22.09.2024 - Outdoor Meeting : Kelling Water Meadows and Muckleburgh Hill

Leader: Sue Gale
Reporter: John Scoggins

Start: Kelling, TG094429
On the autumn equinox, a small group of us met in Kelling to explore the area around Muckleborough Hill on the north Norfolk coast under the autumnal mutterings of Rooks and Jackdaws, flitterings of Goldfinches in the nearby trees, and the toot of the train from the nearby Poppy Line chugging up to Holt. It was a changeable morning; hot in the sun but chilly in the cloud which gathered as we crossed the road and set off down the Meadow Lane track that leads down to The Quag. As we ventured out of the village, initially surrounded on both sides by trees and hedges, with the best blackberries above head height, the first birds of the walk were perhaps unsurprisingly a mix of Robins, Wrens, Starlings and Dunnock alongside Woodpigeon, Stock Dove and Collared Dove.

​The first bird we stopped for was a Red-legged Partridge, heard and then seen in the adjacent rough ground and then a distant Common Buzzard. As we emerged out of the hedgerows and into open fields, a few Stonechats prompted interest and closer inspection especially given the preceding day’s news of a Siberian Stonechat Saxicola maurus in the area. As we moved closer to the coast, the sky expanded and the birds gathered in larger numbers. The clouds also broke, allowing more light onto the scene and aiding identification of the birds silhouetted against the sky. One flock of Goldfinches erupting into colour as the sun’s rays caught them at just the right angle was a morning highlight.
As we continued to search for the elusive Stonechat, cows, corvids and Little Egrets provided welcome distraction and when they didn’t, there were sufficient numbers of birdwatchers scanning the area to view and admire over the pools of The Quag which also sheltered Teal, Mallard, Shoveler and Wigeon. We continued further down Meadow Lane and on our return were rewarded with a good, well-lit view of a Meadow Pipit and as we turned the corner, a juvenile wagtail which provided some identification discussion before finally being diagnosed as a Pied Wagtail.
At The Quag we met one of the groups looking for the Siberian Stonechat and after sharing our lack of success locating it we went our separate ways, our group continuing towards the beach at Kelling
Hard. We had barely gone 50 metres when one of them returned to tell us they had located the bird showing well on one of the hedges running down to the Meadow Lane track. A couple of us went to view it followed by a few more, and then a few more! For future reference, a Siberian Stonechat looks very much like a European Stonechat but is typically darker above and paler below, with a white rump and whiter underparts and less orange on the breast.
After a short beach stop by some, we regrouped and headed inland together. Gaining only a small amount of vertical height in Norfolk can really open up the views and as we continued our circular walk and climbed up towards the masts on the edge of the Muckleborough Military Collection, we were rewarded with an expansive panorama along the coast in the direction of Salthouse and beyond. We also got good views of a couple of Wheatears in the short grass around the installations, and a distant Gannet flying east. The day of contrasts continued as the juxtaposition of nature to the growing industry of this area was particularly stark on this leg, with the electricity from the wind turbines of the North Sea being set to be brought ashore here and channelled inland by the infrastructure currently in development.
To finish our morning walk we climbed up and over Muckleburgh Hill, a quiet area on the day but definitely one that many of us are keen to explore in more detail in the future now we know about it. A Hobby and Kestrel welcomed us back into Kelling where the group headed off in different directions for the afternoon.

Afternoon
After lunch at NWT Cley Marshes, which gave views of a Bittern, a Marsh Harrier and Lapwing, a small group of us met at Walsey Hills NOA where a Pied Flycatcher had been reported that morning. We did not manage to find it but a small patch of sun providing refuge for over twenty Red Admiral butterflies more than made up for it. A final walk of the day along the east bank of Cley Marshes started with the sight and sounds of large groups of Canada and Greylag geese grazing in the fields joined periodically by the odd Starling and Little Egret. Closer to the sea the meandering creeks provided shelter for Ruff, Snipe, Dunlin and Black-tailed Godwits and the larger, more distance pools a good collection of ducks including Mallard, Wigeon, Teal, Shoveler and Pintail. We risked the rain for a brief stop at the sea where the highlight was a Sparrowhawk sitting on a fence post and we
surprisingly avoided a heavy shower before returning to the car and departing at around 230pm.
Thank you to Sue for leading the morning and those who were generous with their knowledge, identification and telescopes.