A lucky day

Bit of strange day but ultimately rewarding…

Started the day early out on the reserve listening for bittern which sadly we didn’t hear any sound of (looks like we only have 2 boomers this year) but did have the bizarre sight of 2 fulmars flying SW over the grazing marsh followed by greylag geese sitting in the tops of pine trees!! We see Egyptian geese doing this all the time and in fact they often breed in the flat-topped pines but I’ve never seen greylags doing it before. Initially there was one bird but in the end there were at least 6 birds sitting in two separate trees with others circling and trying to join them. Couldn’t tell if they were nesting but certainly unusual behaviour. Too far really to get a picture but if you squint...

After a break we headed inland to an area that we have been carrying out farmland bird surveys to check out some possible lapwing nests that needed protecting from future farming operations.

As we headed south of the Park along the dry road Andy picked up a bird flying towards the road from the west being mobbed by some black-headed gulls. Andy instantly called eagle but unfortunately we were following a tractor and caravan and there was nowhere to pull over. By the time we were able to pull off the road the bird had disappeared but our luck was in.

We stopped opposite some cottages and to our surprise the bird was on the ground in a field! It quickly took flight and headed into the east with several buzzards in tow. We relocated to another road and could see the bird distantly towards Walsingham before is disappeared.

2nd eagle in a matter of weeks but this time a smart adult

adult white tailed eagle being chased by a common buzzard

We carried on to original destination were we managed to locate 2 lapwing nests and at least 3 broods in a bare field earmarked for cultivation in the next few days. All of the nests were marked with canes so that the tractor drivers know where the nests are and can lift their machinery up to avoid any damage.

An excellent day of species conservation and some nice birds to boot.