Norfolk in November can be a bit hit or miss (by the way, that isn’t Norfolk above…) but the first weekend of the month delivered a fair bit of sun to go with the cold. At times there was even some heat haze to contend with as binoculars and scopes were trained on anything fluttery or feathery.
It was the West Midland Bird Club’s annual foray into the flatness that is Norfolk.
First day sea-watching before breakfast washed up little of ornithological interest, but the following morning’s catch featured a pair of circling Sparrowhawks, and a Peregrine whirring by.
Up the road at Cley, flocks of Brent Geese bullied their way through the water pastures, upsetting the Lapwings and, out on the sea, a Red-throated Diver bobbed along. Along the beach, in one of the freshwater lagoons, a mishmash of ducks and geese was jumbled together: Pintail, Teal, Tufted, but mainly Widgeon.
Sighting of the day were Shore Larks at Holkham, dithering around a cordoned off section of the sand dunes – cordoned off with polite notices highlighting the lack of disturbance required for sensitive local wildlife. Great disturbance was nevertheless generated by a lolloping great dog running about like a mad thing – obviously not under control of its knobhead owners…
Popped into Burnham Ovary Staithe for an evening’s secluded wandering where the elevated paths rise above salt marshes. Dusk soon closed in and, with little on show apart from a couple of Redshanks and a gull or two, it was time to hit the Mariners Bar.
In search of Short-eared Owls the next morning, we took off for Holm but there was nothing remotely earey about. However, the great thing about Norfolk birding is that if the day’s yield is a little paltry, there is always Titchwell to depend upon.
Flagship reserves don’t come any flaggier than Titchwell and despite the water levels being low, there were plenty of waders and waterfowl about. Nothing too showy – Dunlin, godwits, plovers, egrets, ducks, geese and swans. A Water Rail skittered nervously into view and went scuttling down the edge of the reedbeds (these birds are a bag of nerves at the best of times). As usual the Marsh Harriers coming in to roost proved to be a particular highlight.
On the way back to Brum, Pete and I popped into the tiny fenland enclave of Eldernell on the Nene Washes. As we walked along the bank, four Common Cranes came bugling in to land in the overlooked fields. They were soon joined by another pair of cranes. The cranes seemed quite content stretching their long legs and clacking to each other. In the next field, munching away on the short grass, were a trio of Roe Deer. A wedge of about twenty Whooper Swans came barreling past to settle in the water beyond and, as if this wasn’t enough, we closed the day by seeing four Short-eared Owls perched up in a line of stubby trees at the bottom of the bank!
With the German market coming to town, there was a wee bit of indulging to indulge in before flying out to Turkey to escape the November murk…
There then followed a nifty escape to sunny Side in Turkey with Steve B. A great hotel, the Side Star Elegance, overlooking the Mediterranean Sea was home for a week.
A short beachfront amble away from the hotel are the ruins of the ancient city of Side, one of the best known classical sites in Turkey. Founded from the seventh century BC, and occupied by Alexander the Great four centuries later, there’s a fair bit of Greco-Roman history to be had. The ruins included an Amphitheatre, and a Nymphaeum (dedicated to nymphs).
Binoculars were useless in locating any wayward, elusive nymphs but there were plenty of White-spectacled Bulbuls, Black Redstarts, Crested Larks and Stonechats around the site.
jacey666 