Twitching Mayhem - A Nutcracker in Norfolk

I had been feeling "twitchy" for a little while now. Sure, I'd been to see some good local birds (which I'll blog about in due course) but it terms of a substantial national twitch I was feeling that familiar urge again that only a decent twitch could satiate. The truth was that I'd been in my new place for about 6 weeks now and hadn't been away anywhere yet. Up until now, I was just revelling in the luxury of having my own place and not having to share it with my ex wife but I was conscious that I could quite easily slip into being a recluse if I wasn't too careful and that it would be good to get out there and do something. So I'd been keeping a keen eye on the national birdage that I needed for my UK list though for most of October there had not been anything that wasn't either on the Scillies or on Shetland. Then the winds, which had been predominately south westerly, switched round to easterly for a while and birds started to arrive. The first one was a stonking Siberian Mega in the form of a Rufous-tailed Robin at Flamborough. Now this was normally well beyond my twitching distance but I was keen (perhaps a little desperate even) so I had been contemplating even this distance. However, reading about it, it seemed that this was a really difficult bird to twitch. It involved huge crowds with limited standing room staring for many hours into a gloomy ravine for a few seconds view if you were lucky. As a short person, I could well imagine not seeing anything at all under such circumstances and apparently some people were even fainting from having to stand motionless for so long. I read on-line that one person described it as "the worst twitch he'd ever been on". So, it wasn't at all an attractive prospect. 

What sealed it for me was the discovery on Saturday of a Nutcracker in Norfolk. The Slender-billed Nutcracker is a subspecies of Northern Nutcracker that normally reside in Siberia but it is known to have large scale displacements (or "irruptions") occasionally when the crop of their staple diet of Pine Nuts fails. This year was just such a year with large numbers of birds being seen on the continent and working their way progressively westwards over the last few weeks. There has been much talk amongst UK birders about if or when they might make it across the Channel to this country. The last mass irruption in the UK was all the way back in 1968 when about 300 birds made it over here. Since then there was a long staying twitchable one at Stoke one back in 1991 but nothing substantial after that. So a UK Nutcracker was a big deal for UK twitchers. Anyway, as I was saying, finally, news broke of one having been seen on Friday in and around the Norfolk town of Mundesley. Local birders soon managed to track it down on Saturday feeding in the front gardens of one of the roads and twitching mayhem ensued with people rushing there from all across the country to try to see it. It sounded like total chaos and very much not my scene at all. However, the bird stuck around past the weekend when the majority of birders would have gone to see it and, with the prospect of more modest weekday crowd numbers I started to contemplate firing up the Gnome mobile. This was much more palatable a prospect than the Flamborough twitch so I put together a plan.

As it was a four hour drive each way, in the end I decided to do my usual AirBnB overnighter, travelling up on Monday afternoon to arrive there early evening. This way I could be on-site first thing the next day - all that it would need was for the bird to stay overnight and I should be OK. With a confiding Desert Wheatear at Cley on the way home, it would hopefully make for a very enjoyable day out. In the end I couldn't find an available AirBnB nearby so opted for the Royal Hotel in Mundesley itself. It was a bit more than I usually pay but had the added attraction of being literally only 5 minutes walk away from the favoured Nutcracker area. It seemed like the perfect solution so I booked the room and got ready. With the plan all in place, I just needed the bird to cooperate and be there the next morning.

I set off mid afternoon along the route that the Google Sat Nav had chosen for me. It was rather showery and as the evening rush hour traffic started to build up it made for difficult driving conditions. These days I find night driving not so easy: the glare of the super bright headlights these days makes it hard so I went at a modest pace along the windy Norfolk roads. Finally, sometime after 7pm I made it to the hotel car park and hurried inside out of the rain to check in. I decided to treat myself to an evening meal at the restaurant before settling in for the evening. After my long drive I went to bed early ready for tomorrow morning where, if the birding gods allowed it, I would see my first Nutcracker.

