Norfolk Day 14.03.23

 Up early and straight to Wells Harbour in very poor light. Not much so quick coffee and long wander on Holkham Beach. Very grey so left the camera in the car. Shore larks flew off and out of sight and just a Red breasted merganser seen during a 15 minute sea watch. Sea was very choppy. By the time I returned to the car the light was better with patches of blue sky.

Drove to Cley beach: gannets on the horizon, fly through goosander but too late for the auk passage. A large flock of Snow buntings bounced their way west and lost to view before I could fire off a photo. Coffee at the Visitors' Centre and off to the central hides. Spoonbills, pintail, avocets before I wandered down the East bank. Very little here so back to the car and a quick visit to Warham Greens, just curlews and Brent geese. Stop offs at Brancaster harbour and Choseley drying barns before completing the day and a very grey Titchwell apart form a bright 20 minutes when I was on the beach. Plenty of wader movement west and the day finished off in semi darkness by 4.45pm with a Barn owl making an appearance over Thornham Marsh, shortly followed in almost complete darkness by a 2nd owl. Some very grainy photos due to high ISO.

Species List:

1. Mute swan
2. Whooper swan
3. White fronted geese
4. Pink footed geese
5. Greylag geese
6. Canada goose
7. Brent goose
8. Shelduck
9. Egyptian geese
10. Mallard
11. Gadwall
12. Pintail
13. Shoveler
14. Wigeon
15. Teal
16. Pochard
17. Red crested pochard
18. Goosander
19. Red breasted merganser
20. Red kegged partridge
21. Grey partridge
22. Pheasant
23. Red throated diver
24. Little grebe
25. Great crested grebe
26. Gannet
27. Cormorant
28. Little egret
29. Grey heron
30. Spoonbill
31. Red kite
32. Marsh harrier
33. Common buzzard
34. Kestrel
35. Water rail (heard)
36. Moorhen
37. Coot
38. Oystercatcher
39. Avocet
40. Ringed plover
41. Grey plover
42. Golden plover
43. Lapwing
44. Sanderling
45. Turnstone
46. Dunlin
47. Ruff
48. Redshank
49. Black tailed godwit
50. Bar tailed godwit
51. Curlew
52. Snipe
53. Black headed gull
54. Common gull
55. Mediterranean gull
56. Herring gull
57. Lesser black backed gull
58. Wood pigeon
59. Collared dove
60. Barn owl
61. Skylark
62. Shore lark
63. Meadow pipit
64. Pied wagtail
65. Dunnock
66. Wren
67. Robin
68. Song thrush
69. Blackbird
70. Goldcrest
71. Cetti's warbler (heard)
72. Great tit
73. Blue tit
74. Long tailed tit
75. Magpie
76. Carrion crow
77. Rook
78. Jackdaw
79. Starling
80. House sparrow
81. Chaffinch
82. Linnet
83. Goldfinch
84. Greenfinch
85. Reed bunting
86. Yellowhammer
87. Snow bunting

Oystercatcher

Grey heron

Greylag goose

Shelduck

Avocets, Greylag and Shelduck

Spoonbill coming into breeding plumage

2 Spoonbills

Red crested pochard

Drake mandarin from the ornamental duck pond at Blakeney

Cormorant

Redshank

Marsh harrier with an apparent fungal growth on the leg

Brent geese

Brent goose

Very distant Whooper swan with Pintail behind at Titchwell

Gulls: 3 Black headed and 3 Mediterranean gulls (2nd, 3rd and 4th from the left.)

Incoming Brent geese

Golden plover, some entering into breeding plumage at Titchwell.

2 more Spoonbill

Bar tailed godwit, Titchwell beach

Bar tailed godwit

Dunlin

Bar tailed godwits with a Grey plover at the back showing the dark blotch on the underwing.

Grey plover

Series of a 3rd year pale Herring gull

Adult Herring gull

Common gull series

Another shot of the Marsh harrier

Turnstone leading a small flock of Dunlin

Oystercatcher

Oystercatcher, Titchwell beach

Adult Herring gull

Titchwell Curlew at dusk

Another evening Curlew

Barn owl hunting over Thornham Marsh at dusk

Same owl

Note dark upperwing plumage

2nd Barn owl, much less dark on wings and head.