In honour of our combined love for birds, and beer, myself, Gary & Adam decided to do a bank holiday trip combining the pubs and birding habitat of North Norfolk. Gary's wife Claire came with us to Titchwell via Choseley (not a bunting in sight) to ensure we started the day with a few birds. Titchwell was relatively poor, the resident Eider,a Bar-tailed Godwit, one Greenshank and two Avocet were probably the pick of the bunch. Having spent too much time, we decided to give up on Holkham and move straight to Wells.
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At Wells we were dropped off at the Buttlands, and went into our first pub, The Globe Inn, where we began our second bird list of the day, birds seen from the grounds of pubs. After half an hour or so we walked down to the quayside and into the Golden Fleece, which offered a good viewpoint. Pub-bird lifers included flyby Curlew & Little Egret, and GBB Gull in the harbour. Our next stop was Stiffkey Red Lion, where the valley view promised much. In the end we had to make due with Kestrel, Pheasant, Swallow, House Martin & Greenfinch.
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Our next stop was Blakeney, which was heaving with people. A quick look at the wildfowl collection failed to yeald anything we were sure was wild (Pochard maybe?) so we went up the street to the White Horse. Whilst here we heard of a possible Citrine Wagtail at Cley, which would have been a lifer for me, but would have meant probably missing the last bus back to Sheringham. Luckily (although it would have been better if it had been one and had stuck around a few days) the decision was removed when it was re-identified as a White Wagtail.
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Feeling that we hadn't actually added many birds to the main days list we popped in to Cley (8 minutes on the reserve then out!), adding Yellow-legged Gull, Green Sandpiper and Common Sandpiper. On to Salthouse and the pride of place, the Dun Cow. Unfortunately a covers band were playing, and the garden was full of revellers. Ignoring the strange looks we carried on scanning the coast, and were rewarded with excellent pub ticks like Teal, Black-tailed Godwit, Wheatear (scoped near the Little Eye! Pity we couldnt find the Whinchat) and Meadow Pipit.
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Last bird of the day was a Snipe, seen from the bus-stop at Salthouse. We crammed on the last bus back and went to the Lobster in Sheringham for some food. I then got the train back to Norwich, whilst my fellow alcoholics lingered another hour, also visiting the Robin Hood.
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An enjoyable day out, and being a relatively new list, its nice to be able to get a lot of lifers for my "from pubs list." As ever, if anyone knows of a pub with good birdwatching potential, let me know in the comments!
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A microlight, or "large eagle sp." as they are commonly known in Norfolk. Maybe.
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