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24th July 2018 – Waders & Other Wildlife
A Private Tour today in North Norfolk. It was another hot and sunny day, although a light sea breeze kept something of a lid on temperatures on the coast.
On our way out this morning, we swung round via the church where the Peregrine has been roosting for the last couple of months. It is not always there, but as we drove up we could see it perched on a protruding stone high on the tower. We got out and got the scope on it, getting a fantastic close-up look at it in the process.
The Peregrine was already looking a bit restless today, facing out, alert, with its wings held half open. Thankfully we had all had a really good look before it stretched its wings out and took off. We watched as it flew off east over the town. Presumably it had enjoyed a lie in and was now off to get its breakfast this morning!
Peregrine – setting off from the church tower
Our destination for the morning was Holkham. It was already starting to get quite warm as we parked at the top of Lady Anne's Drive and set off west along the past on the inland side of the pines. It was rather quiet in the trees today. A Chiffchaff and a Blackcap were singing, and we could hear tits and a Treecreeper calling from deep in the pines.
The butterflies were out in force and enjoying the warm weather. The highlight was a Silver-washed Fritillary which flew in and landed on the brambles to feed. This species has been expanding rapidly and spreading out across Norfolk, but is still always a good one to see.
Silver-washed Fritillary – feeding on the brambles
There were also lots of Gatekeeper and Meadow Brown, a few Ringlet and a couple of Speckled Wood along the track here. A second generation Wall Brown landed on the path, but refused to open its wings.
Salts Hole was pretty empty save for a handful of Mallard. A Common Darter dragonfly hovered over the pool and a Southern Hawker was patrolling round the edge of the reeds. We stopped to listen to a Reed Warbler singing it rhythmic song, and it treated us to some masterful mimicry, imitating Blue Tit, Wren and Swallow and weaving them into its song while we stood nearby.
We stopped briefly up on the boardwalk to Washington Hide, to scan the grazing marshes. There was not much out here today, unusually not even any Marsh Harriers, so we continued on. Just beyond Washington Hide, we heard Long-tailed Tits and Coal Tits calling in the trees, we had finally found one of the tit flocks. We thought they might be coming down for a drink, but despite looking like they might be coming out onto the edge of the trees ahead of us, they disappeared back deeper in.
The hemp agrimony is in flower along the path now and is great for butterflies. Scanning the flower heads as we walked along, we added quite a few to the day's list – Large Skipper, Peacock, Painted Lady and a smart Brown Argus which posed nicely for us. There were several smaller skippers and one did eventually stop long enough for us to see the underside of its antennae – it was a Small Skipper.
Brown Argus – on the hemp agrimony by the path
As we approached Joe Jordan Hide through the pines, we could see lots of white birds still out on the pool below. When we got up into the hide, we could see they were mostly Spoonbills. Birds were coming and going all the time, but there were at least 15 juveniles, 'teaspoons' with only partly grown bills much shorter than the adults, recently fledged from the trees nearby.
We watched as a couple of the juvenile Spoonbills set off after one of the adults, which will have been one of their parents. They walked behind it, flapping their wings and bobbing their heads up and down. They wouldn't give up either, until they had been fed, pursuing it right across the pool – little beggars! They are starting to disperse along the coast now and numbers will fall here in the next few weeks.
Spoonbills – there were still at least 15 juveniles on the pool today
There were a few more Marsh Harriers from Joe Jordan Hide, juveniles flying around over the grazing marsh, practising their flying skills. A couple of Common Buzzards started to spiral up too, on the increasingly hot air.
Apparently, there had been a Great White Egret on the bank of one of the ditches just before we arrived, but it had flown back into the trees. Eventually one flew out again, and did a nice fly past, before dropping down into a ditch out of view. Then a second Great White Egret flew back out of the trees and landed out on the grazing marshes beyond.
It was time to start walking back. There were still lots of butterflies in the flowers beside the path and one larger, dull orange one stood out. It was a Dark Green Fritillary. They are fairly common in the dunes here at this time of year and one or two sometimes wander over to this side of the pines to feed. A two-fritillary morning!
Dark Green Fritillary – feeding on the flowers by the path on the way back
When we got back to Meals House, we finally found a tit flock out in the open on the edge of the trees, Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits and Coal Tits. Three Treecreepers were chasing each other in and out of the trees and one kept landing back on the trunk of the same sycamore. A Blackcap flew up out of the vegetation the other side of the path and we could hear it calling behind us. There were also a couple of Chiffchaff and a Chaffinch with the flock too.
The walk back to the car from there was fairly quiet. A Goldcrest was singing in the pines just past Salts Hole and several House Martins were hawking for insects high over the treetops. As we drove back up Lady Anne's Drive, a Red Kite was circling over the south side of the grazing marsh and drifted over the road behind the Victoria pub.
Our destination for the afternoon was Titchwell, but when we got there we stopped first for an early lunch in the picnic area. After lunch, we headed out to explore the reserve. As we came out of the trees, a juvenile Marsh Harrier was circling over the Thornham grazing marsh. It gradually drifted almost overhead, giving us a great view, all dark but for a paler head.
Marsh Harrier – this juvenile circled above us
The reedbed pool held a nice selection of dabbling ducks, but they are all in their rather dull eclipse plumage at this time of year. Two female Red-crested Pochards floated out from the edge of the reeds and a couple of Little Grebes were diving out towards the back.
A couple of Reed Warblers darted in and out of the reeds as we passed. As we approached Island Hide, we could hear Bearded Tits calling and caught a glimpse of one or two as they zoomed across the tops of the reeds.
The Freshmarsh is chock full of birds at the moment, but the first thing we noticed were the Spoonbills. These are birds which have already dispersed from the breeding colony at Holkham. There were several around the small island in the back corner, but a family groups of three, an adult and two juveniles, had landed out in the middle. Just as we had seen at Holkham, the juveniles were pursuing the adult, begging for food. The adult eventually took off and the last we saw of them, it was still being pursued out over the bank and across the saltmarsh
There were lots of waders on the Freshmarsh again today – birds on coming back after the breeding season already, gathering to moult. There are hundreds of Black-tailed Godwits returning from Iceland, and hundred of Avocets gathering here from around the coast. A bewildering variety of Ruff back from Scandinavia, mostly scruffy males in various stages of moult. Three Spotted Redshanks were asleep in amongst them, their black breeding plumage already mostly shed, with just a scattering of black feathers remaining in their increasing pale white underparts.
Avocet – a fully grown juvenile, feeding in front of the hide
In amongst the larger waders, there were lots of smaller ones, barely up to the knees of the godwits. There were several small flocks of Dunlin, still sporting their summer black belly patches. Three Curlew Sandpipers with them, on their way south from central Siberia, adults with their rusty underparts now liberally peppered with pale winter feathers.
A Little Stint appeared with them. If the Dunlin were already looking small, the Little Stint was smaller still. A summer adult, rusty coloured with a much shorter bill than the Dunlin. There were several smart summer plumaged Knot too, still bright orange below.
When one of the young Marsh Harriers drifted out over the Freshmarsh, pandemonium ensued. Everything took off and it was really impressive to see all the waders in the air together – you really could appreciate at that point just what an enormous number of birds there was out there.
Waders – when flushed by a Marsh Harrier, we realised just how many there were!
The gulls have rather taken over the Freshmarsh this summer, mostly Black-headed Gulls but also over 50 pairs of Mediterranean Gull have bred too. A smaller gull was swimming out on the water – a Little Gull. We watched as it paddled round in circles, picking at insects on the water's surface. We could see just how small it was relative to a juvenile Black-headed Gull nearby, which itself was not yet even fully grown.
Pink-footed Geese are mainly a winter visitor here, and should be in Iceland now, but two injured birds have spent the summer here. They were unable to fly north in the spring, presumably winged by wildfowlers shooting out on the marsh opposite – we could see their mangled wings hanging down. They were right below the windows of Island Hide today, giving us a point blank view of their delicate pink-ringed black bills.
Pink-footed Goose – the two injured birds were right in front of the hide
The Bearded Tits had been 'pinging' regularly from the reeds and we had managed to see two juveniles feeding on the mud on the edge of the reeds opposite the hide at one point. Then we heard Bearded Tits calling right in front of the hide and two juveniles appeared in the reeds. One clambered up through the vegetation, and we had a great look at it – rich tawny brown, with black lores.
Bearded Tit – a juvenile, playing hide and seek in the reeds
Heading back out along the main path, we stopped to look at two Little Ringed Plovers on one of the islands just below. We could just make out their golden yellow eye rings.
There is not much to see on the Volunteer Marsh at the moment, but there have been a couple of Lapwings feeding along the edges of the muddy channel just below the path in recent weeks. It is a great opportunity to stop and admire their beautiful iridescent plumage, green with patches of purple and bronze as it catches the sun. Even though they are moulting, they are still stunning birds!
Lapwing – shining in the sunlight on the Volunteer Marsh
The Tidal Pools are not tidal any more, after a winter storm filled in the channel which filled and drained them. They have been full of sea water, but with all the warm weather it is gradually evaporating creating a haven for waders, with lots of food in the emerging mud and shallow pools. There was quite a bit of heat haze now, in the late afternoon, but we could see more Redshank and Dunlin, plus several Turnstones and a couple of Ringed Plovers.
The Lesser Yellowlegs which has been around the reserve the last couple of weeks has also taken to feeding on here at the moment. It had gone to sleep when we arrived, sat down in the saltmarsh, and we couldn't see any more than a pale dot!
We thought we could try again later, and continued on to the beach. A few Sandwich Terns were flying back and forth offshore, but otherwise it was fairly quiet today. There was nothing out on the sand – the tide was just coming in, the mussel beds were covered, and there were quite a few holidaymakers out on the beach today.
When we got back to the non-tidal Tidal Pools, the Lesser Yellowlegs was now awake. It was standing up preening, and despite the heat haze, we could see its yellow legs. This is the first Lesser Yellowlegs ever to grace the reserve here, a rare visitor from the Americas, so a nice one to see.
