Norfolk for the final time this year

This was to be our last weekend trip away for the year.  We booked it back in September so that we could have a relaxing break before the onslaught of Christmas.

Rose Coloured Starling

I took Wednesday afternoon off work and picked up my birder's wife from her work at 4:00pm and we made our way up to Hunstanton, eventually arriving just before 8:00pm (a bit of a nasty journey due to fog). Our room at Le Strange Hotel was excellent as per usual, due to the fact that I am a returning customer and a Best Western rewards customer.  After a quick drink in the bar, we hit the sack so that we could get an early start the following morning.

Our first call of the day was at Holt to look for Parrot Crossbills, unfortunately despite a good search, we just could not find any Crossbills of any kind.  We did however find a finch flock which contained a few Brambling and a Tit flock that contained Goldcrests and March Tits.

Rose Coloured Starling

A bit disappointed, we then headed down to Caister-on-Sea to look for the long staying juvenile Rose Coloured Starling that was situated around the Beach Road car park.  After an hour's search, it looked like we would dip on the Starling as well.  My birder's wife disappeared into a pub nearby for "a natural break" and a coffee and made friends (like she does) with a poor lady who had been widowed for the second time recently, while I continued to look around.  After another 15 minutes I then spotted the bird sitting on top of a telegraph pole.  I managed to obtain a couple of record shots before it then dived down into a nearby garden and I could not relocate it.  I quickly sent the news out to the bird new services and re-met up with my birder's wife.  We decided to fetch the car and in passing gave some other birders directions to where I saw the bird last.  For lunch, we bought some chips and while eating these, I chanced upon the bird again, sitting in a bush in a garden. Unfortunately the other birders had given up and walked way up the road.  On the way out the town, we passed them and gave them further directions - I hoped they eventually connected with the bird.

As we were in the area, we then drove down to Great Yarmouth for a couple of Shore Larks just north of the pier.  We parked up and my birder's wife settled for a coffee while I went for a stroll and immediately saw a movement in the sand, it was one of the birds.  I rushed back to the car to fetch my camera and noticed some birders in a car next to ours, I asked them if they were looking for the birds and they stated that they had tried but could not find them.  We all then walked out to where I spotted the first bird and were soon watching both birds about 25 yards from us.

Shore Lark

Next stop was Waveney Forest to find the mound to observe Rough Legged Buzzards. Unfortunately, as I had never been to the site before, we could not find where to go and we were finally beaten by the dusk and decided to make the long trip back to Hunstanton to stay in our next hotel, the Lodge, where we had booked in for the next two nights.

The following day was supposed to be dedicated to shopping and we headed back to Holt.  I dropped my birder's wife off and then went to look for the Parrot Crossbills again.  Unfortunately, although not foggy like Thursday, Friday was wet and bad conditions for Crossbills which meant that I again could not find them.  I did meet a local birder, who was really helpful and gave me directions to some local sites for Tawnies (but despite going to these, we did not see any).

We then made our way along the coast road gradually back towards Hunstanton, calling in at Holkham Adnams store for some further Christmas shopping and then Titchwell where my birder's wife bought some crackers while I walked to the sea.  For the first time during our visit, I noticed the sheer devastation that hit the east coast recently, litter and debris absolutely everwhere, awful!

A quick scan on the sea gave me a group of Scoter (too far away and fading lade prevented me from picking out any Velvets), Red Necked Grebe, Black Throated Diver and 5 Long Tailed Duck.  The walk back to the car gave me 2 Water Rail and when I met up with my birder's wife (who had seen a Marsh Harrier), we managed a distant flight view of a Bittern.

Male Parrot Crossbill

Today, was our last day and time to check out of the Lodge and make our way back home.  As we finished breakfast, I checked on the bird news and noticed that the Holt Parrot Crossbills had been reported again.  We quickly made our way over there (yet again) and as we drove into the car park field, I noticed the friendly local I had met on Friday who had a male and female in his scope already (very obliging).  The birds were busy feeding in a tree out in the open and we got great views of them to enable us to really look at what makes them different to Common Crossbills (large beaks, thick necks, sturdy bodies etc)

Parrot Crossbills at last - Fantastic!

I mentioned to the local that we did not find the Tawny Owls the day before and he very kindly came with us to the same spot and then onto another site, where we finally found a pair, perched up high in a Pine tree - Probably the best views we have ever had of Tawnies, really gorgeous birds and so difficult to spot as they just blend in so well.

Blurry Richard's Pipit

Another quick look at the bird news for the area gave us our next target bird, Richard's Pipit, which was just one mile away at Kelling.  The bird had been seen about 1.5 hours earlier, in a field filled with debris but despite a search by myself and a few other birders, we could not find the bird although we were kept entertained by six Meadow Pipits and a pair of Stonechats.  By this time, my birder's wife decided to head back to the local Cafe for some lunch and I met up again with my local birder friend again and as we were walking round a pile of debris we both saw a lone pipit take flight, call briefly and then settle in a nearby field - It was the bird.  A further search and then the bird took flight again, this time calling a few times before settling out in the open, where I managed an appalling but record shot all the same.  Looking back at my records, this is only the second time I have seen a Richard's Pipit with the last one being on Portland Bill in the 1980's.

After lunch, we then started on the long journey home and as a bonus managed to spot a couple of Common Cranes at Guyhirn and a mini Starling murmuration over Peterborough.

A fantastic mid week break away, meeting friendly birders, doing a spot of shopping, staying in great places, eating good food and seeing some fantastic birds.