T0ny
Okillre Member
1000
Monday dawned bright and clear, and I was on my way by quarter past seven. I walked along the paths over the cliff-top farmland, it being a pleasanter walk than using the lanes, hoping for spring migrants. The usual Skylarks were singing, and Meadow Pipits fluttered around me. The tide was in, so no waders on the shore, and I'd not left enough time to scan the sea properly. I looked on the short grass for Wheatears, but none to be seen. Then my first hirundine of the year flipped lazily up over the cliff edge - a Sand Martin, the first of at least a dozen during the day.
With this pleasure behind me, I made my way to the bus stop, beating the bus by a good seven seconds. Not much to be seen on my way to the station, where I had a pleasant thirty-minute wait for the train. One great advantage of travelling by public transport, you usually get plenty of time to relax in between 'connections'.
The train journey yielded a few more species - Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Rook, Collared Dove and Kestrel being amongst them. At the end of the line, I made another change, back to bus - this again left me a half-hour, so I went to the buffet of the local preserved railway and had a hot sausage roll for breakfast. The bus left promptly at ten to ten, taking an hour and twenty minutes to traverse the North Norfolk Coast.
My day list soon began to grow, with several surprises - a male Curlew feeding in a field some five yards from the road, a Little Grebe in a ditch, quite a lot of wildfowl (Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler amongst them), and as we detoured around Wells Harbour, a small group of Brent - certainly the first time I'd seen them from a bus ! Along the road, several places were selling sea-food, and I saw at least five advertising mussels. This I considered a personal 'dig', as it was my stomach's reaction to mussels which prevented my seeing the Sardinian Warbler last October !
Eventually reached Holme at ten past eleven, and I set off for the village and golf course. I took the wrong footpath at first, which gave me my first (silent) Chiffchaff of the year, feeding on mud at the edge of a slow-moving stream. This was soon followed by several singing ones in the bushes around me.
Back on course, I bought an ice-cream from the small café in the car park, then strolled across the golf course, eating my ice cream, to join the small group of birders visible by some blackthorn scrub. The Sardinian Warbler had been showing irregularly but frequently, but the wind was getting up, and it was currently out of sight. I finished my ice-cream, and waited. Then, a mere five hours after I'd arisen from my bed, it appeared, on a bush with berries on. It showed briefly, enabling me to get a brief flight view through my scope as it shot off again.
The others, having seen it, then left and I was joined after a few minutes by some other people carrying optical equipment, who asked where it was. I explained to one guy, well-equipped with Swarov bins & scope, Manfrotto tripod and obviously expensive clothing, that it was down at present. Suddenly some more Sand Martins flew over head. 'Swallows !' he exclaimed. I gently pointed out the plumage differences as they hawked briefly over the scrub for insects.
He then asked where they'd come from, and we had a brief chat about migration - he hadn't realised they were summer visitors. I took another look at him, and decided he must have bought the 'Compleat Birder' kit from a catalogue, probably even down to the Gore-Tex underpants. He was a nice chap, though, and we scanned the Blackthorn together. I caught another brief glimpse of the bird, but by the time I'd got him in the correct place, it had gone. Eventually it showed by a large bush and worked its way west along the tops of the bushes, giving prolonged if slightly obscured views.
I had a brief sea-watch, but the mist meant distance viewing was not possible, and the heat haze interfered with long views along the Shore. I did see Sanderling, Knot, Curlew, Redshank, and Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. One better than I might have found Caspian and Yellow-legged amongst them too. A pair of Red-breasted Merganser flew past, as did a party of six Eider.
I retraced my steps to the village, and had a pint of lunch (Marston's 'Pedigree'), sitting in the pub garden trying to see the Woodpeckers I could hear calling (Great Spotted and Green). I then strolled across Redwell Marsh, eventually finding a couple of Snipe, and onto the edge of Holme Dunes Reserve. On the brackish pools were three Avocet, some more Redshank and Knot, but no Heron or Little Egret, which I'd hoped for.
I then decided to re-check the bus timetable I had with me, and discovered with a sinking feeling that the bus I intended to catch on the return journey didn't actually start running until April 10. Realising that if I waited for it I'd miss Minsmeet, I considered my options. They were few - walk, hitch, B&B or Taxi. Walking fifty or so miles held little appeal - I tried drying my thumb, but most of the cars had ladies taking kids home from school, who weren't about to stop for a suspicious-looking scruffbum. Some kind souls did stop, but none of them were going where I needed to go.
So, taxi it was - I phoned my local company, then settled down to wait the hour for their arrival. My wait was enlivened by some bickering Greenfinches, Collared Doves displaying, some skeins of Greylag Geese overflew, and a party of long-tailed Tits foraged in the bushes above me.
The journey home was a lot quicker - and more expensive. Great day out, though. Anyone want to teach me to drive ?
