Ring Ouzels and Lil Owl

The highlights of a relatively uneventful visit to Burnham Overy on 6th October were 2-3 Ring Ouzels and a ringtail Hen Harrier.  Also a Yellow-browed Warbler called once from the willows south of the fenceline, but I didn't see it.

Ring Ouzel, Burnham Overy, 6th October

There were a few other thrushes around - 40 or so Song Thrushes but no sign of the Blackbird arrival that was reported elsewhere - in fact I didn't see a single Blackbird!  Not many other migrants though - 4 Blackcaps, a couple of Chiffchaffs but little else.  Overhead the odd Siskin and a Grey Wagtail, and a Swallow and 2 House Martins through, but pretty quiet really.

There was a Pintail among the Mallards, a Greenshank and 2 Sandwich Terns in the channel, and I heard Water Rail and Bearded Tits calling.  Also vocally obvious were at least 5 Cetti's Warblers - at least 3 at the reedy pool, another nearby and one just SW of Holkham pines.

On the way home a Red Kite flew over the road between South Creake and Sculthorpe - seem to see them round here quite often.

On Monday 8th I searched for migrants at Heacham during my lunch break.  No luck with migrants but a nice showy Little Owl was good value, until it was chased off by a Magpie.

Little Owl, Heacham, 8th October

Magpie and Little Owl, Heacham, 8th October

Magpies, Heacham, 8th October

Cranes but no Basking Shark

I only had a short time on Saturday 3rd October before meeting the usual group at Cley, but was keen to do some coastal birding with some good birds arriving the day before.  I would have liked to see the Blyth's Pipit at Stiffkey but didn't want to waste time there if it wasn't still present, or if it wasn't showing properly, so instead I headed up to nearby Stiffkey Fen and Stiffkey Greens.

The Fen was pretty quiet - at least I couldn't find anything unusual there (there were plenty of common birds to sift through).  As I stood there I thought I might have heard a call from two birders who were further along the footpath.  Wasn't entirely sure and turned round to look... but before I'd finished turning I heard a Crane overhead!  Looking up 2 Cranes were flying west over the Fen.  Nice.

Cranes, Stiffkey Fen, 3rd October

The footpath to the west of the Fen (Stiffkey Greens, I think), failed to deliver the migrants I was hoping to find, just a couple of Blackcaps and a flock of 30+ Ruff.

So on to Cley where the group and I walked down to Dauke's Hide. A Sparrowhawk showed nicely sat on a post and several Bearded Tits showed in the reeds.

Sparrowhawk, Cley, 3rd October

Bearded Tits, Cley, 3rd October

Waders on the scrapes included at least 6 Greenshank (but no sign of the reported Marsh Sandpiper) and at least 40 Ruff.  A Great Skua flew east over the sea, visible above the shingle ridge.

A charm of Goldfinches entertained us while a Moorhen was busy feeding on blackberries.

Goldfinches, Cley, 3rd October

Moorhen, Cley, 3rd October

House Sparrows, Cley, 3rd October

As we walked down East Bank a Merlin flew past - maybe fresh in.  From the end of East Bank we could see a few Gannets were passing by, and a couple of Red-throated Divers, but we didn't pick out the Basking Shark that was seen from the beach car park.  We looked particularly intensely for that when news of it came through a few minutes later, but no sign from where we were standing.  Another Sparrowhawk flew across the marsh as we walked back to the centre.

 Meadow Pipit among Glasswort (Purple Glasswort?), Cley, 3rd October

High tide roost at Snetts

I had a day off on Wednesday 30th September and decided to head to Snettisham for the high tide roost.  An early start was required to get there for the recommended time but I overslept and arrived later than intended.  As I walked down towards the hide I could see the last of the waders coming off the wash and on to the pits.  Not a good start, missing them coming off the Wash, but at least I'd be able to see them roosting and heading back out to the Wash.

high tide, Snettisham, 30th September

I stopped off on the way down to photograph this Eider.  I've rarely seen beached Eiders in Norfolk and suspect this one was sick.  Mind you, it's perfectly normal for them to rest on land further north so not sure why it shouldn't be here too.

Eider, Snettisham, 30th September

Little Egret, Snettisham, 30th September

From the hide the spectacle was great - Oystercatchers covering one shore but the moving carpet of Knot (among other things) was fun to watch. 

Oystercatchers, Snettisham, 30th September

Knots, Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits, Snettisham, 30th September

Knots, Snettisham, 30th September

 Bar-tailed Godwits and Knot, Snettisham, 30th September

I tried hard to pick out something more unusual among the hordes of birds but struggled to find anything remotely unusual.  I eventually picked out 3 Greenshank and there was a flock of 8 Spotted Redshank away from the main flocks.  A Kingfisher showed and a Short-eared Owl did so very briefly.

 Spotted Redshanks, Snettisham, 30th September

As the tide turned the hide emptied.  I should have taken that as my cue, but with thousands of birds still on the pits I figured I had enough time to sift through them before heading out to look at the swirling around on the Wash.  Once I admitted defeat on that front I headed out of the hide expecting to find the water still pretty high, albeit going down, and huge and impressive flocks of birds swirling around the Wash, the spectacle Snettisham is so well known for.  What I actually found was that the tide had gone down far more than I imagined was possible in what seemed like no time (but in hindsight probably was much longer than I'd realised) and all the waders were tiny dots about a mile away, happily feeding away and not flying around at all.

So all in all a bit disappointing.  But at least I know for next time - get there in good time and don't stick around in the hide for too long!

Long-tailed Tit, Snettisham, 30th September

Other days this week were spent at work, getting out only at lunch times when I failed to find anything of note.

Blue Tit, Thornham, 28th September

Little Grebes, Thornham, 28th September