We drove from Thornham up around the wash and headed for RSPB Frampton MArsh. We had never been to this reserve before so we were very curious – especially since we had had such glowing reports of from a couple of birders we met once at Rutland Water. It looked very ominous all morning as it slashed with rain. Amazingly just as we neared the reserve, the rain stopped and the sun came out and it turned into aglorious afternoon and we had some glorious birding as well, starting with a year tick as soon as we entered the reception hide.
May 10 2019
Frampton Marsh RSPB 10th May 2019
May 09 2019
Turtle Doves at Titchwell Marsh RSPB 9th May 2019
From Holmes Dunes we drove back past Thornham and on to RSPB Titchwell for our last visit of the holiday. The weather was a bit better today so we were hoping for one last chance of Turtle Dove that are known to purr near the car park. And that is exactly what we found.
May 09 2019
Grasshopper Warbler at Holmes Dunes NWT 9th May 2019
We had much better weather on our last day in Norfolk and we started out at Holmes Dunes NWT reserve, once again looking for Turtle Dove. We arrived an hour before the gate opened so we started to park up near the houses. As we approached we saw a couple of birders so we pulled up alongside them and asked if they had seen anything. To our great surprise the head that popped inside the car window was that of Andy Bunting, the main bird lister at Martin Mere and one of the two chaps who run the In Focus shop there. They hadn’t seen anything much yet and hadn’t heard any Turtle Doves.
May 08 2019
Chosely Drying Barns 8th May 2019
The weather took a turn for the worse this day and we abandoned all idea of any birding except a quick run out to Chosely Dring Barns where, on Chalkpit Lane, we found two male and three female Dotterel and a single Golden Plover. That was the sum total of birding that day!
May 07 2019
Thornham Environs and Castle Acre 7th May 2019
The weather had been pretty mixed so far during our stay in North Norfolk but the morning of the 7th was one of those mornings where all the birds are out singing and my morning walk along the marsh and down through the reed beds to the silted-up harbour was a beautiful start to the day.
May 06 2019
Sculthorpe Moore Hawk and Owl Trust Reserve 6th May 2019
At a bit of a loss as to what to do as the weather got duller and starting drizzling lightly, Anne hit on the idea of going towards Fakenham to the Sculthorpe Moore Hawk and Owl Trust Reserve, a place we had not heard of before. Despite the weather we at least managed to get a good year tick there.
May 06 2019
Holmes Dunes NWT 6th May 2019
Our visit to Holmes Dunes left us without any trace of Turtle Dove. They have been seen and heard recently but the poor weather has not been conducive to them singing. We had a walk around, down by the houses adn in the dunes but everything seemed to have gone back to bed after the nice start to the day. As the weather got a bit windier in the afternoon we had to settle for Cuckoo calling and not much else. We weren’t sure what to do now – except perhaps try elsewhere for better weather.
May 06 2019
Titchwell Marsh RSPB 6th May 2019
The weather held up in the morning and we felt we were in for a great day of birding. Although we planned to go to a few sites during the day, after Chosely it seemed logical to drop in at RSPB Titchwell. We were glad we did because we got an excellent year tick among the forty species we saw in a couple of hours.
May 06 2019
Thornham 6th May 2019
The morning of the 6th saw much better weather so I got up early for a walk down to the marsh, then back up to the start of the reed beds and over to the silted-up harbour, all just minutes from the front door of the cottage. The first sound I heard after opening the door was a Cuckoo and that set the tone for the day.
May 06 2019
Dotterel and Golden Plover at Chosely Drying Barns 6th May 2019
Our first port of call was Chosely Drying Barns again as we had read reports that a very few Dotterel had been seen in the fields. When we arrived there, there were already a few birders out there and locating the bird – for there was only one that we could see – was a case of finding the Golden Plover first and then looking to the right of that!