When I got up this morning I couldn't decide between starting off at Holme or Kelling Quags - I really wish I had been at Holme for the wryneck but there we go, I wasn't!!!!!
Arrived
Kelling Quags at 8.30am - lovely sunny morning. 1 blackcap burbling away in the hedge, robin, 2 blue tits, chaffinches, not alot else though. On the pool
2 little egrets,
1 green sandpiper and
1 common sandpiper (9am), a single lapwing, moorhen and common gulls sitting in the middle. A young kestrel was sitting on the shingle ridge. A heron popped up that out of the reeds and I got all excited thinking it must have a shade of purple/brown in it somewhere, but alas it was an imm. grey heron! On the sea
1 shag going east.
15 cormorants flying in a perfect V-formation going west! Several sandwich terns, little terns, common terns, large collection of gulls sitting on sea distantly. A common seal inquisitively kept bobbing up and down close in to shore. Flock of about 30 starlings came over, lots of carrion crows about and wood pigeons. Few goldfinches flitting about and a chiffchaff on the way back to car. A friend phoned me to tell me there was a
wryneck at Holme:C
Flew into NWT Cley Visitor Centre to visit the 'ladies', flew out again and arrived
NWT Coastguards to meet my friend Pete to walk Blakeney Point.
Started walking the Blakeney Point at 11.45am. Definate movement of cormorants today, we counted 18 more going west, before we even set off. I actually do enjoy walking the point but hate the noise of the continuous crunching of the shingle, plus you can't hear any birds, so I stop every so often just to listen. Saw a
wheatear on the way down, 2 redshank, 1 curlew, 6 linnets, 3 reed buntings and
1 whimbrel flew over.
1 red throated diver going east,
1 tree pipit just before the plantation and also a
marsh harrier and a couple of kestrels. At the
plantation, we both looked dismayed to hear we had just missed
'a mini fall' of a
rose finch, a
spring plum. male redstart and a
pied flycatcher!!!!!!!! We sat by the plantation and had lunch and saw
2 yellow wagtails fly over,
male and female blackcap and a
chiffchaff. But infuriatingly we did not find any of the 'mini fall' birds!!! We bumped into a couple of people who said there were 3 pied flys and 2 redstarts on the point including 'mid-point' and 'long-point'. Lots of linnets about. Swallows skimming about in the sunshine. On the way back (mostly on the beach
) we saw
2 dark phase arctic skuas going west,
1 female eider sitting on the sea. At least
6 gannets all going east, a meadow pipit, another
wheatear,
2 guillemots sitting on sea,
27 ringed plover on the shore near half way house.
Bird of the day was a Spotted Flycatcher sitting wearily on a post between half way house and the coastguards carpark at
6.20pm.
3 green sandpipers flew over our heads going east. WE FINALLY REACHED THE CARPARK!!! Pete then left as he had get back for social engagement.
I then went on to
Walsey Hills to try and see the reported
Pied Flycatcher.
1 garden warbler,
1 chiffchaff, party of long tailed tits and guess what - I had dipped out on the pied fly by minutes a lovely couple told me!!!!! It was getting dusk now and it had obviously gone to roost. Anyway I walked to end of path and in the willows at the bottom I flushed a
large grey warbler which bolted into another bush and annoyingly would not show itself again - guessing barred warbler here - we will see if its found tomorrow (not by me as at work all day:C)!!!! Walked round the top of Walsey and counted
31 egyptian geese on the marsh, loads of canada geese and a couple of grey herons. Back at the car I watched a
mass of starlings swirling round in the sky over east bank and they finally dropped into the reeds to roost. Drove home which seemed to take forever and arrived home at 9.45pm!!!!
GOOD NIGHT:gn:
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
