Holkham Pines was my target today and with the weather looking somewhat settled, I was looking forward to taking a nice walk around the reserve, especially as there should be less people around than the weekend. What with the excellent restaurant facilities here now and educational centre and the huge number of birds and wildlife present, what's not to love? However, before I go and write about what I saw today, I read with interest that there is a large growing support about banning dogs on all bird reserves due to their toilet. I can assure all my readers that should Scruff have a poo when I am birding, I always use a Poo bag to pick up his waste; so I can understand why people get so angry regarding those that never pick up their dog mess. Food for thought though, how can we stop dogs having a wee without banning them from Nature reserves?
Wigeon grazing in the field beside Lady Ann's Drive.
Pink-footed Geese coming into graze within the fields here.
My goal here today at Holkham Pines was to see both the Shorelarks and Snow Buntings, but only one of the species put on a show for me today. Stopping off first at the Centre, we got chatting to a couple from, I believe (judging by the accent), the Birmingham area who kindly pointed out a pair of Grey Partridge near where we stood. They were telling us about what type of Cottage they were staying in and gave us the site in which to look, for it seemed they were getting a lot more for their money than us? While my wife was chatting to them, I checked out the fields to the south where good numbers of Pink-footed Geese were flying onto the fields with loads more overhead and Marsh Harriers, Red Kites and Common Buzzards were quartering the fields. With hundreds of Lapwing and Wigeon out in the fields, it was certainly a wonderful spectacle.
One of the Grey Partridges by the main entrance to Holkham Pines.
I am pretty sure that this is a Chinese Water Deer grazing among the Lapwing in the fields.
We took a slow walk down the boardwalk through the trees to the beach and as Becky decided to take care of Scruff, I went off ahead to see if I could find the Buntings and Shorelarks. I did come across a small flock of 4 Rock Pipits of which I checked carefully for Water Pipit, which had been recorded here over the weekend. Nope, they were all Rocks! A flock of Shelduck passed overhead and then a flock of Grey Partridge flew out of the trees and returned back into the woodland. I could see a flock of Redshank on the fresh marsh as I regularly scanned the area for any sign of what I was hoping for, but it wasn't till I got to the fenced off area that I could see a group of birders checking out some small birds in the distance. There were a lot of Skylarks flying over on the fresh marsh, but none looked like a Shorelark and so I made my way along to the small flock of birds in the distance.
One of several Rock Pipits on the Salt marsh.
Shelduck flying over Holkham Gap.
Sure enough, these were the Snow Buntings and they showed superbly; nearly down to 20 feet to be exact and in this sunlight, I managed to grab some superb photos of the birds. Another chap joined me, a guy from Guildford, Surrey who joined me a little later for a quick seawatch. The sea was somewhat a little choppy, but I did pick out a small flock of Common Scoter riding the waves, though distant I might add. I could have easily spent more time here at this beautiful place, but I did not want to leave Becky by herself for too long and so made my way back.
Some photos of the Snow Buntings at Holkham Gap.
A distant flock of Sanderling suddenly passed me and started feeding where the Snow Buntings were originally (the Buntings had now flown over to the other side of the salt marsh), showing to several of us and allowing us to take some nice photos too. Every time I come here to this magical place, there is always this confiding flock of Sanderling here. Maybe it's in their DNA to like humans and allow such a close approach? As I was walking back along the beach, I spotted Becky’s hat placed on a fence post and so grabbed it and joined her back to the Information Centre where she was waiting patiently for me. We had a quick bite to eat and a hot drink, enjoying at least 4 Red Kites flying around us and the pleasure of picking out a Great White Egret walking in a neighbouring field and plopping down into a nearby ditch (It or a second bird was seen flying over the fields as we left to make our way to Downham Market). Eventually, we made our way back to the car, but not before I spotted my first Hare's of the year; two individuals sitting by some brambles and quickly pointing them out to my wife (her favourite mammal) and grabbing a few photos. Apparently, four Shorelarks WERE found near the beach after I had left. Never mind, I could make a return visit should I have time this week? There are still some nice birds to go for here including a juvenile Iceland Gull on Cley beach or the Little Gull at a place called Northrepps! The Red-breasted Goose is still entertaining the crowds and still commuting between Blakeney Freshmarsh and Cley Marshes.
The Sanderling at Holkham Gap.
A pair of Red Kites soaring near the Info Centre.
Breaking news tonight is the appearance of an American Robin in fields at Eastbourne, East Sussex. I am sure that this will spark a big ‘twitch’, though to be found in the middle of the week will needle some birders. I have been fortunate enough to see this species on both sides of the Atlantic, which included a sighting of one in a field at Godrevy, West Cornwall in my ‘twitching’ days. I remember driving all the way there, spent 20 minutes finding the bird in the wind and rain, watched it for all of 5 minutes then it flew off and never to be seen again! Then, drive all the way back home without stopping! Severe ‘twitching’ at its best, lol! Mind you, I would love to see one again.
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