Penny Clarke
Well-known member
Didn't start out as early as intended today, was going to go out at first light to tick golden pheasant at Wolverton triangle, but didn't quite make it!!! Went to Wolverton Cliffs to watch for Black eared kite for a while, dipped on that again!!!, couldn't be bothered to trek out to Snettisham again, so went on to Hunstanton next to try and see a possible Yellow Legged Gull that someone has seen there on the green, but couldn't find it, only herring, common and black headed gulls bracing themselves against the wind, oh and several flocks of starlings as well and also quite alot of turnstone further along the clifftops and further along by pitch and putt (Old Hunstanton) the usual oystercatchers feeding.
Next stop Holme which proved VERY, VERY productive. Saw some tufted duck on the broad water, few blue tits, greenfinches in the sea buckthorn, not alot else. Sat chatting to Jed and Sophie (W and AW) I was just going to go for a seawatch when I asked Sophie if there were any shrikes on the pager (don't have one myself) as she was looking at the pager she said excitedly "Lesser Yellowlegs" at Thornham Harbour. Well that was it, off we went and walked from Holme Bird Obs. along Thornham bank towards the boathouse/carpark. We had lovely views of Brents, curlew and lapwing in the fields beyond and linnets on the path in front of us. As we reached the far corner there were some other birders watching it from across the other side of channel (carpark area) and we watched it from our side, very smart bird and a new one for me!!!!! (This was 2pm) It shortly flew off to another creek further towards sea and then got up again and flew back in the direction of our walk and landed in a muddy creek close to the path again, we walked back towards it (as we would be going back that way anyway) and it got up again and flew high in the sky over towards Holme Church. I phoned mother to tell her to go round to Holme Marsh Reserve NOW as we reckoned it had dropped in there! It is obviously quite mobile because later on the pager, it had been seen again at Thornham Point. I felt really lucky to have seen it and we had spectacular views in the sunshine but the wind was blowing so strong there would have been no point in even my trying to get my camera stuff out of haversack, it would have been a wobbly distant shot!
When we got back to obs, I diverted straight to dunes for seawatch and saw 23 auk species, 3 guillimots, 9 bar tailed godwits, several sanderling, 1 great black blacked gull, 1 red throated diver and a grey seal really close to the shore, which created several spectaters! Went back to HBO and reported my sightings.
Jed and Sophie had seen in the morning: 7 Wigeon, 5 Pintail, 8 Common Scoter, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 31 Red-throated Divers, 7 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 4 Fulmars, 1 Arctic Skua, 4 Little Gulls, 48 Kittiwakes, 5 Guillemots, 2 Razorbills and 211 auk species.
I left HBO and towards end of Firs road bumped into my mother who had not seen the Lesser Yellowlegs but bumped into another birder who had seen the Black eared kite with a peregrine and a short eared owl all at the same time, at Snettisham!!!! I then went on to Titchwell, getting dark now, saw in the very bad light, egrets coming into roost, wigeon, usual waders, heard bearded tits 'pinging' in the reeds and then two flew up and across the bank and then a massive skein of Pink Footed Geese flew over me. Didn't want to go home, but you can't birdwatch in the dark!!!
Birdline today: Lesser Yellowlegs at Thornham Harbour. Black eared kite, 4 shorelark, drake smew and short eared owl at Snettisham. Great great shrike at Grimes Graves, south Norfolk. 7 shorelark at Winterton, 2 adult black brants at Titchwell. Drake red crested pochard at Cley. :girl:
Next stop Holme which proved VERY, VERY productive. Saw some tufted duck on the broad water, few blue tits, greenfinches in the sea buckthorn, not alot else. Sat chatting to Jed and Sophie (W and AW) I was just going to go for a seawatch when I asked Sophie if there were any shrikes on the pager (don't have one myself) as she was looking at the pager she said excitedly "Lesser Yellowlegs" at Thornham Harbour. Well that was it, off we went and walked from Holme Bird Obs. along Thornham bank towards the boathouse/carpark. We had lovely views of Brents, curlew and lapwing in the fields beyond and linnets on the path in front of us. As we reached the far corner there were some other birders watching it from across the other side of channel (carpark area) and we watched it from our side, very smart bird and a new one for me!!!!! (This was 2pm) It shortly flew off to another creek further towards sea and then got up again and flew back in the direction of our walk and landed in a muddy creek close to the path again, we walked back towards it (as we would be going back that way anyway) and it got up again and flew high in the sky over towards Holme Church. I phoned mother to tell her to go round to Holme Marsh Reserve NOW as we reckoned it had dropped in there! It is obviously quite mobile because later on the pager, it had been seen again at Thornham Point. I felt really lucky to have seen it and we had spectacular views in the sunshine but the wind was blowing so strong there would have been no point in even my trying to get my camera stuff out of haversack, it would have been a wobbly distant shot!
When we got back to obs, I diverted straight to dunes for seawatch and saw 23 auk species, 3 guillimots, 9 bar tailed godwits, several sanderling, 1 great black blacked gull, 1 red throated diver and a grey seal really close to the shore, which created several spectaters! Went back to HBO and reported my sightings.
Jed and Sophie had seen in the morning: 7 Wigeon, 5 Pintail, 8 Common Scoter, 1 Red-breasted Merganser, 31 Red-throated Divers, 7 Great Crested Grebes, 1 Slavonian Grebe, 4 Fulmars, 1 Arctic Skua, 4 Little Gulls, 48 Kittiwakes, 5 Guillemots, 2 Razorbills and 211 auk species.
I left HBO and towards end of Firs road bumped into my mother who had not seen the Lesser Yellowlegs but bumped into another birder who had seen the Black eared kite with a peregrine and a short eared owl all at the same time, at Snettisham!!!! I then went on to Titchwell, getting dark now, saw in the very bad light, egrets coming into roost, wigeon, usual waders, heard bearded tits 'pinging' in the reeds and then two flew up and across the bank and then a massive skein of Pink Footed Geese flew over me. Didn't want to go home, but you can't birdwatch in the dark!!!
Birdline today: Lesser Yellowlegs at Thornham Harbour. Black eared kite, 4 shorelark, drake smew and short eared owl at Snettisham. Great great shrike at Grimes Graves, south Norfolk. 7 shorelark at Winterton, 2 adult black brants at Titchwell. Drake red crested pochard at Cley. :girl:
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