds. They could be heard. Gadwall and mallard got on to the list, too. At the end of the East Bank a rock pipit and many linnets

Meadow pipit near Gramborough Hill

Time for a coffee at the NWT Visitors' Centre before a drive around to the beach car park. Redshank and shelduck on the Eye Field and half way across towards the reserve, my first wheatear of the year, sadly, too far for a photo. From here, a brief stop at Stiffkey Marsh where a little egret made the list in amongst 1000's of brent geese. I continued along the A149 to check Lady Anne's Drive where wigeon dabbled and assorted other waders were noted before I continued east. I had just past The Victoria Hotel and rounded a corner to see a superb barn owl upon the estate wall. Nowhere to stop and park so I carried on, managing to turn around and head back. By now, numerous cars and a bus had gone by so I was really surprised to see the owl still present. I stopped and managed a few photos in excellent light before he flew off and roosted in a tree.

Superb bird in great light. Very fortuitous

A stop for some food and then a check at Brancaster Staithe where bar tailed godwits were noted along with teal, turnstones, redshanks and the first black tailed godwit of the day. From here, Choseley barns where red legged partridge, common buzzard and a singing yellowhammer were added to the list before off to Titchwell to check the marsh and do a spot of sea watching.
Plenty of birds and birders present here, several RSPB groups en masse so the footpath along the Freshmarsh was very busy. Another reed bunting whilst on the marsh, plenty of Mediterranean gulls in with the black headed variety. These are nesting on the island which now has chicken wire around it to keep down the mammalian predators such as rats, stoats and foxes from predating the nest when the water levels are low. More godwits, avocets and a large party of know roosting on a spit on the Sea marsh due to it being high tide. From the beach a cormorant passed by along with a red throated diver and good numbers of common scoter.
Back into the Parrinder Hide where a pair of greylag geese had taken up the role of meet and greet. They were both on top of the bank just before the hide and remained totally unperturbed by my presence. Back to the car for the final visit of the day, a quick check around Holme and the beach for owls and roosting waders. Again, the tide was too high and so all the dunlin, knot and sanderling had probably headed further into The Wash to roost.