Norfolk Day: 31.01.22

 

Wren at dusk, Titchwell car park

Redshank

Bar tailed godwit into the high tide roost

White fronted geese, Holkham Freshmarsh

Off to a very breezy North Norfolk this morning. 

Checked Wells Harbour as I thought some seabirds may have taken shelter there from the high winds and rough North Sea, but here, that was not the case. 

Moved on to Cley beach for a sea watch but it was impossible to keep the telescope still in the high winds. So strong my tripod was blown over and it was difficult to stand still, never mind walk directly into the wind, so I moved on to the East Bank where usual fare was found: redshank, dunlin, wildfowl, cormorants but very little was flying apart from geese sp, a Marsh harrier and gulls.

Back to the car and I thought somewhere sheltered would be better, so parked outside Holkham Hall for a long walk searching for the White tailed eagle that roosts here but not to be seen. Big numbers of wildfowl on the large lake along with plenty more geese overhead. A Barnacle goose was consorting with a pair of Egyptian geese.

Back to the car, a quick check down Lady Anne's drive where there was a flock of White fronted geese in with greylags and pinkfoots before lunch at Brancaster Staithe where the birds were sheltering on the leeward side of a mud bank. Still tricky to get photos as the wind battered the camera before I concluded with a 3-4 hours stay at Titchwell. Here, the highlight was a pair of Red breasted mergansers on the Tidal Pool, sheltering from the turbulent sea. It was high tide so the waders were all sheltering on the far side of the Tidal pool where, as I returned from the beach, a party of 4 Pintail dropped in.

Took loads of photos as the camera was getting such a buffeting from the wind, I need up to 10 of each subject in the hope one would be relatively sharp. Not many made the grade.

Species list. NFY= New for year

1. Red throated diver NFY
2. Great crested grebe
3. Little grebe
4. Cormorant
5. Grey heron
6. Little egret
7. Great white egret
8. Mute swan
9. Greylag goose
10. Pink footed goose NFY
11. White fronted goose NFY
12. Brent goose
13. Barnacle goose NFY
14. Canada goose
15. Shelduck
16. Eyptian goose NFY
17. Mallard
18. Gadwall
19. Wigeon
20. Teal
21. Pintail
22. Shoveler
23. Pochard
24. Tufted duck
25. Common scoter NFY
26. Red breasted merganser NFY
27. Red kite 
28. Common buzzard
29. Marsh harrier
30. Kestrel
31. Red legged partridge
32. Pheasant
33. Moorhen
34. Coot
35. Oystercatcher
36. Avocet
37. Ringed plover NFY
38. Golden plover
39. Grey plover NFY
40. Turnstone
41. Lapwing
42. Dunlin NFY
43. Knot NFY
44. Sanderling NFY
45. Redshank
46. Curlew
47. Black tailed godwit
48. Bar tailed godwit NFY
49. Black headed gull
50. Herring gull
51. Common gull
52. Lesser BB gull
53. Great BB gull
54. Kittiwake
55. Wood pigeon
56. Collared dove
57. Barn Owl x 2 NFY
58. Green woodpecker
59. Great spotted woodpecker
60. Skylark
61. Meadow pipit
62. Pied wagtail
63. Robin
64. Blackbird
65. Mistle trhush
66. Redwing
67. Long tailed tit
68. Great tit
69. Coal tit
70. Blue tit
71. Wren
72. Chaffinch
73. Goldfinch
74. Linnet
75. House sparrow
76. Starling
77. Magpie
78. Jay
79. Jackdaw
80. Rook
81. Carrion crow.

Windswept Egyptian geese, Holkham Hall

Coot: Holkham Lake

Grey Heron, Holkham Lake

Pink footed geese

Fallow buck

Cormorant

Fallow hind

Looks like she is about to sneeze.

Fallow hind

Barnacle goose, Holkham

Drake teal sheltering from the gale.

Brent geese into Titchwell

Herring gull

More Brent geese

Curlew

Grey plover

distant Ringed plover

Red breasted mergansers

Drake red breasted merganser

Sanderling, Titchwell beach