A short diversion saw us call in at Parrinder Hide on the way back. From here, we had a better side-on view of the massed ranks of roosting godwits and we found a couple of Bar-tailed Godwits in with the more numerous Black-tailed Godwits. We could see the rusty orange of their underparts continuing down under the tail. A Common Snipe dropped in and started feeding along the edge of the reeds to the left of the hide, by the fenced-off island. A Common Sandpiper appeared on the grassy island in front of the hide, amongst the gulls, rounding out an excellent selection of waders here today.
We enjoyed better views of the Mediterranean Gulls from here, the adults now starting to lose their black hoods, and their smart grey-brown, scallop-backed juveniles. There were two more ducks for the day's list too – a couple of Teal, and a single Wigeon – none of which are looking particularly smart now, as they moult.
Mediterranean Gulls – there are lots of juveniles on the Freshmarsh
It had been a great day, and we had seen lots of birds despite the unusually hot weather. We headed for home well-satisfied.
Posted in North Norfolk, Summer Tour
Tagged Bearded Tit, Curlew Sandpiper, Dark Green Fritillary, Great White Egret, Holkham, Lesser Yellowlegs, Little Stint, North Norfolk, Peregrine, Silver-washed Fritillary, Spoonbill, Titchwell
22nd July 2018 – Scorching Summer Tour, Day 3
Day 3 of a three day long weekend of Summer Tours today, our last day. We were heading down to the Brecks today. The weather has been getting progressively hotter, and today was the warmest of the days we were out. It was bright and sunny in the morning and, although it did cloud over a little in the afternoon, it was still hot and humid.
The Peregrine was back on the church tower again this morning, so once we had picked everyone up we took a short detour round to see it. It had just finished devouring its breakfast and was digesting, perched high on one of the stones protruding from the tower, dozing in the morning sunshine. We got the scope on it and had a fantastic, full-frame view.
Peregrine – back on the church tower again this morning
It was such a treat to get so close views of a Peregrine, we eventually had to tear ourselves away to head off on the journey down to the Brecks.
Once we got into the north Brecks, we took a detour off the road to look for Stone Curlews. At the end of the breeding season they start to gather in larger flocks in favoured fields, and we hoped to find some today. We stopped to scan the field where they have been recently, but we couldn't find any there this morning. Then we heard Stone Curlews calling and realised they were in the field the other side of the road.
There is a thick hedge the other side of the road and it is impossible to see into the field, so we walked up to try to find a gap from where we could view. Some of the Stone Curlews must have been close to the hedge, because they took off and flew round, over our heads and across the road to the field we had been scanning. Two swung round and dropped down in view, but the rest, at least another ten, flew out to the middle of the field. The ground slopes away here and they dropped in out of view.
Turning our attention to the two Stone Curlews which had dropped down where we could see them, we trained the scope on them and had a great look at them. We could see their staring yellow iris and short black-tipped yellow bill, very unlike a curlew. They are not members of the curlew family at all, just named for their curlew-like calls, but actually members of the thick-knee family.
Stone Curlew – two landed in view in the field
One of the Stone Curlews sat down in the stony field and promptly all but disappeared – they are very well camouflaged! While we were watching them, we heard Tree Sparrows calling and looked across to see two land in a large bush out in the middle of the field. Through the scope, we could see the black spots in the middle of their white cheeks.
Our main destination for the day was to be Lakenheath Fen. Unfortunately, we had to take a big diversion to get there today. We hit a big traffic jam at Weeting, where the traffic had backed up trying to get into this weekend's Weeting Steam Rally. The tailback was right through the village and almost back to the main road! The organisers really need to do something about their chaotic parking arrangements next year – they clearly could not cope with the number of cars arriving. The diversion did at least yield a Mistle Thrush on some wires by the road as we passed.
We eventually arrived at Lakenheath to find they had their own 'bioblitz' event on today. While we were arranging access permits, we had a quick look at the various creatures they had already gathered. Unfortunately they had not kept many of the most interesting moths from the moth traps, but we did have a look at the Poplar Hawkmoth and Garden Tiger moths which had been put onto one of the screens round the back of the visitor centre.
One of the group had wandered back towards the car park, and saw the first Bittern of the day. It was a distinctive female with an injured leg which hangs down in flight, known as 'Gammyleg'. It had disappeared off upstream along the river towards Brandon Fen, away from the reserve.
We needed to limit the amount of walking for the group today, so we were granted a disabled permit and drove out to the disabled parking area by New Fen viewpoint. We walked up to the viewpoint and looked out over the reedbed. Apart from a few Coot, a Moorhen and a couple of Mallard, there was not much to see here today. It was already hot, and activity levels seemed to have dropped.
Black-tailed Skimmer – basking on the path
The number of dragonflies and damselflies here is starting to tail off now, but walking out along the bank on the south side of New Fen we still saw a good variety. There were lots of Brown Hawkers hawking over the reeds and an Emperor Dragonfly patrolled up and down the path, past us. One or two Black-tailed Skimmers were basking on the path and flew off ahead of us. A couple of rather worn Four-spotted Chasers perched on the reeds, but the Ruddy Darters were looking much smarter. Damselflies included Common Blue, Blue-tailed and Red-eyed Damselfly.
There were a few butterflies too – Red Admiral, Peacock, Comma and Large White. A Brimstone was feeding on some burdock flowers.
Brimstone – feeding on burdock
One or two Common Whitethroats darted out of the vegetation ahead of us and we saw a couple of Reed Warblers which disappeared into the reeds as we approached. The warden and one of his assistants were out in a boat, collecting things for the 'bioblitz', and flushed some Grey Herons from the reeds. When they had all taken to the air, sixteen birds were flying round together in a big flock! Three Little Egrets flew past, upstream along the river and a Green Sandpiper disappeared off that way too.
We hadn't gone too far before we spotted the first Bittern for the rest of the group. It was rather distant, over the far side of New Fen. It flew across over the reeds and dropped down out of sight. A little further on, we turned to see another Bittern coming round the far corner of the wood back behind us, away in the distance. We watched as it headed steadily towards us.
When it got closer, we could see that it had a dangling leg – it was 'Gammyleg', the female Bittern one of the group had seen earlier. It flew in right past us and dropped down into the reeds a short distance ahead of us, giving us great flight views as it did so. It is feeding young at the moment, so had obviously been off along the river collecting food.
Bittern – the bird known as 'Gammyleg' flying in over the reeds
We walked up to where the Bittern had seemed to go down and scanned the reeds, as much as we could see into them, but there was no sign of it. We hadn't gone much further along here before we looked back to see 'Gammyleg' heading off again, back round the far corner of the wood, presumably back to where it had been feeding earlier.
There had been a family of Bitterns seen from Mere Hide in recent weeks, but they have not been seen for a few days. That much was immediately apparent also from the fact that we had no trouble getting into the hide. When the Bitterns were showing, it was impossible to get in, as the place was packed out with photographers taking up occupation of the place from dawn to dusk! We had a quick sit down and scan, before moving on.
The family of Great Crested Grebes is still on one of the pools by the path out to Joist Fen. The four juveniles are now pretty much fully grown – too big to ride on mum or dad's back now. They still have stripy faces, which distinguishes them from the adults.
Great Crested Grebes – an adult and one of the now fully grown juveniles
A little further on and a Red Kite appeared from beyond West Wood, flying in low over the river before circling up over the trees. As we got out to Joist Fen, we started to see more Marsh Harriers and there were several juveniles out from the viewpoint, indulging in a bit of flying practice over the reeds.
The Hobbys can be harder to find here at this time of year, but we did manage to locate one from the viewpoint. It was very distant though, circling up right at the back of Joist Fen. There wasn't much else happening out here today though, so after a short rest we set off back. On the way, a Common Buzzard was circling over the corner of West Wood now.
Common Buzzard – circling up over West Wood
We could hear a Kingfisher calling from the poplars, but we couldn't see it. It was getting quiet hot now, so we made our way back to the car and headed back to the visitor centre for lunch.
After lunch, we walked up to the Washland viewpoint. The water on here is evaporating fast now, which at least has the advantage of making it attractive to waders. There were quite a few Black-tailed Godwits feeding in the shallow water and a large flock of Lapwing on the mud at the edge. In with the latter, were three Curlew and an Oystercatcher too. A single Common Redshank was wading out in the middle. A few Common Terns were hawking around over the remaining water.
The temperature and timing, in the middle of the afternoon, was not really conducive for looking for passerines, but we headed off to Lynford Arboretum to try our luck. We could hear Siskin calling as we got out of the car and saw one flying off from the top of the larches as we walked down through the arboretum. A Nuthatch was calling from somewhere in the distance, but otherwise it was very quiet in the trees.
We walked down to the bridge and someone had put some seed out on one of the pillars. Several Chaffinches were busy feeding here, but nothing else. A Goldfinch came down to drink in the paddock just beyond. We decided to have a look round the lake.
The Little Grebes here have obviously had a successful breeding season – first we found a very advanced juvenile on its own, then an adult feeding a very well-grown juvenile under the over-hanging trees (we could hear its begging calls first), and finally we came across another pair with three very small juveniles.
Little Grebes – this pair have three still very small juveniles
There was not much sign of any passerine activity down around the lake either, so we headed on round to the weir to see if we could find one of the Grey Wagtails. The water has largely stopped flowing out of the lake now, beyond a trickle, but as we walked in through the trees a Grey Wagtail flew off from the near bank and landed on an upturned wooden box out in the middle. We watched it bobbing its tail, before it flew back and started to feed along the far edge.
Looking back to the weir, we noticed some ripples in the water at the bottom and looked across to see a small mammal. It appeared to be bathing at first but when we looked more closely, we realised it was feeding, diving under the water. It was a Water Shrew – something we see very rarely. It surfaced with something in its mouth and hopped out onto the rocks, disappearing off to the bank. A few seconds later, it reappeared and ran down into the water again.
We stood and watched the Water Shrew feeding for several minutes – it was fascinating to observe one for an extended period, as normally all you see of them is one disappearing off in the water. We could see its long pointed nose, black fur contrasting with paler silver belly and quite a long tail. Eventually the Water Shrew disappeared into the rocks again and we decided to walk back.
