Norfolk Sensation.

Our Norfolk trip continued with a trip to Holme Nature Reserve, hoping to see a small party of Snow Buntings that had been seen in the area over the past few weeks. As we walked away from the car park towards where the birds had been reported, we followed three other birdwatchers. They arrived at the site just ahead of us, and although we saw a small group of Snow Buntings, unfortunately they were not too keen on being watched and they soon flew away. Despite further searching we didn't see them again.

We then went down to the sea where we caught up with more Turnstone, including one that allowed a close approach. Following this we headed to Holkham hoping for Shorelarks. This year though had been too mild for the birds to come down this far south, so we wandered around seeing very little, although several Deer were out in the meadows. Pink-footed Geese too were seen quite close. 

Turnstone.

After a slightly disappointing day, the only one of the trip, we headed the following day to Cley. A very long walk around the reserve was very rewarding with great views of many species of wader and my best close views of Marsh Harrier.

Pied Wagtail.

Male Marsh Harrier.

Female Marsh Harrier.

Avocet.

Last summer our favourite day had been at Hickling Broad. We were keen to head that way again just to see what an early spring day would bring. Obviously there would be no signs of the Swallowtail, which had been our main target last year, but I was hoping for lots of Small Tortoiseshell coming out of hibernation. As it happened, we did see Brimstone and Peacock, but that was about it for the butterflies. We were very surprised though to find a ride with several Adders in it. One female Adder was very tolerant, totally ignoring the footfalls from us and a few other people that walked past it, While I was photographing the snake, Lisa walked further along the track and found a Grass Snake. We ended up spending most of the morning along this lovely ride. 

Female Adder.

Grass Snake.

 After lunch I stupidly decided that I wasn't going to carry my heavy lens all around the reserve, so left it behind. However, after entering the Bittern Hide, to be told that two Bittern had just been seen flying into the reedbed, I began to question my decision. About ten minutes later a Bittern appeared at the back of the reedbed and I kicked myself. A further ten minutes later I really started to regret my decision as a Bittern made a fabulous show. Lisa of course had her 600mm and when she showed me her results I made the decision to walk quickly back to the car a get my 600mm. All the way back I was cursing myself at being so lazy. After the half hour walk I thought I was unlikely to see any more Bitterns now I had the big lens!!

The Bittern along the reedbed.

Entering the hide again I was sort of relieved to find that I hadn't missed any action, but also worried that my walk was going to be in vain. However, as the sun lowered and gave a fabulous evening light, another Bittern appeared. Further away this time, but with the longer lens, that was fine. It walked slowly away from us but also stopped several times where it posed beautifully. An absolutely superb bird

Bittern.

Whilst we were waiting for the Bittern action we were also treated to a distant fly-by from a pair of Common Cranes. A beautiful Grey Heron also flew in and spent time fishing in front of us.

Grey Heron.

Also joining us was a Great White Egret.

Great White Egret coming into land.

Hickling Broad once again delivered the goods for us, on such a beautifully sunny day too.

Our last day in Norfolk proved to be the only damp day. Fortunately it wasn't raining all day, and it takes a lot to stop us going out. We headed back to Titchwell as there would be plenty of hides to use if the weather did get worse.

I was lucky to find a Woodcock hiding in the cover. It was extremely difficult to get a clear shot of the bird, but by looking through the camera and moving slightly about I did manage to find a small window in the Bramble to get a reasonable image. We were so pleased that we had both found a Woodcock on the trip. A species that we had been hoping to see, as there are lots more in Norfolk than in our local Sussex woodlands.

Woodcock.

Once again Norfolk had given us a trip we will remember for a very long time. This trip had been to celebrate Lisa's birthday. We now have my birthday trip to look forward too later in the year when we head to Bempton, a place I have never been to before.

North Norfolk.

 I love north Norfolk with its amazing wildlife. In late winter to early spring the birdlife is superb with large numbers of birds. 

We started with an early morning walk where we were able to enjoy the sunrise with a backdrop of Blakeney. There were a few waders along the river walk, including Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher and a Greenshank.

Sunrise, with a backdrop of Blakeney church.

With much better light, and a gorgeous day ahead, we decided to head back to Sheringham for the stunning Eastern Black Redstart. This time we knew where it was likely to be, and sure enough, we had seen the bird before we had even parked the car properly. We then spent two to three hours with the bird. It was generally on show most of the time, although a birders' wife was not very popular with her husband when she arrived at the scene a bit like a bull in a china shop, asking loudly if the bird had been seen. As it was she had almost trodden on the bird, and in doing so she had flushed the bird, where it went into hiding for around twenty minutes!!

However, it did show again, and after a lot of waiting the bird settled in a couple of decent places, which showed it off much better than most of the bushes it favoured.

Eastern Black Redstart.

We followed this with a walk on Kelling Heath, but we didn't see too much of interest here.

The following day, we started off at Titchwell RSPB. It was a little cool and breezy, but still sunny. On the main reserve we searched for Woodcock with no success. The most interest came from a regular roosting Tawny Owl and a pond full of mating Toads. We headed to the beach where waders can sometimes show very well. We had a few opportunities to photograph Turnstone and Curlew, but the most interesting species to us was the Red Knot. This species is extremely numerous in the Wash area, totally different to Sussex where the bird is a notable species. There were just a couple of Knot on the beach, but later on we would see much larger numbers along the coast at Snettisham.

Curlew.

Turnstone.

Red Knot.

