Norfolk Birding Holiday Summary May 2022

Our last visit to Norfolk in 2019 had perhaps spoiled us as the round trip gave us so many of those species that we love including Dotterel and Turtle Dove. This trip gave us fewer species and not all of the most desirable birds but the weather was so much better than in 2019 which was quite cold and windy. This time it was a different sort of holiday; there was a bit of a mini heatwave with hot sun every day except one. Because we had been at home so much since Covid, it was so much more appreciated and perhaps we spent more time sitting around enjoying the good weather, particularly at Thornham, than we did the previous time. This time we took nothing for granted and enjoyed every minute of it.

Reading some of my daily entries, I am aware that there are several mentions of unmet expectationds regarding the number of species we expected to see in various places. This does not reflect the real happiness of being able to get to all these reserves after such a prolonged period of Covid restrictions. The big, blue skies of Norfolk and Lincolnshire were a real boost to a sense of well-being – all encouraged by the sun.

However it is still true that we saw both fewer birds and not all of the species we expect. In the former case I think the difference can be accounted for by the fact that our visit this time was about two weeks later than our previous visit. This can be accounted for by the fact that lockdown had made us concentrate on work on the house and only after that work was finished and the restrictions were lifted did we start to think of holidays. Even then we were thinking of Lanzarote until flight problems at Manchester airport put a stop to any of those plans. Instead we cobbled together a fortnight away in a couple of days and were even fortunate to find a cottage in Thornham just a couple of doors up from our previous cottage whichthe owners (Tom and Anita) no longer rent out. So we did pretty well to organise this so quickly but it was still a fortnight later than our previous visit and this can make a big difference in birding in Spring. You have to catch the birds when they are displaying and singing to help you get more species. Also passage birds come and go and you have to catch them at just the right time. As it happens, the weather was probably hotter than in Lanzarote so that worked out well.

The other aspect of missed species was just luck. When birds decide to nest somewhere can change from time to time; when a pea field gets turned into a pig field; when clearfell is no longer clear. Birds move around and you need a bit of luck as well as effort.

This isn’t to say that this holiday wasn’t without it’s birding highlights. The Ospreys at Rutland Water and the nearby Black Kite, the Stone Curlews with their chicks at Weeting Heath, the great morning at Nunnery Lakes, The boat trip and views of Black-winged Stilts at Hickling Broad, the Red-breasted Goose at Blakeney Harbour, the constant sounds of Cuckoos every day of our holiday, the Marsh Harriers and Spoonbills – all these made for a fantastic holiday. We had three life ticks and 27 year ticks with a total number of species seen at 113. Not too shabby at all.

Where We Stayed 4 – 20 May 2022

Bird Reserves and Birding Sites we visited 4 – 20 May 2022

Bird Sightings : Norfolk May 2022

Life Ticks (3)

Year Ticks (27)