30 May 2022 - Cley/Hickling Broad/Little Snoring

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Reed Warbler, Cuckoo, Spoonbills, Bittern, Common Crane, Bearded Tits, Hobbies, Marsh Harriers, Swallowtail Butterfly

This morning I had a mooch out to Cley, where I had a brief stop at the NWT visitor centre. A couple of Red-legged Partridges were in the car park, but sneaked off when I tried to photograph them from the car. I moved to East Bank where a couple of Spoonbills were flying around just across the road, and a Cuckoo sang briefly from a tree further towards Cley. Along the East Bank itself a Reed Warbler sang, and a number of Swifts were hawking back and forth, but apart from Avocets there wasn't much else to see before I had to get back for breakfast.

After a full English, we went to Hickling and walked along the southern edge initially. A few waders were on the scrape including Greenshank, Grey Plover and Black-tailed Godwits but fairly distant and looking into the sun. At the end of the track, we waited for a while to see what might appear. A few Marsh Harriers flew back and forth, and a couple of Hobbies were hawking at the very back beyond the reedbed. Suddenly a Bittern flew up and went left to right, landing in the reeds alongside a ditch, promptly disappearing. Several Bearded Tits flitted back and forth, and a Swallowtail flew past just a few feet away. I then spotted a single Common Crane which lifted up from the reedbed and flew a short distance before dropping down again a few seconds later. Another (or the same) Bittern flew back the other way, and we decided to head back. We took a circular route around the reserve but didn't really see much else besides Little Egret, and after a long period of sunshine, it looked like rain so we headed back to the car.

In the early evening I walked from the B&B around the nearby roads, but not much appeared besides a confiding Goldfinch. I did meet a chap who told me that Barn Owl was possible by the church at dusk, so after another fine meal at Byford's, we called in on the way back and sure enough - a Barn Owl flew over the road and circled one of the fields. It was too dark for photos unfortunately, but it rounded off a good day's birding.

Red-legged Partridge, 1/640 sec, f/7.1, 500 mm, ISO 640 (view full size image)