Tony B
Monday dawned bright and clear, and I was on my way by quarter past seven. I walked along the paths over the cliff-top farmland, it being a pleasanter walk than using the lanes, hoping for spring migrants. The usual Skylarks were singing, and Meadow Pipits fluttered around me. The tide was in, so no waders on the shore, and I'd not left enough time to scan the sea properly. I looked on the short grass for Wheatears, but none to be seen. Then my first hirundine of the year flipped lazily up over the cliff edge - a Sand Martin, the first of at least a dozen during the day.
With this pleasure behind me, I made my way to the bus stop, beating the bus by a good seven seconds. Not much to be seen on my way to the station, where I had a pleasant thirty-minute wait for the train. One great advantage of travelling by public transport, you usually get plenty of time to relax in between 'connections'.
The train journey yielded a few more species - Wood Pigeon, Carrion Crow, Rook, Collared Dove and Kestrel being amongst them. At the end of the line, I made another change, back to bus - this again left me a half-hour, so I went to the buffet of the local preserved railway and had a hot sausage roll for breakfast. The bus left promptly at ten to ten, taking an hour and twenty minutes to traverse the North Norfolk Coast.
My day list soon began to grow, with several surprises - a male Curlew feeding in a field some five yards from the road, a Little Grebe in a ditch, quite a lot of wildfowl (Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Egyptian Goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal and Shoveler amongst them), and as we detoured around Wells Harbour, a small group of Brent - certainly the first time I'd seen them from a bus ! Along the road, several places were selling sea-food, and I saw at least five advertising mussels. This I considered a personal 'dig', as it was my stomach's reaction to mussels which prevented my seeing the Sardinian Warbler last October !
Eventually reached Holme at ten past eleven, and I set off for the village and golf course. I took the wrong footpath at first, which gave me my first (silent) Chiffchaff of the year, feeding on mud at the edge of a slow-moving stream. This was soon followed by several singing ones in the bushes around me.
Back on course, I bought an ice-cream from the small café in the car park, then strolled across the golf course, eating my ice cream, to join the small group of birders visible by some blackthorn scrub. The Sardinian Warbler had been showing irregularly but frequently, but the wind was getting up, and it was currently out of sight. I finished my ice-cream, and waited. Then, a mere five hours after I'd arisen from my bed, it appeared, on a bush with berries on. It showed briefly, enabling me to get a brief flight view through my scope as it shot off again.
The others, having seen it, then left and I was joined after a few minutes by some other people carrying optical equipment, who asked where it was. I explained to one guy, well-equipped with Swarov bins & scope, Manfrotto tripod and obviously expensive clothing, that it was down at present. Suddenly some more Sand Martins flew over head. 'Swallows !' he exclaimed. I gently pointed out the plumage differences as they hawked briefly over the scrub for insects.
He then asked where they'd come from, and we had a brief chat about migration - he hadn't realised they were summer visitors. I took another look at him, and decided he must have bought the 'Compleat Birder' kit from a catalogue, probably even down to the Gore-Tex underpants. He was a nice chap, though, and we scanned the Blackthorn together. I caught another brief glimpse of the bird, but by the time I'd got him in the correct place, it had gone. Eventually it showed by a large bush and worked its way west along the tops of the bushes, giving prolonged if slightly obscured views.
I had a brief sea-watch, but the mist meant distance viewing was not possible, and the heat haze interfered with long views along the Shore. I did see Sanderling, Knot, Curlew, Redshank, and Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls. One better than I might have found Caspian and Yellow-legged amongst them too. A pair of Red-breasted Merganser flew past, as did a party of six Eider.
I retraced my steps to the village, and had a pint of lunch (Marston's 'Pedigree'), sitting in the pub garden trying to see the Woodpeckers I could hear calling (Great Spotted and Green). I then strolled across Redwell Marsh, eventually finding a couple of Snipe, and onto the edge of Holme Dunes Reserve. On the brackish pools were three Avocet, some more Redshank and Knot, but no Heron or Little Egret, which I'd hoped for.
I then decided to re-check the bus timetable I had with me, and discovered with a sinking feeling that the bus I intended to catch on the return journey didn't actually start running until April 10. Realising that if I waited for it I'd miss Minsmeet, I considered my options. They were few - walk, hitch, B&B or Taxi. Walking fifty or so miles held little appeal - I tried drying my thumb, but most of the cars had ladies taking kids home from school, who weren't about to stop for a suspicious-looking scruffbum. Some kind souls did stop, but none of them were going where I needed to go.
So, taxi it was - I phoned my local company, then settled down to wait the hour for their arrival. My wait was enlivened by some bickering Greenfinches, Collared Doves displaying, some skeins of Greylag Geese overflew, and a party of long-tailed Tits foraged in the bushes above me.
The journey home was a lot quicker - and more expensive. Great day out, though. Anyone want to teach me to drive ?
Tony B
