Tuesday 28th January 2025: Norfolk Day 2, wet weather birding

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 The outlook for today was not good, with showers forecast across the day and drizzle as we left. Our first stop was Holkham, where we scanned the fresh marsh beside Lady Anne’s Drive. In comparison with previous years, this was somewhat disappointing, with Snipe being the best we could muster here. It was good to bump into Richard Allan travelling with a group from Ashdown Forest, and share the scoped Snipe.

Next we went goose hunting at Weybourne, where the continuing drizzle dampened our enthusiasm as we approached a field full of geese, to try to scan for a single Tundra Bean Goose. The majority were Pink-footed Geese, with a few Greylag intermingled. However, at the edge of the field, by a large muddy flooded pool, we were pleased to find a handful of White-fronted Geese, and unexpectedly a group of Barnacles too. We scanned for some time, but failed to locate the Bean Goose, so returned to the car. Here we met a couple who had been viewing from a track leading off the A149, so following their advice, we soon found the Bean Goose, a short distance from the gate, it’s orange legs and browner body clearly visible alongside the Pink-footed Geese feeding nearby. A great find, and with spirits restored we headed to Cley nature reserve for a drink and lunch. We did not visit the hides, but were pleased to watch a flock of beautifully patterned black and white Avocets as they meandered over the water, before settling in a group facing us at the visitor centre.

White-fronted Geese

Barnacle Geese

 Next we drove to the beach, noting Rooks in a field beside the road, and set up our scopes to scan the sea.A flock of close in Common Scoter showed well, with a Long-tailed Duck floating amidst this raft of birds, but we were unable to identify any Velvet Scoters amongst them. A few Red-throated Divers and Great-crested Grebes added to our holiday tally.

On our way home we called into the harbours at Burnham Overy, then Brancaster Staithe, where a pair of Spoonbills on the marsh provided a satisfying finale for another successful day, despite the weather.

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