Snow bunting and Snipe at Cley

On Sunday, we visited NWT Cley Marshes. Last time I visited here, we saw very little and got pelted with hail stones before we turned tail and ran for home. Thankfully, this visit was more successful! The weather was mild, if cloudy and a little windy along the coast line.

We began our visit in one of the hides not far from the visitor centre. Looking out over the beautiful flat landscape dotted with birds, we could just about pick out a number of common snipe keeping well hidden in the long grasses on the islands breaking up the marshes. Above them and the waders, wigeon and other ducks, two marsh harriers wheeled above, hinting at a sky dance. As they came closer, it was clear the male was carrying something in his talons, which, in one spectacularly smooth maneuver, he passed to the female. A harrier food pass! What a wonderful way to begin our visit.

As we began the long walk out to the see front, the grasses were in full voice in the wind, the air full of their fizzma. I am convinced that I saw a bearded tit dive from one stand of grass to another, but in the wind it was definitely not going to make a reappearance for confirmation, so we moved on. Some other friendly visitors tipped us off about a flock of roughly 20 snow buntings on the shingle by the sea. Not quite knowing what we were looking for, eventually, we stumbled across them just as they took flight. A flock of white-pink-brown flashes of wings and underbellies and then they were gone - rising high and descending far along the shore.

As we continued our windy walk, the sky began to clear and something spooked a large flock of lapwings. Their stubby wings eye-catching in white and black against the bright sky, they floated across the clouds. Their outlines stark and rigid against the fluffy shapes high above. They were unsettled and would not land, allowing us to appreciate their prowess and agility.

Our last large group of birds of the day was a huge gaggle of brent geese, all softly chatting to each other in their monotonous but sweet calls.

Christmas and New Year Wildlife

Happy New Year to everyone! Here's a little of what we've managed to do and see in the generally miserable weather over the Christmas break.

We spent the first part of Christmas is Southsea at my in-laws. It was lovely to have some walks by the seafront during the festivities. No migrant birds to be seen this time, but some beautiful house sparrows and starlings around, alongside a talkative gaggle of brent geese. Among the geese were a few skittish pied wagtails.

On the morning of our departure, on a nearby church, perched a peregrine falcon tearing at its meal of pigeon, feathers being blown in the wind after each rip of the peregrines beak.

Just after new year, we visited some friends who live in Sheringham. Another walk along the seafront in a very different part of the country. We approached a rather tame cluster of turnstones. Among this hardy little group though lurked a couple of much shyer purple sandpiper. Not a bird I think I've seen in Norfolk before.


Turning our backs to the sea, we spotted a small murmuration of starlings over the town, which slowly grew in number as the light began to drain from the sky. Multiple flocks appeared which mingled with each other, then separated. We hunted out their chosen roosting spot, watching the flocks shape shift above streets and houses on our travels. It was wonderful to see so many groups of people just stopping and watching the birds' performance. Eventually, we tracked down their chosen spot to a large conifer tree in a back garden and watched some of them stream down from the sky, then jostle and chatter for position. By the time we left, our friends estimated that there were probably in the region of 1500 birds in total.

This has been the only starling murmuration I have seen so far this season, but I have been sure to record it on the starling survey. If you see any, be sure to submit your recordings too.

RSPB Strumpshaw Fen & Buckenham Marshes

An unseasonably warm day, but the perfect weather to go for a pleasant stroll around Strumpshaw Fen. We arrived at around 10 o' clock and were asked by the volunteers at the reception to report back what we had seen. All they'd had so far was a cormorant. Looking out onto the pool, there were a raft of mallard, gadwall and shoveler.

Before we got very far, we were greeted by a very handsome male pheasant which had alighted on a fallen tree trunk. Not the most 'exciting' sighting, but he was resplendent in his winter colours.

We began on the woodland trail and it wasn't long before a flock of softly calling finch-sized birds flew overhead and settled in a nearby tree. They set to work on tweezering seeds out of tightly closed cases. It was a mixed flock of siskin and goldfinches. I am slowly becoming more familiar with the siskin this season, getting used to looking for their unique stripy-ness and their high pitched calls when it flight and perched. Reaching the end of the woodland trail, following an unidentified bird of prey (we never did get a good look at it), we spotted a mistle thrush perched on telephone wires in the neighbouring field. It has been a long while since I've seen one of these handsome birds.


