NORTH NORFOLK: Mini birding pub tour

31st August 2018

Having earmarked this day to go birding with Adam, Gary and Jim, it was somewhat typical that the winds were uncondusive to seawatching or migrant birds. We had initially been thinking of getting a lift up to the coast and then using the Coasthopper bus to move between sites as a nostalgic reminder of birding before I passed my driving test. Unfortunately the lift would have meant starting very early, so I decided to drive.

Upon reaching North Walsham to pick up Adam we had a quick chat to plan the day, and decided to head for Blakeney. Adam suggested heading to the King's Arms, which seemed to be an odd place to start as it sits on the high street, but what we didn't realise is that the garden out the back is adjacent to a scrub-lined lane and National Trust owned meadow. Whilst having a drink we racked up around 20 species, including a Red Kite circling up with some Buzzards. The highlight was a presumably migrant Reed Warbler seen in the Hawthorn hedge.

The plan was to eat at the Dun Cow because of the marshland views, but it was still a bit early so we stopped off at the Three Swallows. A large group of House Martins were visible over the marshes, along with a few Swallows (some sort of pub-birding gold star here for seeing a species from a pub of the same name). Sparrowhawk, Carrion Crow, Coal Tit and Cormorant were also new here.

Moving on to the Dun Cow, seeing a Small Heath butterfly on the green, we got drinks and did an initial scan, picking up Mute Swan, Rook, Grey Heron etc. Looking back towards Cley we picked up Teal and Avocets in flight too. After looking at the menu we decided to head to Sheringham for some more basic food (I'm sure the food is still very nice, but it looked a bit posh for us. The website states that the aim is to be a pub that serves good food rather than a restaurant with a bar, but how many pubs offer Lobster Thermidor as an option?) The main reason we couldn't order though was the inclusion of Spam on the menu, making it impossible to actually say what we wanted (spam, spam, halloumi chips and spam...*)

Arriving in a rather busy Sheringham, we located ouselves at the Two Lifeboats where we had some bowls of topped chips and scanned out to sea. Jim picked out three Gannets moving east, then a Sandwich Tern flew west. A small flock of Ringed Plovers flew east, a new pub species for me.

After lunch we decided to call in at the Gunton Arms on the way back. This lovely country pub set just inside Gunton Park afforded lovely views, including of the Red and Fallow Deer herds kept in the park, but failed to turn up the hoped for Nuthatch, Green Woodpecker, Mistle Thrush etc. We did add a few commoner birds to the daylist. A lacebug that landed on me turned out to be Physatocheila dumetorum, a new species for me.

I finished the day with a pub list of 42 - although some of the others had heard an extra species or two.

* If you don't understand this reference, please go and watch the entire Monty Python back catalogue

BEER: Long-eared Owl and Red Robin

Over the past week I've managed to sample a couple of new birdy beers. If you are in Norwich then it's always worth calling in at the Murderers on Timberhill, but now even more so as you can sample a pint of Long Eared Owl ale from Cotleigh Brewery (a staple source of beers named after birds).

If you frequent further along the Yare Valley then the New Inn at Rockland St Mary currently have Red Robin, a seasonal beer from the Green Jack Brewery, which I'd recommend.

If you see any other bird-beers whilst out and about in Norfolk this festive period then please leave details in the comments!

SUFFOLK: Pub beetle

7th June 2015

Whilst out in the Waveney valley on Sunday, dad & I stopped for lunch at the Dolphin Inn at Wortham. It was lovely and sunny so we sat outside, and whilst eating I noticed a small black and red beetle flying in and running over the table. I got my camera out and managed to get a photo when it returned. At home I tentatively identified it as Glischrochilus hortensis. Andy Musgrove confirmed the ID, and interestingly mentioned that he too has seen this species outdoors at pubs, suggesting that it may be attracted by spilt beer. So next time you are sitting outside a pub having a drink, keep an eye out for this beetle!

