Electricity is a marvellous thing. It can give you power, heat, light and if you’re stupid, it can kill you. And I’ve always got on with the sparky stuff even on the odd occasion I’ve been stupid.
And then there’s my car. My Peugeot is an electrical engineering feat of ineptitude. The lightbulbs can’t be reached, the electric pump for the screen washer reservoir can’t be got at easily; you basically have to dismantle the car to be left with it. The car had actually been in a 'good' garage the day before to have a new pump fitted which is why I know how hard it is to sort. And when the battery goes flat, the lights still work. In my case and just as my brother had carted all of his stuff from his car to mine it waited until we were ready for weekend of blistering birding to say fuck you. My brother is a hero. He wasn’t expecting to have to drive all over North Norfolk with me pointing at all the pubs we could go to when the weather turns but he did and he was awesome (rarely do I use that word but for once, it’s appropriate).
Although not much in the way of rarities were being seen in Norfolk, the whole deal of birding for the weekend made the atmosphere electric (moan). We decided to hit Cley first as bad weather was due around 2pm and our plan was to be at Sheringham to sea watch while sheltering in the er well, shelters. (Actually, the technical name for these shelters is Turnstone meeting booths.)
We got to Cley-next-the-sea in good time. The sky was still a vague light blue colour and the wind was barely noticeable. So it was nice that Bearded Tits were our first proper bird of the day and there were loads pinging all over the place like bullets ricocheting around a bell factory.
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| Ding Dong |
We worked our way along the East bank stopping mainly for photo opportunities to share with you good people – selfless to the last.
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| Ant’s a sharp eyed birder and a good driver and even a bit of an electrician |
The sky was changing fast now. By the time we’d noted
Brent Geese and a few
Curlew and
Redshank, the air was charged with a damp anticipation (sounds rude but not intended) and we set our bums down for a bit of sea watching.
The wind direction meant not much was happening. Juv.
Gannets passed one way, I think east but it’s not a strong memory.
Brent Geese went right and
Cormorants just got in your face. So we gave up.
We trudged over what the last tidal surge offered up along this coast and which had damaged much of the reserves hard work. Thankfully, the desire to protect birds and give people like me and my bro a place to enjoy birds has shone through and this commitment to nature is winning the day although much still needs to be done.
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| just look out and not up. |
The skies were turning nasty. I was more worried than Ant as he had had the foresight to wear this season’s must have October birding waterproofs whereas I was in a demure green jumper and antique threadbare gillet. We dragged ourselves away from the scintillating sea watch to use a new hide shield that replaced the old hide that had obviously died for the cause when the tide attacked these shores.
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| Curlew preparing for the worst. |
The dark clouds were still holding on to their watery payload as we heading back along the west bank. Ant picked up a pair of
Golden Plover among the squabbling
Starlings and as spots of rain fell, I made him wait while I fiddled with my camera to get a few shots. He’s a patient man too by the way.
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| Golden Plover brightens up the dullest of days |
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| Holst’s Planets 'Mars' should be playing right now. |
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| Totally out of my price bracket and actually, out of keeping for Cley. |
I have a real passion for Cley and would love to one day live close to this area. An Outsider label doesn’t worry me because the benefits with birdwatching supersede this ten-fold. This abode attracts me like the waders to the Cley coast but at £1.4M, I don’t think so and neither would my mortgage provider. Still, those big windows overlooking the marsh......
We lunched at the Dun Cow which is the done thing and the food and beer were top class. By now, the rain was clearly on its way and we headed to Sheringham.
Then we stopped because the rain didn’t start. We parked up at Salthouse and wandered up Gramborough Hill. Surprise surprise, not much here but then who would have thought to go to Burnham Norton?
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| Gramborough Hill |
Sheringham is Sheringham. I won’t diss it because Diss it isn’t. It probably great with the right wind direction and with people who know what they’re looking at/doing. We had more Gannets and Brent Geese and entertainment was supplied by the local speed walkers in the shape of Turnstone who clearly wanted feeding and would venture up as close as our tripod legs in their vain search.
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| Probably faster than Usain Bolt over 10 yards. |
The rain was now set in and as 4pm arrived we decided to head to Langham and the sanctuary of our plush apartment.
