Hares, Harriers & Owls – Salthouse to Thornham - Thursday 22nd January 2015
We set off from home just after 10.30am it was a grey day and the temperature was 4˚C. Normally when we do the North Norfolk Coast we start from Thornham and finish up at Salthouse but today we decided to be radical and do it the other way round; we know how to live!
There was nothing much to report on our journey until we were about to turn off from the main Fakenham to Cromer road, the A148, near Sharrington. We saw a Sparrowhawk flying parralell to the road. Just after turning off onto the B1156 Blakeney Road we saw an enormous skein of Geese, 500-1,000 birds. They were circling round and round coming closer to us, they appeared to be looking for somewhere to land and just as they were descending there were some bangs which sounded like loud shotgun blasts. They quickly gained height and started to move away. We then saw what was causing the bangs, it wasn’t guns at all but like an airborne mortar or giant firework which rose into the air and then when it achieved quite an altitude there was a bright flash and another bang. I guess it was a powerful bird scarer. You can’t blame the famers in North Norfolk; when a large number of Geese land on a field of newly sprouting crops they don’t just eat the crops they puddle in the soil. Some years ago we kept 3 Ducks in our garden and along with some Chickens they ate just about every plant in the garden and we were left with a mud only garden. However, there was plus side, they also ate every pest and finally when they departed the manure they had deposited raised the lushest grass we ever had in any of the gardens in our many homes.
After the Geese departed we saw two Hares in the adjoining field to the road and at several points we thought they were going to box, they never quite did but were none the less interesting to watch and film. There were quite a few Pheasants, Wood Pigeons and Corvids (Rooks, Crows and Jackdaws) in the field, as well as Blackbirds, Great Tits, Blue Tits and a Robin in the hedgerow around the field. We carried on our journey going through Blakeney and Cley until we got to Salthouse. We were hoping that we might see some of the Snow Buntings that used to frequent the car park and are about in good numbers along the North Coast at the moment but unfortunately that wasn’t to be.
A Brace Of Hares
As we were driving down Beach Road in Salthouse we could see 2 Little Grebes fishing in one side of the dyke and about a dozen or so Widgeon grazing on the other side. Surprisingly there weren’t many people about and we were able to park close to where the gravel has swallowed up the old car park after the Winter storms of 2013. Just in front of us there were a group of Turnstones and a Redshank feeding amongst the gravel and then what I first thought was a Robin landed on the fence beside the car but it wasn’t a Robin at all it was a female Stonechat but by the time I was ready to film it, it was gone. Jan did see it on her side of the road and it was with another female Stonechat.
A couple came along with their dogs and just walked right through the feeding birds which dispersed so we thought we would move on and get some video of the Little Grebes but Jan only managed to get one dive before they resurfaced out of camera range further along the dyke. There were plenty of Rooks, Jackdaws and Brent Geese about and a couple of Mute Swans at the end of the road.
Moving onto Cley Beach Car Park there were surprisingly few birds about but while we had our lunch we did see a couple of Mute Swans, Little Egret, some Canada Geese, Black Headed Gulls and a Gull which we weren’t sure about. We couldn’t decide whether it was a 1st Winter Ring Billed Gull or a 1st Winter Common Gull, in the we decided it was a 1st Winter Common Gull, there is a video of it on our YouTube Channel, see what you think it is.
A 1st Winter Common Gull
We drove down to Blakeney Harbour where there was a number of Black Headed Gulls, Curlews, Redshanks, Brent Geese, Cormorant and a couple of Little Egrets. We have seen small Little Egrets before, presuming them to be juvenile birds but we had never seen one before that hadn’t finished moulting its brown feathers before. It looked quite odd and in fact another Little Egret attacked it. I think it must have been a juvenile bird that had strayed onto another bird’s territory.
Although we drove down to Morston Quay we didn’t stay there as there was quite a bit of work being done in and around the harbour area. Our next stop was Stiffkey Saltmarsh which always has a lot of birds within sight but usually none of them are close enough to film.
At first, so it was today; there were probably about 8 Little Egrets in sight, Curlews, 2 Marsh Harriers hunting out on the marsh and lots of Brent Geese. Then my heart rate went up a bit because I thought I saw a Male Hen Harrier one of my favourite birds. He appeared to come down on something but was just a little bit too far away to see clearly. We were just about to go when the bird took off and flew towards us, it was a male Hen Harrier. I fumbled with my camera and lifted it into position but completely missed him and just as he was coming closer he turned inland and came off the marsh behind some trees to our left. We waited a few minutes hoping it would re-appear but it didn’t so we left and would you believe it 7 minutes later just as we came out of Stiffkey the male Hen Harrier glided over the A149 right in front of us and then turned back towards Stiifkey. A truly wonderful sight.
