Monday 30th January 2023: Norfolk birds, Welney and Thornham

 Another annual pilgrimage, to Norfolk with Sue Miles, our eighth year of visiting the county at this time of the year, having an enforced gap in 2021 due to Covid restrictions.

We met Sue at Welney WWT car park, where a scan of the bushes revealed both House and Tree Sparrows. Once upon a time we would find our Tree Sparrows in Kent, but not anymore, although apparently a few birds still hang on in the area. So a short pause en route to the coast has been added to our itinerary in recent years. We did not go into the reserve, but as we drove along the lane we spotted a Cattle Egret in flight, and continuing along through the countryside we found a flock of resting Whooper Swans enabling good scope views.

Whooper Swans

We had an early lunch at the Lavender Tea Rooms then drove along the rural lanes across to Thornham, hoping to pick up some farmland birds. Unfortunately we didn’t find many! However, we did locate a group of Fieldfare and Redwings in a horse paddock and some Red-legged Partridge hunkered in an agricultural field, whilst hungry raptors soared above the landscape, including Marsh Harrier and Buzzard and numerous Red Kites, a species rarely seen in our early years of visiting Norfolk.

In the afternoon we walked our traditional route from Thornham Harbour to Holme, with views of the harbour, sea and saltmarsh on one side, and marshy fields on the other. The birds were plentiful here, with many of the usual waders associated with mudflats probing for food. Curlew, Redshank, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Shelduck and Grey and Ringed Plover were all there, whilst on the fields great numbers of Wigeon were feeding, with a group of Black-tailed Godwits. As we progressed along the path, a pair of Stonechat appeared, popping up on some tall grasses. We reached the bend, where a mixed flock of Lapwings and Golden Plovers blended into the muddy field, and beyond those loafed several groups of Pink-footed Geese. By the sluice gate a single Kingfisher balanced on a tall reed swaying in the wind.

On the freshwater lake we found Tufted Duck, Shoveler, Coot and Little Grebe, but nothing unusual. We trudged across the sand dunes to attempt a sea watch, which was quite challenging in windy conditions, but eventually after considerable debate we managed to identify a group of male Eider Duck swimming at some distance. Continuing along the sandy shoreline, with the tide high, there were few birds around,  so we headed inland through the pines and rested awhile at the bench overlooking the lake, before retracing our steps to the car.

We finished the day at the cushioned hide overlooking the reed-lined pond in Holme village. The adjacent fields were largely empty, but a pair of Gadwall worked their way along a ditch at the back, and at least eight Moorhen were also foraging here. On the pool a few Shoveler and Tufted Duck entertained us with their dabbling antics whilst we awaited the arrival of a few magnificent Marsh Harriers which circled low over the reeds as the light fell.

It had been a satisfying start to our visit, returning to familiar haunts and evoking warm memories of past trips.