Norfolk Birding Holiday Summary May 2022
Our last visit to Norfolk in 2019 had perhaps spoiled us as the round trip gave us so many of those species that we love including Dotterel and Turtle Dove. This trip gave us fewer species and not all of the most desirable birds but the weather was so much better than in 2019 which was quite cold and windy. This time it was a different sort of holiday; there was a bit of a mini heatwave with hot sun every day except one. Because we had been at home so much since Covid, it was so much more appreciated and perhaps we spent more time sitting around enjoying the good weather, particularly at Thornham, than we did the previous time. This time we took nothing for granted and enjoyed every minute of it.
Reading some of my daily entries, I am aware that there are several mentions of unmet expectationds regarding the number of species we expected to see in various places. This does not reflect the real happiness of being able to get to all these reserves after such a prolonged period of Covid restrictions. The big, blue skies of Norfolk and Lincolnshire were a real boost to a sense of well-being – all encouraged by the sun.
However it is still true that we saw both fewer birds and not all of the species we expect. In the former case I think the difference can be accounted for by the fact that our visit this time was about two weeks later than our previous visit. This can be accounted for by the fact that lockdown had made us concentrate on work on the house and only after that work was finished and the restrictions were lifted did we start to think of holidays. Even then we were thinking of Lanzarote until flight problems at Manchester airport put a stop to any of those plans. Instead we cobbled together a fortnight away in a couple of days and were even fortunate to find a cottage in Thornham just a couple of doors up from our previous cottage whichthe owners (Tom and Anita) no longer rent out. So we did pretty well to organise this so quickly but it was still a fortnight later than our previous visit and this can make a big difference in birding in Spring. You have to catch the birds when they are displaying and singing to help you get more species. Also passage birds come and go and you have to catch them at just the right time. As it happens, the weather was probably hotter than in Lanzarote so that worked out well.
The other aspect of missed species was just luck. When birds decide to nest somewhere can change from time to time; when a pea field gets turned into a pig field; when clearfell is no longer clear. Birds move around and you need a bit of luck as well as effort.
This isn’t to say that this holiday wasn’t without it’s birding highlights. The Ospreys at Rutland Water and the nearby Black Kite, the Stone Curlews with their chicks at Weeting Heath, the great morning at Nunnery Lakes, The boat trip and views of Black-winged Stilts at Hickling Broad, the Red-breasted Goose at Blakeney Harbour, the constant sounds of Cuckoos every day of our holiday, the Marsh Harriers and Spoonbills – all these made for a fantastic holiday. We had three life ticks and 27 year ticks with a total number of species seen at 113. Not too shabby at all.
Where We Stayed 4 – 20 May 2022
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| Date | Location |
| 06-May-22 | Kings Arms at Wing |
| 07-May-22 | Crown Inn at Mundford |
| 08-May-22 | Crown Inn at Mundford |
| 09-May-22 | Crown Inn at Mundford |
| 10-May-22 | Wayford Bridge Inn |
| 11-May-22 | Wayford Bridge Inn |
| 12-May-22 | Wayford Bridge Inn |
| 13-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 14-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 15-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 16-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 17-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 18-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 19-May-22 | Sunset View, Thornham |
| 20-May-22 | Chequers Inn at Woolsthorpe By Belvoir |
Bird Reserves and Birding Sites we visited 4 – 20 May 2022
| Date | Location |
|---|---|
| Date | Location |
| 6th May 2022 | Rutland Water, East Midlands |
| 7th May 2022 | Weeting Heath NWT |
| 7th May 2022 | Lakenheath Fen RSPB |
| 8th May 2022 | Santon Downham, Suffolk |
| 9th May 2022 | Nunnery Lakes, BTO |
| 9th May 2022 | Lynford Arboretum, Suffolk |
| 9th May 2022 | East Wretham Heath |
| 10th May 2022 | Weeting Heath NWT |
