AWESOME DAY!
Titchwell RSPB
Met up with my father who was involved in the Moth session along with Paul Eele etc at 9.30am. Was then going to have breakfast (didn't have time this morning, still tired from yesterday!) when news came through of 2 black terns on the fresh marsh, so bought a cereal bar and flew up the main path to watch
two stunning Black Terns flying round (10.30am). I then continued up to the platform by the sea - the winds were ferocious to say the least, I was the only one here and I had to climb over a bank of sand that completely blocked the path at the end and the area behind the seat on platform was completely filled with sand:eek!: I had a real job to stand here with sand gusting violently across me, if I had let go of my scope it would have whipped away like a hankerchief! I managed to stand long enough to see
3 Black Terns going east (trying to!) 10.40am and 2 going west 10.50am - I just couldn't stand there any longer! Walked back to centre and had cheese and onion toasties:eat: and a cup of coffee. Walked round the Fen Trail and pshhed out a
crisp male blackcap who was 'tacking' away and
1 chiffchaff.
Lots of LBJ's frustratingly that magically disappeared! I was hoping for a pied fly or spot fly, but no luck. Someone had had a lesser redpoll on the feeders at 10am (
still have not seen one this year in Norfolk!) Had a look round the bushes in carpark, but found nothing exciting apart from usual robins and there were no birds on the ploughed field. (
later on someone had a pied fly in the carpark!!!)
I was then going to Holme as have not been for a while when the pager bleeped up
Blythes Reed Warbler at Gun Hill and another message not long after
Hoopoe at Cley - hmmmmmm which is it to be, hoopoes have a notorious knack of disappearing and I didn't really want to travel too far today, so opted for the Blythe's which would have been a lifer! So off I go on exactly the same route as Monday! - parked on the layby on main road and walked down Bone's Drift. I realised when I met up with Richard M (who had found the bird) that I was only the 2nd person out there followed very closely behind by 3 other local birders. Richard very kindly told me exactly where he had seen the bird and I proceeded to the area of bushes seaward side of Gun Hill. A whitethroat messing about in the bottom of a bush got us all excited and there were a few linnets dotted about. After what seemed like hours of psshing and squeaking etc etc I got fed up with looking in bushes, especially when Cley had a Hoopoe and now on my pager a
fem. Kentish Plover!!!!!!!!!! So at 4pm I went back to the car. While driving along the coast road I overtook a car that was poodling along and got the one finger sign so I returned the same back - SOME PEOPLE!!!
Anyway arrived in
Cley Beach Carpark (lots of cars here
) and bumped into Mark Golley on the way - some other birders returning back from North Hide said the Kentish p had flown:eek!: - Mark very kindly phoned a friend in the hide who said it had returned (thanks)
so off I went. I don't normally like to just tick a bird but I didn't spend long in the hide as it was like sardines, scope legs crossing each other, you know what I mean! Saw the
Kentish Plover sitting with a dunlin and ringed plover on the end of spit at
5.45pm. The sight of so many black terns flying round the pools was incredible, I have never witnessed anything like this before, it was awesome - I notice on RBA that someone counted 37 I think at one point. The numbers of Black Tern seen along the Norfolk coast today must amount to hundreds at least I guess.
Walsey Hills NOA
Decided to have a look round
Walsey Hills (always good for a pied fly) but found nothing apart from a
chiffchaff in the bottom Willow eating a green caterpillar, willow warbler singing and great tits and robins bounding about. Walked miles up around fields and woods up round The Hangs - massive of bluebells in 'Fallen Wood' (I think its called) and walked back along bottom path through Walsey. I could see several small birds landing in the wood next to Walsey as I left - looked like they had just come in:t: As I was about to pass Old Woman's Lane I had a quick chat with Jamie M. who had been up B. Point today (not alot there apart from Black Terns) who said there he had heard there was a nice male Pied Fly at Kelling Quags!!! (I wish I had known that earlier!!!) pity it didn't get on the pager, never mind - another day tomorrow!!!!!
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
P.S. Steve Gantlett has some fab pictures on Cley birds today on:
http://www.cleybirds.com/Cley 2009.1.htm
