We pivoted to the UK, which you know was hard for me to do. I've always said I was too young to visit Western Europe and would rather focus on places you can't take kids or fetuses. Funny how things change. Part of my hesitation to go to this part of the world is that it isn't the greatest birding destination. A British birder once told me that you can see more species during a big day in Texas than you can in a year in the UK. That was ok, though. I still had a birding trip on the books, and this was not going to be a birding focused trip. Still, Christina was super cool and carved out some time to look for birds.
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| European Robins were everywhere |
We flew to London and rented a car. From there we planned to drive to the Cotswolds for a few days with my sister and her roommate. After that we drove 3 hours across the country to Norfolk, which was featured in Dominic Couzens' "Top 100 Birding Sites in the World." There were multiple reserves in the area that we would be able to visit, and mid-October was the perfect time to visit with waterfowl and shorebird migration. We wrapped up spending a few days in London.
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| European Goldfinch |
We are a birding blog, not a travel blog, here at Birding with Christian, but I have to take y'all on a detour from the birding. I'll admit that I kind of rolled my eyes at the idea of the Cotswolds. It seemed like a place that just had some small towns to walk around in and not much else.
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| Rooks were common in fields of the Cotswolds |
I was wrong to doubt Christina. The little towns were incredible, with Bourton-on-the-Water, Stow-on-the-Wold, and Lower Slaughter being my favorites. In addition to quaint, walkable towns, we saw some stone circles that were not quite Stonehenge in scale but were really cool and gave us better access. On our drive to Norfolk we stopped at Kenilworth Castle, which either was either used as an inspiration for or was an actual filming site for Game of Thrones.
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| I hate these birds in the US, but we love a good native House Sparrow |
I didn't know how the Cotswolds could have been topped, but Norfolk may have done it. Norfolk gets a lot less traffic, especially at this time of year. Christina found a town called Wells-next-the-Sea that we would stay in that was central to the reserves. Upon arrival we took an evening stroll where I got lifer (and somewhat nemesis) Brant and on the beach we saw a pod of seals approaching! This evening confirmed that the UK is much prettier than it gets credit for.
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| Mute Swan |
To bird the coast, we went from the west after dropping Claire off at the train station. RSPB Snettisham was our first stop. It was cold, cloudy, and windy. Birds largely sought cover, but we found a flock of tits. The Long-tailed Tits were the easiest to see, but a little persistence got us Great Tit (lol) and Eurasian Blue Tit. The excitement made the cold disappear for a little bit.
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| Eurasian Blue Tit |
The tide was very low, which meant there weren't a ton of shorebirds to see. There were hundreds, if not thousands of Red Knot that were very far out, but other than that a lone Common Redshank was all we had. The blinds along main pond were much more productive. Dunnock was a great find here. I feel like I've heard they can be quite difficult in other countries but are very easy to find in the UK. Dropping down to the pond was much more productive as it kept the birds out of the wind.
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| Common Redshank |
Common Merganser flew over hundreds of Northern Lapwings with their heads under their wings to stay warm. Ducks were everywhere, highlighted by Common Shelduck. Way off in the distance a flock of Pink-footed Geese rose up. Walking out of the first blind we got Eurasian Wigeon.
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Northern Lapwing
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As we got back on the trail we got to see a Reed Bunting, which was the highlight of the reserve, as well as a Western Marsh Harrier flying overhead. We had a good time birding here, but honestly I think this place is a skip relative to the other reserves. Cley and Titchwell offer more bang for your buck birding.
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| Reed Bunting |
A pro of choosing Snettisham was that we were by Hunstanton Cliffs at low tide, which would allow Christina to do some tide pooling while I looked for birds. We got a good sign as we walked down to the beach in the form of a Eurasian Linnet. We totaled 11 species but got fantastic views of those 11 species. Top birds were Black-tailed Godwit and Eurasian Oystercatcher, which looks very similar to its American cousins. Recently split Common Gulls were here as well which was a good tick.
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| The black triangles on the tail of this Black-tailed Godwit help separate it from Bar-tailed |
The next day took us to Cley Marshes, which are widely considered one of the best places in Norfolk to see birds. It did not disappoint. The best bird of the day is a less than stellar bird on the other side of the pond but created a huge buzz in the UK - a Long-billed Dowitcher. We found it easily, and I was probably the only person in the blind who was busy soaking in more godwits and lapwings than I had ever seen. The sun came out as well, creating a beautiful day to go birding. There was not much here besides waterfowl, but we had a great time strolling and driving around the small coastal towns of Norfolk.
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| European Stonechat |
One thing that was really nice about being in the UK was that there weren't any targets or endemics. It was nice to walk around, chat with Christina, and soak up a really beautiful, scenic day. When I go abroad to big birding locations, I tend to feel pressure to make the most of the time, and any misses or bad weather sting. That was not the case here, and the low-pressure birding was refreshing. We spent our afternoon at Holkham Beach and didn't really see much new, but the beach walk was stunningly beautiful, and an afternoon well spent!
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| Eurasian Blackbird |
We spent our final day at the famous Titchwell Marsh. This was the preserve I was most excited to get to, and it did not disappoint. While much smaller than Cley Marshes, Titchwell is not as wild, and it allows you to see more birds. Titchwell was originally a firing range for tanks during World War 2, and you can supposedly see an old tank near the water at low tide.
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| Eurasian Curlew |
The ever-abundant Pink-footed and Graylag Geese flying overhead were the first signs of an awakening marsh. Singing European Robins woke up their fellow passerines. A flock of Eurasian Wren, Common Chiffchaff, and Long-tailed Tit was very active in front of us. Merlin picked up a Common Chaffinch that was in that shrub, but it evaded us.
The best part about Titchwell was the accessibility of waterfowl. The ponds had plenty of blinds that allowed us to see every angle of the water. Northern Lapwings were everywhere, and this was the spot where we saw the most Common Shelducks on the trip. The best bird of the day was Spotted Redshank. I'm not sure how rare they are, but I noticed a weird looking shorebird that was clearly not a Common Redshank. After a lot of discussion with the couple next to us, it was clear that we had a Spotted. Not bad for a foreigner who struggles with shorebirds!
It took us a long time to make the short .5 mile walk to the beach due to the amazing birding. I'm sure we would have picked up Northern Fulmar or Northern Gannet, but alas, the gannet will still remain a nemesis for me.
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| Eurasian Jay |
We walked around the wooded trails where twitchers were looking for a Yellow-browed Warbler that was rare, but Christina and I wanted to get to the other side of the ponds and focus on seeing more birds instead of staking out a rarity. A fun part about becoming a more global birder is my lack of caring about rarities. I'll just go see them where they're common and I'm not spending an hour trying to tick a bird in a place where I don't care about what my eBird rank is.
That mentality was rewarded. We got fantastic looks at Goldcrest, which is similar to a Golden-crowned Kinglet as well as Eurasian Spoonbill and European Golden-Plover thanks to our hustle. I don't think the people even saw the warbler after we left.
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| Eurasian Spoonbill with Northern Lapwings in the background |
Despite intending to bird in London, it never happened due to rain and the abundance of other activities that should be prioritized in London. Our total birds from the trip were 62, which is not bad for a trip that wasn't birding focused. Even for the nonbirder, I can't recommend Norfolk enough. It's beautiful, chill, and it will sneak up on you in terms of quality. People too often go to London and maybe Edinburgh, while glossing over the rest of an amazing country. You won't get 400 species like you can spending a week in Ecuador, but Norfolk is certified as a worthy stop by Birding with Christian.
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| Eurasian Magpie |
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