NORTH-EAST NORFOLK: Some seawatching

29th October 2011

After a brief spell moving some furniture around, Gary, Adam & I set off for everyone's favourite stretch of "under-watched" coastline, Trimingham. Before walking to the woods Gary noticed a Buzzard sp. flying west that appeared to have a white rump. We managed to find a gap in the treeline and confirm that the bird was as suspected, a Rough-legged Buzzard. The bird then stalled in the air and swooped down out of sight. We intended to try to re-find it, but news of a Red-rumped Swallow flying north from Sea Palling with two Swallows had us instead choosing to go to the clifftop.

The sea was initially not too productive, but as time passed several groups of Little Gulls passed leisurely by, as did several Kittiwakes and a couple of Wigeon. A number of Red-throated Divers were on the sea, and a lone Snow Bunting flew east along the cliffs. At around 12:30 the moment we were waiting for arrived, when three Swallows flew up from the cliffs. In a blur we panned from bird to bird as they split up across the fields. Surely one had to be the Red-rumped? The closest two were definite Swallows, the third had come and gone none of us had seen a pale rump on it. We were faced with the truth that despite it being the end of October it was just a coincidence that there were two groups of Swallows along the coast.

Feeling hungry we moved on to the Poacher's Pocket at Walcott, where we could get a bit more seawatching in. After the initial curious questions from patrons and passers by had been answered we started scanning the sea. Most of the birds seen were similar to Trimingham, but here they were mostly pub ticks for me. Several Guillemots were loafing offshore, and a Common Scoter and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers were good birds, as was a flyover Redpoll. I missed a Great Northern Diver, but the best bird of the day was a Black Guillemot. A rare bird in Norfolk, it flew in and landed on the sea, allowing reasonable views before drifting west. Whilst eating we had been haunted by the calls of Pink-footed Geese, so we decided to have a look for them on the way back.

Following the calls we soon located a large flock of Pink-footed Geese in a couple of fields just inland of the coast road. We failed to find any scarcer species in with them, but Gary found a neck-collared bird (Pale blue CCI). The WWT got back to me very quickly about this bird, which was tagged in Aberdeenshire in April 2002, and has been sighted in Norfolk most winters since then. This year it had already been reported from the Horsey area the previous week, so the birds weren't 'new in' as we had suspected. On the way back to North Walsham we stopped off at Ebridge Mill where we saw a Grey Wagtail, and we had a Sparrowhawk near the library.

Neck-collared Pink-footed Goose

NORWICH: Mousehold Heath, more Redwings arrive

8th October 2011

A quick trip to Mousehold Heath was accompanied by a small passage of Redwings, which continued overnight. I can usually occupy myself in the autumn in periods of low bird-activity by looking at fungi, but the dry weather has meant that there is hardly any of that around either. Trip aborted, we went to the Wig and Pen for a beer.

NORTH NORFOLK: Blakeney to Stiffkey

3rd September 2011

For the last Saturday of the summer holidays I had planned a day out around Blakeney. Unfortunately the weather hadn't played ball, and it was never going to be a famous day for migrant species. This happens more often than not, so it was a case of just going out and enjoying the birds that were around. I got the first Coasthopper from Sheringham and met up with Josh for some local knowledge.

We decided to walk the coastal path west to Stiffkey, checking various points along the way. In a field just out of Blakeney we found a flock of Golden Plover and a family of Grey Partridges, and further along a Wheatear was in a horse paddock. A few Sylvia warblers were in the hedgerows and brambles, but it was rather quiet. Upon arrival at the fen we saw 11 Spoonbills resting on one of the islands, and a good range of waders. The best were a couple of Curlew Sandpipers, but we also saw Common Sand, Green Sand, Dunlin, Knot, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Little Ringed Plover. There was a large flock of Greylags, from which Josh found a lone White-fronted Goose of unkown origin.

On the way back we perched on an upturned boat for a seawatch. The strangest bird was a Black Swan on the shore, which eventually joined some Mute Swans in the channel. An almost constant stream of boats were ferrying tourists to the seal colonies, but behind them several Arctic Skuas and Gannets were passing, along with the Sandwich and Little Terns. Once we got back to Blakeney we decamped to the White Horse to play Mongolian Chess and Scrabble. Many thanks to Josh for the good company.

