After the
warmth and bright sun of recent days it was something of a downer to find Cley shrouded in grey cloud with a keen northerly wind whipping across the marshes
today. It was no surprise therefore to find Bishop’s Hide empty, but I needed
to have a look at the scrapes to see if there was anything noteworthy to report
to the Visitor Centre.
Was there
ever! As soon as I opened the hide flap I was confronted with the sight of a
lovely adult spoonbill standing sentinel like just a few yards in front of me.
The bird spooked at my clumsy movements and I was too slow to take any snaps,
but what a great way to start the day. Closer inspection of Pat’s Pool showed
the water level to be much higher than of late and it seemed more water was
still flowing onto the scrapes from the catch water drain system. I wondered
why this might be and all was revealed when I spoke to the warden a little
later in the day. There have been several spoonbills around the reserve lately,
but they have mainly been frequenting parts of the reserve that are difficult
for visitors to view. So, why not raise the water level on the more accessible
parts whilst at the same time flooding the area with sticklebacks and various
other tasty morsels that would prove irresistible to these stately birds. And
it was obviously beginning to take effect with not only the spoonbill but grey
herons and little egrets joining the party. A great example of how intimate
knowledge of the reserve and its inhabitants can work in favour of all, allowing
visitors to appreciate these nationally rare breeders at close range. 
During the
course of the day a quite respectable gathering of 11 spoonbills were using the
marsh. Some of these were birds of the year recognised by their smaller pinkish
coloured beaks and black edges to their primaries. These youngsters were
constantly haranguing their parents, chasing them across the muds and begging
to be fed. Others in the group simply loafed around standing motionless on one
leg with their spatula bills tucked deeply under their wings. There's nowhere
else in the country you can you see this kind of thing happening. We here in
Norfolk are really quite privileged to be able to witness these intimate
moments of nationally rare birds, and it is no coincidence that things of this
nature regularly take place at Cley Marshes; the whole reserve is managed for
this very purpose.
Little ringed
plovers seem to be doing quite well this year. The pair nesting close to the
visitor centre have moved their young further into the field allowing building
work to commence on the new education centre. The workmen still regularly catch
sight of the now half grown balls of down and it seems have also discovered a
second brood nearby. Pat’s Pool is currently playing host to a third pair still
sitting on eggs, and there may well be yet another on Whitwell Scrape. The fact
that avocet breeding numbers are somewhat down may indirectly benefit the
plovers that will be able to raise their chicks without falling foul of
over-zealous pied dive bombers every few minutes.
The pair of
marsh harriers are still busily feeding their young with the female of the
pair, now affectionately referred to as ‘Blondie’ in recognition of her vivid
cream markings, regularly being seen hunting the fields south of the reserve.
She seems far more competent a hunter than the male bringing back quite
sizeable prey, young rabbits, rats and similar sized offerings for her brood.
The male, who may well be relatively young and inexperienced, doesn’t seem quite
so able and as far as I have observed often appears in the vicinity of the nest
empty-taloned. However I’m sure the young are being well cared for overall and
will surely soon fledge adding yet another dimension to the Cley experience.
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