Watch out for: Corn Bunting, Fulmar, Eider, Long-tailed Duck, Sanderling, Scoter and Marsh Harrier.
I always like to get a productive trip underway on New Years Day and there is no better place to start than the Norfolk coast. We decided to centre on Titchwell but on arrival it was raining quite hard and the forecast was for things to improve, so we decided to postpone the reserve till the afternoon and use the car to get our first few target birds of the year. 
Choseley Drying Barns are just inland from the main A149 and are renowned for Corn Bunting. On arrival there was flock of twelve birds in a near by tree and as a bonus, from even closer cover six Yellowhammers flew out and sat up on a hedge, finally looking out on the wires there were two Song Thrushes, a great start. Next on the list were the cliffs at Hunstanton (about a 10 mile trip), these always provide good views of Fulmar and an opportunity to check the open sea, we quickly had six or seven of these stiff winged birds on the sea as well as an Eider and several Great-crested Grebes. By now the rain had stopped, but rather than heading straight back to Titchwell we took the opportunity to visit the Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Holme. We checked out the board as we booked in, there were reports of Long-tailed Duck off shore. We had to walk the beach for quite a while, but just off Gore Point there were about ten birds. En-route we saw Sanderling on the shore line and Oystercatcher past. Looking around the scrub there was a large folk of Fieldfare feeding on the Buckthorn and on the lagoon a good collection of Ducks and Grebes. So finally early in the afternoon we were walking out on the RSPB site at Titchwell (so were the world and his wife for that matter but not to worry). To the east over Thornham there were three Marsh Harriers and on the Brackish Marsh were Curlew, Lapwing & Little Egret. Moving up to the coast more ducks on the water along with Black-tailed Godwit, a single Bar-tailed, Redshank, Dunlin & a Ruff. We ended up on the beach and looking out found a Velvet Scoter on the sea and a Guillemot going passed. Finally on the walk back a ground feeding Bearded Tit was pointed by another birder on a similar day one mission. Counting all the species seen whilst travelling and detailing all the wildfowl and Gulls we were listing over sixty birds.
Choseley Drying Barns are just inland from the main A149 and are renowned for Corn Bunting. On arrival there was flock of twelve birds in a near by tree and as a bonus, from even closer cover six Yellowhammers flew out and sat up on a hedge, finally looking out on the wires there were two Song Thrushes, a great start. Next on the list were the cliffs at Hunstanton (about a 10 mile trip), these always provide good views of Fulmar and an opportunity to check the open sea, we quickly had six or seven of these stiff winged birds on the sea as well as an Eider and several Great-crested Grebes. By now the rain had stopped, but rather than heading straight back to Titchwell we took the opportunity to visit the Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Holme. We checked out the board as we booked in, there were reports of Long-tailed Duck off shore. We had to walk the beach for quite a while, but just off Gore Point there were about ten birds. En-route we saw Sanderling on the shore line and Oystercatcher past. Looking around the scrub there was a large folk of Fieldfare feeding on the Buckthorn and on the lagoon a good collection of Ducks and Grebes. So finally early in the afternoon we were walking out on the RSPB site at Titchwell (so were the world and his wife for that matter but not to worry). To the east over Thornham there were three Marsh Harriers and on the Brackish Marsh were Curlew, Lapwing & Little Egret. Moving up to the coast more ducks on the water along with Black-tailed Godwit, a single Bar-tailed, Redshank, Dunlin & a Ruff. We ended up on the beach and looking out found a Velvet Scoter on the sea and a Guillemot going passed. Finally on the walk back a ground feeding Bearded Tit was pointed by another birder on a similar day one mission. Counting all the species seen whilst travelling and detailing all the wildfowl and Gulls we were listing over sixty birds.
East Anglia Year Count: 68
Life bird count: 399. Year bird count: 68. Month bird count: 68.
Photo: Oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus)
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