When we got back to the bridge, activity seemed to have picked up a bit. The Chaffinches were still feeding on the seed on the pillar, but as we walked up we heard a Marsh Tit calling immediately behind them. It was flicking around in the trees just beyond, low down, hanging on the branches and picking at the underside of the leaves. A Treecreeper called and appeared from around the back on the trunk of the tree right beside us.
Marsh Tit – looking for insects on the underside of the leaves
Walking back up through the middle of the arboretum, we came across a large tit flock. A Nuthatch was with them, in a tall birch tree. Unusually, it was feeding by hovering and trying to pick insects off the leaves – not something you see often. There were also Long-tailed Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits and Blue Tits.
The afternoon was getting on now and it was time to be heading back. On the way, we called in briefly at a clearing in the forest. There have been Tree Pipits breeding here, but there was no sign of them this afternoon. A male Yellowhammer appeared briefly in the top of a young oak tree, with food in its bill. Presumably it still has young in the nest nearby.
We had a quick walk to the edge of the clearing. Several birds flew out of the dense bracken and dropped back in further along. A mixed tit flock were feeding in here, possibly finding more food here in the cool, dark conditions, and with them were a couple of Blackcap and one or two Common Whitethroat.
Unfortunately, we were out of time and we had to head for home now. It had been an exciting three days with a great variety of birds and other wildlife, some of the best Norfolk has to offer in summer.
Posted in Brecks, Summer Tour
Tagged Bittern, Brecks, Hobby, Lakenheath Fen, Lynford Arboretum, Marsh Tit, Norfolk, Peregrine, Stone Curlew, Suffolk, Water Shrew
21st July 2018 – Scorching Summer Tour, Day 2 & Nightjar Evening
Day 2 of a three day long weekend of Summer Tours today. It was another sunny day – lovely weather to be out and about, even if the temperature does mean that a lot of the smaller birds go quiet in the heat of the day.
Our first destination was Holkham. As we got out of the car at the north end of Lady Anne's Drive, we could hear Grey Partridge calling from the grazing meadow. It was just visible for a couple of seconds before it walked back into the taller grass and disappeared.
There were not many birds singing now as we set off west along the track on the edge of the pines. We did hear a Blackcap deep in the trees and a Wren on this first stretch of the path. It wasn't long before we encountered a tit flock – suddenly we didn't know where to look, with Long-tailed Tits, Blue Tits and Coal Tits feeding in the trees either side of us. A Treecreeper appeared in a pine tree close by, allowing us to get a good look at it as it climbed up the trunk. Three Goldcrests were calling and flicking their wings in a small group high above the track.
Treecreeper – showed well in a pine by the path
Salts Hole just held a few Mallard and a Moorhen, so we continued on. We saw quite a few butterflies in the brambles and bushes by the path Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown and Ringlet, both Large and Green-veined White, Red Admiral and Peacock. When we got to the elms just before Washington Hide, we stopped and scanned the tops of the trees. It didn't take long to find a small butterfly fluttering around the branches, a White-letter Hairstreak. It eventually landed in view and we could see the distinctive white line on the underside of its wings.
Gatekeeper – we saw lots of butterflies along the path today
There is a better view from higher up on the boardwalk, so we stopped just outside Washington Hide to scan the grazing marshes. There were a couple of juvenile Marsh Harriers practicing their flying skills out over the reeds. We saw our first Spoonbills of the day too, two of them circling out over the middle of the marshes, and there were a couple of others perched in the trees in the distance. A Great White Egret flew up out of the reeds by the pool in front of the hide, but dropped down behind the sallows before everyone could get a look at it.
As we approached Meals House, a male Bullfinch flew off from the reeds by the garden and landed in a sallow at the back. It perched in full view, so we got a good look at it, bright pink underneath with a black cap. It flew across and landed down on the edge of the garden and we could see it feeding on the brambles by the fence when we looked from the gate. A female Bullfinch was feeding with it here too.
Before we even got to Joe Jordan Hide, we could see all the Spoonbills on the edge of the pool out in front. From up in the hide, we could count them. There were at least 15 juveniles, 'teaspoonbills' with partly grown bills, and 3-4 adults with them, although there was steady coming and going. Several of the juvenile Spoonbills were begging for food from their parents – bobbing their heads up and down and flapping their wings. We watched them pursue the adults relentlessly around the pool!
A Great White Egret appeared, flying in over the grazing marsh, but quickly dropped down into a ditch out of view. A little while later, another Great White Egret flew out of the trees and across the grass of the fort, before dropping down into the same place.
There were more juvenile Marsh Harriers in front of the hide here too, practicing their flying. Three Common Buzzards circled up over the grass and a Kestrel perched in a hawthorn out on the edge of one of the ditches.
Leaving the hide, we walked through the pines and out into the dunes. The orchids here are now largely over, but there were one or two Marsh Helleborines still flowering. We were hoping to catch up with some butterflies here, but it was rather quiet at first. A Common Blue fluttered past and then a Brown Argus appeared. We found a couple of Six-spot Burnet moths feeding on the thistles. Eventually one Dark Green Fritillary put in an appearance, but it was just a quick fly past – blink, and you missed it!
Brown Argus – out in the dunes
Scanning the beach from the top of the dunes, it all looked very quiet, bird-wise at least. Two Gannets flew east offshore, way off in the distance. On the way back through the dunes, there were a few more Dark Green Fritillaries, but they were very mobile in the heat. One did drop down into the grass briefly but it was quickly on its way again.
The trees were even quieter now, in the heat of the middle of the day. We did find a Drinker moth on the path on our way back. A Jay was feeding in the shade underneath the trees by the path.
Jay – feeding in the shade underneath the trees
It was time for lunch when we arrived at Titchwell, where we planned to spend the afternoon. We made good use of the tables in the picnic area. A Southern Hawker was feeding around the sallows just across the path while we ate.
After lunch, we made our way out onto the reserve. There is nothing on the dried-up grazing meadow 'pool' now, but there were lots of ducks on the reedbed pool. Most of the drakes are in their drab eclipse plumage now, but in with the Mallard, Gadwall and Common Pochard, we did find two female Red-crested Pochards. Two Little Grebes were diving along the edge of the reeds towards the back.
We heard Bearded Tits pinging in the reeds by the path and saw one or two zooming across the tops before diving in. One perched up briefly. There were several Reed Warblers too. The juvenile Marsh Harriers were flying round over the reeds here too and were joined at one point by a smart grey-winged male.
Just before Island Hide, we stopped to scan the Freshmarsh. There were more Bearded Tits here, with birds pretty much constantly flying back and forth between the reeds either side of the mud. On the edge of the island at the back, we could see more Spoonbills, at least ten of them at first, with another two then flying in to join them. A single Little Gull, a first summer, was swimming round in circles along the edge of the reeds, picking at the surface.
There are lots of waders on the Freshmarsh at the moment – particularly Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits. In amongst one of the roosting flocks of the latter, we found a summer-plumage Bar-tailed Godwit – even though it was asleep, we could see the rusty colour of its underparts extending right down under the tail. There were a few Knot with them too, all still in orange breeding plumage. Three adult Curlew Sandpipers were feeding together nearby, still sporting their summer rusty underparts, and there were several small groups of Dunlin too.
Some of the Spotted Redshanks have been back a while now and have been moutling fast out of their black breeding plumage. The first one we saw was almost completely in its silvery-grey winter plumage already.
There were some Ruff right in front of Island Hide, so we popped in for a closer look. They are also moulting fast, the males losing their ornate ruff feathers very soon after they get back. With birds in different states of moult, and still sporting some breeding feathers in a variety of colours, the variation in appearance is really amazing!
Ruff – a moulting male in front of the hide
Having disappeared yesterday, the Lesser Yellowlegs was relocated on the Tidal Pools just as we arrived at Titchwell. Helpfully, by the time we got out to the Freshmarsh, it had flown back on here. We quickly found it, right out in the middle with all the other waders. It stood out, small and slim, with a very fine bill.
It was also interesting to watch the Lesser Yellowlegs feeding, sweeping its bill side to side through the water, rather like a Spotted Redshank. We had a nice comparison at one point while it was feeding next to a couple of Common Redshanks. Four Golden Plover dropped in to one of the islands, to round off the wader collection here nicely.
As well as all the waders, there are still lots of gulls on the Freshmarsh. The Mediterranean Gulls have had a great breeding season and we could see a good number of juveniles still, as well as some very smart adults. There were several Common and Sandwich Terns too, but the only Little Tern was chased off by an Avocet and headed out towards the beach.
While we scanned the Freshmarsh, we kept one eye on the edge of the reeds. We had a couple of brief views of Bearded Tits there before three tawny brown juveniles came out onto the mud opposite the hide. They hopped up and down along the edge, in and out of the reeds, feeding. Now we had some nice scope views of them.
Bearded Tit – three juveniles came out onto the edge of the reeds
Back up on the main path, we found a juvenile Little Ringed Plover feeding on the mud just below the bank. The two injured Pink-footed Geese appeared from behind the vegetation on one of the islands. They appear unable to fly and have not been able to return to Iceland for the breeding season, but seem to be surviving here.
Carrying on towards the beach, there is not much on Volunteer Marsh at the moment. A Common Redshank walked up out of the channel below the path as we passed and we stopped to admire a couple of Lapwings, their iridescent green upperparts shining bronze and purple in the sunshine. Several Curlews were feeding along the edges of the channel at the far side.
Lapwing – shining bronze and purple in the sunshine
The now non-tidal 'Tidal Pools', which have been flooded with seawater since the winter, are steadily starting to dry out a little, exposing some of the muddy islands. There are lots of waders on here at the moment. As well as the usual Oystercatchers, which roost on here over high tide, there were lots of Dunlin and several Turnstones at the back, mostly asleep. The heat haze was a bit of a problem now and we couldn't find the Temminck's Stint which had been reported earlier – there are too many places for it to hide here!
Out at the beach, we couldn't see much out to sea, beyond a few Sandwich Terns passing. The tide was just starting to go out and the mussel beds were still under water, so there were not many waders out here. Two Ringed Plover were feeding on the sand out towards Brancaster. A flock of small waders flew across over the edge of the sea – a group of Sanderling, still in their darker breeding plumage. They doubled back and landed on the edge of the water, where we could get a good look at them in the scope.
