June 2021 – Norfolk Guided Birding & wildlife tour reports

By Chris Mills | July 1, 2021

During our guided day tours we customised the meeting and collection points to best suit clients, locations or the birds and wildlife they wanted to try and observe.

We ran birdwatching and wildlife guided days in Norfolk during June 1st, 7th, 8th, 10th, 14th, 18th, plus a two day wildlife tour on June 26th-27th & June 29th-30th. Birdwatching tours for Owls and Nightjars were successfully run on two evenings, with Barn Owl, Tawny Owl, Nightjar and Woodcock being recorded across the two evenings. Both evenings we managed to get good views of Nightjar and they were very vocal on both evenings.

Norfolk Bird tour highlights during the month were undoubtedly the Roller seen albeit just into Suffolk on 27th, a nice adult female Long-tailed Duck on 18th June, an obliging Cuckoo near Kelling seen on several days, up to 6 churring Nightjars on evening of 8th June, with one bird perched for scope views.

Hickling on 27th June hosted a pair of Black-winged Stilts, an adult Curlew Sandpiper alongside 7-8 stunning male Ruff plus we had fine views twice of Bittern in flight and again there on June 29th. Small numbers of male Ruff were noted at other sites during June, plus a light passage of returning adult waders from mid-June with smart breeding plumage Spotted Redshank, several Greenshank and Green Sandpipers noted on the late June tours. Two Hobby’s were also picking off insects in the skies there on 27th June.

A dark morph adult Arctic Skua was a nice surprise disturbing 100+ Avocet as it flew across the reserve on June 30th, same day 7 drake Eiders flew West along the shoreline. Also at Cley on June 30th autumn passage got underway with 7 lovely Little Gulls, 2 Greenshank, Whimbrel, 40 Curlew, Bar-tailed Godwit, 20 Black-tailed Godwit. Offshore Common Scoter, Gannet and Razorbills were also seen in small numbers. Whilst Little, Sandwich & Common Terns are much in evidence and easily watched as they feed their youngsters offshore near Cley & Burnham Overy Staithe. Whilst our raptors have also been evident bringing food to nests with the first juvenile Marsh harriers on the wing in 3rd week of June.

A couple of visits to the Brecks were successful with a nice family of Stone Curlews seen on 27th June and earlier in the month, plus 3 singing Woodlarks, singing Tree Pipit, Firecrest and Spotted Flycatcher.

Egrets and Spoonbills are now much more expected but never the less, we have seen Great White, Little Egret and also Cattle Egret during June. Spoonbills were seen with begging young on June 10th, with 10 Spoonbill present at Stiffkey Fen.

The remaining highlights were a singing male Yellow Wagtail present at Cley until mid month, plus a Short-eared Owl watched in lovely evening light on 10th June.

	Birds recorded on guided tours June 2021	Max Count
1	Greylag Goose	20
2	Dark-bellied Brent Goose – unseasonal bird seen on 10th June off Salthouse	1
3	Canada Goose	4
4	Mute Swan	6
5	Egyptian Goose	20
6	Common Shelduck	100
7	Northern Shoveler	20
8	Gadwall	40
9	Mallard	20
10	Eurasian Teal	40
11	Common Pochard	5
12	Tufted Duck	6
13	Common Eider	7
14	Common Scoter	31
15	Long-tailed Duck	1
16	Red-legged Partridge	1
17	Common Pheasant	1
18	Little Grebe	2
19	Stock Dove	3
20	Common Woodpigeon	1
21	Collared Dove	1
22	Common Cuckoo	1
23	Eurasian Nightjar	6
24	Common Swift	14
25	Common Moorhen	1
26	Eurasian Coot	2
27	Stone-curlew	3
28	Black-winged Stilt	2
29	Avocet	100
30	Eurasian Oystercatcher	2
31	Grey Plover	2
32	Northern Lapwing	100
33	Common Ringed Plover	2
34	Little Ringed Plover	2
35	Whimbrel	1
36	Eurasian Curlew	40
37	Bar-tailed Godwit	7
38	Black-tailed Godwit	60
39	Turnstone	2
40	Red Knot	4
41	Ruff	8
42	Curlew Sandpiper	1
43	Dunlin	1
44	Eurasian Woodcock	1
45	Common Sandpiper	1
46	Green Sandpiper	3
47	Spotted Redshank	2
48	Common Greenshank	2
49	Common Redshank	4
50	Arctic Skua	1
51	Common Guillemot	1
52	Razorbill	3
53	Black-headed Gull	100
54	Little Gull	7
55	Mediterranean Gull	3
56	Common Gull	1
57	Herring Gull	2
58	Lesser Black-backed Gull	4
59	Great Black-backed Gull	8
60	Little Tern	10
61	Common Tern	30
62	Sandwich Tern	40
63	Northern Fulmar	1
64	Northern Gannet	7
65	Great Cormorant	9
66	Great Bittern	1
67	Grey Heron	1
68	Great White Egret	1
69	Little Egret	2
70	Cattle Egret	1
71	Eurasian Spoonbill	10
72	Western Marsh Harrier	8
73	Eurasian Sparrowhawk	1
74	Red Kite	2
75	Common Buzzard	2
76	Barn Owl	2
77	Tawny Owl	1
78	Short-eared Owl	1
79	European Roller	1
80	Great Spotted Woodpecker	2
81	Common Kestrel	1
82	Eurasian Hobby	2
83	Eurasian Jay	1
84	Common Magpie	1
85	Eurasian Jackdaw	2
86	Rook	10
87	Carrion Crow	2
88	Coal Tit	1
89	Eurasian Blue Tit	1
90	Great Tit	1
91	Woodlark	3
92	Eurasian Skylark	3
93	Bearded Tit	3
94	Sedge Warbler	8
95	Eurasian Reed Warbler	7
96	Common Grasshopper Warbler	1
97	Sand Martin	25
98	Barn Swallow	4
99	House Martin	2
100	Willow Warbler	1
101	Common Chiffchaff	2
102	Cetti’s Warbler	1
103	Long-tailed Tit	1
104	Eurasian Blackcap	5
105	Garden Warbler	1
106	Lesser Whitethroat	1
107	Common Whitethroat	1
108	Goldcrest	1
109	Firecrest	1
110	Eurasian Nuthatch	1
111	Eurasian Treecreeper	1
112	Eurasian Wren	1
113	Common Starling	6
114	Mistle Thrush	2
115	Song Thrush	1
116	Eurasian Blackbird	1
117	Spotted Flycatcher	1
118	European Robin	1
119	European Stonechat	3
120	Dunnock	1
121	House Sparrow	1
122	Yellow Wagtail	1
123	Pied Wagtail	1
124	Meadow Pipit	3
125	Tree Pipit	2
126	Common Chaffinch	2
127	Eurasian Bullfinch	1
128	European Greenfinch	1
129	Common Linnet	3
130	European Goldfinch	2
131	Eurasian Siskin	1
132	Yellowhammer	6
133	Common Reed Bunting	1

Birds recorded on guided tours June 2021

June 2021 – Norfolk Butterflies, moths, dragonflies and orchids. The latter two day June tours on took in a mixture of birds, butterflies, moths, orchids and others. Some images from these tours are below.

Posted in Articles and tagged Norfolk birds, Norfolk dragonflies, Norfolk moths, Norfolk orchids, Norfolk wildlife tour