A Few Late-Summer Scarcities in Norfolk

The star birds in Norfolk were a juvenile dark-morph Long-tailed Skua off Holme (sadly too fast and distant to photograph), Red-necked Phalarope at North Point Pools (NPP), just east of Wells, accessed via a dirt track (distant, heat-haze-affected views only), Red-backed Shrike (nice close views of a juvenile at West Runton – but again, heat haze ruined many of my shots), Glossy Ibis (briefly and distantly at NPP), Spoonbill (a remarkable 18 at NPP), another at Titchwell and one at Cley, Great Egret (nice photo at Titchwell next to a Little Egret), and the numerous Ruff and Avocet, mostly at Titchwell.

The star bird for me was the shrike, and I was pleased that I managed to save the best shots through judicious application of software tools. In terms of a supporting cast, I saw 3 Green Sandpiper at NPP and another 3 at Cley, and a nice adult Mediterranean Gull at Titchwell. A Yellow Wagtail was a nice surprise at Titchwell, and despite the lack of Honey Buzzards at Swanton Novers, I did see Peregrine there and, and we saw quite a few Red Kite both here and at various other sites. A few decades ago, I would have been delighted with this haul (and would have seen a few lifers too, I imagine), but inevitably, familiarity breeds contempt – or something like that! – and the overriding sentiment was one of mild annoyance… 1) that the only ‘decent’ birds were spoilt by the heat haze (or distance from them), and 2) that nothing rare turned up while we were down there.