Bright, with brooding clouds on the horizon (a later snow-storm), & a stiff, cold breeze.
From 330pm.
Fields leading to the car-park: Kestrel, Black-Headed Gull, Common Gull, Canada Goose, Mallard.
After getting ready, a flight of geese into an arable field lead me to investigate further, revealing sightings of: Greylag Goose, Lapwing, Curlew, Golden Plover, Starling flocks.
Heading past the fishing lakes: Moorhen, Goldfinch feeding lakeside, Chaffinch, Blackbird. The arable fields behind the first lake yielded Oystercatcher & a Sparrowhawk which flew over into the tree line, & on the ground near to the trees a single Egyptian Goose, also heard Skylark. Continuing to scan the horizon picked out two soaring Buzzards, very high, over towards Sandringham.
Continuing into the reserve along the shore, on the first lake-scrapes, Goldeneye, Tufted Duck, Little Grebe & on the beach, Redshank, Bar-Tailed Godwit.
From the seawall back inland again: Mute Swan, Marsh Harrier quartering in distance. This vantage point also offered good views of reasonably sized skeins of Pink-Footed Goose all over the arable fields towards Wolverton.
Futher along the shore & out on the mudflats: Shelduck in good numbers, Dunlin in small, active feeding flocks, & a group of Linnets feeding in the vegetation.
Into the second of the hides, skipped the first hide, provided good, noisy numbers of Black-Headed Gulls & a surprise for me at Snettisham, Mediterranean Gull, 6-10 birds with summer plumage, one ringed bird number 3K92. Also Herring Gull, Cormorant and Barnacle Geese on the far side sea-wall, Wigeon.
Continuing to the far end of the reserve disturbed Red-Legged Partridge, & in the end hide, Avocet, along with building numbers of roosting flocks of oystercatcher, bar-tailed godwit & Knot as well as a few Black-Tailed Godwit & Turnstone. At this point the clouds seen earlier swept in unleashing the promised snow-storm for a good 20 minutes.
Venturing out after the storm an instant kestrel swept past the marsh area, & making my way up to the bank to use as a vantage point some good activity including Grey Partridge overflying, Pheasant, large flocks of Woodpigeon & a Barn Owl quartering a dyke in the distance, also Little Egret flying in towards the fields from the marsh as the light began to fade. Continuous scanning of the far marsh resulted in a distinctive bird in the very far distance quartering the area: an unmistakeable male Hen Harrier although too far for good views it stayed visible for 5-10 minutes spooking the gulls & ducks it passed over.
As the light faded & after good views of another couple of marsh harriers hunting over the salt-marsh area, but with no short-eared owl obliging me with its presence, I made the long trek back to the car in twilight after spotting Grey Plover by the shore, the tide now at its high point.
47 species, no new species.
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