26.11.2023 - Field Trip : St Benet's Abbey and NWT Hickling Broad & Stubb Mill

Leader: Alan Hughes
Reporter: Mandy Etherington
Species List: Seamus O’Dowd

​About a dozen of us met in the small car park of St Benet's Abbey on a cold grey day in November. Almost immediately a Short-eared Owl was spotted over the field in front of the car park. We had really good views of it quartering over the rough grass before it finally went down in some reeds. It was one of three we saw from the car park, along with a number of Fieldfare and a distant view of a large flock of Lapwing.

We took the short walk to the site of The Abbey of St Benet, which is the only monastery in England that was not closed by Henry VIII – the Bishop of Norwich is still the Abbot. It was my first visit to this beautiful site alongside the River Bure with 360° views of the surrounding countryside. Standing by the cross, which marks the site of the alter of the Abbey, we had an amazing view of 17 Common Crane on the marsh in front of us. We watched them for some time, and some walkers passing by were very interested to hear about them and look through a scope to see them. Eventually the cranes took flight and we watched until they disappeared
out of sight. We headed back to the car park feeling happy but rather chilly, and admired the hardiness of the crew on a passing yacht! There were further views of Short-eared Owl along the way. From here we headed straight to Hickling where we had lunch & warmed up a bit in the Visitor Centre. We then set off for the Raptor Roost and were shocked by the amount of water on the reserve - large parts of it still inaccessible. On route we saw Whooper Swan, Goldcrest, Kingfisher and a Barn Owl, to name but a few.
The Raptor Roost was already busy when we arrived. There was a Kestrel in a tree who went on to hunt in front of us. We saw a distant Starling murmuration, and a huge flock of Pink- footed Geese over the tree line. The Marsh Harriers trickled in, mainly in 2's or 3's, although at one point there were 8 circling the reed bed. Finally, as the light was fading, there came the cry 'Hen Harrier ' and we watched a male flying very low over the marsh. Just as he went out of sight, two Cranes appeared briefly. We had heard a number of them calling but these were the only ones seen.
Just as we were getting ready to leave, a flock of Long-tailed Tits flew in to a tree adjacent to the viewing platform. I watched them silhouetted in the fading light as they popped up in turn from the tree and had a late-night snack on a small group of midges that were hovering overhead. For me, this was the highlight of the afternoon, but then I have always loved a
Long-tailed Tit! ​There was just enough light to find our way back to the car park, a passing Woodcock our final bird of the day.
Overall, it was a great outing. Thanks to Alan for leading us and to Cath who helped plan the last-minute change due to the flooding at Hickling.