Winter in Norfolk - Part 2

We had a great first two days, driving through Suffolk on our way up to the north Norfolk coast. We enjoyed a full day at RSPB Minsmere on the Friday, then headed into Norfolk the following day, stopping first at Horsey Beach to see the Grey Seals, and then Sheringham to see the rare migrant Eastern Black Redstart (Winter in Norfolk - Part 1).

We had a lovely cottage in Morston overlooking the quay - a view we relished every morning as we ate our breakfast. On our first morning, we went for a stroll along the estuary at low tide and across the marsh, then looping back along the coastal path. Some Linnets were very accommodating towards the end of the walk, posing nicely on the tops of the bushes.

As the conditions were so much better than the day before, and we had no idea how long the Eastern Black Redstart would stay at Sheringham, we decided to head back there in the afternoon for another chance to photograph this beautiful bird. In complete contrast to the day before, when it had taken a while to locate it, it was seen almost as soon as we left the car. We were lucky enough to have a good 90 minutes observing it. It seemed to have a few favourite perches (below), but it also moved around a lot.

It certainly wasn't bothered by people, since it was often seen along the promenade, perching on the benches, the posts and railing and on the verges.

In the video below you can see how its tail keeps bobbing up and down and how it was frequently calling. Sadly, it was a loner, with no over migrants with it.

The following day (and also on our last day, which was the poorest in terms of weather) we headed to RSPB Titchwell Marsh. On both days we saw a Tawny Owl hiding up in a tree, and on our the second visit, Bob managed to spot a Woodcock hiding near the path. I was rather enamoured both times by the mass of Common Frogs in the pools swimming around and clearly in the mood for mating.

This one looks very pleased with itself, loitering around all the frogspawn.

The highlight for me during our first morning visit were the waders we saw on the beach at low tide. There were a handful of Turnstones exploring the rock pools looking for food. When they were hunkered down low, they blended in very well to their surroundings.

Many of the waders keep a distance, so it was just as well I had my long lens with me. I particularly enjoyed photographing the Curlew, with its impressive long downturned bill. So often I see this species amongst shoreline vegetation or in longer grasses, so it was lovely to have such great clear views of a few on the sand...

...and flying low over the water.

This was also the first time I'd seen a Knot fairly close. I was hoping to see a lot more of them later in the day, as we'd be heading to Snettisham for the Knot Murmuration. I'd heard so much about it and how it can rival the Starling Murmurations I've so often seen on the coast in Sussex. This was one of the main experiences I was hoping we'd have whilst away. As it turned out, due to tide times and weather, that afternoon was our only really good opportunity to witness the amazing spectacle.

But first, we stopped off in one of the hides at Titchwell overlooking a large pool, so we could eat our lunch. In the background, we heard the on-going chorus of waders calling and then, to our surprise, a Muntjac deer walked along the central divide and headed right towards the hide and then went up over the embankment to one side and disappeared. By now, I was realising in this part of the country, Muntjac deer are very common.

We allowed plenty of time to drive to Snettisham and walk along the coastal path to a suitable point where we could watch the waders and the in-coming tide. Since there were a cluster of benches at one point, we realised this was the ideal spot. It was very relaxing as we sat in the afternoon sunshine waiting for things to kick off. Actually, there wasn't a sudden eruption of activity, it was more of a trickle building up to the sunset.

While we waited, a couple of Barn Owls were spotted flying around to our left, over the tall grasses beyond the high tide line. But, mostly our focus was over the large expanse of sand in the Wash and the encroaching tide. Gradually the water in the channel closest to us was getting higher, and the mass of birds we could see with our bins in the distance (at the shoreline) would jostle about for a good position or fly off a little further along or in. Every now and then, still some distance away, we'd see mini flocks of birds flying about, but it was hard to tell what they were.

I was amazed by the sheer volume of waders. Amongst them, there were Curlews, Oystercatchers, Golden Plovers and Knot. I'd never seen such a large number of birds all together in close proximity. This in itself is part of the amazing spectacle. As the sun dipped closer towards the horizon, the light softened and we waited...and waited. Gradually, the activity at the shoreline was getting closer to us.

The majority of the time, things were calm. Occasionally, just a few birds would fly off to a new spot. But then, all of a sudden, a mass of birds would take to the sky as if in a frenzied panic.

