Though I was back at the Cottage around 2.30pm, it was still a very eventful day. Becky and I awoke to below freezing temperatures, -3 degrees to be exact and taking Scruff for a walk first thing this morning, I nearly froze with that strong south-westerly wind cutting right through you. Nevertheless, taking our Scruff for his walk, I managed to get up to the east end of the Village, just past St. Andrews & St. Mary’s Church, which was sporting a lovely carpet of Snowdrops, then checked out the countryside to the south where I saw a large flock of Lapwing flying over in the distance. A large flock of Partridge also flew up from the fields but too distant to get a proper ID.
Snowdrops growing outside the Church.
On the walk back, a fairly large flock of passerines was feeding within a dry bit of rough grassland beside the road and though I did not have my binoculars with me, looking through my camera, I could see they were Linnet, Chaffinch, Yellowhammer and a single male Reed Bunting! A Great Spotted Woodpecker was heard to call, but not seen and a male Chaffinch was in full song as we made our way back to the Cottage.
Above, the male Reed Bunting just on the outskirts of the village. Below, a pair of Linnets joined him.
Breakfast was on the agenda and so Becky and I took a drive into the small town of Holt. As we were getting into the car, a pair of female Blackbirds were fighting among themselves and it looked pretty serious too. They honestly looked as though they were fighting to the death, or so it looked, grappling each other's bills or claws, that was until the male birds jumped in to split it up, then they resumed again as we drove off!
Lapwing flying over the fields on the outskirts of the Village.
Not only did we have a nice cooked breakfast in Byfords, but a female Sparrowhawk flew high over the town, putting up all the local Rooks and Jackdaws. We then made our way back to the Cottage (Becky pointed out both a Kestrel and a Common Buzzard whilst driving!) and I got ready to do my first spot of serious birding for the day. My target bird was the adult Red-breasted Goose that was seen yesterday and so I made my way to the Quayside car park at Blakeney. On reaching there, I had to pay a parking fee, but after a lot of buggering around trying to get some change for the machine, it turned out that it was not working anyway! I started to make my way north along the main footpath and was a little disappointed to see so many people walking along it.
Black-tailed Godwit passing overhead by Blakeney Harbour.
The male Peregrine in the Eye Field at Cley Marshes.
Almost immediately, I came across a small flock of Brent Geese out in a nearby field along with some Curlew and a large flock of Brent had taken off from the saltmarsh and headed to the neightbouring fields, but I could not pick out the Red-breasted Goose among them. Earlier today, a female Hen Harrier had flown over the salt-marsh here, but no sign of the bird during my brief time here, though there were several Marsh Harriers over the Salt-marsh and fields and even a Red Kite flew over! I checked my Birdguides App on my mobile phone and it turned out the Goose in question was actually in the Eye Field on Cley Marshes. So, without hesitation, I made my way to the reserve.
Another photo of the obliging male Peregrine in the Eye Field.
Dark-bellied Brent Geese bathing in the only pool within the Eye Field at Cley Marshes.
I have to say, the road leading to the Eye Field was somewhat flooded in places and with all the money spent on these reserves, surely this road could be better constructed for better vehicle use? Driving carefully, I got to the big car park at the end and checked out the small Brent Goose flock present. The bird was nowhere to be seen. A fellow birder sitting in his car told me that the Goose had disappeared back towards Blakeney again and so I decided to wait it out for the bird to return. Meanwhile, I did see a cracking Peregrine hunting over the Eye Field, which eventually landed in the field, showing well. Several Marsh Harriers could be seen quartering the reedbeds over the Marshes to the south and a few Shelduck flew high overhead, heading to the pools.
Cley Beach, with the Halfway House in the background. Though one could walk to Blakeney Point from here, it is such an arduous journey walking miles on shingle. No thanks!
I decided to take a look at the sea, though balancing my scope against that strong, very cold wind, was proving a tad tricky. Mostly Cormorants were passing over the sea and to be honest, very little else, but I did find my first ‘year-tick’ of the day, a drake Common Scoter. The bird was sitting on the choppy sea some 100 yards out and all on its own. A sick bird, perhaps?
The Red-breasted Goose eventually came in to the Brent flock.
After about an hour or so, I made my way back to the car and then noticed that the Brent flock had certainly increased during my absence. A very kind couple of birders let me look through their scope as they excitedly showed me the location of the recently returned Red-breasted Goose and my second ‘year-tick’ of the day was assured.
Film footage of the adult Red-breasted Goose at Cley Marshes.
I got some long distance photos of the bird and after a while, I decided to join the small group of birders by the side of the road and photographed the bird from there, where it was some thirty feet away from the small road. Cracking views were obtained as the bird did not seem perturbed by our presence as it grazed among the Brent Geese. Looking slightly south, something small grabbed my attention and it was a lone Fieldfare hopping about in the grass; arguably the best one I have seen all winter. I did manage to grab some film footage of the bird before I left to make my way back to the Cottage.
The Red-breasted Goose was happy to graze close to the roadside. Surrounded by birders, as soon as the bird lifted its head, you could hear all the shutters of the cameras going off!
This lone Fieldfare was hopping just south of the Geese.
However, before heading back to the Cottage, I popped into Cley Spy, within the village of Glandford, to get some advice about my Swarovski telescope. It seems my 12 year old scope most certainly needs cleaning as the front lens is really worn. The kind shop assistant recommended that they send it back to Swarovski to replace the main front piece of glass and should only take about a fortnight to replace and clean the telescope throughout. It would be cheaper to do this than buy a new scope. I shall bring it back to them later next week.
Such a stunning bird among the Brent.
Checking Birdguides, it looks as though I had dipped on the Iceland Gull that was on Cley Beach today and one of the re-introduction scheme Isle of Wight White-tailed Eagles had been seen just south of Fakenham this afternoon. I wonder what delights this superb area has in store for us tomorrow?
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