We left Halesworth for Thornham around 9am. We dropped in at Cley just after opening time around 10:15am. They said that there had been Spoonbills dropping in already this morning but we did not see any. In fact, there were very few birds at all. We went to the three central hides but they held very few birds and what few they were were very common. We didn’t bothe with the other hides but instead headed for Thornham.
It was probably as well that we did not spend too much time there as the road to Thornham wasn’t quick and it is a very twisting, slow road at the best of times. As we were approaching Brancaster Staithe we got sight of a bird of prey that we probably saw later – and better – and turned out to be a Red Kite. I subsequently googled Red Kites in the area and discovered that there has been a big increase in their numbers in North Norfolk recently. I had not previously thought of them as being Norfolk birds but now they are.
We eventually reached our cottage in Thornam and decided to go into Hunstanton to get some supplies in for the week we were to stay at the cottage. Just as we were passing the Holme Dunes Reserve a white-winged bird of prey flew across us and as it had black tips to the wings we concluded it was either a Montague’s Harrier or a Hen Harrier. Looking at the online reports showed that there had been a Hen Harrier at Gibraltar Point NNR earlier in the day so perhaps this was the same bird. It has to be said that we did not get a good enough view from a moving car to tell positively if it was a Monty but it seems more likely it was a male Hen Harrier.
Once we had done our shopping we went for a bit of a walk to the silted up harbour at Thornham. The reeds were resounding to the song of Reed Warblers and at the harbour we saw a few Avocets and some Shelduck. In the field a the end of the lane just before the harbour we found a single Whimbrel and on our return, in the field opposite our cottage we got a Mistle Thrush.
So, not a great birding day but the Red Kite was a good spot and so was the Hen Harrrier.
Bird Sightings : Cley Marshes NWT
| Greylag Goose | 60 |
| Common Shelduck | 40 |
| Gadwall | 2 |
| Mallard | 10 |
| Little Egret | 3 |
| Pied Avocet | 24 |
| Eurasian Oystercatcher | 2 |
| Northern Lapwing | 2 |
| Black-tailed Godwit | 12 |
| Black-headed Gull | 20 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 4 |
| Common Kestrel | 1 |
| Sky Lark | 1 |
| Cetti’s Warbler | 1 |
| European Goldfinch | 2 |
| House Sparrow | 6 |
Bird Sightings : Norfolk Environs
| Hen Harrier | 1 |
| Red Kite | 1 |
Bird Sightings : Thornham
| Common Shelduck | 6 |
| Mallard | 1 |
| Common Pheasant | 2 |
| Pied Avocet | 3 |
| Whimbrel | 1 |
| Black-headed Gull | 20 |
| Common Wood Pigeon | 26 |
| Eurasian Jackdaw | 8 |
| Carrion Crow | 6 |
| Sky Lark | 1 |
| Eurasian Reed Warbler | 2 |
| Mistle Thrush | 1 |