A mass of wings all flapping away within the dense flock of birds must make it more of a challenge to fly off. It looks like utter chaos.

The sky beyond the Wash turned to orange and the clouds far away tempered the light further. The birds became silhouetted and were merely flocks of indistinguishable species mostly. The tide continued to seep inwards, pushing the waders ever closer towards us. When large numbers would take flight, they often stayed quite low, murmurating just above the water, rippling up and down like slow motion waves.

It was amazing to watch. An experience I'd love to see all over again.

The following morning I woke early and enjoyed watching the sunrise from the warmth of our cottage. It was a lovely start to the day. After a leisurely breakfast, we headed to Holme next the Sea in the hope of seeing some Snow Buntings that had been spotted on the beach. We were luckhy enough to see some, but unfortunately very briefly and without any photos taken. No sooner had we spotted them, when the small group of about a dozen, flew off. Despite lingering in the area for quite a bit of time afterwards and trying to relocate them, but without success, we abonded the search. I enjoyed photographing some Linnets that were on the sand dunes at the back of the beach for a while, before we moved on.

We then ventured on to Holkam Beach, where we hoped to see Shorelark, but without success. This year they didn't venture as far south due to the mild weather. However, we enjoyed the walk along the beach and back through the woodland. The highlight was spotting some more deer in the fields behind the beach, a handful of Brown Hares, and Pink-footed Geese.

It was probably the quietest day all week for us, but it was followed by one of the longest and best days of our trip. We enjoyed a fabulous visit to Cley Marshes Nature Reserve. It was another day appreciating the variety of waders that enjoy the marshes during the winter season. It was also an opportunity for me to learn to distinguish between the different species, something I was getting better at on this holiday. The Wigeon is a particular favourite and most notable for the creamy streak on the head between its eyes.

We were hoping to see some Bitterns flying around or amongst the reeds, but we didn't hear or see any. Neither did we see any Bearded Tits. However, there were plenth of other things to help make it such an enjoyable and memorable day. A Skylark was one of them, located at the back of the beach, flying up just above us with a beautiful blue sky behind it. The Skylarks recognisable call was lovely to hear, and better still, I was able to capture the moment with its beak open as it was calling.

After lunch, we were back in a hide overlooking one of the pools. It was lovely seeing several different small flocks of birds flying above and then landing in the pool. Black-tailed Godwits were very striking and easy to tell apart from other waders, not only because of their black tail, but also the fact they were bigger than most of the other species and have a longer bill.

This was the first time I had a really good view of the Golden Plovers - a new species for me on this trip.

Then there was a larger flock of Dunlin, but even these were often accompanied by other species.

Another new species for me on this trip was the Ruff. It's very similar in size to the Common Redshank, but the pattern of feathers on their back are far more striking. I was lucky enough to even capture an image of both species alongside each other, which makes it easier to see the difference between them.

The Black-tailed Godwits were bigger than the Ruffs and Common Redshanks, with a noticeably longer bill. Both the next two photos are of the same species, however, the first one has started turning into it's breeding plumage and has darker feathers on its chest.

There was a good liklihood of seeing Marsh Harriers flying over the marsh that day. Most of the time they were flying some distance away, but a few times later on, they were closer to the footpath. The first time this happened, we were able to walk down the bank beside the path, so we were less visible to the approaching bird of prey. A male harrier flew virtually right over the top of us. With a 600mm lens, that meant we weren't able to fit the whole bird in the frame for many of the photos. It was amazing having it fly so close.

Another time, in the late afternoon light, a female flew close to us whilst she was hunting over a field. It seems as though she was more intent on finding her next meal than worrying about us.

The following morning we woke up early and went for a pre-dawn stroll along the coastal path from our cottage. It was lovely and peaceful.

The Thursday was going to be our last sunny day, so we decided to head down to Hickling Broad. It wasn't especially warm, with a bit of a breeze, so we didn't have high expectations about what we'd see. It would just be lovely to enjoy a walk around the nature reserve. To start with, we headed off along a path that I'd not been down before (on my only previous visit, last spring). There were more waders in the pools, but nothing different to what we'd already been seeing the rest of the holiday. But, what was a surprise, was a female Adder curled up beside the path basking in the sunshine in a sheltered spot. It seemed indifferent to the heavy footfall of the various people walking past. There must have been a few visitors that didn't even see it. It was thanks to Bob that we got lucky.

