After the excitement of the morning & before another snow shower I walked over to the North Beach Lowestoft for an afternoon on my local patch. I was without my telescope & tripod as I have in the past been pointed at with the announcement that I have a gun! Whilst walking through the residential streets.
My bins are hidden in the pockets of my jacket until the lat possible moment when I reach Bell vue Park. Today as I hopped over the low wall I placed them over my neck to the chorus of two young kids. “ Mummy there’s one of those perverts there!”
Mother grinned & said sorry & walked towards the main road. Arrgh!
Well as it happened the place was birdless, as was Flycatcher Lane. But the denes, oh the denes. Heaven a flock of Gulls to count. 88 Black headed Gulls & 14 Common (Mew) Gulls. No Med Gulls though.
Last week I was counting Woodpigeons & was disappointed not to find any.
On reaching the wall weather beaten sea anglers with rods bent into the tide waved as wearily as the grey & white topped waves smashed onto the beach, huddled up under layers of clothing or hidden under brollies & shelters. The call of “much about?” was lost in the cold north wind. Snow flurries raced along the shingle trying their hardest to settle on the cold stone below.
Over the distant waves a flock of Eider struggled north flying as low as they dare over the vast North Sea. Cormorants tried to feed on the fishes & gulls continued their acrobatics as they too fed on the food below them.
A single Oystercatcher was seen on the denes by the sea wall & nothing else of note was seen until I got to Ness Point where I met another birder who with a glint in his eye announced that I must have surly seen the eleven Bewick swans that came in off the sea?
But no I hadn’t. I was rewarded instead by the ten Purple Sandpipers on the wall below us. This is one of only about two sites in Suffolk where Purple Sandpipers over winter.
At Lake Lothing Two fishing Shags completed the walk.
At home I was so pleased I had a good day out I went to bed & slept for an hour or so.
A long soak in the bath followed by Chili Con Carne & a bottle of Red Wine (Hungarian Bulls Blood) made for a perfect day.
CJ
My bins are hidden in the pockets of my jacket until the lat possible moment when I reach Bell vue Park. Today as I hopped over the low wall I placed them over my neck to the chorus of two young kids. “ Mummy there’s one of those perverts there!”
Mother grinned & said sorry & walked towards the main road. Arrgh!
Well as it happened the place was birdless, as was Flycatcher Lane. But the denes, oh the denes. Heaven a flock of Gulls to count. 88 Black headed Gulls & 14 Common (Mew) Gulls. No Med Gulls though.
Last week I was counting Woodpigeons & was disappointed not to find any.
On reaching the wall weather beaten sea anglers with rods bent into the tide waved as wearily as the grey & white topped waves smashed onto the beach, huddled up under layers of clothing or hidden under brollies & shelters. The call of “much about?” was lost in the cold north wind. Snow flurries raced along the shingle trying their hardest to settle on the cold stone below.
Over the distant waves a flock of Eider struggled north flying as low as they dare over the vast North Sea. Cormorants tried to feed on the fishes & gulls continued their acrobatics as they too fed on the food below them.
A single Oystercatcher was seen on the denes by the sea wall & nothing else of note was seen until I got to Ness Point where I met another birder who with a glint in his eye announced that I must have surly seen the eleven Bewick swans that came in off the sea?
But no I hadn’t. I was rewarded instead by the ten Purple Sandpipers on the wall below us. This is one of only about two sites in Suffolk where Purple Sandpipers over winter.
At Lake Lothing Two fishing Shags completed the walk.
At home I was so pleased I had a good day out I went to bed & slept for an hour or so.
A long soak in the bath followed by Chili Con Carne & a bottle of Red Wine (Hungarian Bulls Blood) made for a perfect day.
CJ
