It looked like summer and felt like winter to-day. The sun shone from an almost cloud free sky, the thermometer read 3C, when we left soon after 7.30. It did cloud over by the afternoon and the temperature rose to 8C.
No real fireworks bird-wise, yet we had a lovely day. The Grey Wagail performed at Sculthorpe Mill, plenty of Tree Sparrows at Valley Farm, Redwing and Fieldfare in satisfactory numbers. We must have seen thousands of Starlings, swooping about in their large and close-knit formation flying flocks. I'd love to know which part of Europe was their place of origin.
What a surprise - not. The tide was at its nadir at Snettisham, which was very low indeed as it was a spectacularly high 7.1 at 4 a.m. Thousands of waders, the wintering flocks have arrived in numbers. Beyond telescope identification. Enough variety on the expanse of deep-channelled mud stretching to infinity. We didn't manage to find any Ringed Plover nor Lapwing, we had to wait until Salthouse for the latter. Amazing.
A few Dunlin.
A few Dunlin.
Wigeon are back in large numbers everywhere, the custard stripe-heads of the males gleaming in the sun, their whistling call piercing, over the plaintive calls of the Grey Plovers.
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| Wigeon |
At least 500 birds in the massed flock of Golden Plover. Another, only slightly smaller, flock in the Eye Field at Cley. A pair of Stonechats always lights up my day.
Geese are not here in any great numers yet, mild weather has kept them further north I guess.We saw a couple of skeins of Pink-feet and the Cley flock of Brent Geese which flew off as we got there.
One splendid adult Black Brant amongst them, probably the best plumaged one I've seen in Norfolk.
Pam loves Morston quay. So do I - it's the humpy entrance road I truly hate. The speed bumps are so big and frequent. I distract myself by looking for the smelly goats ( a small one has joined the old bearded wonder) and, identifying the variety of chickens scratching about.
In the late afternoon sun.
The view of beached boats, old wooden pilings, mud with a central small meander of water, was enticing. For my camera anyway. Only a couple of shots possible before the sun went behind the clouds for a lengthy rest.
The far end of the car park is known as Redshank Bend to us. More than ever to-day. At least fifty birds wheeling restlessly from place to place, quarrelling noisily, pushing each other on from resting. Their call is the sound of the Norfolk marshes to me, I often whistle back at them - much to Pam's disgust. She doesn't like me whistling softly to her to attract her attention either - after she's ignored my calls. Sometimes I still do so. The reaction is immediate but muted, in Sainsbury's for example.
Back home in time for Chelsea/Man United match. Oh dear. I couldn't bear to watch the 1-0 home win. The wonder is that they only managed to score one goal. They were really up for it after several bad performances. We were not there at all, come back Pogma, the sooner the better.
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