Family day in Norfolk in the sun. Started mid-morning with breakfast at Holt before me and Tom went looking for a Ring Ouzel at nearby Kelling Heath. We decided to then go to Cley, where a nice few hours were spent seeing the following…
Whimbrel x 4
Black-tailed Godwit x 50
Marsh Harrier x pair
Cetti's Warbler – several heard.
Lesser Whitethroat – heard.
Bearded Tit – several, showing well including a couple of nice males.
Bar-tailed Godwit x 3
Sandwich Tern x 50 either on the sea or roosting on the pools.
Fulmar – two at sea.
We then managed to leave just at the very moment the three Cranes that had headed east along the coast apparently circled above Cley. If we’d have looked up before getting in the car, we would surely have seen them. Tom’s bogey bird remains just that!
We then joined Michelle and Sam for fish and chips at Wells and a drink in the Victoria at Holkham before driving along Lady Anne’s Drive and taking a walk around the Pines. The usual Meadow Pipits were on the saltmarsh in high numbers, as well as a flock of over twenty Wheatears. The usual assortment of birds (Marsh Harrier, Little Egret etc.) with good numbers of Goldcrests seen or heard. The best find however was a smart male Redstart flycatching by the Washington hide.
