June 21st Cley

Today, there was some big family news as my brother's fiancée gave birth to a little girl in the early hours of this morning. She has been named Ava. I am now an uncle for the first time! My parents are now grandparents and the whole family has been excited by little Ava's arrival to the world.

Little Grebe with chick

With visiting hours at the hospital not until this afternoon, Mum and I went up to Cley for a short visit this morning. We parked the car at the car park by East Bank and made a short walk down to the new shelter near the beach. There were several chicks around the reserve today including that of  a little grebe and oystercatchers as well as many ducklings from mallards, Shelducks and shovelers. Sedge and reed warblers and reed buntings were singing wherever you went, flitting within the reeds close to the bank. From the shelter overlooking the pool close to the beach, we found little ringed plovers, sandwich terns and avocets.

Mallard with ducklings

More ducklings

Reed Warbler



Sedge Warbler

Reed Bunting

Little Ringed Plover

Avocet

Meadow Pipit

Sandwich Terns with a Shelduck

Scarlet Pimpernel

After returning to the car and parking by the visitor centre, we then walked down to the hides, finding whitethroats, house sparrows, house martins, goldfinches and more sedge warblers and reed buntings along the way. The hides provided views of some sleepy lapwings, (distant) godwits, avocets, redshanks and more duck families. We also saw a marsh harrier carrying a moorhen away with it above the reed beds and a Chinese water deer poking its head out of an area of tall reeds briefly.

Wren

Juvenile Goldfinch

Lapwing

Marsh Harrier with Moorhen for dinner!

Little Egret

Avocet

Redshank



Shoveler with ducklings

We then went back for lunch at the visitor centre before making our way back home. Then as a family, my parents, my little brother and I went down to the hospital to meet Ava and her parents. She slept peacefully as I held her in my arms. Her parents were a little fatigued after a long night, but they were extremely proud of their new little girl. Let's hope she grows up loving wildlife and who knows, maybe one day she will come out birdwatching with me, her Uncle Sean!