CENTRAL NORFOLK: Foxley Wood

5th August 2011

Foxley was the destination today, following up on reports of a SW Fritillary last week. The rides were teeming with butterflies, but no luck with the fritillary. A sign of how peaceful it the woods were came when a Roe Deer and fawn crossed our path, obviously aware that I hadn't brought my camera. I saw my first Migrant Hawkers of the year, and also saw Oak and Dark Bush Crickets. Plantwise there was some Enchanter's Nightshade and Yellow Pimpernel along the path edges. Birds calling (most of them seen eventually) included Green Woodpecker, great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Bullfinch and Marsh Tit. Some footprints found in some soft mud looked like Badger, but I need to check that.

For lunch we went to the Bridge Inn at Lenwade, probably unique in that it has a modest-sized fishing lake in the beer garden. We ate outside, but only saw a Common Tern and four Canada Geese around the lake.

WHITLINGHAM: Thorpe & Town House

25th & 26th July 2011

Thorpe Marshes (25/07/11) - c50 Lapwing, Stock Doves, not much else.
Thorpe Green (25/07/11) - Black Swan (1)
Whitlingham C.P. (25/07/11) - Usual stuff, plus some juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Thorpe Marshes (26/07/11) - c60 Lapwing, Stock Doves, still not much else.

Its no wonder everybody sacks off inland birding over the summer with wonder hauls like this. On Tuesday after Adam & I had looked around Carey's Meadow and Thorpe Marshes we decided to go for lunch at the Town House, and despite the drizzle we sat outside so that we could scan the river and areas of scrub. This proved to be the most productive hours birding of the holiday so far, seeing a Sylvia warbler triumvirate (Blackcap, Whitethroat and Garden Warbler), a family of recently fledged Goldcrests and the icing on the cake, a Kingfisher.

Also a hearty congratulations to Whitlingham Country Park on receiving the Green Flag Award for the fifth year in a row (Broads Authority Press Release). However, when will the Broads Authority give up and stop calling Whitlingham "The Gateway To The Broads"?*

I'm off to learn Two-barred Crossbill calls in anticipation of an invasion. Come to think of it, I'd willing take Common Crossbill locally.

* The Norfolk Broads, in case you don't know, are a series of shallow lakes in East Norfolk that were excavated as peat diggings. When the Broads Authority started marketing Whitlingham they put signs up on the approach road saying "Gateway to the Broads". They had to remove the signs from the entrance as there was a lot of derision and complaints, mostly from places that are actually in or close to the broads. Acle has signs saying Gateway to the broads, and many people would consider Wroxham the broadland hub. Whitlingham, lovely as it is, isn't in the broads, and the great Broad and Little Broad aren't proper broads as they are flooded gravel diggings.

NORTH NORFOLK: The Burnhams

30th May-1st June 2011

Cathy & I went for a short break staying in a teepee (or tipi, take your pick) at Burnham Deepdale. The main purpose of the trip will become apparent, but the secondary one was to try and at least hear a Quail, now the commonest British breeding bird that I am yet to see or hear.

30th May - Having left Norwich in glorious sunshine, we arrived to the first meaningful rain in over two months. It continued raining all through the evening and overnight. Bugger. We had a nice meal at the White Horse (the first pub I've been to that has its own Tapas menu) and I had a pint of Oystercatcher Ale, brewed by the local Brancaster Brewery. The field behind our teepee was a potato field, scuppering my hopes of a Quail closeby, but we did hear Cuckoo, Tawny Owl and see Red-legged Partridges there.

31st May - After a brief walk and a few rain showers, I headed off along the coast path around Burnham Norton marshes, where Quails have been heard recently. It was mid afternoon, and accordingly I wasn't successful. It was a lovely day, and I got much more satisfaction from seeing Avocets and Marsh Harrier than I would have at a reserve. I heard a Grasshopper Warbler and saw a 4-spotted Chaser along the bank. Walking inland I momentarily got my hopes up that I had found another target, Marsh Warbler, but it soon became apparent that the mimicry I heard was from a Sedge Warbler. Walking back along some farmland I saw a Stoat.