The next morning I was up and out of the hotel at around 6:15am. There were one or two others walking towards Water Lane which was the favoured location from previous days. I arrived to find about a dozen people congregating in the open area at the east end of Water Lane. Apparently the Nutcracker had been known to roost in the large Pine Tree there though there was currently no sign of it. Myself and another birder decided to walk along Water Lane where it usually liked to hang out. There were a few gardens and small paddocks along the road, mostly behind a large hedge but with a few open viewing gaps at various locations. I recognised the house names from Bird Guides news reports: "Water Lane House" and "Beckside Barns", both with open grassy areas to the front which were ideal for a hunting Nutcracker. We peered carefully through the gaps all along the road but with no luck. We went back to the east end to check with the others but still no sign so my companion and I worked our way once more down the road before deciding to try Trunch Road where it had first been seen. We walked some way up the road but without any success. With no news on WhatsApp or Bird Guides channels yet either, I was starting to get a bit concerned. Surely the bird hadn't disappeared had it? Up until now, I hadn't really thought of the possibility of not seeing it but in the cold, grey, rainy light of the Norfolk dawn I did start to think darker thoughts of dippage. How long should I give it before giving up, a couple of hours, maybe more? We headed back to Water Lane, stopping once again to check each front garden along the way. 

We just got back to Water Lane house when we spotted four birders all looking intently into the back of the garden and giving hushed instructions. They had the Nutcracker! We hurried to join them and tried to see it though for me the various trees were obscuring the view of the bird which was right at the back. Finally it flew low along the back and I saw it in flight. And relax! The fretting and worry evaporated as I was finally able to see the target of my journey here. After that we following it as it worked it's way rapidly along the garden stopping briefly, sitting on fence posts before restlessly moving on. After a few minutes of restless flitting around it disappeared again. 

Initial views were rather distant

Water Lane House gardens where I first saw the bird

I decided to head back down the road to the other gardens again at the west end to see if it had gone that way and soon spotted it through a gap in the hedge in the garden of Beckside Barns. I set myself up by a fence post and watched as the bird casually worked its way around the garden, hopping along the grass looking for food. It was totally unconcerned about my presence and that of the other birders who soon came to join me. It was showing as well as I'd heard it could, seemingly oblivious of its admirers. There weren't that many people here, maybe 20 or so, which was just as well you couldn't have fitted a large crowd in the narrow drive entrance from where we were all viewing. As it was rather gloomy I rested my superzoom camera on the fence and took some video footage.

In the gloomy conditions I struggled to get some sharp images

Beckside Barns garden - the Nutcracker is the blob behind and to the left of the tree

After a while of relaxed viewing I decided to head back to the hotel for my breakfast with the intention of returning afterwards for a second helping of the Nutcracker. With it starting to rain, I headed back in a contented frame of mind, passing a few twitchers eagerly making their way to see the Nutcracker. Back at the hotel I treated myself to the "full English" and a couple of cups of tea while I caught up on messages. The Desert Wheatear at Cley had been reported as still present and there was an intriguing report of a Radde's Warbler at Stiffkey though no indication of how twitchable it might be. After about three quarters of an hour I headed back out to Water Lane to find that the Nutcracker was now in the front garden of Water Lane House. In fact it was ridiculously close, wandering around in amongst the trees while about a dozen or so birders admired it. 

After a while it flew a short distance back to the Pine Tree at the west end of the open meadow area. I went round to watch it here and managed some more natural shots of the bird actually in a Pine Tree. It was pretty much on constant view. 

Looking more natural it its favourite Pine Tree

On a roof top

The favoured tall Pine Tree at the west end of the open area

Shortly afterwards, I felt I'd had my fill and I decided it was time to head off to Cley so left the others to it and retraced my steps once more to the hotel where I checked out. Then it was time to fire up the Gnome mobile and to set the coordinate for Cley, some 50 minutes away. The Sat Nav took me through some interesting back roads before I finally reached Cley itself and headed down the road to the coastal car park. There, the parking meter was out of action so nothing to pay and I quickly tooled up and headed off to the Wheatear "crowd" (about half a dozen people) about 100 yards away in the distance.

I arrived to find that, rather than showing off at close quarters, which is what I'd been lead to believe was the case from on-line photos, it was sitting on a distant fence line. I'd not bothered to bring my scope, thinking I wouldn't need one but in the end I went back for it so I could view it properly. A flock of about 30 Brent Geese flew in to a nearby pool and started having a good wash. There was a Stonechat also on the far fence line and a few Goldfinches, Meadow Pipits and Skylarks. 

 

Brent Geese

Eventually the Wheatear started moving a bit nearer until suddenly it was right by us perched up on a post, bracing itself against the wind. This was the point-blank range I'd been hoping for and I managed a couple of shots before it was off once again. 

