Norfolk Interlude

 My brother and David and I had booked a three night stay at Hunstanton in Norfolk with a view to seeing some decent birds. Unfortunately our arrival on the 25th coincided with a period of stormy westerlies and often rainy periods that lasted for most of our stay. Although the going was tough for most of the visit we did manage to eke out a few interesting birds though there were also long periods of uneventful tedium.

Avocets and Yellow-legged Gull.

The 25th was dreadful and on arrival we decided to dodge any birding activities and head for the pub instead. Things improved a little on the following day and we had a spell at Titchwell where a Wheatear and a Common Sandpiper were seen near the beach. Any thoughts that we harboured about doing a spell of seawatching were abandoned as the winds were driving sand into our faces. On the marsh we found a couple of Mediterranean Gulls as well as a Little and Yellow-legged Gull. Moving on to Holme we narrowly missed seeing a Grey Phalarope which had the bad grace to fly off as we were approaching. While searching for the phalarope on a nearby pool we were treated to a flying visit by a juvenile Arctic Tern. At least the sea provided a Sooty Shearwater as some additional compensation as well as Common Scoters and Gannets. My brother had a brief view of a Yellow-browed Warbler, although I saw a hint of movement I couldn't get on the bird.

Stormy Sheringham and Red-breasted Flycatcher.

Sunday (the 27th) saw us heading along the coast to Sheringham where we did a bit of seawatching. Highlight was a trio of Sooty Shearwaters and a Velvet Scoter and there was another sighting of Little Gull. An Arctic Skua was our only skua seen during the trip and we also saw a small number of Red-throated Divers passing by. Plenty of Gannets were on the move while passing wildfowl included Brent Geese and Common Scoters. After this we visited Wells Woods where we finally managed to find some shelter from the wind. Birding was snoozeworthy to begin with and very little was seen. A few Redpolls and Siskins flew over our heads but we struggled to find anything else. Luckily on the way back towards the car we received news that the reported Red-breasted Flycatcher was still present. Minutes later and we were watching it from fairly close distance and although always obscured I did get a record shot.

Purple Sandpipers and Bearded Tit.

Our final morning at Titchwell turned out to be excellent as the wind had dropped which in turn seemed to bring out the birds. Bearded Tits were pinging and showing on either side of the path and we had good views. David picked out a Spoonbill and then a Short-eared Owl as we made our way towards the beach. Mercifully the conditions at the beach were far better than on our previous visit and we didn't take long to find a couple of Purple Sandpipers feeding with other waders on the exposed rocks. These were soon overshadowed by the discovery of a flock of seven Grey Phalaropes feeding in the surf, needless to say the dip at Holme was now forgotten! With David having to get back for an afternoon shift we couldn't hang around too long though we still managed to see a juvenile Red-backed Shrike on the way back to the car. Safe to say that this late rush of good species put an altogether better spin on the trip!