Same as Stuart - Jack Snipes saved the day!!!
Left my house in the dark with my serious 'Highlander' rucksack
- opted to take small flask in the end, but regretably left SLR at home - walked for half an hour, caught bus at hospital, Lynn and arrived Hunstanton bus station 7.22am. Walked through the gardens along top of cliffs, very blustery day. Several seawatchers in one of the huts who had only seen so far 1 red breasted merganser and several common scooter. While standing with them a juv. kestrel was flying over sea west. Carried on and 5 blackbirds and 2 hedgesparrows were in the lighthouse garden along with a party of 9ish linnets on cliff top.
A
rock pipit flew in to the dunes at Old Hunstanton. Carried on to 'The Links' (just before the golf course) and had at least 5 greenfinches (now 8.30am). Nothing much else on route, but a
good number of meadow pipits in the Saltings area (opposite the 5-bar gate, half way down the Firs Road at Holme) in a brief moment of sunshine along with 2 little egrets and 1 redshank. Throughout the day skeins of pinkfeet landed on Holme Marsh. Whilst sitting for a coffee in the NWT Forestry area
3 Snipe flew over west at 10.05am and at 10.35
approx 15+ housemartins flew through west.
Holme Bird Observatory - goldfinches and chaffinches on the feeders from the hide along the bank.
Had a hot chocolate and bar of chocolate at The Firs and then walked back along the road - just after the pay hut by the River Hun a
family of long tailed tits were in a sycamore with 1 chiffchaff.
I also was watching several house martins circuiting round above me when I noticed one had what looked like tail streamers!!!!!:eek!: phoned a few people for advice and then luckily Garry Hibbard was just driving past and I asked him to have a look - it was a house martin, but it looked really odd!!!!!
Redwell Marsh Reserve -
at least a thousand pinkfeet got up over the fields when a helicopter went over. Couple of black tailed godwits here, teal, coot, moorhen, but not much else, pools very low. Followed the track through to the Hun Bridge hoping for a YBW or something!!! but no luck. Carried on to....
Holme Marsh Reserve - 2.45pm by the village pond bumped into Ray R. who kindly gave me a lift round the village to the 3 hides. A
great spotted woodpecker called and then bounded off on parking the car. 1 jay, some interesting farm ducks
on the water. BUT could not really see the pool, reeds grown up too high, but a good clearing had been cut directly in front of the first hide. Dodgy ponies still about! Ray went in hide 2, I stayed in hide 1 and then I decided to go to Titchwell. Walked at a fast pace through village and just made the 4.50pm bus to Titchwell!
Titchwell RSPB - several well known faces were in the shop inc. J.F., M.G., E.M etc etc! From the
Fen Hide - amazing views of the
2 Jack Snipe 4.15 to 4.50pm - very close to hide along with
5 Common Snipe - was good to compare the two along side each other. Only bad thing was - not having my SLR:-C would have got some bril shots here, but had to make do with record shots with Coolpix through glass! Cameras were going off like machine guns!!! Starting to spit with rain, left here and went to my parents for an hour and then got the 6.15pm bus back to King's Lynn and then had to walk another half an hour after that home!!!
I AM TIRED!
I MISS MY CAR:-C!!!!!!!
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
RE: Little Auks at Holme on pager today - no one knows who it was that put the news out - it wasn't any staff at HBO?