A couple of days in Norfolk gave me the chance to get out and see what damage the storm had done at Cley’s NNT Reserve and was it recovering. There were lots of Avocets (164) according to someone who counts the waders regularly at this site. The only other waders that I saw, and I didn’t get to Arnolds Marsh where more shoreline waders tend to turn up, were; 4 Little-ringed Plovers, 1 Ruff, 12 Oystercatchers, 32 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Curlew, 1 Snipe, 12 Redshank and 14 Lawings.
Migrants were very thin on the ground, 6 Sedge Warblers, 18 Swallows, 22 Sand Martins and 6 House Martins, due to bad phone reception I missed the chance to go and see a Red-rumped Swallow that was present late one afternoon and again for an hour or so the following morning.
I took a few snaps of some of the easier subjects. The first five high fliers might be tricky to those of you that are fairly new to birding. The answers will be at the end.
Nothing is to large for an Avocet to have a go at.
This gull is not a welcome visitor
Not the usual walker to be found on the East Bank
1) Marsh Harrier, 2&3)Common Buzzard, 4)Little-ringed Plover, 5)Bearded Tit
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9+ Great Crested Grebes today: the first pair off Bandstand Is a7 are down to one chick, but the second pair under the willow now have 2+ chicks, the third pair area building a nest at the NE tip of Heron Is a8, and the fourth are still looking for a suitable nest site. (Also one or two lone 'floaters' are on the lake.) One of the four pairs of Little Grebes may have moved on.
Three singing Willow Warblers around the NE arm of the lake were the only migrants noted today, although I heard a brief snatch of what sounded like a Garden Warbler in the same area.
(That strange high-pitched song I texted about last week, I now think was an anxious Wren in cover near its nest. )
Today (15 Apr) Dave had 2 House Martins and 1 Yellow Wagtail N over lake c8am, then Hobby N over Park 12:20. During Hill skywatch 12:40-13:40 I had 3 Swallows N 13:15 and 1 Sand Martin N 13:35.