Blakeney Point!

A cloudy, cold day. Perfect weather for a mega!

Arrived Cley at 6.50am. I heard a nightingale singing, pair of bullfinches, great spotted woodpecker feeding young, common whitethroats, song thrush, mistle thrush, long tailed tits.

Bishops Hide NWT
At least 22 avocet chicks, marsh harriers, several bearded tits flying around, little ringed plover, common sandpiper. I stopped looking really after this as Pat who was in the hide got a call from her husband to say that there was a ORPHEAN WARBLER at Hartlepool!!!!!!! OMG!!!

Phoned Andy W. to see if he was going - he was driving to work at this point. Phoned someone else....... did I really want to go? I had planned to walk Blakeney Point to find my own mega. Hmmm.......... couldn't decide what to do, so I decided to wait and see if I got a lift or not. Drove round to Coastguards as this is the only good place for my vodafone signal. Guess who had just pulled up into the carpark before me? James McCallum - oh dear, decisions, decisions!!!!! He is bound to find something massive down the 'Point' and I would regret leaving Cley. My instinct told me to do BP. I was very kindly offered a lift from a Cley birder and also another lift later on. I decided not to go.

BLAKENEY POINT
As soon as I started walking, I regretted my decision, but I had made that choice, so tough! Nothing on the way out, apart from lots of Reed Buntings and Meadow Pipits. Walked all round the 'The Hood', right up to the end of 'Yankee Ridge' and back. Just as I reached the tamerisk near the Plantation I bumped into James and Paul who told me there was a female Bluethroat in the suada by 'Long Hills'. So before looking in the Plantation, I returned to 'Long Hills' and spent over an hour searching for the Bluethroat and failed miserably! Feeling really p*ssed off now, I trudged back to 'The Plantation' and watched two Spotted Flycatchers, several linnets and a song thrush. Walked to 'Near Point' and bumped into James who had seen a male Grey headed Wagtail fly over. I covered this area pretty well and saw a wheatear and several more linnets. I then crossed the dunes to search for the Bluethroat again - luckily James arrived at this point at the same time and together we managed to flush out the Bluethroat at 6.40pm. It landed on a sueda bush for a nano of a second and then dropped and vanished. I know they can be skulky birds, but this one was impossible. James then continued his walk back and I stayed for a good 45 minutes to attempt to photograph this bird - it wasn't having any of it! No pictures obtained, not even a smudge on the viewfinder! I walked back alone as the red sun was setting. Arrived back at Coastguards at 9.15pm.

Main Highlights in Norfolk today:
Black Kite over Blakeney
Red-backed Shrike at Holme NWT
Bluethroat, Blakeney Point
Quail, Choseley
Great White Egret, Burgh Castle
Golden Oriole at Colney (heard only)
Nightjars x 2 at Winterton

PHOTOGRAPHS TO BE ADDED