Recently me and my Dad had a trip down to Norfolk, stopping on the way and way back at RSPB Frampton Marsh on the way down and way back and spending a day at RSPB Lakenheath Fen. The weather was poor on all four days yet we still had a great time and saw some good birds...
The highlight of our first stop at Frampton was a brief but good view of my first
Turtle Dove for five years. Other birds included a
Corn Bunting singing from a fence, 3
Little Gulls, 6
Egyptian Geese, 10+
Dark-bellied Brent Geese and a
Mediterranean Gull while wader highlights were 5
Little Ringed Plover, 2
Ruff, 6
Black-tailed Godwit, a
Whimbrel and 15+
Grey Plover.
On day two we tried Burnham Overy Dunes for migrants and the best we could find were 2
Spotted Flycatchers. However we did see our first
Bittern and
Cuckoo of the trip and our only
Hobby. A
Greenshank was the best we could find at Cley while Holkham produced at least one
Green Woodpecker. A
Little Gull and
Cuckoo were at RSPB Titchwell.
Our third day was the most productive with the first good bird being a pair of
Stone Curlew showing well at Weeting Heath. At RSPB Lakenheath Fen a pair of
Cranes were giving great views from the Joist Fen Viewpoint providing me with my best ever views of the species. Some of the other many highlights from the reserve included 2 self-found
Spoonbills flying north, great views of 2+
Bitterns, lots of
Cuckoos all over the place,
Cetti's Warbler,
Bearded Tits,
Kingfisher and plenty of
Marsh Harriers (8 alone in one scan).
On the way home Flitcham Farm produced a
Little Owl and at Frampton Marsh a drake
Garganey and a
Cuckoo were the best birds.
In the end we saw a total of 112 species over four days with
Avocets and
Little Egrets all over the place and
Red Kites seen on several occasions.
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| Avocet in the rain at RSPB Frampton Marsh |
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| Cranes - I should have digiscoped them! |
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| Self-found Spoonbills at Lakenheath |
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Marsh Harrier food pass
Corn Bunting |