On the way back, we stopped to scan the Freshmarsh again. Two Common Snipe had appeared on the mud beside the reeds below the bank out to Parrinder Hide. As we looked beyond them, we saw that the Lesser Yellowlegs had flown in and was now feeding right in front of the hide. We took a quick diversion for a closer look.
Lesser Yellowlegs – feeding right in front of Parrinder Hide
We had a great view of the Lesser Yellowlegs now, feeding right out in front of the hide. Much better than earlier, when it was right out in the middle. It was wading in deeper water now, up to its belly, and probing down into the mud below, rather than sweeping its bill.
It was time to head back, but we had one more diversion on the way. A couple of Bearded Tits were feeding in the reeds around the pools just below the main path and we stopped to watch them. While we were doing so, we heard Whimbrel calling and looked up to see two flying high west overhead, presumably freshly back from the continent.
Then, with a busy evening ahead and needing to get something to eat beforehand, we made our way back to the car.
After a couple of hours rest, we met up again early in the evening. We headed out to look for Little Owls first, up to some barns which are a good place to find them. As we drove up, we noticed a shape on one of the roofs right beside the road and looked up to see a Little Owl staring back at us.
Little Owl – staring at us as we first drove up
We pulled up in the middle of the road for a look, but just at that moment a car was coming the other way and we had to move. The Little Owl disappeared as the other car passed, so we parked further up along the road and got out. We scanned the roofs of the farm buildings on the other side of the road and found another Little Owl right on the top of a grain silo some distance away. Then a third Little Owl popped up on the top of another silo a little further over. We had a good look at them in the scope.
A couple of Red-legged Partridges were standing on one of the roofs and dropped down to feed on the edge of the concrete below. A smart male Yellowhammer perched high on the top of another, calling. A Brown Hare ran past between the buildings and a large flock of Rooks flew over, heading off to roost. A Hobby flashed past, over the fields and away towards the trees beyond.
Then the first Little Owl reappeared, back on the roof where we had seen it earlier, much closer to us. It had found a spot, tucked down behind the ridge where it could perch and not be easily seen, but we found a good angle and got some nice views through scope.
Having enjoyed such great success with Little Owls, we made our way down towards the coast to look for Barn Owls next. When they have young to feed, the Barn Owls are often out hunting early, but now many of the young have fledged, there are not so many out in the early evening. We drove round and checked out all the various fields where we see them regularly, but no joy.
We had an appointment with some Nightjars, so we couldn't wait too long for the Barn Owls to appear tonight. We parked and got out, and scanned across a large expanse of marshes. Finally a Barn Owl appeared, albeit rather distantly, and it landed on a post so we could get it in the scope.
It was time to make our way up to the heath now. We parked and walked out to the middle. It was all quiet now, apart from a pair of Stonechats calling out on the gorse.
The first Nightjar started up bang on time. It called from somewhere in the trees first, before churring briefly. Then it flew out of the trees and round in front of us and landed on its favourite perch, right in the scope. We had a great look at it, but unfortunately it only stayed a few seconds before it was off again. It flew round, in and out of the trees, before churring again from somewhere deeper in.
When it came out of the trees again, the Nightjar did another circuit in front of us, then flew straight past us. We had a great view, as it flew past with stiff wing beats, flashing its white wing patches. It flew up into a dense leafy oak behind us, before disappearing off across heath.
Nightjar – this male flew right past us and out over the heath
A second Nightjar started up, churring away in the distance, and what was probably the one we had just been watching responded, churring from somewhere out in the middle. They were a bit slow to get going this evening, perhaps given the stage of the breeding season, but as we walked on another two Nightjars started to churr.
We headed over to where we could watch a couple of the favourite perches used by one of the other males, but there was no sign of it coming in tonight. We could still hear the two male Nightjars churring against each other out in the middle. It was great simply to stand for a while and listen to them as the light faded.
It was starting to get dark now, and we were just about to walk back when a Nightjar called along the edge of the trees behind us. It was the male, and it flew in and did a circuit round by the trees, silhouetted against the last of the light. It didn't land on one of its perches, but flew back out to another favourite oak tree, and started churring again.
As we walked back to the car, we were serenaded by another one or two males churring from the trees across the other side of the heath. We heard one calling, and looked up to see two Nightjars flying round, feeding around the tops of trees, silhouetted against the moon. A fitting way to end a lovely evening out on the heath.
Posted in Nightjar Evening, North Norfolk, Summer Tour
Tagged Bearded Tit, Curlew Sandpiper, Dark Green Fritillary, Great White Egret, Holkham, Lesser Yellowlegs, Little Gull, North Norfolk, Spoonbill, Spotted Redshank, Titchwell, White-letter Hairstreak
20th July 2018 – Scorching Summer Tour, Day 1
Day 1 of a three day long weekend of Summer Tours today. It has been a proper summer for the last few weeks here – and it was hot and sunny this morning, with little wind. It clouded over a bit in the afternoon and the breeze picked up a touch, which helped to cool it down a little, but we saw no sign of any thunderstorms which had been forecast might make just it up here.
To start the day, we headed up to one of the heaths. We were hoping we might be able to beat the worst of the heat, but by the time we made it up there, the temperature was already rising fast. There was not much activity as we walked up along the path, apart from the butterflies – Gatekeepers, Meadow Browns and Small/Essex Skippers which didn't stop so we could identify them. A Common Lizard scuttled off into the long grass ahead of us.
An area here has been burned by a small fire in the last few weeks, although thankfully it was caught quickly before it could spread. A small square of gorse and birch trees were burnt and as we got up to it, we could hear Long-tailed Tits calling and Coal Tits singing. A mixed tit flock flew in from our right and made a beeline for the burnt trees. There were other birds with them too – Blue Tits, a family of Great Tits and several Chiffchaffs – and they stopped to feed in the scorched trees.
We watched the tit flock feeding in the burnt trees for a while, before they started to move off into the birches beyond. We carried on to an area where a pair of Dartford Warblers have been feeding their recently fledged young in recent days. It was all quiet as we walked round through the gorse here though – either they have moved the young or they were keeping out of the heat today.
We did see a male Yellowhammer with food, which perched up in the top of a small birch briefly, before dropping down into the gorse with it. And there were lots of Linnets around, perching up in the gorse, including some nice smart males with rusty backs and red breasts.
Linnet – we saw lots of them as we walked round the Heath
With the temperature rising steadily, we decided to try our luck elsewhere. The Common Buzzards were taking advantage of the early thermals, spiralling up along the ridge. We walked on through another Dartford Warbler territory but these birds have just fledged their first brood and have probably started on their next, which is why they have gone quiet in the last few days.
This is a very good site for Silver-studded Blue butterflies, but we are right at the end of their flight season now. As we walked down along one of the wider paths, we noticed a dark female 'blue' butterfly fluttering around the heather on the verge. When it landed, we could see the silvery-blue-centred spots on the underwing, confirming it was a female Silver-studded Blue.
Silver-studded Blue – one of the last ones on the wing today
As we walked down beside the railway cutting, we could hear a rather noisy diesel approaching. As it passed by just beside us, we noticed two small birds fly up from the verge on the other side of the cutting, two Woodlarks. We watched them fly and drop down towards one of the paths out on the heath the other side, so we decided to head round and try to get a better look at them.
When we got round there, the Woodlarks were on the path. Even though we walked round really slowly, the first one flew up before we got to it, quickly followed by three more. The first flew off behind some gorse, but the others landed back on the path a little further along. We could see that two of the Woodlarks were fully grown juveniles, so possibly a family party. Then one of the adults flew up and landed in the top of a gorse bush, where we could get a good look at it through the scope.
Woodlark – one perched up in the top of a gorse bush briefly
There was a family of Stonechats here too. We found one juvenile flicking around in a small pine tree first, then a second juveniles in the top of the gorse beyond. Then the male put in a brief appearance too.
We turned onto another small and less used path across the heath. We hadn't got very far when three birds flew up from the vegetation ahead of us – Nightjars! It was a family group – a male and two three-quarter grown juveniles. Presumably the female has started to incubate a second clutch already nearby, while the male looks after the first brood.
The two short-tailed youngsters flew a short distance and landed back down in the gorse, while the male Nightjar doubled back round behind us and seemed to land back down on the main path. We walked round there cautiously, but it was off again before we got there. We had a fantastic long flight view of it though, as it flew round over the heather, showing off its bold white patches across the tips of its wings.
That was a real bonus, seeing the Nightjars, so with our luck in we decided to swing back round and have another go for the Dartford Warblers. Unfortunately it was not to be and there was still no sign of them. The tit flock had returned and were feeding in the burnt trees again though.
As we got back to the car park, we could hear a Blackcap alarm calling in the blackthorn and just saw it moving around in the dense branches. There were several birds in here and they moved down through the bushes towards the road. When we saw something moving in the branches, we thought it would be the Blackcap again, but a Garden Warbler appeared instead. We only had a brief view of it though, before it flew back into the blackthorn.
It was after midday already, so we dropped back down to the coast and along to the visitor centre at Cley, where we stopped for an early lunch. There were lots of birds on the reserve, so we got the scope out and scanned the scrapes while we ate. We were looking for the Curlew Sandpiper, when we spotted an adult Water Rail preening at the back of the water, against the reeds. Shortly afterwards, we found the Curlew Sandpiper too, but it was hard to see where it was.
A Marsh Harrier flew across over the reeds at the back, and one or two Grey Herons and Little Egrets flew in and out. We could hear Bearded Tits calling and a Reed Warbler singing in the reeds just across the road.
After lunch, we headed out to explore the reserve. We made our way along to Bishop Hide first, as that seemed like it might be the best vantage point from which to see the Curlew Sandpiper. Sure enough, there it was, on the mud on the edge of one of the islands with a couple of Dunlin. It was starting to moult out of breeding plumage, but still largely rusty-coloured below.
Curlew Sandpiper – a moulting adult, on Pat's Pool
There were lots of Avocets on Pat's Pool, which was liberally coated in them and Black-headed Gulls. The Avocets appear to have had a good breeding season and there were lots of juveniles in with them. One juvenile came down into the shallow water just in front of the hide, where we watched it sweeping its bill from side to side. We saw it catch a small fish, which it proceeded to wash in the water for several seconds before finally swallowing it.