As we were travelling along the Coast Road we caught a glimpse of another Marsh Harrier on the inland side of the road. Unfortunately we weren’t able to stop and we soon lost the bird behind some trees. Our next stop was at Lady Ann’s Drive at Holkham where just a few weeks ago there were tens of thousands of Geese but today there was just a handful of Pink-footed Geese and two Egyptian Geese. There were plenty of Lapwings, a Shoveller, Wigeon, a few Teal, Moorhens a mixed flock of Fieldfares and Redwings. The sky was now clearing but there weren’t any Geese in the air and then a helicopter came over Holkham and birds just took to the air all over the place. The Geese were obviously there but well scattered, I guess the Geese and other birds just saw the helicopter as a giant raptor. It is not surprising that bird strikes occur when aircraft fly low in such places as this. I’ve no doubt that the pilot had a good reason to fly in this area but it may have been safer to avoid this area at this time of year.
As we were travelling along the Coast Road we caught a glimpse of another Marsh Harrier on the inland side of the road. Unfortunately we weren’t able to stop and we soon lost the bird behind some trees. Our next stop was at Lady Ann’s Drive at Holkham where just a few weeks ago there were tens of thousands of Geese but today there was just a handful of Pink-footed Geese and two Egyptian Geese. There were plenty of Lapwings, a Shoveller, Wigeon, a few Teal, Moorhens a mixed flock of Fieldfares and Redwings. The sky was now clearing but there weren’t any Geese in the air and then a helicopter came over Holkham and birds just took to the air all over the place. The Geese were obviously there but well scattered, I guess the Geese and other birds just saw the helicopter as a giant raptor. It is not surprising that bird strikes occur when aircraft fly low in such places as this. I’ve no doubt that the pilot had a good reason to fly in this area but it may have been safer to avoid this area at this time of year.
Pink-footed Goose
Shoveller Duck
We stopped just after West End Watermill as we always think that this looks perfect for Barn Owls. We didn’t see any Barn Owls but plenty of Geese flying over and Moorhens by the river but Jan did see two Marsh Harriers hunting just out of camera range.
Setting Sun
We quickly moved onto Burnham Overy Staithe where we saw Redshank, Oystercatcher, Bar-tailed and Black-Tailed Godwits, Pied Wagtails, 2 Cormorants and a Grey Plover. We moved along quickly looking briefly at Brancaster Staithe where again there were Black Headed Gulls, Redshank and Pied Wagtails.
Our last stop was to be Thornham where we hoped to finish off our day with an Owl. As we turned from Ship Lane into Staithe Lane we stopped to see if there was anything in the field, Jan saw what she thought was a dog but looking at it through the binoculars it was a Muntjac Deer but it had a much darker coat than usual. Driving down Staithe Lane we parked up near the top of the flood defences where we saw another Marsh Harrier flying straight towards us just veering off into the trees about a 100 metres from us, it was now much too dark to film but we saw a pair of Partridges coming up a track towards us and a Hare run across a field just below us. No Owls then, so we left North Norfolk for home.
At Brancaster we took the Docking Road and pulled up at a place where we had seen Barn Owls before but now for a few years, we were just pulling off and the words “It was worth a try,” were still hanging from Jan’s lips when a Barn Owl flew out of the door of the building!
We made one last detour on the way home, Abbey Farm at Flitcham. We followed the road round the back of the farm which loops round to the A148, the Kings Lynn to Cromer road. We were about halfway round the loop when we came across another Barn Owl perched on a post we stopped and watched it for a minute or two until it glided off into the darkness but our headlights had also picked up the reflections of a pair of eyes nearby to the post where the Barn Owl had been perched and eventually a Muntjac Deer came out of the shadows into the light of our headlights.
We continued our journey home with no other sightings. All in all we had seen 42 species of bird including 2 Stonechats, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, 6 Marsh Harriers, Hen Harrier and 2 Barn Owls. Also Hare and Muntjac Deer. All in all a good day on the North Norfolk Coast but then again it is always a good day on the North Norfolk Coast.
Quiz Question
Why should a court marshalled Lieutenant-Colonel, a female descendant of a jungle game bird and a transitional area between water and land with grassy vegetation but no appreciable peat deposits remind you of a distinctly shaped entertainment venue?
Answer in a week or so. Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.
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