After taking some photos, we spent quite a bit more time looking along the path for other snakes. We found three more Adders during the course of the morning and one Grass Snake. That was my discovery, so I was really pleased about that, especially as I've only seen this species a handful of times and usually always in or around water. It wasn't in the best position to photograph, but I'd take what I could get.

We did a short loop around another section of the reserve but didn't see much. After our lunchbreak, we decided to walk the complete circuit around the nature reserve, only we didn't get very far. When we ducked into the first hide we'd discovered that a couple of Bitterns had just flown into the reedbeds in front of the hide. This was enough temptation to make us stay a while and see if we could get lucky.

Whilst waiting for some bittern activity, it was lovely to see both a Greater Egret fly in and a Grey Heron. All three of these large wader species belong to the Ardeidae Family. The fact that they were seen in this one area suggested that it was a good habitat for them.

During the past year, I've seen roughly half a dozen sightings of Greater Egret in England in various different sites, but had never seen them in this country before that. I think with Climate Change, this is a species we'll continue to see more of.

It's always a joy to watch the slow elegant movements of the Grey Heron as it stands in water, as still as can be, but keeping a watching eye on the fish swimming right in front of it. It might not move for ages. When it's had enough of one area, it usually moves very slowly, ever alert to what food might unknowingly swim past. The heron seems ever ready to dart its beak and head downwards to catch its prey. I was thrilled to get to witness this and catch it on camera. There was a sudden splash of water as droplets flew up into the air, and its wings slightly opened out - perhaps to keep it evenly balanced. On this occasion, when it raised its head out of the water, there was nothing in its beak. Better luck next time!

Our patience eventually paid off! First, we had one bittern appear from the reeds ahead of us amongst some low broken vegetation. Slowly it waded through the water with its long spindly legs, still partially obscured by reeds. Sadly, all too quickly, it disappeared into the reeds again.

A little while later, in the lovely golden light of the afternoon, we had another sighting of a different bittern. This one was just off to our left and came out in an area that was more clear of low reeds. It was beautiful and breathtaking as it just stood there. We had a few precious moments to take some photos. The backdrop of the reeds and a slight reflection in the water made for a beautiful composition and I was thrilled (bottom photo). Bob was less so. He'd decided to leave his big lens behind for our walk and was very quickly regretting that decision. The lens he had with him wasn't as powerful and he didn't think he had a good photo (though looking later, his was good).

Anyway, this bittern disappeared soon after. I was eager to stay in the hide for the rest of the afternoon and see if we had any more sightings and I encouraged Bob to go back to the car and get his bigger lens. I was sure he wouldn't regret it and it would take only about 30 minutes to walk there and back again. So off he went. While he was gone, I prayed that we didn't have any more bittern sightings until he returned. I didn't want him to miss anything. I also was hoping we would have some more wonderful views to make it worthwhile that he'd gone back. Well, on both counts we were blessed.

A third bittern flew out of the reeds from our right, across a small channel, and landed in the reeds in front of us. It all happened so quickly, there was no time to react and take any photos. Even though it was obscured, this gave us hope we'd still see something more. And we did. Some time later, it eventually poked it's bill out of the reeds. With only it's eye fully visible, it's easy to see how well camouflaged they are.

It then came out more into the open and proceeded to walk along the edge of the reeds, at its usual slow pace. Unfortunately, it was heading away from us, but we were both able to take some nice photos. Then a few moments later it took off and flew away.

We even had one more sighting that afternoon of another one flying away. All in all, we saw more bitterns that day, and viewed more activity than we'd ever experienced before. It was amazing. What a great way to spend an afternoon. We were both thrilled to have experienced it all. It was a great end to the day, and virtually the trip.

The weather on our final day was not the best. Although we still went out and had a few nice sightings and interesting walks, there was nothing of great note to show for it. We didn't mind at all. The rest of the week had been brilliant. Since we'd expected most of the week to be wet, cold and windy, like the weeks leading up to our trip, we couldn't have been happier with how things turned out. The cottage and location were fabulous, the weather was so much better than we'd hoped for, and as always, the wildlife delivered.

What a fantastic birthday break away! We were elated, but also quite exhausted...we needed another holiday afterwards!