Migrant Wheatear, Gun Hill, Norfolk, 24th August, 2014

Yesterday Jake and I had a day out birding. As things have been a bit quiet of late on the Norfolk birding front, we decided to set ourselves the challenge of seeing a hundred different species during the day. We started at Titchwell, where the highlights were Spoonbill, Peregrine, Spotted Redshank, Arctic Skua, Whinchat, Common Swift and Eider. Next stop was Choseley Barns where we added Corn Bunting and Yellowhammer, then on to Gun Hill for a long flog round in search of migrants – nothing particularly special but we did see a couple of Wheatear, several Lesser Whitethroat, Garden Warbler and a Whimbrel.  A brief stop-off at Holkham Hall provided Nuthatch, Goldcrest and, rather surprisingly, Marsh Tit. Our final stop was Cley NWT, where we added Little Ringed Plover, Wigeon, Greenshank and Yellow Wagtail – making a grand total of 104. Not bad for a rather unpromising late summer birding Bank Holiday!

There were plenty of common waders along the coast, including Dunlin

This was my first autumn flock of Golden Plover for the year

Kestrel, feeding on a rabbit carcass, Gun Hill

One of several Lesser Whitethroat seen

Reed Warbler, in the legendary apple tree at Gun hill

As autumn draws ever closer here’s hoping for additional quality as well as quantity!