During the third week of October, when Autumn migration is in full swing, I took a holiday in North Norfolk, arguably one of the finest areas in the country for witnessing migration. And it was great. North Easterly winds at the start of the week, created the best conditions for bird movements, as the winds blew in from the continent, blowing migrant birds off their planned migrations and into Norfolk. The highlights included the first RUFOUS BUSH CHAT seen in this country for forty years, it was last seen in the UK before I was born, and an amazing fall of RED FLANKED BLUETAIL, across the entire east coast, with four at Holme itself.
The ebb and flow of migration occurs throughout North Norfolk. The coast here is a beautiful place. Both windswept and wild yet at the same time very accessible the area is a great place for any visitor. It is one continuous area of protected land separated only by who owned the piece off land, be it RSPB, National Trust or Natural England. I would visit a new site every day, each reserve added something different to the last, different habitats creating different conditions for birds. Most of the bird reserves are considered some of the best in the country, any would be worthwhile for a day trip it was difficult to fit them all in.
One for the bucket list was the wader spectacular at Snettisham, where hundreds of thousands of birds were eventually crushed into a smaller and smaller area of mudflats, due to the rising tides. Eventually they ran out of room and flocked onto gravel pits behind the sea wall. I have spent several failed trips to this reserve to witness this spectacular and I can finally say I have now witnessed it. I would recommend it even if you don't like birds. It appeared in the news, as the day I was there was also the record number of birds for the site, 140,000. Yes that right on hundred and forty thousand birds were present.
Staying in a holiday cottage that opened up onto Cley Marshes I had a window views of the reserve, and after a hard days birding I would head out down Beach Road to spend some time watching the birds flying out to sea. This was a great way to unwind, one I sadly miss.
For a few days, it wasn't all bird watching and I would occasionally spend some time away from the birds. Suffering burn out from a day of twitching I visited some historical and cultural places, the most fascinating of which was the pilgrimage site of Little Walsingham where there was a shrine of the Virgin Mary to pray to. But you don't want to hear about that, you want to know about the birds. The North Norfolk Coast is very picturesque and there are various places to drop the non birders off at.
Eventually the ideal migration conditions couldn't sustain itself and during the week the winds shifted to the south and then to the south west providing conditions that in the end restrained migration, and though the days were nice and sunny, migration really petered out.
By the end of the holiday, all things tallied and counted I saw 119 species within the space of a week, including three lifers, which is not bad going at all. I had a great time and will look on this holiday with great fondness. If you're really looking for somewhere to go within the UK I would really recommend Norfolk, it really lives up to its reputation.
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