[Reader]

This certainly was a day of memorable moments and I have decided to devote a thread to each place I visited so you can get a real taste of what I saw and felt. (Unfortunately I have since found out that this first site is a sensitive area and shouldn’t be publicly announced so I won’t say where it is).

I had decided to go to Norfolk after some target birds, namely Stone Curlew, Golden Pheasant and Sardinian Warbler plus anything else that came my way. This meant taking in three sites at least. Weeting Heath for the Stone Curlew, Wayland Wood for the Pheasant and Holme for the Warbler.

To do this meant an early start and I left home at 03:30 on Sunday morning. At 05:45 I arrived at a site that had been recommended by Andrew03 for Stone Curlew. It was just as dawn was breaking and the first thing that got mt attention was the amount of Curlews that were in the air giving a display that I have never seen before. They would fly up sharply before reaching a peak, create a “V” shape with their wings, drop slightly then open up their wings again and glide for a while before repeating the process again and again, whilst all the time giving out their mournful call. What a wonderful moment and all to the backdrop of a slowly rising red sun that was rising through a ground mist creating a vista of reds, purples, orange and blues across the sky. Yellowhammers were calling and a couple drop into a nearby tree, their “little bit of bread and no cheese” song reverberating around the land. The yaffling of a Green Woodpecker caught my ears and I scanned all around for it. It suddenly loomed up out of the mist and dropped to the ground. It didn’t stay long and took flight again, quickly disappearing back into the mist whence it came from.

I had scanned all around the field before me but no Stone Curlew could be found so I decided to carry on to Weeting Heath. As I passed the next field along I heard a faint distant song. Straight away I thought, “Woodlark”. I stopped the car and got out. The chilly air hit me straight away and a shiver ran through me. I quickly reached for my thick jumper and put it on so that I could stay in the open to look for the bird. It was closer now but was lost somewhere in the mist to the side of me. I peered hard into the mist and then a little bird flew up and alighted on some telephone wires and proceeded to sing its little heart out. Wonderful, my first Woodlark of the year and the setting was perfect as the sun had risen enough to give a warm glow to the side of the bird. I tried to photograph it but it was too far and the light wasn’t good enough. T hey have come out like mini silhouettes. A few Red legged Partridge were running around the fields and there colours sparkled in the suns low light. It was time to move on.

My next thread will be about Weeting Heath and Wayland Wood.

[Jasonbirder]

An excellent read as ever, its always a thrill to go and see the stone curlews, either at Weeting Heath or one of the lesser known sites, as you`ve done the very best time of day is first thing in the morning when everything is quiet and it feels like you have the place to yourself!
I may get over to see them myself this weekend...
Look forward to reading more about your day.

[Karl J]

A good read, that, and look forward to reading some more. Particularly interesting to hear about areas of Norfolk I've yet to visit.

[Reader]

Carlos

I have put some site directions in the Norfolk section of the County by County index.

[Andrew]

I got all happy when "we" got the Woodlark!!!