More avocets from Norfolk

What's that? You want some more avocet photos? Oh go on then...

Avocets

One of the key birds on the north Norfolk coast are the breeding avocets at Cley and Titchwell. Elegant, photogenic and extremely territorial.

Cley NNT Reserve, Norfolk

Cley Marshes in Norfolk is possibly the best bird reserve in England. It's home to many uncommon breeding birds and (because it is watched so intensively) it often turns up rarities. I spent the weekend with friends at nearby Blakeney and walked the marshes several times.

One bird that Cley is most famous for (and is the symbol of the RSPB) is the pied avocet, with 60+ breeding pairs every year. They are elegant and photogenic, but extremely territorial. After building their simple nests on the lagoon islands they spend most of their time chasing away every duck that's foolish enough to land in the water.

Pied avocet, a breeding bird at Cley

The weather was breezy but sunny so there were plenty of photo opportunities of the commoner residents. Sedge warbler, goldfinch and common whitethroat were present in good numbers and often singing from the bramble bushes dotted amongst the reeds. Somewhat more elusive were the resident bearded tit, they didn't sit up for photos but I did manage to glimpse a couple as they flew amongst the reeds with their long tails and characteristic pink calls. Another Norfolk speciality is marsh harrier and up to three birds were regularly seen quartering the reed beds.

Common whitethroat

Sedge warbler

Colourful goldfinch were common at Cley

As usual the reserve held a few rarities, we dipped on pectoral sandpiper and red-backed shrike but did manage to catch up with a wood sandpiper in nice breeding plumage on Arnold's Marsh and a female northern wheatear was a good find near the beach.

Northern wheatear

Among the more obvious breeding birds were greylag goose and northern lapwing. The latter nesting in the pastures and at one point disturbed by a stoat that was seen working it's way along the bank of the roadside stream.

Greylag goose

Northern lapwing

Duck numbers are fairly low this time of year but shelduck breed on the reserve and tufted duck, gadwall and pochard were still present.

Common shelduck, this one is a male

A male tufted duck

A drake pochard

The beach and sea were fairly quiet with a few birds moving far offshore but oystercatcher were preparing to nest amongst the dunes.

Oystercatchers nest in the beachside dunes area

Here's the list of birds we saw at Cley over the weekend. The wood sandpiper is an addition to my UK list.

1. Greylag goose
2. Canada goose
3. Mute swan
4. Egyptian goose
5. Common shelduck
6. Gadwall
7. Mallard
8. Northern shoveler
9. Common pochard
10. Tufted duck
11. Red-legged partridge
12. Common pheasant
13. Great crested grebe
14. Great cormorant
15. Grey heron
16. Little egret
17. Eurasian marsh harrier
18. Common moorhen
19. Eurasian coot
20. Northern lapwing
21. European golden plover
22. Common ringed plover
23. Little ringed plover
24. Eurasian oystercatcher
25. Pied avocet
26. Wood sandpiper
27. Common redshank
28. Bar-tailed godwit
29. Red knot
30. Dunlin
31. Black-headed gull
32. Herring gull
33. Lesser black-backed gull
34. Little tern
35. Common tern
36. Sandwich tern
37. Feral pigeon
38. Common woodpigeon
39. Common cuckoo
40. Common swift
41. Common kestrel
42. Common magpie
43. Eurasian jackdaw
44. Rook
45. Bearded tit
46. Skylark
47. Sand martin
48. Barn swallow
49. Common house martin
50. Great tit
51. Common chiffchaff
52. Sedge warbler
53. Common whitethroat
54. Northern wheatear
55. European robin
56. Eurasian blackbird
57. European starling
58. Dunnock
59. Pied wagtail
60. Meadow pipit
61. Reed bunting
62. European goldfinch
63. Common linnet
64. House sparrow