Avocet – this juvenile caught a small fish in front of Bishop Hide
In amongst all the Black-headed Gulls out on the scrape, there were several Ruff too, returning males which have already moulted out their ornate ruff feathers. They are rather scruffy now and come in a huge variety of colours and patterns, a potential source of confusion. There were a few Lapwing too. The Black-tailed Godwits were mostly asleep on one of the islands, mostly adults still sporting their bright rusty breeding plumage.
We spotted an adult Little Ringed Plover on the mud right over the back of the scrape and could just about make out its golden yellow eye ring through the scope. Then we looked back at the mud right in front of the hide and there were two juvenile Little Ringed Plovers there, perfectly camouflaged against the brown of the dried mud when they stood still.
Little Ringed Plover – there were two juveniles in front of Bishop Hide
A juvenile Little Egret flew in and landed right in front of the hide too, still with grey-green legs and its dagger-like bill shorter than fully grown. There were several young Shoveler sleeping with the Mallard and Gadwall on the bank below the hide, and a Coot feeding a well grown juvenile here too. A Stoat running along the bank, in and out of the long grass, was only visible from one end of the hide though.
There was a Green Sandpiper feeding just beyond the bank, but it was hidden behind the vegetation at first. Thankfully it walked back towards us and moved out into the open mud, where we could get a good look at it, noting the differences from Common Sandpiper, particularly the lack of the white notch between the breast and the wings, as well as its slightly larger size.
Green Sandpiper – eventually came out onto the open mud right in front of the hide
Eventually, we decided to tear ourselves away from all the activity here and walk out to the other hides out in the middle. A couple of Reed Warblers were feeding in the reeds along the other side of the ditch beside the path. Several House Martins were hawking for insects overhead. A smart Red Admiral butterfly was basking on the boardwalk, along with a Ruddy Darter dragonfly.
When we got out to Dauke's Hide, the first thing we noticed were the Spoonbills. There were three of them here, two juveniles with still only partly grown bills, 'teaspoons', and one adult. One of the young ones was awake and preening allowing us to get a good look at it through the scope.
Spoonbill – a youngster, with only partly grown 'teaspoon'
There were more waders on here, particularly Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits. Scanning through a group of the latter which were feeding out to the left of the hide, we could see one bird with a mass of colour rings on its legs. The yellow flag was carrying a geolocator and a lime-green ring marked with a black 'E' signalled it out as a bird from the small breeding population on the Nene Washes. These are Continental Black-tailed Godwits, of the nominate subspecies limosa, rather than the Icelandic race which comprise the vast bulk of the Black-tailed Godwits we see here.
In amongst the Icelandic Black-tailed Godwits further out was a single Knot, also still in its rusty breeding plumage. Eleven Dunlin were feeding out towards the back and a Common Snipe appeared on the edge of the reeds right at the rear of the scrape. Another Green Sandpiper dropped in on the margin of one of the islands briefly and two more juvenile Little Ringed Plovers were hard to see, feeding on the narrow strip of mud just beyond the bank in front of the hide. It looks like they have had a productive breeding season here too.
On one of the islands, about twenty large gulls were mostly asleep. The majority of them were slaty-backed Lesser Black-backed Gulls but amongst the paler-mantled Herring Gulls two had noticeably but slightly darker grey upperparts. When they finally awoke and stood up, we could see they had yellow legs too, different from the pink-legged Herring Gulls. They were Yellow-legged Gulls from continental Europe, an increasingly common late summer visitor here.
One of the paler backed gulls woke up too, and stood up. It looked rather unlike a Herring Gull, with a long sloping face and long parallel-sided bill. It had a darkish eye too. When it finally turned round we could confirm it was a Caspian Gull, an immature, in its third calendar year, with faded grey brown feathers in its wing and dark black-based tertials. This is a rarer but increasingly regular visitor here so a nice bird to find.
Caspian Gull – this third calendar year immature was on one of the islands
Back at the car, we drove the short distance along to the East Bank, although the car park was full and we had to park at Walsey Hills. We could hear a Cetti's Warbler calling in the reeds and a Blackcap appeared in the bushes. An adult and two juvenile Little Grebes were out on Snipe's Marsh. As we set off up the East Bank, several Common Pochard were in with the Mallards on Don's Pool.
The grazing marsh here is mostly dried out now, but there is still water in the Serpentine. We could see a few people gathered further up along the bank, by the north end, so we continued on to join them. They were watching the Temminck's Stint which had been found here earlier in the day and it soon emerged from behind the grass and started feeding on the edge of the mud.
Temminck's Stint – feeding around the edge of the north end of the Serpentine
The Temminck's Stint was creeping around on the mud in typical fashion. Through the scope, we could see its pale yellowish legs and the distinctive pattern of black-centred feathers in its upperparts. A Lapwing walked along the edge towards it and pushed the Temminck's Stint off ahead of it. Next to the Lapwing, we could really see just how small it was.
When we heard Bearded Tits calling behind us, we turned round to see one flying fast just over the tops of the reeds, before crashing back in out of view, in typical fashion. We walked further up, and heard and glimpsed one or two more, before one flew in towards us and landed briefly in full view for a couple of seconds before it disappeared in.
There were two juvenile Marsh Harriers perched up in the bushes out in the middle of the reeds and we got one in the scope. It was plain, dark chocolate brown with a contrasting golden-orangey head. A little further along, a Sedge Warbler flew past us.
Out at Arnold's Marsh, we stopped in the shelter for a scan. There were a few Sandwich Terns on one of the small gravel islands and a Ringed Plover popped up briefly on the edge of the saltmarsh in front of them. A small group of Dunlin was feeding out towards the back and there were several Redshank and Curlew out here too. Two Oystercatchers flew in, calling noisily, and landed on the saltmarsh towards the front.
A lone Brent Goose on the saltmarsh is most likely a sick or injured bird which was unable to make the journey back to Russia for the breeding season and has spent the summer here. There were several Cormorants drying their wings here and a young Great Black-backed Gull too. You cannot come all the way out here without at least looking at the sea, so we carried on out to the beach. A couple of Meadow Pipits flew up from the shingle ahead of us.
Looking out to sea, it all looked rather quiet at first. A few Sandwich Terns flew back and forth. Then a distant group of dark ducks were Common Scoter, probably birds just returning from Scandinavia for the winter and heading in towards the Wash. Five Curlew flew in towards us over the sea too, before turning west, again most likely migrants on their way here, fresh arrivals just coming back from the continent for the winter.
It had been a really good day, despite the heat, but it was now time to walk back to the car and head for home. More again tomorrow!
Tagged Caspian Gull, Cley, Continental Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew Sandpiper, Nightjar, Norfolk, Spoonbill, Temminck's Stint, Woodlark
16th July 2018 – Summer Waders
A Private Tour today in North Norfolk. It was a lovely sunny day, hot but with a nice light breeze just to take the edge off it along the coast. It was the first big tide of the 'autumn' season, so with an early start, we headed over to the Wash to look at the waders.
The tide was already starting to come in when we first arrived up on the seawall, but there was still a lot of exposed mud, so we stopped for a scan. Several Ringed Plovers and Oystercatchers were feeding down just below the bank and they were joined by a Dunlin. Some larger flocks of Dunlin were still feeding feverishly out on the other side of the channel, but started to fly further up as the tide began to rise.
One or two Black-tailed Godwits were feeding on the near edge of the channel too, while further out we could see large stains across the mud, big flocks of Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed Godwits and Knot. Gradually all the waders started to move higher up the mud, and a couple of Turnstone flew in past us.
The gulls and terns were gathered away to our right still, but flew in and landed on the mud out in front of us. Amongst the Black-headed Gulls, we could see one or two white-winged Mediterranean Gulls. We got nice views of Sandwich and Little Tern with them too, along with the Common Terns which were flying in and out of the pits behind us carrying food.
The Wash – there was still lost of exposed mud when we first arrived
It wasn't long before the mud in front of us was covered by the rising water, so we carried on along the seawall to Rotary Hide, where we stopped to scan again. The Oystercatchers appeared to flow across the mud like a large slick of liquid as they walked up away from the tide, whereas the Knot and the godwits flew across and landed again further from the approaching water.
Oystercatchers – walking up ahead of the rising tide
There were lots of Curlew too, gathering on the edge of the vegetation at the back. The Dunlin gave up early today, flying up in a succession of flocks and in over the seawall, flashing their black belly patches, before dropping down onto the pits behind us.
Dunlin – flying in off the Wash to roost on the pits
The Oystercatchers were next to start heading in. Rather than flying in one big group, they took off in small flocks and lines, coming in over our heads. There were little groups of Avocets too, passing overhead. We gradually made our way down to the corner, as the tide progressively covered the open mud and the remaining birds were pushed further and further in.
The Knot and the Bar-tailed Godwits resisted longest. Then a Marsh Harrier flew in across the saltmarsh just behind, close enough to spook them. The waders erupted and several large flocks of Knot headed in. All we could hear was the whirring of hundreds of wings as they passed by. The Marsh Harrier was quickly chased off by a zealous Avocet.
Many of the Bar-tailed Godwits landed again and tried to settle in with the Curlews, which were looking to roost out on in the shorter vegetation on the edge of the saltmarsh. Gradually, the rising tide pushed them out again, and we had great views of several large flocks of Bar-tailed Godwits as they flew in overhead. Most were still in bright breeding plumage, with their rusty underparts extending right down under their tails.
Bar-tailed Godwits – flying in off the Wash to roost
Two Common Sandpipers were disturbed by the rising tide from the near edge of the saltmarsh, just below us, and flew off over the water with flicking wingbeats and bowed wings. A seal surfaced just offshore, presumably looking for fish in the now flooded channels out in the mud. Something spooked all the waders from the pits behind us and they whirled round, flashing alternately dark and light as they twisted and turned. It seemed to be a false alarm though, and they quickly settled back down again.
With most of the waders now pushed in by the tide, we made our way round to the temporary hide round at the south end of the pits to see what we could find there. As we looked out, the islands close to us were covered in waders. Scanning through them, we could see they were predominantly Dunlin, mainly adult birds still in breeding plumage, with black bellies.
