April 19th Cley

Sunny Cley

What a scorcher it is today! Apparently it is the hottest day in April here in the UK since 1949 with temperatures reaching 28°C in some places. So what better way to enjoy a day such as this than a trip to Cley with both my parents. This morning, we started our visit with a walk to the beach along the East Bank. Skylarks sang their crescendo of delightful notes from high above, the quintessential sound of summer in the British countryside. Oystercatchers, redshanks, curlews, lapwings and avocets, meanwhile, provided the sounds of the British saltmarsh in spring with many also performing courtship displays. The lapwings especially were putting on quite show with their rollercoaster-like display flights as they dipped and dived just above the reeds.

The beach at Cley

Skylark

Lapwing

Pochard

Tufted Duck

Mute Swans

Oystercatcher

Redshank

Little Egret

Shelducks

There were more springtime displays from the birds at the pools in front of the three central hides, too. Shelducks and avocets dominated Pat's Pool. I have never seen so many shelducks in one place before as each pair cemented their bonds through duets of topsy-turvy sounding calls. While the avocets and shelducks were rather showy in the mirror-like reflective water of the pools, a snipe came out from hiding along the far edge of the ditch in front of the hide. It was busy probing for worms in the mud of the ditch's bank with its long bill, providing great views for everyone inside this gradually overcrowding hide.

Avocet

Black-headed Gull

Snipe

Garganey

Despite being just next door, it was Simmond's Scrape that really provided a great variety of bird species. Some of these birds were major contenders for bird of the day. On opposite ends of the scrape, I could clearly see two great white egrets. One eventually flew off from the far side, but the other, much closer individual remained as it tried to defend itself from the dive bombing gulls. Joining the black-tailed godwits and ruffs was a little ringed plover feeding from the muddy edges of one of the scrape's islands. While these are all great contenders, the true bird of the day had to go to the male garganey snoozing within the grass of the bank dividing Simmond's Scrape and Pat's Pool with its partner and a pair of teal. He was hard to spot at first, but then something startled them (possibly a marsh harrier) and he woke up, revealing his stunning grey and chocolate brown plumage with that striking white supercilium (the stripe above the eye). What a bird! What a great way to round off a fantastic hot sunny day out!

Female Garganey (left) with male Teal

Great White Egret

Little Ringed Plover

Black-tailed Godwit

Ruff

Redshank

Oystercatcher