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| If only the inside was like the outside. |
This is the third year of my Norfolk weekends and I always come to the Langham Hall Apartments. It’s cheap – £60 for the night with two double bedroom and a lounge area and usually a kitchen with a cooker and a sink etc. This was nice but when we got in (you get a key code texted to you to enter) we had no socket power. The fuse box had tripped and my mobile was in the red. Oh I must mention that connectivity is a foreign word in this part of the country so any internet action is limp to say the least. We called the EMERGENCY number but no answer. We fiddled with the fuse box and started to work out the problem but again it was Ant who realised the 'kitchen' – a microwave, kettle, tooter, fridge combo all connected to an extension lead was the likely culprit.
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| If in doubt, call a qualified electrician. |
We of course were desperate to watch Strictly and after a few heated conversations with the Norwich office, we found out the kettle was what was killing it.
But we had beer and we have wine so we survived. We also had a good pub for dinner. I had been to the Red Lion in Stiffkey with Ed, an old work friend last year and it was ideal.
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| The Red Lion at Stiffkey **** |
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| Cockles to share before the pate, fish, venison and rib eye steak. |
Early the next morning would prove to be a watershed or at least a garage or bike shed or whatever.
Now, I would like comments to this because at 4am the following morning, I was awakened by a Tawny Owl call outside my bedroom window. I was either awake or it awoke me, I don’t remember. But I got up and opened the window and watched and listened as first one then two and then three owls started calling. The one I believed to be in the tree closest to me change it’s twit twoo call to a screech and I thought, 'should I wake my brother, a brother that had driven all day and might not take too kindly to being woken to hear a bloody owl call. I also felt if I left my post, it might go and I would wake him to hear nothing. Dilemma. Anyway the awkward decision was made for me as the owl then flew out of the tree over the garage roof and was lit up for a 2 second period. Oh shit. i had Tawny Owl to the (my) list.
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| The trail to Gun Hill |
The next morning was beautiful. Clear skies and hot bacon cooked in a microwave. Once I had apologised for the owl we set off to Gun Hill an area near Burnham Overy (not to be mistaken with Burnham Norton where most birders would flock to which is just next door).
Jays, Dunnocks, Song Thrushes and a host of other small birds flicked through the bramble bushes and rose hip. We headed towards a pool where we caught up with the long-staying Black-necked Grebe and then were directed to a Wall Brown butterfly giving every cameraman a runaround but I got it eventually as well as a punctured hand when I steadied myself by putting said hand down on dried out thistle heads. Not good.
Overhead, skeins of Pink-footed geese came in waves, a wonderful sight and sound.
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| Pink-footed Geese |
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| Wall Brown |
Far easier was this Comma which we found on the walk up. In the creeks, there were Redshank and a confiding Little Egret.
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| Comma |
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| Little Egret |
The beach was amazing. As this was bang next door to Holkham, it was not surprise but how these beaches are so under used is beyond me but good from a wildlife POV.
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| You decide |
By the foreshore we saw
Sanderling,
Oystercatcher and offshore, there were more
Gannets, a
Guillimot, Grey Plover, Common Scoter a single
Velvet Scoter and a couple of
Red-throated Divers.
The walk back produced
Wheatear, Stonechat and a pair of
Common Buzzards all found by Ant. Okay, I should have woken him, I know now.
We then drove to Titchwell, bypassing Burnham Norton which probably by then had a Steppe Grey Shrike on many birders lips and lists, a first for Norfolk. But we didm”t know this because internet is a phrase used only by lobster and crab fishermen around here.
Titchwell would prove to be the most giving in terms of bird species though so in hindsight, we or at least I don’t care. Two
Little Stint was the star and
Snipe were everywhere.
Bearded Tit, Chiffchaff and a a neat female
Pintail (Ant again) made for a great trip.
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| Black-tailed Godwit |
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| Curlew |
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| Common Redshank |
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| Small Copper |
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| Red-throated Diver |
We left Norfolk with 88 species but not the Shrike. We could have short-circuited when we got the news but you know what, we had a time. A great time and sometimes, you just have to make the most of what you have and we did. Pity Ant only had Coldplay in the car. A bit of AD/DC wouldn’t have gone a miss.
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