New Car and cruise to Cley!

I walked for an hour this morning to collect my new car from the garage - a Skoda Fabia 1.6 TDi SE. I only added one extra feature to the car and I am so glad I did - isn't technology amazing! I have the telephone preparation kit (GSM II) with Bluetooth® which connects your iphone to the car - a computerised panel just behind the steering wheel allows you to scroll through the menu using the up and down buttons on the end of the control stalk and ring anyone at the touch of a button, receive a call (through the car's speakers) or play any music on the phone through the radio - so cool! The car drives like a dream - I love it! It's also got far more welly than the Hyundai!!! A very useful feature on the car is to set an alarm if you drive over 60mph - VERY useful for me and will hopefully stop me getting any more points!!! The driver's and front passenger seats raise up/down - very useful for short people! So far I haven't found anything I don't like about the car, apart from the boot space which is definately not big enough for a birder/photographer/female!!! But I have managed to condense it! It took a while to set up the Bluetooth at the garage and I did not get home until mid morning. I spent a long time putting all my usual bits and pieces back in the car, had some lunch and then cruised along the coast road in the sunshine to test the car out.

Visited my parents to show them the car. Father found it much easier getting into the passenger seat of this car - the Hyundai Coupe was too low for him to get into really. My mother has such a wonderful way with words - her first comment was 'it doesn't look too flashy - in fact it almost looks second hand' - thanks mother!!! Father was sunbathing by the greenhouse when I arrived - an unusual sight in March!

Poodled along the coast road to Cley and my first stop was Walsey Hills NOA. It was wonderful to be in Cley again - its ages since I have been here. Sadly though, I realised I had missed the wonderful sight of all the blackthorn in flower at Walsey Hills. I walked all round the reserve and was very pleased to find the centre path has been re-opened. A lovely surprise of a singing male Blackcap at the end of the bottom path and seen briefly too. 2 Chiffchaffs singing and a goldcrest flicking about half way along the path. The usual birds on the feeders and bird table included long-tailed tits, blue and great tits, chaffinches, hedge sparrows, greenfinches and goldfinches. 2 Marsh Harriers were gliding over Arnold's Marsh. As I walked back to the car a water rail was reeling in Snipe's Marsh. Popped up to the NWT Visitor Centre briefly and said hello to Pat who said the car looked like a 'Golf' - yes, it is - its just got a Skoda badge on it!!! Drove to Coastguards and walked to North Scrape. It was a beautiful evening, as it had been all day. 2 Wheatears were on the Eye Field, a few pied wagtails flitting about, a meadow pipit on the wire fence and several greylags and brents on the field. From the hide a Spoonbill dropped in briefly, before being harrassed by a marsh harrier and relocated to Billy's Wash. Usual avocets, redshanks, dunlin, bar-tailed godwits, shelduck, pintail, shoveler, wigeon, teal and cormorants. As I walked back to the car the red sun was setting and it felt good to be back here.

Sat in the Holt fish 'n' chip shop having vege burger and chips and then drove home. Work all day tomorrow. Lighter evenings from tomorrow, which will allow time to go birding after work! Roll on Easter!