Walks with birds, houses and coastal erosion from East to West Mersea on Mersea Island - mid-March 2025

I spent a week on Mersea Island in the middle of March, staying at Cooper's Beach Holiday Park in East Mersea.

  

From there I walked through a couple of fields on the way to the beach during walks to West Mersea.

View of the coast and windswept trees from the public footpath through fields on an overcast day

There was a lot of coastal erosion and that is why I had to walk on the footpath through the fields instead of along the beach from the holiday park

Bradwell nuclear Power Station across the estuary - this is no longer being used

Sanderlings on the beach

and Brent Geese

One of the large beach-front houses during a sunny spell

Large modern beach-front house

Very old house in the old part of West Mersea

Redshank on the beach at low tide

Two Shelducks

Two Shelducks in flight

Early evening walk towards East Mersea along the coast at low tide

Tree roots growing through the eroded cliff at Cudmore Grove Country Park

Brent Geese in flight

Turnstone on pebbles at the edge of the water - seen during another walk towards West Mersea

The famous pastel-coloured beach huts on West Mersea beach

Large houseboat in West Mersea harbour

Lone tree viewed from the footpath along The Strood

Cars driving across the causeway when the tide was quite high

Views from the public footpath through the fields as I walked back from West Mersea to the holiday park in East Mersea

Birds at Brancaster Staithe and wildlife at Holkham Hall during my last day in north Norfolk - 9th March 2024

I walked along to Brancaster Staithe on my last day in north Norfolk to catch a quick glimpse of the birds there during the early morning low tide before getting the bus to Holkham.

A Black-tailed Godwit in breeding plumage was searching for breakfast in the mud

The Godwit was joined by an Oystercatcher

A Curlew was also searching for breakfast

Brent geese were on the move

 After the quick birding search at Brancaster Staithe, I got the bus to Holkham and walked along Lady Anne's drive to the coast.

View of Holkham Gap from the boardwalk leading down to the beach

I was unlucky this time and didn't see any Snow Buntings in the roped-off area near the beach.  Other people were looking for them too.  Apparently they had moved on to the other side of the Gap.

I then walked up to Holkham Hall and walked round the grounds where I saw a lot of deer

Three Tufted ducks and a leaping Little Grebe were visible on the lake

Two Muntjac deer were wandering along one of the paths

The Coke Monument towered above me

Female deer were gathered together

A stag stared at me

More deer were scattered around the park

I was intrigued to discover that a group of Oystercatchers were visiting the park too

Walk from Holkham beach to Wells-next-the-sea on 6th March 2024 with birds and other things

While I was staying on the North Norfolk coast in early May, I decided to go to Holkham beach to see if I could find the visiting Shore Larks.  I walked along Lady Anne's Drive in order to reach the beach.

The first birds I saw were a couple of Oystercatchers.  This happened as I was photographing them!

I found the Shore Larks in a roped-off area at the back of the beach.  They were very distant!

I then decided to walk through the pines to Wells-next-the-sea where I saw some interestingly-shaped trees

A tree had fallen across the path and I had to crawl under it

Beach huts line the back of the beach at Wells

There was a Red-breasted Merganser in a water channel near the beach

A Redshank was patrolling the edge of the river

Male Linnet perching on a shrub at the edge of the path that leads from the beach to the town

A boat went along the river and disturbed a small group of Brent geese that had been feeding in the water

Horse sculpture in Wells - now commemorating the 200th anniversary of the RNLI