9th May

I am back after a two and a half day trip to North Norfolk. I had intended to leave at 4.00am on Friday but my car hadn’t come back from the garage. Eventually I got off just before mid-day, the delay meant that I would miss out on a two of my favourite stop offs. They are Lakenheath Fen and it’s Golden Orioles and accompanying birds and nearby Weeting Heath and its Stone Curlews. I was due to meet three friends for the weekend, on reaching Fakenham I checked to see where they were. “Titchwell” said Mark, “we have just seen a Red-footed Falcon”. It was apparently a flyover, as many of the birds that were to be reported in Norfolk were going to be. The weekend overall was a little quiet with few birds on the sea, not many species of wader and not any unusual passerines until late on Saturday when a Citrine Wagtail turned up by the Cley Windmill. I did manage to see it on Sunday morning along with one other birder. Unfortunately the rest of my group were in the wrong place as it took to the air never to be seen again. Then on the Sunday a Richards Pipit and a Collared Flycatcher, the latter not being found until I was half way home and I wasn’t going back. My friend saw 120 species over the weekend, I may be two birds short of that.

Here are a few memories of the trip

Brent Geese are still present in reasonable numbers

This Heron had a tough job trying to swallow this eel

Mediterranean Gull numbers on the north coast are increasing

Terns like Common (above) and Little were scarce, unlike the Sandwich Tern that could be seen and heard along the coast.

Up to five Temmink Stints (above) were at Cley’s NNT Reserve

Oystercatchers posturing

Ruff in a variety of colours could be seen at Titchwell as was this Little ringed Plover (below) lack of a wing-bar separates this species in flight from the similar Ringed Plover.