Gwdihw 2011: Home and Hot

Moth Quiz 39

Does it tie Romeo and Juliet together

True Lover's Knot

Moth Quiz 40/40

It stands out on a Little Red Rooster's head

Wednesday, August 12

I was longing to see some waders,.maybe I should stop believing the forecasters. No sign of the forecast thunderstorms all day. 22C when we set off at 8.15. 28C at Snettisham, which is usually on the cold side, whatever the season. We still enjoyed it though.The highest recorded temperature on the car thermometer was 29C as we entered North Walsham.

The sky, hedgerows and fields were largely devoid of anything flying. A few white butterflies, Carrion Crows, Wood Pigeons, Collared Dove and Jackdaws in the first hour. Quality. Two Red Kites at Flitcham, always a delight.

We decided that watching the tide come in at Snettisham was our preferred option, it was due soon after mid-day, but only 5 metres. Machinery and a large caged area took up a lot of the space where we usually stop to view - soon after the top of the entrance track. Pam did some reversing and manoevering until I had a good scope position. Two enormous congregations of gulls and terns, in the middle distance, took some working through. All three usually found terns were present. The vast majority were Common, a few, moulting forehead Sandwich and three Little. One delightful Little Tern spent a lot of time hovering and diving for food at the edge of the slow, incoming tide. It didn't catch a thing whilst I was watching. A few returning Common Gulls, a dozen Great Ringed Plovers, fifty Golden Plovers in small, scattered groups, a smattering of Dunlin busily probing at the water's edge, and an even smaller one of scurrying Sanderling .The Redshank and Oystercatchers were too numerous to count.
One Bar-tailed Godwit stood in isolation, on one leg. All the birds seemed to be preening. Moulting season, the Shelducks notable by their, almost total, absence, in order to moult in safety in the Weddell Sea area. After winkling out a group of Turnstone and a cloud of Knot, we drove on to view the last pit. I'd had good intentions of walking as far as the Shore Hide, the better to see the roosting birds on the islands. Rolly was ready in the boot - there's only one bench en route. The temperature encouraged us to change our minds about exposing ourselves to the mid-day sun. We sat and lunched in the car, all the windows open in order to catch whatever slight breeze there was.

I could write my usual rant about all the swimsuit wearers, dog walkers, beach samphire gleaners, kayakers etc., but I'm not going to. The RSPB need to sort it out.

We even avoided Hunstanton, Brancaster Staithe and Wells to-day. The reason? A combination of the traffic congestion, full car parks, high tide and sailing, people everywhere.

The only other stop was at North Point, where we added Wood Sandpiper, 8 Spoonbills, 1 Great White Egret, Egyptian Geese and even more Greylag. Snettisham held hundreds and there must have been 200 more here.

I had cameras with me, memory cards in place and a full battery. For the first time ever, I didn't take any photos at all.

Home to open the moth traps.

Best moths were our third Coronet