1st June - On the way back to Norwich we checked out Beacon Hill, seeing some Grey Partridges.

NORTH NORFOLK: I blame it on the wind

29th May 2011

Gary & I went for a relaxing days birding in North Norfolk, aiming to catch up with a few raptors and generally see some good birds. We started at Swanton Novers raptor watchpoint, hoping to see Honey Buzzard. We left haing seen a few Common Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk, bu then it was quite windy. We had lunch at Sculthorpe Mill, a pub that has a reputation for being home to Grey Wagtails and Spotted Flycatchers. We didn't see them, but then it was windy, with a bit of drizzle. No luck with the Monties either, although we did see Buzzard, Marsh Harrier and 2 Red Kites, so that wasn't bad. Titchwell? Don't even ask. It was windy though.

NORTH NORFOLK: Kelling Heath

20th March 2011

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The downside to my increased focus on local birding so far this year has been that I haven't got out to North Norfolk much. I decided to remedy this with a trip to Weybourne and Kelling Heath. This proved more problematic than it needed to be as the train to Sheringham was replaced by a coach service (taking an extra 35 minutes) and this meant missing the 2-hourly Coasthopper by a couple of minutes. Rather than wait I decided to walk to Weybourne along the clifftop path. I failed to find Wheatears or anything other than hundreds of Skylarks on the gold course, and the buntings at Weybourne were too far away for me to convince myself that they were definitely Lapland.

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Having drawn a similar blank looking for migrants on Weybourne Camp, I walked up the hill to Kelling Heath, where the first hour was similarly bird-adverse. The lizards got so used to me wandering about they stopped bothering to run off after a while. My luck finally changed when I talked to a birder who had seen two Dartford Warblers earlier in the day. With an area to focus on and some bursts of sunshine I finally got a good look at a male Dartford Warbler, sat up on some gorse. It vanished as quickly as it had arrived, and I only got one flight view in the 20 minutes or so after the initial sighting. After walking back to Weybourne I found I had an hour until the bus , which I divided between a quick seawatch and trying Woodfordes Best Bittern at the Ship Inn.

NORWICH: Rosary Cemetery & Carey's Meadow

23rd February 2011
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Taking advantage of the sunny weather Cathy & I went for a walk in Rosary Cemetery. We saw the expected selection of common woodland birds, but the main attraction at this time of year is the crocuses that carpet large areas. Add in the Snowdrops, Aconites and first Primroses of the year and its got to be one of the nicest areas to spend some time near the city. The warm weather had brought large numbers of 7-spot Ladybirds out, mostly in the ivy.

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Afterwards we had a quick walk around Carey's Meadow. Most of the vegetation has been cut back to allow new growth, but we did get good views of a Green Woodpecker under one of the small trees. On the way back we intended to have a drink at the Mustard Pot, but it only opens at 4pm! What is the world coming to?

NORFOLK: Walcott seafront

23rd January 2011

Following pre-birthday drinks at the Garden House on Saturday night, Cathy & I went for a meal on the Sunday at the Poacher's Pocket in Walcott. Afterwards we braved the sea air for a quick look along the seafront, seeing a Med Gull loafing wth the Black-headed Gulls, and watching the always-entertaining clockwork Turnstones.

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Turnstone, taken at Sheringham

More snowy bird fun

4th December 2010

With snow still on the ground I had initially planned to stay in the city over the weekend, but a Hume's Warbler at Wells seemed to be worth a morning out. Having got the early train back to North Walsham, Gary drove us to Wells. There were only a couple of cars in the carpark when we arrived, so we set about searching the area around the toilet block. This proved more hazardous than you might expect, with large lumps of snow falling like missiles from the branches of the trees overhanging the path. We notched up flythrough Woodcock, Sparrowhawk and Barn Owl, but no sign of the Hume's. A thorough search of the undergrowth revealed a large number of Wrens, plus Goldcrests, Treecreepers etc. With more people now searching we went to check the redpoll flock, but only succeeded in seeing Mealys, whilst not too far away the trumpet of a Northern Bullfinch sounded. In the end the conclusion was that the Hume's Warbler had probably snuffed it, although what excuse the Arctic Redpoll had for leaving I don't know. As we went to leave a man with a voice as loud as Brian Blessed was returning from the beach with a shovel announcing that when he died he'd like to be buried in Wells Woods. "It's lovely here, isn't it?" his wife said. "YES. SUPERSONIC!". He replied. Strange times.

