by Ted Rogers
20th to 22nd February 2004
I know that some people think that the mobile phone an invention of the devil, but when you are leading a weekend trip to Norfolk and some 20 people are spread across 7 cars it does come into its own. As it happened every car had at least one mobile phone (and some people even had them switched on!), which allowed the usually harassed leader to keep in contact with everybody - at least most of the time.
The phones came into their own even before the meet-up at Abberton Reservoir, as a crash and resultant traffic jam on the M25 held up people en route. The causeway at Abberton greeted us with the usual chill wind and relatively few birds, with the highlight being Smew. Having warmed up and regrouped in the reserve centre we headed north to locate a splendid and typically well hidden Long Eared Owl at Lower Holbrook before moving on to Sizewell, where the wind off the sea made the Abberton causeway seem almost balmy. Our persistence in the face of trial by wind chill was rewarded by the distant sight of an Iceland Gull, hanging almost motionless in the wind near one of the towers.
Next stop was Westleton Heath where the reported northern race Long Tailed Tits had been reported for some time. Finding a small party of tits on a large heathland area was no simple task, but once found the mobile phone came into its own again and everyone had good views of these truly delightful white headed birds (separate species they may not be, but lovely to see nevertheless). A quick stop over at Great Yarmouth added the expected Mediterranean Gulls to the list, before we ended the day at the harrier roost site near Horsey. Both Hen and Marsh Harriers were seen along with several views of the famous Cranes as they flew into the reedbed.
After a warm and comfortable night we headed off once again into the cold wind at Hunstanton, where sea watching was somewhat disappointing, but fully justified our tucking into a hearty breakfast before setting off to Titchwell. This famous reserve produced its usual good mix of birds, although probably fewer than in previous years. Everyone located the now legendary Black Winged Stilt and other birds included Purple Sandpiper, Slavonian Grebe, Snow Bunting and Water Rail (although not all were seen by everyone in the group). At nearby Choseley most people managed good views of Tree Sparrows, a bird which is now almost a rarity, but a friendly local proudly told us that he has several nesting pairs in his garden.
Holkham held its customary selection of wild geese, along with a Rosses Goose and an elusive American Wigeon amongst its more common cousins. A long walk undertaken by some located a large flock of Snow Buntings in the Gap and the mobile phone soon spread the word to the now splintered group. The phone was also useful for telling some of our party that the birds had flown just before they were close enough to get even distant views! The day ended with a well earned pint in the Lifeboat Inn at Thornham, before returning to the hotel for dinner.
Early morning Sunday took us to Holme for a walk around the area near Gore Point. Our efforts were rewarded with a good number of waders, a flock of Twite and a Short Eared Owl hunting over the marsh. Breakfast once again lured us back to the hotel and conversation paused with the arrival of the 'best meal of the day'.
Now, we have been going to Norfolk for many years now and each year, without fail, we drive around a small triangle of roads near Sandringham known to birdwatchers as the Wolferton Triangle. The target bird here is the colourful, but elusive Golden Pheasant, which I had never seen before and frankly thought was something of a myth. Nevertheless we performed our usual slow kerb crawl around the area until a movement on the grass verge caught our eye. A glorious male Golden Pheasant had emerged from the rhododendrons; to be followed by two more and they gave us terrific views as they slowly walked across the road in front of us. I once again resorted to the mobile phone to tell people what we were watching, but sadly on this occasion the birds disappeared before most of the rest of the group arrived!
A visit to Massingham Heath provided two (and later three) Rough Legged Buzzards as flew around the hillside near the road, before we headed on to Linford Arboretum for views of Hawfinch feeding on the ground in the paddock. And so with a few more phone calls to bid farewell to the group the weekend came to an end. Certainly from a leader's perspective it had been a good and enjoyable trip, thanks in no small part to the diabolical mobile phone!