I dragged myself out of bed this morning which is very difficult to do after a double shift at the hospital on Sunday to go out birding. But it seemed more appealing to get up this morning than going to work as I normally would do on a Monday!
Anyway I decided today it would be nice to walk
Holkham before the masses arrived in
Lady Anne's Drive. Took the car for a good work out
to beat the ticket warden at Holkham and arrived at 7.40am - I was very pleased and smug to have beaten him - think he arrives just before 8am.
Note, there were only about half a dozen cars parked up. It was a beautiful morning and I walked with a spring in my step along the track through the pines and marsh and reeds on my left. A stoat ran across the track, unaware that I was watching. 2 jays flew out of a tree. Pair of marsh harriers gliding over marsh and one of them landed on the marsh, also several little egrets. Not a great deal was seen really, but when I got as far as the tall pines by the Joe Jordan hide there was a flurry of birds in the sunshine at about 9am -
2 female blackcaps, several chiffchaffs flitting about, blue tits, wrens and a common whitethroat. A couple with loads of kids and LOADS of dogs (about 6 it seemed) all off leads and running in all directions came up behind me - well that I was it:C - I couldn't contain myself - '
excuse me' I said, '
did you know this is a national nature reserve and that dogs are supposed to be on leads' to which the man crossly replied '
I have been walking here for 5 years and I didn't know that' to which I replied '
well just to warn you if the warden catches you - he won't be very happy'. He then started going on about '
what about all the foxes then, do they control them?' I pointed out bluntly that they were not domestic animals etc etc. He gave up as he knew I was going to have an answer for whatever he chucked at me!!!!!!
I walked all through
Burnham Overy dunes and looked at Gunhill in the distance and decided to carry on. Some very bright linnets were in the bushes twittering away. Speckled woods, a comma and lots of dragonflies were zipping about in the sunshine now. Wild sweet pea and other flowers were very popular with common blues, bees and flies etc. At the top of
Gun Hill I collapsed and had 40 winks
and did some distant seawatching
. Had a turnstone, lots of sandwich and common terns sitting on the shore along with a lone young shelduck, a great black-backed gull and some little terns and cormorants flew past. 3 kestrels together also. As I walked back down from Gun Hill I had my best bird of the day a
female Whinchat and a
Wheatear sitting in scrub yards from each other at the base of Gun Hill (
11.45am). Got camera out and sat patiently foolishy thinking I might get a picture of the whinchat, but alas it did not perch in view again! It was very windy so I don't blame it for keeping tucked up in the sueda bushes. On route back to carpark , didn't really see anything else at all apart from beach people and more out of control dogs. At the carpark, the scene was as I expected, so very different from this morning - 1 ice-cream/snack van with a massive queue of people and the whole of Lady Ann's drive bursting with cars and people and yuppies and dogs everywhere yelping and kids screaming. The second I reached my car a man standing with his family and friends and large collection of dogs by his car said '
oh are you going now?' - '
NO I replied , not for a long while'. After walking to Gun Hill and back I earned the right to have my sandwiches cup of tea and a doze, which I did! In fact with my window closed, it blotted out most of the noise and I had a lovely sleep from 3pm-4pm!
Left here and went to
NWT Cley Visitor Centre for loo stop and had a gooseberry ice-cream
and bought piece of cake to take away for my tea.
Arrived
Kelling Heath to try and see the wryneck (
ha ha). Found some fantastic toadstoals and beautiful scenery of purple heather and yellow gorse but no wryneck! There were a few birders also looking, but nobody had seen it for a while. I walked round the whole area twice, but no sign. I didn't expect to see it really, there's alot of ground to cover there. But did have lovely views of at least
3 stonechats included one stunning male, party of long tailed tits and also a my
2nd whinchat of the day! Back at the carpark had a cup of tea and cake and then drove home arriving back at just before 9pm!
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