| 11th May 2022 | Hickling Broad NWT |
| 12th May 2022 | Hickling Broad NWT |
| 13th May 2022 | Blakeney Point |
| 13th May 2022 | Cley NWT |
| 14th May 2022 | Hunstanton Cliffs |
| 15th May 2022 | Holmes Dunes NWT |
| 15th May 2022 | Chosely Drying Barns |
| 16th May 2022 | Holme Beach |
| 16th May 2022 | Holkham NNR |
| 17th May 2022 | Sculthorpe Hawk and Owl Trust Reserve |
| 18th May 2022 | Thornham |
| 19th May 2022 | Titchwell Marsh RSPB |
| 19th May 2022 | Hunstanton Cliffs |
| 20th May 2022 | Frampton Marsh, Lincolnshire |
Bird Sightings : Norfolk May 2022
| No | Species |
|---|---|
| 1 | Avocet |
| 2 | Barnacle Goose |
| 3 | Bearded Tit |
| 4 | Bittern |
| 5 | Black Kite |
| 6 | Blackbird |
| 7 | Blackcap |
| 8 | Black-headed Gull |
| 9 | Black-tailed Godwit |
| 10 | Black-winged Stilt |
| 11 | Blue Tit |
| 12 | Brent Goose |
| 13 | Bullfinch |
| 14 | Buzzard |
| 15 | Canada Goose |
| 16 | Carrion Crow |
| 17 | Cattle Egret |
| 18 | Cetti’s Warbler |
| 19 | Chaffinch |
| 20 | Chiffchaff |
| 21 | Coal Tit |
| 22 | Collared Dove |
| 23 | Common Gull |
| 24 | Common Sandpiper |
| 25 | Common Tern |
| 26 | Coot |
| 27 | Cormorant |
| 28 | Crane |
| 29 | Cuckoo |
| 30 | Curlew |
| 31 | Dunlin |
| 32 | Dunnock |
| 33 | Egyptian Goose |
| 34 | Fulmar |
| 35 | Gadwall |
| 36 | Garganey |
| 37 | Goldcrest |
| 38 | Goldfinch |
| 39 | Great Black-backed Gull |
| 40 | Great Crested Grebe |
| 41 | Great Spotted Woodpecker |
| 42 | Great Tit |
| 43 | Great White Egret |
| 44 | Greenfinch |
| 45 | Greenshank |
| 46 | Grey Heron |
| 47 | Grey Plover |
| 48 | Greylag Goose |
| 49 | Herring Gull |
| 50 | Hobby |
| 51 | House Martin |
| 52 | House Sparrow |
| 53 | Jackdaw |
| 54 | Jay |
| 55 | Kestrel |
| 56 | Kingfisher |
| 57 | Lapwing |
| 58 | Lesser Black-backed Gull |
| 59 | Lesser Whitethroat |
| 60 | Linnet |
| 61 | Little Egret |
| 62 | Little Grebe |
| 63 | Little Gull |
| 64 | Little Ringed Plover |
| 65 | Little Tern |
| 66 | Long-tailed Tit |
| 67 | Magpie |
| 68 | Mallard |
| 69 | Marsh Harrier |
| 70 | Meadow Pipit |
| 71 | Moorhen |
| 72 | Mute Swan |
| 73 | Nuthatch |
| 74 | Osprey |
| 75 | Oystercatcher |
| 76 | Pheasant |
| 77 | Pied Wagtail |
| 78 | Pochard |
| 79 | Red Kite |
| 80 | Red-breasted Goose |
| 81 | Red-legged Partridge |
| 82 | Redshank |
| 83 | Reed Bunting |
| 84 | Reed Warbler |
| 85 | Ringed Plover |
| 86 | Robin |
| 87 | Rock Dove / Feral Pigeon |
| 88 | Rook |
| 89 | Sand Martin |
| 90 | Sedge Warbler |
| 91 | Shelduck |
| 92 | Shoveler |
| 93 | Skylark |
| 94 | Song Thrush |
| 95 | Sparrowhawk |
| 96 | Spoonbill |
| 97 | Spotted Flycatcher |
| 98 | Starling |
| 99 | Stock Dove |
| 100 | Stone-curlew |
| 101 | Swallow |
| 102 | Swift |
| 103 | Teal |
| 104 | Temminck’s Stint |
| 105 | Treecreeper |
| 106 | Tufted Duck |
| 107 | Turnstone |
| 108 | Wheatear |
| 109 | Whitethroat |
| 110 | Willow Warbler |
| 111 | Woodpigeon |
| 112 | Wren |
| 113 | Yellowhammer |
Life Ticks (3)
| Black Kite | 6th May 2022 Windmill Tea Shop at Wymondham |
| Black-winged Stilt | 12th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Red-breasted Goose | 13th May Blakeney Point NWT |
Year Ticks (27)
| Egyptian Goose | 6th May 2022 Rutland Water |
| Cuckoo | 6th May 2022 Rutland Water |
| Red-legged Partridge | 6th May 2022 Rutland Water |
| Osprey | 6th May 2022 Rutland Water |
| Sand Martin | 6th May 2022 Rutland Water |
| Stone Curlew | 7th May Weeting Heath NWT |
| Hobby | 7th May Lakenheath Fen RSPB |
| Bittern | 7th May Lakenheath Fen RSPB |
| Sedge Warbler | 7th May Lakenheath Fen RSPB |
| Kingfisher | 9th May Nunnery Lakes BTO |
| Lesser Whitethroat | 9th May Nunnery Lakes BTO |
| Spotted Flycatcher | 9th May Nunnery Lakes BTO |
| Temminck’ Stint | 11th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Swift | 11th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Bearded Tit | 12th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Crane | 12th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Ringed Plover | 12th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Greenshank | 12th May Hickling Broad NWT |
| Brent Goose | 13th May Blakeney Point NWT |
| Spoonbill | 13th May Cley NWT |
| Linnet | 14th May Hunstanton Cliffs |
| Little Gull | 15th May Titchwell RSPB |
| Wheatear | 16th May Holme Beach |
| Cattle Egret | 16th May Holkham NNR |
| Yellowhammer | 18 May near Sculthorpe |
| Little Tern | 19th May Titchwell RSPB |
| Barnacle Goose | Frampton Marsh RSPB |