Arrived NOA Walsey Hills with baby sister (Vivien) to a very dull, dismal day! Walked all around Walsey thinking there might be a pied fly or something equally as interesting, but nothing, only a willow warbler singing from the telegraph pole at the top of the steps, a cettis singing and chiffchaffs. Scoped several sandwich terns on Arnolds marsh from the back top path. Pager bleeped up Purple Heron at Hockwold and Vivien so sweetly pointed out that had I been visiting her (she lives in Ely) instead it would have only been down the road!!!!
Cley Visitor Centre for a massive cheese scone each (with butter of course!) and cup of coffee. Back in the carpark bumped into two local birders who I see everywhere but I STILL have a job remembering their names (think one is Ian - apologies!) they read my posts so would just like to say thank you very very much for telling me about their Whinchat they found this morning along the same track as they found the Pied Fly last night - track that goes off the Salthouse road behind the Dunn Cow pub. Vivien and I found the track and had a beautiful walk with fantastic views of Salthouse Church and amazing views of the stunning male Whinchat 2.20pm sitting on fence wires and perched on small bushes, busy catching lots of flies/insects. Also nightingale 2pm heard and seen in the gorse adjacent to the track.
Left here and sat by ice-cream vans and ducks at Salthouse for cup of tea and a sandwich and then moved on to Beeston Bump. Lots of corvids around the cliffs, woodpigeons, house sparrows, few whitethroats, but not alot else!
Was going to go to Kelling Water Meadows and North hide, Cley, but rain getting heavier and heavier, so gave it all a miss (also local birder told me the spoonbill was not showing from the hides, which is what I wanted to see especially). Went to Friary Hills, just to show Viv where it was and by now the rain was set for the evening, so made our way home.
The day has extremely annoying, ended very badly - a few miles from home my car decided to lose power - foot flat on the acelerator - car just lost all its normal welly (if you know what I mean). I was getting quite worried it wasn't going to make it home. Oil light was fine, no other warning signs. When we got to my house in King's Lynn and got out of the car the smell of burning was scary!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! BUT we had not been able to smell anything driving along! So off to the garage tomorrow morning, instead of arriving at Lakenheath/Hockwold at dawn for orioles and Purple Heron:C:C:C I have just got to pray that I am not going to be carless for too long!!! There will be some MEGAS pop out of the woodwork tomorrow you can bet your life!!! Oh well. I will just have to bike, bus or train!
Best Wishes Penny:girl:
) (walker, non birder) who doesn't really know what she is letting herself in for!!!!! She doesn't know it yet, but we WILL be birding ALL DAY!!!
