Raining Redpolls!!!

Fabulous Day's Birding!

I was speed walking along the road from my house to catch the coastliner bus and had intended on walking Burnham Overy Dunes and Holkham, when Eddie unexpectedly cruised along the road beside me! So change the plan and went to Fakenham to see the Great Grey Shrike, which obliged straight away - as soon as we got out of the car it flew up from the hedge, but I was not able to capture it on my camera at all.

Salthouse - wonderful scene of 50+ turnstones feeding in the carpark along with a flock of around 30+ snowbuntings, which were very mobile due to wind and flushing photographers with exceptionally bad fieldcraft! I lay down and stayed motionless on the west side of Beach Road waiting for the snowbuntings to return to a favoured spot - they flew back near me and were gradually getting closer for some decent shots, when several big lens photographers walked straight towards them and flushed them without a thought for anyone else. I suppose being female and only having a baby lens I don't really count or matter in the slightest! I was not a happy bunny (Eddie was even less happy), but remained calm and just left - can't be doing with it.

Kelling - the two Coues's Arctic Redpolls showed beautifully in the garden near the teashop, along with an unbelievable scene of at least 70+ Lesser and Mealy Redpolls all feeding on the lawn and on the niger feeders. Goldfinches and house sparrows added to the scene. I got a frame filling picture of one of the 'Coues's just by the wall! Bumped into a few familiar faces here too! It felt so cold, it felt like it was going to snow!

Cley NWT Visitor Centre for warm up, lunch and catch up with several good friends - nice to see you all.

Kelling - again for more views of the Redpolls. The Coues's showed again and sat in the tree with now failing light, but did not feed on the ground this time - too late in the day. Had a nice surprise and bumped into John (BF Reader) http://www.coventrybirder.co.uk/ The owner of the garden, kindly requested that a maximum of two people stand by the wall at any one time and the others stand on the other side of the road to view. Eddie gave us all a laugh - he was standing on the turf lining the stream and stepped back into it - I received one of Eddie's 'you are going to die' stares for laughing - couldn't help it x!!!!!!!

Mid Norfolk - waited in the dark to see a Long-eared Owl and we were just about to give up when the Long-eared Owl flew over the hedge at 5.30pm, across our car headlights and sat in the tree next to us briefly before flying off again - fabulous end to the day!

PICTURES TO BE ADDED