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With a bit of time left until we had to be in Norwich, we stopped at the Dun Cow for a quick drink (only coffee, the ambient temperature was too cold for ale). We got a welcome pub tick as a Woodcock was flushed by a walker along the iron road, and a saw Snipe for the second time in a row here. Back in North Walsham, two Brambling were on Gary's feeders, and finally a small flock of Waxwing were in a tree near Anglia Square carpark.

The Dun Cow garden had seen busier days...

The view from the Dun Cow

Northern Birds & Pubs

Apologies if you have been diverted here looking for the Yorkshire page of the Lonely Planet guide.

27th November 2010

Having spent the week humming and harring about trying to see the Northen Harrier, the fact that it was being seen regularly in the Thornham area was enough to make up my mind to give it a go. Titchwell takes about the same time to get to as London via public transport (seriously, both are c2.5 hours from Norwich), so it was fortunate that Gary "I laugh in the face of driving in snow. Ha ha ha. Just like that" White agreed to go and give me & Adam a lift. After an uneventful journey (Buzzard near Worstead, an exclusion zone of no snow around Sheringham the two points of interest) we arrived at Thornham Harbour and set up our 'scopes near Connor. We had to wait a little while as the harrier was sensibly sheltering from the cold wind and occasional snow flurries, and were entertained by a covey of Grey Partridges that flew overhead. Eventually the Northern Harrier flew up and gave a nice flypast, the dark upperparts particularly standing out. We tracked it around the marshes and across Holme before losing it in the distance.

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After waiting a while there was no sign of the harrier returning, so we went to Titchwell for a hot drink. As the cafe had only just opened, I even managed to get a sausage roll, a real rarity. Our vigil by the bird feeders was productive, with a Brambling in the leaf litter and a Lesser Redpoll on the feeders to add to an unseasonal Chiffchaff in the woods between the carpark and seats. We decided to work our way back along the coast, next stop Wells.

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Arriving at the carpark in Wells we scanned Abraham's Bosom (ooh matron) and found some Goldeneye and Little Grebes. The word on the street (woodland path) was that there was a male Northern Bullfinch doing its trumpety thing, plus a possible Siberian Chiffchaff and Northern Treecreeper. On our first walk down the left hand track we heard a number of "normal" Bullfinches, but no Northerns. We walked back down the track and finally heard it, a Bullfinch with a toy trumpet. We located the bird, which flew across the path and into the trees. Perched up it was big and bright, everything you could want in a Bullfinch. We managed to locate the Bullfinch flock, but heard no more trumpeting. A few of the females may have been Northerns too, but at distance there was no easy way of telling. We also saw some Redpoll sp. before setting off to have a look for the Chiffchaff, which we had been told was in scrub near the toilet block. There was no sign after a brief search, and deciding that it probably wasn't a good idea to keep loitering around the toilets, we moved on.

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With some good birds under our belt, we hoped to continue the good work from the pub garden at the Dun Cow. For some reason we had the garden to ourselves, and soon clocked up some common stuff. Adam picked out a Snipe, a pub tick for both of us (Gary had one here previously), and soon they were everywhere, including three which flew over the pub. That was to be our only new pub bird, although I picked out a flock of Snow Buntings on the shingle ridge west of the Little Eye, and a Barn Owl made a welcome appearance. Arriving in North Walsham with 45 minutes to kill before our train we went to the Bluebell for another drink. The garden was snowbound and we saw very little, House Sparrow the dubious highlight.