Hot Birding in Sheringham!

Got up late and still in pain from my throat/ear examination (see previous post) and to be honest I didn't even feel like leaving the house. I had to go to Cley anyway as my Swarovski 8.5 x 42 bins were now ready for me to collect from Cleyspy. Swarovski had put new casing on the bins, new strap and well, they looked like a brand new pair of bins!!! You would never have thought they were 8 years old! I am so pleased with these binoculars. I left my Leica's BN 8x32's with Cleyspy to send off to Leica and hopefully they will sort out/put right the lens's that don't have any coating on them – we'll see! Andrew who works in Cleyspy told me that they have had more 'hits' on their website via my blog than from google!!!!! How cool is that!!! On that note, I would just like to say a big thank you to all my readers – it means alot, that people seem to enjoy my ramblings!

News of a Surfscoter at Sheringham that Dave Appleton found, bleeped up on the pager, so off I went. I made the mistake of parking at Sheringham initially and started to walk west along the cliff top, when Phil advised me to walk back and park at Weybourne. I carried on for a while, but a second person said it was another 45 minutes walk, so I gave in and walked back. I wouldn't have minded the walk at all, but I had just grabbed scope, tripod and camera and hadn't realised how far it was. These items are heavy to carry over that distance. So walked back and re-parked the car at Weybourne and carried camera/rucksack and monopod. I parked at the cemetery by the windmill and walked along the track to the coastguard cottages and then walked east until I reached the National Trust sign for Sheringham Park. The Surf Scoter was approximately another few hundreds from here. I passed a male colour-ringed Stonechat on route – it had a red ring on left leg and a yellow and green one on the right leg. Joined a couple of other birders, one of whom kindly let me see the SURF SCOTER through his scope, just before if flew away further away and east. The bird was unsettled a few times by a helicopter searching for a missing person, low over the cliffs. I was lucky to see it when I did. A few birders walked a little further east to try to re-locate it. Another birder and myself picked up the bird again distantly. I then walked east to join Jacquie and Dave Bridges, Jim and another man who were also watching the bird with common scoter. Just before I reached them all I very luckily saw the Richard's Pipit bound from the path over the cliff top edge and out of sight at about 3.30pm.

By the time I got back to my car, it was dark – I really wish that evenings were light until 9pm 365 days! Getting dark at 4pm is really rubbish! Obviously I didn't get to see the Rose-coloured Starling.

I have just given my Sunday job away to another Therapy Assistant tomorrow. I feel emotionally drained from my hospital appointment and felt like I needed the whole weekend. So tomorrow I am free!

Main Highlights in Norfolk – RBA
SURF SCOTER (juv.) found by Dave Appleton at Sheringham
Black Guillemot, Red-necked Grebe, Velvet Scoter at Sheringham
Richard's Pipit at Sheringham (and possibly a second at Weybourne)
Rose-coloured Starling at Northrepps
BLACK-BELLIED DIPPER – no sign, shame about that!
Black-throated Diver and Slavonian Grebe at Salthouse
Sacred Ibis at Salthouse
Water Pipit, 74 Little Gulls at Cley
Short-eared Owl at Gramborough, Salthouse
Firecrest at Blofield
Shoreklark, 3 Velvet Scoters at Holme