We turned onto the fen trail and began the muddy walk towards Tower hide. We heard a great spotted woodpecker calling in the distance, eventually tracking it down to the top of the tallest branches in the woodland. Walking across large clearings like this always makes me notice Norfolk's big skies, and always makes me question why I would ever live anywhere else.

A robin, dunnock and few blackbirds greeted us along the trail, but it was very quiet. Pausing at a clearing just before reaching the hide, I spotted what I am sure was a water vole swimming between patches of reed. All I could make out was little brown head above the water line, swimming completely silently and with almost no wake, I would have missed it had I not already been looking at something else in the same direction. Apart from this potentially exciting encounter, there was little action even looking out from Tower hide, with the exception of two majestic marsh harriers quartering the reed bed below.


Turning back to avoid too much mud, we headed for Fen hide. Unfortunately, there was little to see here either. We decided that all of the geese, ducks and waders must be at nearby Buckenham Marshes instead, so we headed back to the reception and jumped in the car. On the way, we spotted a young grey heron practicing its fishing skills and a marsh harrier bathing at the edge of a pool.

Wigeon, lots and lots of wigeon is what greeted us at Buckenham Marshes, all softly calling to each other in that charming whistle. A small flock of lapwing showed off their contrasting colours in the afternoon sun as they sailed past in the distance.


Perhaps there were fewer birds due to the unseasonably warm weather, perhaps they are just confused. One volunteer told me that another visitor had seen a marsh harrier building a nest.

To finish the day on another unusual sight, after we arrived home, we were visited by a male kestrel in the grounds of our flat in Norwich. He looked in excellent shape. We've never seen one this close to us before.

November at Sculthorpe

Sculthorpe Moor - 15th November

Apologies for not writing for over a month! November has been a busy one, but we did manage a couple of wildlife watching sessions. We have finally made it back to Sculthorpe Moor; this small site run by the Hawk and Owl Trust really is a hidden treasure. We haven't been here since spring and this return visit certainly wasn't a disappointment. The winds we have had throughout November made the trees talk and sing and with it, the bird life joined in.

On first entering the reserve, there is a viewing panel overlooking a range of birdfeeders. They were alive with green finches, chaffinches, great tits, blue tits, coal and marsh tits, a nuthatch and some beautiful bramblings on the feeders and on the floor below. 

Walking around the reserve, it wasn't just the bird hides that yeilded fantastic views of wildlife. On niger seed feeders suspended from trees were dozens of gold finches in dazzling colours. In trees above were mixed flocks of siskins tweezering out seeds and chattering away to each other with goldfinches trying to join in the conversation. There seemed to be long tailed tits everywhere, one of my favourite bird species, always sociable and 'friendly' in their large gangs, filling the air with their 'see-see-see's. 

The new elevated hide in the reserve gave beautiful close up views of these rosey-pink socialites and a tree creeper amid their chattering and the flocks of gold finches. We also had long distance views of gliding marsh harriers quartering the reed beds below. At the Fen hide we found a little grebe nestled among a quartet of mallards. A male bullfinch took over one of the feeders and bullied other birds away, claiming the seeds for himself. 

Another wonderful visit to this reserve. Hopefully we'll not have to wait another 6 months before we visit again!

Autumnal activities

Gosh, this has been a whirlwind of a first half-term. I have neglected my blog somewhat, but we have been up to some wildlife watching along the way!

Strumpshaw Fen - Sunday 11th October

This trip was significantly more autumnal than our last, but the common darters were still about in clusters, or rather in rows on any fence, bench or gate they could find. In their wake, they left destruction in the form of fragments of other small insects that had clearly been a feast for one or two of them.

It was quite quiet in terms of wildlife when walking the tracks of the reserve, but we stumbled across some drama when we reached Tower Hide. A huge mixed flock of wigeon, shoveler, teal and mallards, with a few lapwings keeping themselves to themselves, were spread across the lake. Wigeon began whistling and the whole raft of ducks and waders lifted as one, circled, then skimmed the water to return. At first, it was hard to see why, but they repeated this performance and we realised there was a marsh harrier gliding in close looking for a snack...

Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Hampshire - Friday 23rd October

This park full of beautiful trees of many varieties felt very autumnal today. The trees were beginning to turn from green to shades of yellow-orange-red. Some appeared to glow in the half light made by the clouds and being deep beneath the upper canopy.