It briefly posed nicely right in front of me

It seemed like this was all I was going to get so I headed back to the car park where there were a few locals sea watching. I'd not done any of that at all this year so thought I'd join them. There were a few Gannets, some Razorbills and a close in juvenile Arctic Tern. Three Wigeon and a Grey Plover flew through but there was not much else about. I asked the locals about Pink-footed Geese which should be around in large numbers yet I couldn't see any. One of them went over to the fence line to scan the marshes and agreed that he couldn't see any either. Just at the moment he spotted a large flock in the sky, evidently just coming in from some fields elsewhere. So I got see the always spectacular sight of thousands of Pink-foots stretched across the sky in great skeins before coming in to land noisily on the marsh. I never tire of such a sight!

Pink-footed Geese coming in to land

I went back to the car to contemplate what to do next. It was late morning and I didn't yet feel like just heading home but there were no target birds left to see. So in the end I thought I'd head over to Thornham Harbour, which had lovely coastal scenery. I thought it would be good to soak up the salt marsh atmosphere there before the long journey back home. So it was back to the car and I set the Sat Nav for Thornham. I navigated the narrow coastal road, at one point getting nearly stuck in a gridlock along a narrow street where a bus was trying to get past some parked cars. Apart from that it was all very peaceful and I slipped into a contented revelry. 

I was suddenly woken out of this by the arrival of a bird news alert. The Radde's Warbler at Stiffkey had been seen again briefly a couple of hours after the original sighting. Up until then I'd assumed that it was a typical initial observer only sighting but it had been seen again at least once. I pulled over to check where Stiffkey was. As it would happen, I was literally only 3 minutes away. That was clearly a sign and so I turned around and headed down to the Stiffkey coastal car park, which I instantly recognised from the Rufous Bush Chat twitch back in 2020 (now called a Rufous-tailed Scrub Robin apparently). As this was a Warbler twitch there was no need for a scope and with the rain having passed and it now warming up I swapped my rain coat for a fleece and yomped off eastwards along the coastal track. I hadn't gone very far when I came across the twitch. People were spread out looking up the slope at the tangle of brambles and scrub next to the long thin line of trees that stretches to the east from the car park.

The Radde's Warbler twitch

I recognised a couple from the Cley sea watching and got up to date with the news. Apparently it had been seen again by a single observer about 20 minutes ago. There were lots of birds moving through the scrub all the time but it sounded like really hard work. Just at that moment I heard the distinctive call of a Radde's Warbler. Could this be third time lucky for me? On two previous occasions I've heard a Radde's but had as yet never seen one. The first was actually at Stiffkey back in 2020 when, upon returning from watching the Bush Chat, I'd heard the distinctive call back at the car park. It had been getting late and I was tired so I didn't want to linger any longer but I'd heard the call clearly and at close quarters. The second time was my ill fated trip to Eastbourne when I'd chosen to twitch the bird during gale force winds. Again I managed to hear it call once but never saw it. This was my chance at redemption so I was keen to put some effort in.

However, time passed and after that initial call I never heard it again. There was one moment of excitement when a couple did manage to see it briefly but, as usual, it melted away back into the undergrowth and despite the liberal use of thermal imagers and even some playback by one member of the crowd, there was no luck after a total of two and a half hours hard work. 

Black-tailed Godwits on the salt marsh

By way of compensation I enjoyed the salt marsh sights and sounds. There were more Brent Geese scattered around, a few Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank and Curlew. Overhead Kites and Marsh Harriers would quarter and a Raven flew over cronking. So despite not making it to Thornham, I managed to get my fill of coastal atmosphere.

 

Stiffkey Salt Marshes above & below

Time was marching on and I was hoping to be back home before it got too dark so eventually I headed back to the car where I grabbed a quick bite to eat before setting off for home. I stopped off en route a couple of times for refreshments and took it slowly. With the clock change it now gets dark very early so I still had some after dark driving but at least it wasn't raining and it wasn't too bad. I arrived back home sometime after 6pm with my cat Boo very pleased to see me. She'd been well looked after by my neighbours but I liked to think that she missed me. It had been a great trip away with a stonking Mega in the bag, a nice bonus Desert Wheatear and a third heard-only Radde's Warbler.

As a footnote, the Nutcracker was seen first thing the next day but disappeared shortly after so I'd gone just in time. I am still expecting there to be others in the coming weeks. Might one even dare to hope for an Oxon one? Time would tell