FREEZING COLD DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Left King's Lynn at 7.15am and arrived at Felbrigg Hall at 8.15am.
It was the coldest morning I can ever remember. I had every layer on that I could possible wear - there was no sun out and the frost was so hard, the blades of grass hardly crunched when we walked over the grass!!!!!! It was too cold to even take my gloves off to have a coffee to warm up!!!!!! We stood on the path by the yew tree and waited for an hour (very, very silly). Some birders had already been down to the lake which was completely frozen over with no sign of manderins or smew! only a few mallard. A few birders now waited with us to see the hawfinches when suddenly we saw a
lone hawfinch sitting in a tall tree next to the yew where he happily sat preening himself for a good half an hour (
9.30am). My feet and hands were in so much pain with the cold:eek!: We also saw a
nuthatch, a few chaffinches, 2 green finches, lots of redwings turning over crispy white leaves and 2 donkeys! We then walked across the carpark and through a field to view the little owl (
thank you Irene for your directions:t
which alas we did not see. We then walked round past the hall to find the lake, but got a bit lost and then went back to carpark and walked via the little owl tree again to the church and eventually got to the lake - absolutely beautiful here, sun was now out and everywhere looked so glitteringly beautiful. The lake was indeed frozen over, but looked magical with at least
100 black headed gulls, a few moorhen and about
30 mallard all sitting on the ice in the sunshine! Also a
stonechat flitting about around the base of an oak tree. Walked around the lake and back to the carpark seeing
several redwings and
1 song thrush on route. My friend Pete S. phoned with his 2 friends Graham and Glyn (my Lesvos holiday crew) to say they were in the carpark, so Paul and I joined them for a banter. I decided to have one last look through my scope at the tree in the field and got very excited when I realised a cute
little owl was looking out from his hole in the tree - it was really girly cute
:gh: The hawfinch had not been seen for a while (early bird catches the worm!) Saw a pied wagtail here too.
We left here and went to
Sheringham and after last years failed attempts at purple sandpiper I was extremely pleased to find
2 (yes!) purple sandpipers working their way round the big rocks 200 yards east of the Leas shelters along with 1 knot. Also loads of turnstone scurrying about and a big flock of black headed, herring gulls and 1 black backed gull on the shore, also 1 ringed plover.
Moved onto
Walsey Hills NOA, but did not seen anything other than a party of long tailed tits here. Oh and BF John Firs
Moved onto
Salthouse and saw about
5 snowbuntings amongst the turnstone west of the carpark.
Moved onto
Stiffkey campsite carpark and watched
1 woodcock go over and walked 200 yards west to join Pete, Graham and Glyn to watch (in my case) nothing! but the others had seen
male and ringtail hen harriers and a barn owl. Another silly person out in the cold stopped to say hello - BF pomskua.
It is sooooooo lovely to be back in the warm!!!
Best Wishes Penny:girl: