18 MARCH 2025 – THE BRECKS (NORFOLK)

A 7.30 a.m. start from my house with John and Mike - our first birding trip since early January - and we were intending to do the Brecks (bordering Norfolk and Suffolk) beginning at Cockley Cley for Goshawks.

We arrived at Cockley Cley shortly after 9.00 a.m. It was still cold, but bright sunlight and pristine blue skies (not always good conditions for watching distant raptors in flight). It was quiet at first with just the odd sighting of buzzards soaring over the forest, and very little else, except two Red Kites were seen very nearby.

The fields opposite the inlet where we were parked (not a formal car park) were now a pig farm, with ‘porkers’ spread out over the landscape (formerly just plain grassland) some in their styes and others rolling about in the mud - with close views of several Red-legged Partridges intermingling with their hosts. It wasn’t immediately apparent why these birds were associating so closely with pigs, but one could reasonably assume that flies were a readily available food source in such conditions. But what it meant for me personally was that I was able to get some reasonably close photographs of these otherwise shy birds – as well as being able to gain close views of these undeniably attractive yet quite gaudily-plumaged partridges.

About 30 minutes in, John got the first views of a high-flying Goshawk soaring over distant trees, with more Buzzards also soaring (in groups of up to five individuals). Then, a second Goshawk seemingly joining the first implying a possible pair; but it wasn’t until a while after when display flight was obvious, though again the birds remained stubbornly distant. But that soon changed when up to two pairs were seen in display flight, with both pairs giving reasonably close views when one could discern the size difference between the larger female and the males. These were by far the best views I’d seen here for quite some years.

So, apart from the four Goshawks, up to eleven Buzzards were observed, with a male Kestrel, and at least three Red Kites (one pair soared right overhead, enabling me to get some excellent photos) completing the raptor toll. A displaying Stock Dove; two Fieldfares; two Shelducks; two Woodlarks seen by me, and another heard, and of course up to seven Red-legged Partridges.

On to Lynford Arboretum for hopefully, a good tally of passerine species, but the place was extremely quiet overall bird wise, and we struggled to general finches and similar species, with no sightings of Hawfinch or Crossbills that were seen in 2024. We did see a couple, of Siskin, with good views of a pair of Nuthatches that were nesting near the coffee house, and a probable Chiffchaff. A Tawny Owl called somewhere in the near vicinity but wasn’t breaking cover! We concluded that despite the sunshine, it was still quite cold with a strengthening easterly at times which might have deterred birds, together with the fact that the feeding stations had been removed, with the obvious consequences.

Given the general lack of birds and the overall weather conditions, we decided not to visit Santon Downham, and John suggested a new area for Mike and me - Lynford Stag Trail - which was a commercial forest owned by the Forestry Commission, but although it was a pleasant enough area of mixed woodland, it didn’t produce anything other than species we’d seen earlier in the day.

RED KITE

RED KITE

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGE

RED-LEGGED PARTRIDGES

RL PARTRIDGE WITH THE PIGS