It was my 6th time volunteering at Hickling and I was so excited! I started by getting a walky-talky and then headed out onto the reserve to spot a few teal at Secker’s hide.
We then walked out of Secker’s hide to find an unusual pochard flying over the track towards Hickling Broad and there were a lot of mute swans on the broad from the viewpoint [25 to be precise]. I kept walking to the second viewpoint and was treated very nicely to a lazy kingfisher; it sat in a small tree with no leaves until we left.
A day in the life: Toby the mini-volunteer at Hickling Broad
Birdwatchers at NWT Hickling Broad Raptor Roost (credit: Adam Pimble)
Birder and mini-volunteer Toby Sedgwick shares his experiences and wildlife encounters on a typical day volunteering at NWT Hickling Broad this winter (plus some useful tips on spotting kingfishers!).
Toby Sedgwick (credit: Toby Sedgwick)
I kept walking to Bittern hide and, on the way, I spotted a very nice dark morph marsh harrier flying over the reedbed. I also heard a small flock of bearded tits in the reedbed to the left of the hide before heading back to the visitor centre for a lovely hot chocolate - yummy!
Refreshed, I then walked up to the Raptor Roost as I’d been told there might be quite a few people up there - and they weren’t wrong! At least 20 people were there waiting for the action and as soon as we arrived, I was told there were three cranes in front of a white van. I set my scope up and locked on to where they were. Soon, they took to the air and disappeared behind the trees. Another flock of four came out from the trees and landed out of view. There was no sign of any hen harriers but it was a real treat to finish the day with a ghost-like barn owl flying towards me from Horsey Mill.
I walked back to the visitor centre and handed in my walky-talky before heading home - what a lovely day!
Things to look out for when looking for Kingfishers:
- Kingfishers are expert fishermen. Their diet is made up of small fish and occasionally crustaceans.
- You can tell the difference between a male and female kingfisher by looking under their beak, females have a red spot that looks like lipstick whilst the males don’t.
- They nest in muddy river banks or fallen trees near rivers.
- They weigh 40 grams (which is as much as a Crunchie chocolate bar) and their wingspan is 25 cm.
- Kingfishers are quite rare at Hickling so keep your eyes peeled - I’ve only seen them a few times when I’ve been there!
- Sometimes you can be lucky enough to see a pair, or sometimes even a pair with a youngster.
Check out Toby on Twitter - @TSbirding