'Meet me Halfway - right at the borderline'

Halfway House, Blakeney Point

Whenever I think of 'Halfway House' it makes me think of the Black-eyed Peas lyrics 'Can you meet me Halfway - right at the borderline?'

Anyway I woke up at 7.45am on a day when it was south/south east winds and I should have been up with the birds. But I wasn't. I had 'brunch'. Thats the posh term for getting up late and having breakfast isn't it!? Whilst having my breakfast I watched a whole family of starlings in a feeding frenzie on my bird table. Mummy starling was feeding the dried meal worms at huge rate of knots to starling juniors!

For me finding a MEGA means walking the Point, so off I go again to Cley!!! Stopped in Holt to do some banking on route. Bought an ice-cream. Went and said hello to Andy W. (who works in Holt) and then arrived at Cley at a ridiculously late time of..... actually I can't remember exactly - think it was after 2pm.

Off I started on a positive note as I had a feeling of 'good vibes' as I saw more birds then the last time I walked up here! Several reed buntings, hedge sparrows, linnets and lots of wood pigeons sitting around on the shingle all the way to Halfway House. I had several incredibly annoying LBJ's that magically disappeared in sueda bushes never to be seen again including one very interesting bird that looked like a hedge sparrow but wasn't - Alpine Accenter maybe! Two little ringed plovers were also seen and of course plenty of oystercatchers and terns all the way along. Good numbers of shelduck and avocets in the channel. At Halfway house I sat on the seat and enjoyed a coffee and a cheese scone with philadelphia and stem-ginger (lovelieeeeee). It was wonderfully peaceful here and I didn't pass a soul on the way there or back. I sat here for a good while, but only saw swallows, house martins, swifts and linnets. Nothing jumped out of the sueda bushes however much 'phishing' I did! I trudged back along the shingle but saw hardly anything on the way back.

The very second I arrived back at the car I wasn't even allowed to rest for a moment, as I had a message come through on my phone to say that an ORTOLAN BUNTING had been reported at the north end of the East Bank at 5pm!!! Drove straight to the East Bank carpark to get my space and then poured myself a coffee before I set off. Eddie M. pulled up next to me so we walked down the bank together along with a few others. Just what I needed, ANOTHER walk and MORE shingle! Two Linnets and a meadow pipit were seen at the north end of East Bank. 6 people including myself walked east at the end of the bank as far as 'Sea Pool' to find nothing. One of the men had already walked west with no results. The others walked back before I did and I ambled back by myself and then walked west for a short distance and then back along the East Bank.

Ended my evening sitting on the collapsing seat at Walsey Hills and hoped for something else colourful at the feeders, but only found chaffinches, greenfinches and hedge sparrows. The paths are all seriously overgrown at the moment but I am sure they will be done soon. A family of cute juv. blue tits were along the bottom path and a chiffchaff was singing.