Trip reports

Norfolk Weekend by Minibus

Sunday, 7 December 2008

Thirteen members left Watford at 07:00 and after a brief stop at "Walkers Café" went to Lakenheath RSPB reserve to look for the reported grey back shrike. We picked up a few common birds but no shrike so we moved on to Lynford Arboretum where we saw hawfinch, crossbill, marsh tit and bullfinch plus the common woodland species. We then walked down to Lynford Water for egyptian goose, ducks and gulls and at 12:15 in brilliant sunshine we were entertained by a family of five otters moving in and out of the water on the far bank for some ten to fifteen minutes. The views with the naked eye were good but with bins and scopes they were superb. On a high we then moved on to Wells harbour for lunch whilst picking out the usual waders plus hen and marsh harrier. On to Cley where we found the reported glaucous gull, a lifer for most of us, and then to our overnight stay at The Pheasant, Kelling. We moved off carefully (no grit lorries in North Norfolk) at 09:00 on Sunday to Holkham Gap the bright sun making the fifty plus snow buntings look really spectacular. An hour or so of seawatching then off to Chooseley barns for corn bunting, yellow hammer and grey partridge all put up by a ring tailed hen harrier immediately followed by thousands of pink footed geese flying over us. On to Titchwell where along with the expected birds we picked up water pipit.

As a group we saw 100 species over the two days but the highlight was not a bird but the five otters at Lynford Water.