2nd February: Owl day!
The forecast was for rain in the morning so we decided this would be a good day to travel further afield towards Cley marshes. A striking feature of the morning was the number of Barn Owls out hunting in the daylight- we saw around half a dozen as we drove east. It had been a wet night and therefore they presumably had not been able to feed adequately overnight. I was thrilled to manage to capture one sitting on a post with my bridge camera.
At Salthouse we struggled to locate the Waxwing - another birder said he had been there for an hour and also the previous day and had not seen it. He pointed out the bush where it had been feeding, which looked severely depleted of juicy red berries! We checked the lane to the church, but no obvious sign and it was still drizzly so we headed to the visitor centre at Cley to see whether it was worth paying to go round the reserve (no was the answer!). I then checked Birdguides on my phone and discovered the Waxwing had been reported 20 minutes ago! So back we went, and again struggled to locate the bird. However, some birders who clearly were far more skilled than us, wondered if it might be feeding in ivy berries, and quickly found it in the hedgerow feeding on guelder rose. A very useful tick as there have been none locally this year.
A quick stop at the beach produced a Stonechat and distant Avocet on the marsh behind, then on we went to Cley Spy, where I treated myself to a new pair of binoculars as a birthday present to myself. Tim treated himself to a pair too, although I'm not sure what his excuse was!
Our next stop was at Wells next the Sea where we were pleased to locate a juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard perched in a bush.
After a morning in the car chasing rarities we decided we needed a walk. The sun had come out and it was a glorious afternoon as we set out in our wellies across the beautiful and atmospheric Burnham Norton marshes - Sue's favourite spot. Brent geese burbled overhead, Wigeon whistled away to each other and the plaintive call of the Curlew echoed across the reeds. Sue spotted a Great Egret as it rose from a ditch and we later found a second bird near the sea wall. But apart from the scenery, the highlight of the walk was a stunning Short-eared Owl which gave incredible views as it flew past, then circled back towards us showing its mottled wings, pale underwings and beautiful face before landing out of sight in the salt marsh.
At Salthouse we struggled to locate the Waxwing - another birder said he had been there for an hour and also the previous day and had not seen it. He pointed out the bush where it had been feeding, which looked severely depleted of juicy red berries! We checked the lane to the church, but no obvious sign and it was still drizzly so we headed to the visitor centre at Cley to see whether it was worth paying to go round the reserve (no was the answer!). I then checked Birdguides on my phone and discovered the Waxwing had been reported 20 minutes ago! So back we went, and again struggled to locate the bird. However, some birders who clearly were far more skilled than us, wondered if it might be feeding in ivy berries, and quickly found it in the hedgerow feeding on guelder rose. A very useful tick as there have been none locally this year.
A quick stop at the beach produced a Stonechat and distant Avocet on the marsh behind, then on we went to Cley Spy, where I treated myself to a new pair of binoculars as a birthday present to myself. Tim treated himself to a pair too, although I'm not sure what his excuse was!
Our next stop was at Wells next the Sea where we were pleased to locate a juvenile Rough-legged Buzzard perched in a bush.
After a morning in the car chasing rarities we decided we needed a walk. The sun had come out and it was a glorious afternoon as we set out in our wellies across the beautiful and atmospheric Burnham Norton marshes - Sue's favourite spot. Brent geese burbled overhead, Wigeon whistled away to each other and the plaintive call of the Curlew echoed across the reeds. Sue spotted a Great Egret as it rose from a ditch and we later found a second bird near the sea wall. But apart from the scenery, the highlight of the walk was a stunning Short-eared Owl which gave incredible views as it flew past, then circled back towards us showing its mottled wings, pale underwings and beautiful face before landing out of sight in the salt marsh.
Comments