Had an enjoyable couple of nights away with Mrs Matt in Norfolk the weekend before Christmas. Aside from a very brief break on the Hampshire coast in September we've not had a single holiday together this year - understandably, given the pandemic - but as I've been on a couple of short birding trips it seemed only fair that we made time for a husband and wife excursion while we had the chance.
As long as we've been together Kate's been keen to go to Norfolk as, despite me going on many birding day trips there over the years, she's never been.
We stayed in Walcott Green which put us within easy reach of some nice sites, including Horsey Beach, Winterton Dunes and Hickling Broad. Kate was particularly keen to see seals so we headed straight to Horsey on arrival where we were treated to adorable views of the resident Grey Seals and their pups, plus a flypast flock of Snow Buntings and a hunting male Hen Harrier. In the evening we headed to Stubb Mill at Hickling where I've previously enjoyed some spectacular winter evenings, and I was keen to share the experience with Kate. 35 Marsh Harriers and four Hen Harriers (two males) came in to roost plus ten Common Cranes and thousands of Pink-footed Geese, with a few White-fronts mixed in for good measure.
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| Hen Harrier, Winterton |
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| Common Cranes, Hickling |
The next day we headed to Happisburgh for an early beach walk before it got busy. Here we bumped into some more Snow Buntings (18 in total), some of which were very obliging, feeding in the sunshine near the cliff edge. An afternoon walk at Winterton produced more excellent views of seals but not the hoped for Iceland Gull.
Not quite as bird-filled as some of my previous Norfolk trips but it's impossible to have a disappointing experience up there and I always come away looking forward to the next one.
