Read One Get One Free
A small obsession with seeing Common Cranes for the year strikes us in January. Now February, still no sightings. The birds have recently been reported in the Clippesby/ Billockby area, that's where we started. Despite a thorough search, we failed to see any, let alone the 16 reported. It was interesting to see that the Clippesby fuchsia nursery grounds now have four wooden holiday chalets of a swiss design. Good area for moths?
Bure Park has given us a few good birds in the past. Our first Norfolk Ring-billed Gull and early Garganey for instance. This has involved some walking, as the park is not small.To-day, we drove to the third - and last - car park, where the Glossy Ibis was feeding avidly, a mere 50 metres away, apparently undeterred by cars.
I took some photos in poor light, the occasional sun back-lighting the bird.
It was finding plenty to eat. Not the best photo but shows its lunch.
It uttered a loud squawk, eye on the intruder, when a gull flew too close.
A short drive away, behind the Sealife Centre, a dozen Mediterranean Gulls hunkered down on the sand, showing as little profile as possible in the bitterly cold wind. I tried to entice them nearer with half of Pam's lunchtime biscuit bar. To no avail, I don't think they blinked - much to Pam's amusement. She too was hunkered down, in the warm car, I was pleased to get back in.
Another shoreside parking area gave a closer view of the birds, past the end of a row of kiosks and before the wall.
One had an unreadable ring.
Sunday February 4
Those cranes again....
Fourteen reported this time, west of the B1152, 2k south of Repps. Very exact, no birds. Times reported on Twitter are not accurate by the time I read them nor, as in this case, relayed by another birder.
Might as well try St Benets and Ludham Marshes.
We picked up three year birds, the mid-day session was fruitful in the end. Five well separated Bewick Swans from the St Benets track,
one Grey Heron deciding to hunt on the track as we drove back. Photo taken between the wing mirror and the car body.
The finch flock is still restlessly swirling over the weed fields between Catfield and Ludham, nearer to the latter and west of the road opposite a lone bungalow named Eversleigh. Mostly Brambling landed in the oak tree above us for a respite, before rushing off again. So much wasted energy. The wonders of a photo editing programme brought the silhouettes high above into colour.
Those cranes again....
Fourteen reported this time, west of the B1152, 2k south of Repps. Very exact, no birds. Times reported on Twitter are not accurate by the time I read them nor, as in this case, relayed by another birder.
Might as well try St Benets and Ludham Marshes.
We picked up three year birds, the mid-day session was fruitful in the end. Five well separated Bewick Swans from the St Benets track,
one Grey Heron deciding to hunt on the track as we drove back. Photo taken between the wing mirror and the car body.
The finch flock is still restlessly swirling over the weed fields between Catfield and Ludham, nearer to the latter and west of the road opposite a lone bungalow named Eversleigh. Mostly Brambling landed in the oak tree above us for a respite, before rushing off again. So much wasted energy. The wonders of a photo editing programme brought the silhouettes high above into colour.
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