28.03.2026 - Outdoor Meeting : Holkham NNR

Leaders: Ptolemy McKinon & Alan Hughes
Report: Cath Robinson
Bird list: David Laurie

Around 22 of us arrived and virtually took over the village car park outside the entrance to Holkham Hall. It was a lovely sunny morning but there was a real bite to the brisk N Westerly wind and I for one was glad that I put on an extra layer before we left. And gloves.
We started with a few seeing high flying Ravens and then Red Kites displaying over the car park and along the drive down to the Victoria. Chiffchaffs were singing and were a constant accompaniment for most of the day.

As we started down Lady Ann’s Drive the species numbers began to mount. Our first waders: Redshank, Avocet, Curlew and good views of Common Snipe; good numbers of wildfowl: Teal, Wigeon, Mallard, Shelduck, Gadwall and Shoveller and our first geese : Canada, Egyptian, Pink-footed and Greylag. By the Lookout we were delighted to see a flyover Spoonbill following on from Andy Bloomfield’s excellent talk at the club the previous week. At this stage we were pleased to be in the shelter of the woods as we made our way to the first of the 2 hides going westwards. More Chiffchaffs and briefly our first singing Blackcap along with vocal Wrens. Tufted ducks added to our count at the small mere en route but no Little Grebes there: we found one later from the other hide.
We also saw a Grey hare: apparently our Brown hare can look grey (‘can exhibit grey/brown shades in certain conditions and seasons’ - The Mammal Society).
The first hide didn’t yield anything new so we carried on to the Tower hide where we looked out on to the site of the  ancient fort mentioned to us by Andy in his talk and Decoy Wood, the nesting site of the Spoonbills. It is a spectacular view across a swathe of the Holkham estate.
There was a small herd of Red Deer to add to the Muntjac and Chinese Water Deer we had already seen. Ptolemy quickly spotted a few White- Fronted Geese which were then spooked into flying and flew towards us on their way past the hide. We saw a few more Spoonbills flying into their nesting site and another Great White Egret as well as more Little
Egrets: no Cattle Egrets though. There were several displaying Marsh Harriers and more Red Kites.
We left and made our way through the woodland to the sea which was looking fairly rough and uninviting. We had a brief sea watch but were soon deterred by the conditions and lack of birds so made our way back at the base of the dunes towards the Lookout and lunch. On the way we did spot a fine pair of
Stonechat perching conveniently and several Meadow Pipits and Skylark mainly keeping low on the deck.
Half of us left at lunch time while the rest ventured back towards the sea, bravely crossing the inlet before it was a raging torrent as the tide came in. We spotted Ringed Plover and many Sanderling scurrying along the tide line but the seawatch was tough because of the rough sea and the wind. Five of us then left the last few to carry on in the hope that they would spot that elusive scoter/diver/cetacean. We added Linnet to the list on the way back and arrived at the car park feeling tired after a long but fruitful session.
Many thanks to both Ptolemy and Alan for their patience and skills.
PS Liz and I would like to add that on the way home we saw a Greylag sitting on a high hedge at the roadside. Honestly. Shortly after there was a Buzzard on the same hedge (not so surprising) and after that a Wood Pigeon (not surprising at all). But all within the space of 30 seconds driving. Odd.


Holkham trip bird list (68 species)
Mute Swan Brent Goose Canada Goose Barnacle Goose
Greylag Goose Pink-footed Goose White-fronted Goose Egyptian Goose
Shelduck Tufted Duck Shoveler Gadwall
Wigeon Mallard Teal Pheasant
Red-legged Partridge Collared Dove Woodpigeon Moorhen
Coot Avocet Oystercatcher Ringed Plover
Lapwing Curlew Black-tailed Godwit Snipe
Redshank Sanderling Black-headed Gull Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull Cormorant Spoonbill Little Egret
Great White Egret Grey Heron Marsh Harrier Red Kite
Buzzard Great Spotted
Woodpecker

Magpie Jackdaw
Carrion Crow Raven Blue Tit Great Tit
Coal Tit* Skylark Long-tailed Tit Cetti's Warbler*
Chiffchaff Blackcap* Goldcrest Treecreeper*
Wren Starling Mistle Thrush Blackbird
Robin Stonechat Dunnock House Sparrow
Pied Wagtail Meadow Pipit Chaffinch Greenfinch
Linnet Goldfinch Siskin*
* Heard but not seen

Plus:
Chinese Water Deer Reeves' Muntjac Red Deer Rabbit
Brown Hare