I booked a rental car from 5 p.m. on 16th September to 8 a.m. on the morning of 19th September 2022 for a trip away from home to include visits to a number of sites in Norfolk and Lincolnshire.
This was a free 3-day weekend car rental provided under Europcar's loyalty scheme, of which I am a member. What's not to like? Possibly the complete fiasco over pick-up and return times and complete lack of customer communication, partly due to the incompetence of the rental branch and partly due to the enforced inconvenience caused by the queen's death and funeral! At least my complaint to Europcar's CEO resulted in an apology and another free 3-day weekend car rental. Result!
17th September
On my way up to north west Norfolk, I saw an exceptionally brave Reeves’ Muntjac which remarkably ran across both carriageways of the M11 and lived to tell the tale. I also saw a single Red Kite between Kings Lynn and Snettisham.
I spent the entire day at the eagerly anticipated inaugural Gathering at Wild Ken Hill in north west Norfolk.
Wild Ken Hill is adjacent to Snettisham Coastal Park which I visited on 15th June 2022 …. see SS15 wildlife watching: Trip away from SS15 – Norfolk. Immediately to the south lies RSPB Snettisham.
It is also close to that well-known hotspot of wildlife crime, namely the royal estate of Sandringham …. see SS15 wildlife watching: “Serious wildlife incidents” revealed at Queen’s Sandringham estate .... what a surprise (not!)
Wild Ken Hill itself is an immensely inspiring project combining rewilding, traditional wildlife conservation, profitable regenerative agriculture and eco-tourism …. see here.
I had not visited Wild Ken Hill before and my first visit was restricted to the events included in the programme.
However,
I am keen to visit and explore the site properly in the future and experience yet
another rewilding project following my visit to the hugely successful rewilding project at Knepp Wildland in West Sussex on 13th May 2022 and 14th May 2022.
The Gathering was very well attended and was really informative and inspiring with an excellent programme of authors and other speakers plus stands from the RSPB, Norfolk Wildlife Trust, Pensthorpe Natural Park and Wild Sounds.
The Gathering concluded with a brilliant discussion between Mary Colwell, Director of the campaign group Curlew Action, and David Gray, the singer-song writer and musician and supporter and patron of Curlew Action.
David Gray, whilst having a house just up the road in Holme-next-the-Sea, had broken off from his current world tour in order to attend the Gathering. In addition, to his discussion with Mary Colwell, he played and sang several of his songs, one accompanied by the sight and sight of 2 large skeins of c.100 and c.150 Pink-footed Geese flying over as they arrived on to their wintering grounds on The Wash from Iceland.
Eastern Daily Press - Wild Ken Hill The Gathering
Lynn News - Singer David Gray starred at this year's Gathering festival, Wild Ken Hill
RSPB Frampton Marsh is one of my favourite nature reserves in the UK and my visit was amply rewarded with sightings of 7 Red-breasted Geese of unknown origin and 2 Cattle Egrets. It also included both Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper taking my 2022 UK year list to 199 species, already in excess of the 185 species in 2021 and the 194 species in 2020 when both years had enforced travel restrictions due to Covid-19.
The highlights from my visit included the following:
Little Stint (c.15), Curlew Sandpiper (c.15), Green Sandpiper (1), Black-tailed
Godwit (c.100+), Ruff (8), Dunlin (c.200+), Ringed Plover (10), Common Snipe
(6), Avocet (10), Lapwing (c.30+), Cattle Egret (2), Little Egret (4),
Red-breasted Goose (7), Pink-footed Goose (1), Greylag Goose (c.150+), Canada
Goose (c.20+), Mute Swan (4), Little Grebe (4), Teal (c.100+), Mallard (c.20+),
Gadwall (2), Shelduck (c.10+), Marsh Harrier (1), Kestrel (1), Swallow (c.20+),
House Martin (c.20+), Sand Martin (c.20+), Yellow Wagtail (4), Linnet (c.50+),
Meadow Pipit (c.20+)
Unfortunately, whilst I had excellent views of many birds through my binoculars and telescope, photo opportunities were restricted other than this Common Snipe which was reasonably close.
After staying overnight at Travelodge Great Yarmouth Acle, I drove 35 miles to Cley-next-the-Sea on the north Norfolk coast.
I arrived shortly after an amazing sunrise and joined around 15 other birders scanning the sea with our telescopes.
The highlight of my almost 3 hour sea watch was a single Pomarine Skua and a single Arctic Skua, these 2 birds taking my 2022 UK year list to 201 species. I also saw my first Brent Geese of the winter.
The highlights from my visit included the following (cumulative totals over the 3 hours): Pomarine Skua (1), Arctic Skua (1), Gannet (28), Red-throated Diver (15), Common Scoter (c.170), Red-breasted Merganser (1), Teal (c.185), Wigeon (c.125), Shelduck (1), Brent Goose (2), Cormorant (6), Curlew (8), Little Egret (4 .... a strange sight over the sea), Great Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Common Gull, Atlantic Grey Seal (1 or possibly 2)
After concluding my sea watch, I warmed up in the car and drove the short distance down the coast to Cromer and then walked up from the golf course to Cromer cliffs.
This is an area that my Mum used to walk a lot with her dog and I always visit, Covid-19 lockdowns permitting, on the anniversary of her death (as on this occasion) and on her birthday on 28th February which is the date that my brother and I scattered her ashes. Just a time for quiet reflection and remembrance in a beautiful location.
Whilst I was not specifically looking out for birds, I did see a single Kestrel and heard 2 calling Chiffchaffs and a calling Green Woodpecker.
Photo: Cromer cliffs, Norfolk
Photo: Cromer cliffs, Norfolk
Photo: Cromer cliffs, Norfolk
Photo: Cromer cliffs, Norfolk
From Cromer, I drove down the coastal road towards Great Yarmouth where I had planned to visit Winterton-on-Sea for another sea watch. I had to quickly abandon this idea since the road up to the coast car park was grid-locked and the car park itself was closed.
Given the numbers of people out and about here and everywhere else on Monday, there was ample evidence that not everyone was at home watching the hours of coverage of the queen’s funeral despite the media’s incessant claims that “the whole country” (not!) was in mourning.
SS15 wildlife watching: The funeral
Unfortunately, all those of us that wanted to get out and enjoy a beautiful sunny autumn morning at Winterton-on-Sea were prevented from doing so due to the totally unnecessary closure of the car park, presumably “out of respect for the queen”. What a complete joke! There were a lot of unhappy people and dogs who just wanted a walk along the beach and sand dunes.
I therefore moved on and instead stopped at Walcott to try and sea watch there.
This was far less productive than Cley-next-the-Sea which was not surprising given that the peak 3 hours of seabird activity after dawn had long passed.
The highlights from my sea watch included the following: Common Scoter (c.250), Wigeon (c.65), Brent Goose (7), Guillemot (1), Cormorant (3)
Walcott is always a very good site for very close views of confiding Turnstones on the beach wall and this was again the case. However, the main highlight was a very surprising and brief appearance of a single Snow Bunting, my first sighting of the winter but unfortunately too quick an appearance to photograph.
Photo: Turnstone
As I continued south to Great Yarmouth, I saw c.150 Pink-footed Geese in a stubble field near Horsey.
On my way home, I stopped off at Lowestoft Ness to try and see a Black Redstart that had been reported in the wind turbine compound but unfortunately I was unsuccessful.
💚🦆 🦉🦋🐝🦊🦡🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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