Waders – Dunlin, Knot & Redshank gathered on the islands on the pits
In with them, we found several Knot, again mostly in their bright rusty breeding plumage, and Common Redshank. The number of Knot today seemed to be down on what we would normally expect at this time of year – they seem to be slightly late returning from Greenland this year. Still, there was plenty to look at.
The Oystercatchers were all roosting on the shingle bank down along the left. Opposite, on the bank on the other side of the water, were all the Black-tailed Godwits and in with them lots more of the Knot. A Common Sandpiper flew across and landed on its own on an unoccupied area along the gravel edge of the pit, bobbing up and down as it did so.
As we scanned carefully through, we spotted several Spotted Redshanks on the edge of the water below the godwits and Knot. They were already well advanced in their moult, their black breeding plumage already liberally patterned with silvery grey and white feathers, to a greater or lesser degree. We could see their long, needle-fine bills, longer and thinner than the Common Redshanks nearby.
We couldn't find anything else in with all the waders at this end today, so we made our way round to Shore Hide to have a look from there. There were fewer waders from here, but there were some nice terns on the island right in front of the hide. Several of the Sandwich Terns had scaly-backed juveniles in tow, begging to be fed, and there appeared to be some squabbles between the families. We had a nice view of Common Tern and Sandwich Tern side by side, for comparison.
Sandwich Terns – several adults had juveniles with them
The tide was slowly starting to recede now, but we decided to move on. We made our way back to the car and round to Titchwell. It was hot now and the trees around the car park were quite quiet. We could hear a Chiffchaff singing and there were some Goldfinches in the bushes. There wasn't much happening at the feeders by the Visitor Centre so, after a quick look in the sightings book, we headed out onto the reserve.
A Reed Bunting was singing out in the reeds as we walked out. We stopped to scan and found a juvenile Marsh Harrier perched up in one of the small sallows towards the back of the reedbed. Through the scope, we could see it was very dark chocolate brown with a rather gingery orange head. Across the Thornham Grazing Marsh the other side, a Common Buzzard was perched on a post in the distance.
The Thornham Grazing Marsh pool had been bone dry in recent weeks, but has filled up with saltwater after the high tides. This is not part of the reserve and used to be a lovely deep freshwater pool up until a couple of years ago when it was allowed to drain for no apparent reason – it is a complete travesty the way it is being mismanaged by the landowner. There were a few Lapwing, a Curlew and a Grey Heron on here today.
There were lots of ducks out on the reedbed pool, Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard and one or two Common Pochard too. They are all looking rather drab now, in eclipse plumage. A smart adult Great Crested Grebe sailed out into the middle and a Little Grebe appeared in the channel just beyond. A Common Snipe was busy feeding in the near corner of the Freshmarsh.
We heard Bearded Tits calling, but all we got were several brief flight views as they zipped across over the tops of the reeds before crashing back in out of view. A Reed Warbler was still singing out in the reedbed and we managed to get a look at another which clambered up into the tops of the reeds. The Bearded Tits are often easier to see from Island Hide, so we carried on up to there.
While we kept one eye on the edge of the reeds, we scanned the freshmarsh to see what we could find. There were good numbers of Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits here. A couple of Ruff were feeding on the mud in front of the reeds – we saw lots here today, all moulting males which have moulted out their ornate ruff feathers and are in a bewildering array of colours and patterns.
Ruff – a moulting male, still sporting some colourful breeding plumage
A Little Gull was swimming out on the water here too, circling round and picking at the water's surface. Despite the lack of any other gulls immediately around, it was noticeably very small, a young bird, a first summer with black feathers still in the wings and a winter-pattern to the head.
There were some Spoonbills on the small island over towards the back of the Freshmarsh too. At first there was only one, doing what Spoonbills like to do best, sleeping. Then, when we looked again more had appeared, presumably from round the back of the island. They started to preen and we could see their spoon-shaped bills.
We could hear Bearded Tits calling periodically and kept looking back at the edge of the reeds. Eventually we managed to get a look at one or two, creeping along low down at the back of the mud. We got a bit of a surprise when we heard 'pinging' from right in front of the hide, but the Bearded Tits down here knew just how to keep tantalisingly out of view!
Looking out of the flaps on the other side of Island Hide, we noticed another Ruff on the mud close to us. A second wader walked out next to it and we did a double-take – a Lesser Yellowlegs! This is a rare visitor here from North America, which had been on the reserve three days ago but had not been seen since. As a measure of its rarity here, it was apparently the first ever to have been seen at Titchwell. Where it had been hiding since then nobody knows, but it was a nice surprise to find that it had returned for us!
Lesser Yellowlegs – a rare visitor from North America
After letting various people know that the Lesser Yellowlegs had reappeared, we set about having a good look at it. It was smaller than the Ruff, with a medium-short, fine bill and long yellow legs (appropriately enough!).
A Common Redshank appeared on the mud nearby and decided to try to chase it off, which gave us a nice chance to see the two species side by side – Lesser Yellowlegs is in many ways the North American equivalent of the Redshank. Again, the Lesser Yellowlegs was noticeably smaller and daintier, as well as their legs being a different colour.
We had a closer look at the Lesser Yellowlegs from up on the main path. Then, as a small crowd started to gather, we decided to move on. Another stop and scan and we noticed a Little Ringed Plover out in the middle of the freshmarsh, but by the time we got the scope on it, it had been disturbed by a couple of Ruff. They can often be found from Parrinder Hide, so we decided to have a look for it from there.
It has been an amazing year for breeding Mediterranean Gulls at Titchwell this year, and there were loads of recently fledged juveniles with scaly backs scattered around the islands in front of Parrinder Hide today. There were plenty of adults loafing here too, and we had a good look at them.
Mediterranean Gull – an adult and juvenile in front of Parrinder Hide
The Little Ringed Plover was feeding on the edge of the mud out of one side of the hide. The bird we first got the scope on was a fairly conventional one – buff-brown, with black and white striped face and golden yellow eye ring. But when we looked back, a much whiter bird had appeared in its place. It was a leucistic Little Ringed Plover, ectensively patterned with pale off white feathers, a rather odd looking washed-out thing. The first Little Ringed Plover then appeared from behind the reeds, just to convince us we hadn't imagined it!
There were lots of Greylag Geese on the islands in front of the hide, and two Pink-footed Geese walked out to join them. They are both injured birds, most likely shooting casualties, which have been unable to make the journey back up to Iceland for the breeding season, so they have remained here all summer.
Continuing on, out towards the beach, we looked up to see a couple of Wigeon flying over. There was one male which appeared to be over-summering earlier in the year, but it was possible that these two were the first birds we have seen returning from their breeding grounds in Russia. Autumn is definitely upon us, in terms of birds at least! A young Marsh Harrier was quartering back and forth over the Volunteer Marsh, flushing everything.
We stopped to admire a couple of Lapwings feeding on the edge of the muddy channel just below the path. Even though they are moulting and have largely lost their crests, they are still stunning birds. We watched as their glossy green upperparts flashed bronze and purple as they turned in the sunlight.
Lapwing – glowing green, bronze and purple in the sunlight
There had apparently been some Greenshank roosting at the back of the Tidal Pools earlier, but they had now disappeared, probably heading off to feed with the tide falling. There were still at least five Spoonbills out here though, as well as 15 Little Egrets. Some of the Spoonbills were asleep, but the two that were awake had rather short bills – juvenile 'Teaspoonbills'.
The tide had not yet gone out very far when we got to the beach and with several people out enjoying the sand and sea, there were few waders here beyond a group of roosting Oystercatchers with all the Herring Gulls over towards Brancaster. Out to sea, we could see a few Sandwich Terns flying past.
It was getting on for lunchtime, so we set off to walk back. When we got to the reedbed, we looked across to see four Marsh Harriers circling, three dark chocolate juveniles and a grey-winged male. We had just missed a food-pass, the male having brought in from food for the young. We had a great view of the male as it flew towards us and crossed over the path just behind.
Marsh Harrier – flew past us, having just brought in some food for its young
We made our way back to the car and headed off to get some lunch. It was an early finish today, but we had enjoyed a great morning out in the sunshine, action-packed!
Posted in North Norfolk, Summer Tour, Wader Tour
Tagged Bar-tailed Godwit, Bearded Tit, Knot, Lesser Yellowlegs, Norfolk, Snettisham, Spotted Redshank, Titchwell, Wader Spectacular
7th July 2018 – Summer Birds & Wildlife
A single day Summer Tour today, in North Norfolk. It was a glorious sunny day, hot out of the wind but with a fresh east wind on the coast.
Our destination for the morning was Holkham. We wanted to visit before it got too busy, and there were not too many cars in the car park as we arrived at Lady Anne's Drive. The grazing marshes are looking quite dry here now, but as we set off to walk west along the track on the inland side of the pines, we looked across to see a couple of Little Egrets flying towards us, presumably heading off to find somewhere wetter to feed.
With a combination of the hot weather, and the breeding season now being well advanced, there were not so many birds singing in the trees today. We heard a Chiffchaff calling in the poplars by the path, and eventually found one singing too.
The tits are already forming into flocks and when we heard Long-tailed Tits calling, we stopped to look. We could see a family of Long-tailed Tits in the trees, and they were accompanied by several Coal Tits and Blue Tits. A Goldcrest was singing from high in the pines the other side of the path and we could hear a Treecreeper calling from somewhere deep in the trees.
There were good numbers of butterflies on the wing today, mainly Meadow Brown and Ringlet in the grass beside the path. A small, dark 'blue' butterfly flew past and landed in the vegetation. It folded its wings up but on closer inspection we could confirm it was a Brown Argus. Then a White Admiral flew in and landed on the brambles, where it started to feed on the flowers. We watched it for a while, until it flew off. A Gatekeeper then appeared in the same bush.
White Admiral – feeding on the brambles by the path
There were no ducks or grebes on Salt's Hole still, but we did stop to listen to a Reed Warbler singing in the reeds. An Emperor Dragonfly was patrolling over the water, chasing off any other dragonflies it could see. A Great Spotted Woodpecker called from the trees behind us and we could hear another Goldcrest singing.