Southsea - Saturday 24th October

An early morning walk full of urban wildlife. I couldn't resist a photo of these starlings on their lighthouse roost, seemingly ignoring the flashing light silhouetting them at times.

Canoeing and fungi at Foxley

It's been a while since my last post; the start of the new school year has been a little on the hectic side! I am happy though - our wild flower meadow has worked, I just need to take some photos for a proper update on it soon. For now though, here are my wildlife outings we managed in September - two in one day!

An early start on a Sunday morning... at 6:00 am some friends and I decided to go on a 'River Bure Otter Spotting' trail with the Canoe Man. Unfortunately, the otters stayed well out of our way, but the river at this time of day was beautiful; an ethereal mist rose from the surface in the early morning sunlight and wraith-like herons merged with the mist until their movements betrayed them. An occasional kingfisher would dart in front of the boat, showing off its neon plumage, bright compared with the rising mist. Long tailed tits 'see see seed' to each other in the branches around us, giving a constant chorus to the still air.

Later the same day, to a completely different habitat, we took a trip to Foxley Woods. The ancient woodland that, in spring, is carpeted with fragrant swathes of bluebells, becomes a heaven for fungi in autumn. Fungi are my least competent kingdom when it comes to identification, but their shapes, textures and colours fascinate me, even if I won't ever master the tricks of identifying them.

Spectacular rustgill?

Paxillus?

Agaricus sp.?

Also below us, in the mud of the passed rains, were huge deer footprints - far too large to be roe, I think, they must be the work of a red deer. The stride length between prints was incredibly large. Above us, charms of gold finches flitted from tree to tree chattering their charming musical calls. Marsh tits, blue tits and great tits were also busy feeding from hidden insects in the tree canopy. A great spotted woodpecker betrayed itself by its loud genial call from the top of a pine tree.

In the sunnier spots of the wood were some late butterflies and dragonflies; common darter dragonflies and speckled wood butterflies alighting on living and dead leaves in bright shafts of sunlight.

Last weekend of summer

So, we're back at school. Fortunately, last weekend, I made the most of the freedom and spent a lovely couple of days at Pensthorpe and Strumpshaw Fen with friends as well as walking around our local patch and admiring the hordes of birds that have been visiting our feeders.

For birds and other wildlife, our local patch was quiet. However, in the late summer sunlight, it was a beautiful sight across the River Wensum and the surrounding trees.

Surprisingly, our bird feeders have been a hive of activity throughout August; the complete opposite to what I would have expected. Flocks of 20 strong long tailed tits have been visiting alongside groups of greenfiches, chaffinches, blue tits, great tits, starlings, sparrows, coal tits... and a sparrowhawk!



The sun was shining and the waterfowl were out in force at Pensthorpe, as well as the small tortoiseshells and red admirals, dazzling with their fiery wings and occasionally sharing flower heads with horse flies. There were also swallows and house martins cutting through the air at speed and occasionally settling, but not for long. It was almost possible to feel their restlessness as they ready for migration.

The weirdest thing we spotted was at a river crossing. Just below the surface, sunning themselves on the silted river bottom were dozens of signal crayfish of all sizes. Alien and almost dastardly looking with their odd claws and segmented bodies.









The following day at Strumpshaw, the conditions were very different - blanket cloud smothered the sky despite it still being warm. It was a poor day for invertebrates (we didn't see a single butterfly), but a fantastic day for birds. We took the Meadow trail and my attention was immediately caught by a calling great spotted woodpecker foraging beneath the bark of a dead branch. I then very nearly trod on a common froglet, who kindly posed on a pile of dung.

We gradually made our way through the mud to Tower hide. We were greeted this time, not with a chorus of lapwings, but with a gaggle of greylag geese, knot, shoveler, teal and other ducks, a kingfisher, common terns, grey herons, little egrets and a great egret. The first confirmed sighting of a great egret in the UK for me. We sat and watched the little egrets display, with one (the male, we think) being somewhat keener...


Fen hide was next on our list, so we back tracked and took the turning. We were very glad we did. Here, the small jewel of kingfisher granted us good views as it flitted from reeds to post and back again multiple times. Marsh harriers kept their distance, but visibly quartered the reedbeds below. Chinese water deer chased each other through the clearings between reed beds, but the light grew too poor for photographs very quickly. Hopefully now autumn is (nearly) here, I might actually get a photo of these quirky looking animals...