Tick Hunt

Wednesday April 9

No sun today, to allay the effects of a cold northerly wind. Not the best of conditions for migrants, many of which are held up on the continent, waiting for a more helpful wind. We couldn't resist trying Selbrigg again - mainly to avoid following a large pantechnicon for even more miles. We turn off the A149 before Holt itself, where we struck it lucky today. Well Pam did. She saw a Grey Partridge in the hedgerow before it disappeared. We had an unsuccessful good look round. 

Selbrigg was almost bird free. A few sleeping Mallard on the pond edge and a Robin in the gateway. Pam spread some food and we waited ten minutes. There was some noise around. I thought I'd heard a Goldcrest so put Merlin to work. Merlin listed Firecrest. Greg had told us that it was a good place for Firecrest but we've only seen Goldcrest here before. I definitely heard a 'crest but am unable to differentiate their song. Frustrating.

Sculthorpe Mill car park was fullish, we like to park near to the pub. Pam went first for a recce. She was successful,  so I set off with my Rollator, which found it difficult going through the shingle. Reaching the bridge, I stopped and sat facing the water. In a relatively short time, two Grey Wagtails appeared from behind the building, landing in the tangle of branches made by a fallen willow. They flitted about, never still, never easily viewed, dashing back from where they came before repeating the action. One of them landed on the mill pool bank for a short time but I couldn't get my camera to focus on it. We were only there for half an hour or so, in that time there were five deliveries by large van/lorries with their accompanying door slamming, journeys with their hand trucks etc. A bad time to arrive. I managed one poor photo and will return I'm sure.

 

Two Swallows, sat on wires before the entrance to the pub, enhanced our departure.

On our route down to the coast, we pass through the attractive inland villages of South Creake and North Creake, both with the River Burn running through them. The river shows as a narrow creek alongside the road and village greens, through the centre of the village, with many small pedestrian crossings. 

North Creake is home to the ruins of Creake Abbey, a 14th century Augustine priory/abbey founded in 1206. We saw our second Norfolk Pallid Harrier from the shop car park there. We were to the north of the village in our usual raptor watching place, when friend Bob turned up. He'd heard that the shop was a good place from which to watch and promised to ring us if he was lucky. Five minutes later, the phone rang .....we parked at the shop and looked, in time to see the harrier make a slow flight past.

Most of the agricultural land surrounding the village, and many of the village houses, belong to the estate of the Earl Spencer, who consequently has significant influence on village matters, although his family seat is many miles away in Northamptonshire.

A return visit to the Selbrigg lane wa successful. Although distant, a pair of Grey Partridges sat in the plough, the male's black breast patch facing us.

 Thursday April 10

After a moth trap at Cley which held one moth, a Common Quaker, we called in at Weybourne beach car park. As we arrived, half a dozen Sand Martins came in from the sea to fly over our heads.