There is a small group of elm trees by the path before Washington Hide, and this is a regular spot for White-letter Hairstreaks, the trees being their larval food plant. There was no sign of any feeding around the brambles or privet lower down, but after watching the tree tops we did find one White-letter Hairstreak high in the trees. It landed, thankfully somewhere we could get the scope on it, and see the white 'w' letter on the underside of its hindwing, from which it gets its name.
Just before we got to Washington Hide, we stopped by the gate to listen to a Sedge Warbler singing. We could see it perched in the brambles on the near edge of the reeds and through the scope we could see its bold, pale supercilium. It was quite mobile, moving from bush to bush, singing. A juvenile Marsh Harrier was flying round over the grass, dark chocolate brown but for an orangey buff head, before it landed in the top of a bush out in the reeds.
The other side of Meals House, we ran into another tit flock on the edge of the trees. A stop to scan through them paid off when one of the group spotted a Treecreeper on the trunk of one of the pines. It stopped for a few seconds and was very hard to see, camouflaged against the bark. When it flew out to another dead tree briefly, it was followed by a second Treecreeper, so possibly there was a family party in the flock.
As we walked up along the path towards Joe Jordan Hide, we could already see a large flock of white birds on the edge of the pool out on the grazing marsh – Spoonbills. From the hide, we got them in the scope and could see they were mostly juveniles. There were about 25 Spoonbills in total, of which at least 20 were recently fledged youngsters, 'Teaspoonbills'. The juveniles gather here in a crèche while they wait for their parents to return from feeding.
Spoonbills – mostly juveniles gathering on the edge of the pool
When an adult Spoonbill returned from a feeding trip along the coast and landed on the pool, we watched as two juveniles set off after it. They were begging to be fed – bobbing their heads up and down and flapping their wings. The pester power was relentless – they followed the adult for ages until it eventually stopped to regurgitate some food.
We were hoping to see Great White Egret here today too, but they were slightly less helpful. We watched one three times circle low over the reeds before disappearing behind the trees again, but you had to be quick to see it. Another Great White Egret could be seen way off in the distance towards Burnham Overy Staithe, miles away and flying further away from us too.
There was plenty of Marsh Harrier action from the hide again, with one or two juveniles up, flying round and exercising their wings. At one point, we heard a Marsh Harrier calling, and the next thing we knew a male appeared above the wood displaying. It did a series of swoops and somersaults, gradually losing height until it landed on the grass. Unusual to see at this time of year.
Dark Green Fritillary – several were out in the dunes, but very mobile
From Joe Jordan hide, we had a quick walk out into the dunes beyond the pines. We quickly spotted a Dark Green Fritillary flying low over the grass, but it wasn't stopping and disappeared off over the ridge. We found several more, but they were all very active in the heat of the day, with only one landing down in the short grass briefly.
Nearby, in one of the dune slacks, was a great carpet of wild flowers, including a good number of orchids. There were lots of purple Southern Marsh Orchids, although most of them are a little past their best now. The Marsh Helleborines are just out, so were looking very smart.
Marsh Helleborine – flowering now in the dunes
The beach back at Holkham Gap was packed with people, perhaps not surprisingly given the weather, and their was quite a bit of disturbance from walkers and horse riders even down to the far end of the pines. We could hear Little Terns calling and looked across to see four flying round over the fenced area between us and the Gap. They headed out towards the sea, so we decided not to head back via the beach.
There were lots of skippers flying now, on our way back on the other side of the pines, and several Ruddy Darters. A Jay was feeding in the shadows under the trees. We heard a couple of Goldcrests singing and stopped to see if we could get a look at them, but they were very hard to see high in the pines.
Titchwell was the destination for the afternoon. On the drive west, we looked out over Burnham Norton marshes from the coast road and saw a large white bird fly up. It circled round over the reeds and fortunately there was nothing coming so we could pull up for a second to confirm it was another Great White Egret. It dropped down into a ditch and we continued on our way, admiring the tight groups of Common Swifts zooming around over the roofs of the villages we passed through. We could hear them screaming through the open windows.
It was lunch time when we arrived at Titchwell, so we stopped for a bite to eat in the picnic area. Afterwards, we headed out onto the reserve. There was a nice fresh breeze once we got out of the trees. A couple of Reed Buntings were still singing out in the reedbed and several young Marsh Harriers were flying round over the reeds.
Someone had just seen a couple of Bearded Tits disappear into the reeds close to the path, so we waited a couple of minutes but they didn't reappear. We did see a couple of Reed Warblers zipping back and forth across the small pools. We stopped again by the reedbed pool where a large raft of ducks included Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler and Common Pochard, with the drakes all in their rather dull eclipse plumage now. A stripy-headed juvenile Great Crested Grebe was out towards the back and one of the adults then appeared from the reeds with a fish to feed it.
The Freshmarsh is chock-full of birds at the moment, so it is hard to know where to look. We started in Island Hide, with a Ruff on the mud just in front of the windows. There are lots of Ruff here at the moment, mostly males returned from their breeding grounds and already rapidly losing their ornate ruff feathers. As a consequence, they are looking rather scruffy! No two are alike, which is a source of constant confusion for the unwary. If you see a wader and don't know what it is, think Ruff!
Ruff – the males are moulting and starting to look rather scruffy
There are lots of Avocets on here too at the moment, with lots of birds coming to the Freshmarsh from elsewhere, after the breeding season, to moult. We didn't count them all, but in recent days there have been over 500 here. Black-tailed Godwit numbers have been increasing too, as birds return from Iceland, with most of them still for now sporting their bright rusty breeding plumage.
The Spotted Redshanks were all asleep around the islands when we first looked, but gradually some of them started to wake up and walk around or feed for a bit, so we could see their long, needle-fine bills. Several have already started to moult and their black breeding plumage is now liberally peppered with silvery grey, but one in particular was still largely black. It looked very smart when it finally woke up and walked round for a few seconds.
A few Dunlin had dropped in, with at least 16 now scattered around the edges of the islands or in among the legs of the roosting godwits (apparently they had not been there earlier). While we were looking through them, we noticed that one was colour-ringed, with a red flag on its right leg. At the time of writing, it looks like this was possibly ringed in Spain, though we are waiting to hear back with more details.
There were a few ducks and geese on here today, mainly Teal, though again with the drakes not at their best now, and Shelduck. A pair of Egyptian Geese swam across to the island to join all the Greylags. We had a look along the edge of the reeds for any Bearded Tits but the breeze was catching the vegetation here and the water was also lapping up on the mud at the base of the reeds, so despite hearing some pinging calls, we couldn't see any.
Little Gull – one of at least nine 1st summer birds here
We had seen two or three Little Gulls swimming around between the hide and the reedbed, at one point with a juvenile Black-headed Gull for size comparison, but we got a better look at them from back up on the main path, where another three were loafing on the edge of the nearest island. The Little Gulls are all young, 1st summer birds and we counted at least nine scattered around the freshmarsh today.
The island in front of Parrinder Hide is covered in Avocets at the moment and they spent much of the time we were in there today squabbling. A group of four were arguing right in front of the hide when we arrived.
Avocets – a group of four squabbling
A single Little Ringed Plover dropped in on the island right in front of the hide. It was close enough that we could see the golden yellow ring round its eye, as well as its pointy black bill and flesh coloured legs.
The Freshmarsh is still dominated by the gulls though. The fenced off Avocet Island has been taken over this year, but it has resulted in over 50 pairs of Mediterranean Gulls nesting with all the Black-headed Gulls. Many of the young have now started to fledge and we had a good look at some of the scaly-backed juvenile Mediterranean Gulls loafing around the islands today.
Mediterranean Gull – a recently fledged juvenile
Continuing on, out towards the beach, we stopped to have a look at the Volunteer Marsh. A single Curlew was out along the edge of the channel at the far end, but walked up onto the saltmarsh where it was remarkably well camouflaged. A white Little Egret in the same view stood out a little more obviously!
A Lapwing was feeding on the edge of the channel, just below the path. Even though it was moulting too, and had lost its crest, it still looked stunning as its metallic green upperparts caught the light, shining bronze and purple.
Lapwing – shining on the Volunteer Marsh
There were lots of Oystercatchers roosting on the Tidal Pools (which are no longer tidal!), and a few Common Redshank, but we couldn't seem much else out here today. Out on the beach, the tide was just going out. More Oystercatchers were loafing on the sand, along with lots of Herring Gulls. There had been some Sanderling here earlier, but they had gone off along the beach towards Thornham Point, We could just make out some small dots running around on the shore in the heat haze!
We had a quick look out to sea, but there was nothing moving apart from Sandwich Terns, flying back in towards Scolt Head from feeding out in the mouth of the Wash. We decided to head back. At the Tidal Pools, a Common Tern was fishing. It dived into the water, caught a fish and headed off towards the Freshmarsh. A few seconds later it was back again.
Bearded Tit had been on the wish list for the day, so we stopped back at the reedbed to have another go. It wasn't long before we heard some 'pinging' and looked across to see two Bearded Tits fly across one of the channels. One perched up very briefly in the tops of the reeds, but quickly dropped in out of view.
Thankfully, a minute or so later the two Bearded Tits flew again. It looked like they might drop down behind the bank, but they flew straight over it and came down into the reeds at the back of one of the small pools just below the path. They landed in the base of the reeds and we could see them perched on a reed stem, side by side, preening. It was a pair and we got them in the scope, eventually getting a really good look at both of them, including the male with its powder grey head and black moustache.
Bearded Tit – we watched a pair preening in the base of the reeds
Eventually, the Bearded Tits finished preening and started to feed, working their way round the edge of the pool at the base of the reeds. When they finally disappeared in, we carried on back to the car. It was a nice way to end a very enjoyable day of Summer birding.
Tagged Bearded Tit, Dark Green Fritillary, Great White Egret, Holkham, Little Gull, Marsh Helleborine, Mediterranean Gull, North Norfolk, Spoonbill, Spotted Redshank, Titchwell, White Admiral, White-letter Hairstreak
30th June 2018 – Summer Night Special
A Private Nightjar Evening tonight. It was a lovely bright, sunny evening, with a fresh ENE breeze on the coast. A perfect evening to be out, for owls and Nightjars.
