Jan 15th Cley

Pintail with Wigeon

Not the most pleasant of days to visit Cley, but somehow, the rain stopped by the time we got to the reserve. It remained dry for the most part during our stay, too. However, the rain did return after we left. So we were pretty fortunate with the weather today. But, was I fortunate with the wildlife? Were there any goodies out there on the pools? Well yes and no. There wasn't anything particularly rare, but there were a few interesting birds about here and there. The main highlights were the couple of pintails out on Simmond's Scrape with the male bird working hard on keeping his handsome plumage and his long, spiked tail feathers in tip top condition. A large group of curlews were also hanging out on the same scrape, but they then decided to fly off in smaller groups before I had the chance to photograph them all together. Only a few remained long enough for me to get a few shots. There were also plenty of marsh harriers in the air this morning and were probably the cause of the exodus of the curlews.



Pintail

Female Pintail

Curlews

Curlews flying away!

Gadwall

Mute Swan

Teal

Wigeon

Wigeon in flight

Marsh Harrier

Shelduck

Little Egret

Pink-footed Goose

Brent Geese

Golden Plovers

Stonechat

 


Babcock Hide

While inside Dawke's Hide, I was hearing reports of water pipits being spotted from Babcock Hide. I wanted to see them, but I have never been to this hide before. Babcock Hide, which was opened in 2015, is situated half way between the main reserve and the coastal village of Salthouse and it overlooks a chunk of the land that the Norfolk Wildlife Trust bought back in 2012. It is a bit of a walk to get to this hide and there isn't a car park for it either. I didn't fancy the long walk, so I had Mum drop me off by the hide's gate instead. My first ever visit to this hide was just a 15 minute stay, but I can tell that this hide is very similar to the one at Buckenham Marshes, but in a better position and with a better flap system. Due to the lack of visitor activity, compared to the hides on the main reserve, it feels quite peaceful and remote despite being not far from the main road. Though I doubt I'll be visiting this hide very often, but it seems to be overlooking a good spot for wildlife.

View from Babcock Hide



Meadow Pipits

So, did my first visit to Babcock Hide produced the goods? Did I see any water pipits? Well, there were certainly pipits, however, I believe they were meadow pipits (which were fairly distant and quick to get a clear photograph). They were just too streaky to be passed off to be water pipits. Oh well! At least I found out where the curlews went, so it wasn't quite a waste of time.

Curlews

Black-tailed Godwit and Wigeon

Redshank

Egyptian Geese