Birding and Babies

Sunday July 2

So much for the middle of next week......

We made a sudden decision to do our birding day on a Sunday - we usually avoid the crowds. Leaving soon after 5.00 a.m., we found empty roads on a perfect, cloudless, almost wind free day. This continued until we got home at 2 p.m. - the weather that is - the temperature becoming a very pleasant early twenties C.

An always delightful Spotted Flycatcher at the very top of a very tall old Yew tree at Sculthorpe - the Grey Wagtail perched a couple of feet away was a surprise.

Forty two species, including a Barn Owl, before Abbey Farm was surprisingly good. No sign of Kingfishers from the hide, a single Little Owl in the base of the big oak tree, Garden Warbler and Blackcap singing well from the pool trees. Six L Owls were reported on Saturday, the young must have fledged, a good brood.

Snettisham at high tide is not good. Up to two hours before is best - we were bang on to-day and it was a six feet plus one.  Very little to be seen on the sea and the shore apart from some delightful youngsters with their parent.

Oystercatcher

Great Ringed Plover

Juvenile Pied Wagtail - looks like a White Wagtail with its grey back.

Shelduck, all the broods seen were two or three ducklings only.

Common Terns were pair feeding on the ruined jetty near the hide, one even offering a sand eel to a startled Black-headed Gull.

Scanning the pools from the hide was cut short by Pam having an urgent need - cover is not great nor obvious on the Wash! Just as I found a Greenshank, which she then missed. Hundreds of Gulls, Cormorants, Greylag and numerous Avocets on the pool islands. about 90 Black-tailed Godwits roosting in front of the far hide. The heat shimmer made accurately identifying the small waders impossible.

Horned Poppies adorned the shore and Vipers Bugloss the bank amongst the bushes.

Broadwater Hide and the drive out and back added only a Kestrel, Black-headed Gulls rule the world. Ooooh... I've just remembered - how could I forget ? A big Little Egret (!) roosting on the far island,  its beak in its back feathers, was startled into exposure. A Spoonbill.

Corn Bunting at Chosely, Little Tern at Brancaster Staithe, a Green Woodpecker near Burnham Norton and a Marsh Harrier at Cley. Several Great Crested Grebes and another Grey Wagtail at Gunton before arriving home to watch the men's final at Wimbledon. We wanted Nadal to win but he was well beaten by Djocovic. I also saw the first set of the Broady match in the boys' final which he lost - after winning the first set!

Totting up later, we saw 79 species, very respectable on a day without Titchwell where we would/could have added up to ten more.