We met up in the early evening and headed out first to look for owls. Little Owl was the initial target, so we made our way over to some farm buildings we know they frequent. It was still bright and warm when we arrived and got out of the car. A quick scan of the barn roofs revealed a Little Owl out sunning itself.
Little Owl – preening on a hot roof!
The Little Owl was quite well tucked in at first, but then hopped out onto the roof itself and started to stretch and preen, tidying itself up ahead of a busy evening hunting presumably. There was still quite a bit of heat haze, but we got a good look at it through the scope.
A second Little Owl was on the barn roof on the other side of the road, more distant than the first. Through the scope, we could see that it was a juvenile, still with fluffy down around the head and shoulders. We thought we might go over that way and try to get a bit closer to it, but while we turned our attention back to the first Little Owl for a minute, the juvenile disappeared, presumably back under the roof.
A Brown Hare and a Red-legged Partridge ran down the track between the barns too, while we were watching the Little Owls. It had been a very successful first stop, so we decided to move on and see if we could find any Barn Owls.
We drove round via an area where we have seen Barn Owls out hunting regularly in the last few weeks, but we couldn't find any today. It was still quite bright, so perhaps they were waiting for the light to fade a bit today?
We made our way on to another area which is good for Barn Owls and had a walk out along the bank which overlooks the grazing marshes. It was a lovely evening, with Common Swifts screaming overhead and we watched as several Little Egrets flew over, heading off to roost. But there was no sign of the resident Barn Owls here either.
They had to be out hunting sooner or later, so we figured it was worth driving round and back to where we had first looked earlier. As we got back there, we looked across the grazing marshes and could see a white shape on the support wire for a telegraph post away in the distance. A quick look through the binoculars confirmed it was indeed a Barn Owl. Where it was we could see was by a side road, so we drove round.
The Barn Owl was very close to the road here, so we got out very carefully. It remained perched on the wire, although it looked at us to make sure we weren't likely to be any threat. It quickly resumed what it was doing, scanning the ground, so we set up the scope and had a really good, close look at it.
Barn Owl – perched on the support wire for a telegraph post
Suddenly the Barn Owl took off. It flew a few metres out into the field, hovered and then dropped vertically down into the grass. It was down in the vegetation for several minutes, so we thought it might have caught something, but after a while it emerged from the grass empty talonned.
Barn Owl – hunting in the evening light
The Barn Owl quartered over the meadow for a while, hunting – it was a fantastic sight, looking in to the low evening light. Then it flew over to the edge of the trees at the back and landed on a tall stump. After a few minutes, it took off again and resumed hunting, flying round over the tall grass, before coming back towards us and landing back on the wire where we had first seen it.
Barn Owl – came back towards us and landed back where it had first been
Eventually, we had to tear ourselves away from watching the Barn Owl, particularly as it was so obliging this evening. But we had a date up on the heath with some Nightjars!
As we walked out to the middle of the heath, we could hear a Nightjar calling and looked over to see it flying over the gorse. It was a couple of minutes early tonight! We watched as it flew across to the edge of the trees and lost sight of it. A couple of second later, it started churring, just a short burst.
We made our way round to where it had gone down to see if we could find it, but when it churred again briefly, we realised it was somewhere in the trees. Then it flew out, wing clapping and circled low over the gorse in front of us, with its tail fanned and its wings held up, flashing its white wing stripes and tail corners. Then it dropped back down under the oak tree.
Something was upsetting this male Nightjar, and we gradually realised what. It flew out again, across low over the heather in front of us, and up onto one of its favourite churring branches, where we could get it in the scope. It was a great view, but as it started to churr, we could hear a second male churring quietly back near the oak tree.
Nightjar – on one of its favourite branches, churring
The first male flew back across, wing clapping and calling, and dropped in below the oak tree again. Several times, it flew out and did a small circuit over the gorse nearby, with its tail fanned and held sideways to show off the white spots to maximum effect. In between, twice more it flew across and landed on the branch in front of us to churr briefly.
Eventually the two male Nightjars flew out, both males, and they started to chase each other in and out of the trees, with lots of calling and wing clapping. It was a fantastic display – we stood mesmerised. Presumably a territorial dispute. The two Nightjars gradually worked their way along the edge of the trees and then disappeared out across the heath. We presumed one of the males had prevailed.
Nightjar – we had fantastic flight views, wing clapping with tail fanned
The Woodcock here seem to have largely finished roding already, but we did have one male fly along the edge of the trees. We heard its squeaky call first and looked up to see a pot-bellied, long-billed silhouette flying past.
More Nightjars were starting to churr now, so we headed off across the heath to try to see one of the other regular males. We had been distracted a little too long by the two males though, and the third male had already flown in from a dense oak out in the middle to the exposed perch where we were hoping to see it. As we walked up along the path, we just managed to get into a place where we could see it when it took off. It flew back to the oak tree.
We stood for a while and listened to it churring, as a fourth Nightjar started up further over – stereo! It was great to just stand and listen, the atmosphere only slightly ruined by loud music, which sounded like a poor Elvis impersonator, blaring out in the distance!
The light was starting to go now, so we turned to head back. No sooner had we done so, than the Nightjar we had just been waiting for flew back in from the oaks to the trees by the path. Typical! But there was still an orange glow in the sky behind us, so we hurried back and got a great view of it, perched on the branch, silhouetted against the sunset. Classic!
It was time to head back now, so we set off across the heath, very pleased with the great views of Nightjars we had already enjoyed, listening to them still churring. When we got back past where we had seen the two males earlier, we realised they were still chasing each other round. They were both flying in and out of the top of an oak tree, churring and calling. It seemed they must have been arguing for the last hour!
We stopped to watch the two bickering Nightjars, silhouetted against the sky. They dropped down out of sight against the dark of the gorse but when we heard one call, we realised it was flying straight towards us. We saw it coming and there was a second bird with it, the two flying parallel just a few metres apart. One seemed to stall in front of us, but the second circled right above our heads and then started hovering!
What an amazing way to end the evening. This time we did have to leave, so we walked back to the car with another male churring us back.
Posted in Nightjar Evening, North Norfolk
Tagged Barn Owl, Little Owl, Nightjar, Norfolk, Woodcock


Today I did something I swore I would never do. Something I tell others never to do. Something I actually judge other people for doing.
Today I posted a selfie on Facebook and apologized for not wearing makeup. Today I apologized for being me.
You've seen it before… A teenage girl posts a photo of herself with a caption that says, "Sorry, no makeup!" Or a woman challenges you to post a #NoMakeupSelfie. You're scrolling through your News Feed and you see a picture of a woman who just got her hair cut, and she says, "New hair! Don't pay attention to my naked no-makeup face! Lol!" These are all real posts I have seen in the last few days.
I've had a rough week, and I felt absolutely terrible yesterday. This morning was, well, tough. It was one of those days I literally had to convince myself to get out of bed. But my hair somehow looked awesome, with ZERO effort.
Now that I'm thinking about it, I have no idea why I felt obligated to apologize for not wearing makeup. Because NEWSFLASH!!! I almost NEVER wear makeup! Seriously…the last time I wore makeup was January 16, because I was at an event with 1200 of our clients. That was almost a month ago. And guess what… my makeup is still in my suitcase from that trip. I'm not even kidding!
So maybe I apologized because I felt gross after being sick. Maybe it was because I have a giant, Mount Everest-sized zit on my face. Maybe it was because I felt like that disclaimer is necessary and/or expected on these types of photos these days.
But this evening, I realized what I had done and I had to write this to you.
I understand wanting to look nice. I know it's important to put effort into the way you look.
But this has caused me to really think about some things and ask myself some questions. I want you to ask yourself these questions, too.
Why do we try to hide from who we are? Why do we try so hard to be like other people? Why do we try to become someone we're not? Why are we so ashamed of our looks or our personality? Why is it so important to be liked or to be popular? Why are we so afraid of not being accepted, that we will actually change who we are? Why does any of it even matter?
I wish I could say it doesn't matter. I wish I could say I am perfectly comfortable in my own skin. I wish I could say I don't care what other people think of me. But I'd be lying.
But I am learning. I am discovering what it feels like to be happy with being me.
And I'm un-learning a lot of things too.
When I was in 3rd grade, a girl told me I would never get married because nobody would ever love me.
That was the day I decided to take it into my own hands. That was the first day of a 6-year battle with bulimia.
I am terrified as I write this, because even though I have told bits and pieces of my story, (Read: There Is No Such Thing As Guilt-Free Food, When Being "Beautiful" Is Uncomfortable, and The Power Of Celebrating Your Progress) each experience, each memory, each thought brings exposes me even more. And that's scary.
But I've learned something recently. My story is not my own. My life is not my own. That may not be my life anymore, but it is my story. It may be behind me, but it's not forgotten.
And the truth is, though the behaviors may not exist in my life anymore, many of the thoughts have remained. I have owned every single one of those things people said about me. I believed them, made agreements with them, and have taken them as the absolute truth.
I've always worried about what other people think of me, and I've always had this fear that if other people don't like me, I was somehow less of a person.
These are the kind of things you have to un-learn. You actually have to dig out those thoughts and beliefs, and replace them with truth.
I've been learning a lot lately. It started with a lesson on confidence, and it has evolved into something I cannot easily fit into a blog post. Someday you will hear the whole story.
But for now, here is the conclusion I have come to: You either like me or you don't. I can't control it, and I'm okay with that. It took me twenty-something years to learn how to love myself. I don't have that kind of time to convince anybody else to love me. They either do or they don't. But I…I love me. So I'm done worrying about what anyone else thinks.
I've been around a lot of people over the last few years who are truly amazing. They inspire me. They challenge me. They seriously blow my mind. This community and environment I am surrounded by is a safe place to be real. It is a safe place to be who you really are. And as I have watched the people around me just be themselves, I have had this longing in my heart to be me as well.
Because I've learned that there is nothing more beautiful, more captivating, more amazing than the freedom to be who God created you to be.
So be you. Be totally and completely, 100%, unapologetically you.