I had checked the tide times before leaving home, and was quite pleased to see that there was a pretty high tide around sunset on the Monday. So after leaving Titchwell, we moved along to Snettisham to hopefully see the World famous Red Knot murmurations. We arrived in plenty of time, as neither of us had witnessed this before. I had been to Snettisham beach a few times, but the tide had never been right before for the murmuration. It was quite impressive seeing the sea coming in so quickly.

We also had some entertainment while we waited with a couple of Barn Owls hunting across the saltmarsh and a lovely Red Kite that was heading straight for us until it turned very dramatically.

Red Kite.

The tide at its highest was just over 7 metres. It probably needed another foot or two for the best murmuration, but eventually we were treated to the sight of thousands of waders flying together, mostly the Red Knot, but also plenty of Black-tailed Godwit, Oystercatchers and various other waders.

It was certainly a fabulous spectacle, especially with the approaching sunset!!

Red Knot and Oystercatchers.

Birds dropping down.

Birds Everywhere.

It certainly was a very impressive sight and a great end to our first two days of our Norfolk break.

Norfolk Bound.

 

At the start of March Lisa and I headed up to Norfolk to celebrate her birthday. I have always loved north Norfolk, having had a couple of trips when I was young as well as working for a company that was based in Norfolk for 18 years. This meant I was quite familiar with some of the areas we were going to go wildlife watching.

On the way to Norfolk we were to stay at Lowestoft for one night so we could call into Minsmere RSPB for the day, followed by a day at Horsey to see the Grey Seals. With luck, we would also have time to visit Sheringham to look for the rare Eastern Black Redstart that had been over-wintering on the esplanade there.

Minsmere started extremely well when Lisa spotted a Woodcock hiding some distance away. We very carefully approached the bird, getting close enough for some photos, although he had spotted us and he had settled down in the undergrowth to hide from us. I had been hoping to see Woodcock in Norfolk as they are very difficult to find in Sussex, despite being reasonably numerous. Unfortunately the bird didn't allow us to get close enough for detailed shots, but it was lovely to see.

We also visited a couple of hides, seeing distant courtship displays of Great-crested Grebes as well as a Whooper Swan. Eventually we went into the Bittern Hide. This was the hide that we were watching Hobby and Marsh Harrier last summer. Our main Bittern experience that day was in the Fenland Hide. This time however, we had our first Bittern sighting of our trip, and although it was quite distant, the Bittern showed very well as it crept along the reedbed.

Also at Minsmere, and all other sites during the whole trip, we kept seeing Muntjac Deer. This species is spreading in Sussex but is much more common in East Anglia.

Woodcock.

Bittern.

Muntjac Deer.

The following day, after our night in Lowestoft we headed to Horsey Beach in Norfolk, a site where Grey Seals give birth. Although there were no actual babies at this time, there were still a few younger seals, although most of the animals we saw were adults. It was a lovely day, apart from a stiff breeze blowing along the beach, with sand flying low over the beach. This gave some lovely atmospheric photos. 

Grey Seals in the sandstorm.

A little further along the beach it was more sheltered from the breeze and the seals were not having to partly close their eyes to keep the sand out of their eyes and they were more relaxed.

Grey Seals.

This is the youngest Grey Seal that we saw. It seemed to be trying to keep away from the incoming tide.

Young Grey Seal.

We enjoyed ourselves so much here, that we left it a little late to get to Sheringham. We knew that the Eastern Black Redstart had been seen the previous day, but there had been no reports that day, so we were just hoping. When we arrived at the seafront of Sheringham, we found the area where we knew the bird had been in recent days but there was no sign of the bird. It was also beginning to get cold and the light was fading quickly. After a while we decided to leave the cameras in the car and just wander to see if we could see any landmarks from some photos of the bird we had seen. We had just about given up when I saw a bird deep in a bush. All I could see was a flickering tail, that is such familiar behavior with Redstarts. I knew it was either the bird we were after, or a normal Black Redstart. Fortunately, the bird moved to the front of the bush and we could see it was the Eastern Black Redstart. I quickly ran to the car to get the cameras. The light was awful, but we got some surprisingly decent shots. With the forecast for the rest of the week looking very good though, we were already planning to return for seeing the bird in much better conditions.

Eastern Black Redstart.

Adder Boy.

 With Winter slowly turning to Spring, I had two memorable encounters showing both seasons in just a couple of days.

On New Years Eve Lisa and I had enjoyed the spectacular Starling murmurations at Eastbourne, where the mass of Starling come to roost overnight on the lower parts of the pier. In late February we decided to go again, as by now the numbers of birds would have built up even further. This time we headed to the eastern side of the pier, as this was where most of the action had been on that final evening of 2025. We were certainly not disappointed with the aeriel display by the birds.

Starling Murmurations at Eastbourne Pier.

Also before the end of February, Paul and I headed to one of our favourite Adder locations on the South Downs. I can't remember seeing any Adders before in February, but with it being a lovely sunny day I felt that we had a chance. It wasn't too long before I spotted a single male Adder, although this was the only one that we saw that day. However, I did call back a few days later with Pete, and we managed to see three different male Adders.

My first Adder of the year.

Two of the male Adders I saw with Pete.

Also on this 2nd visit, I was surprised to find this rather worn Hummingbird Hawk-moth that was settled in the grass. It had probably flown over from France on the southerly winds, although it could possibly have over-wintered here in Sussex.

Hummingbird Hawk-moth.