Cley and Salthouse

 Chiffchaff at Walsey Hills NOA.

A beautiful sunny day, but the east wind made it feel chilly.

Parked up at the Beach carpark at Salthouse and bumped into Julian B. and K. who had just returned from Gramborough Hill and seen very little of note.

Little Eye – a Yellow Wagtail flew west and a Wheatear was seen on the hill. A redshank posed and paraded in the pool of water at the base of the shingle bank.

 

Redshank at Little Eye, Salthouse.

Breaking all the rules, flying low over Cley NWT flushing all birds.

Walsey Hills NOA – 5 Blackcaps (4 fem. and 1 male), Bullfinch (heard), water rail calling, cettis's warbler calling, lots of Chiffchaffs and a heron flew over the carpark, which to me (smile) looked for a split second like a crane – funny really I was thinking this.

Chaffinch at Walsey Hills NOA.

Cley Visitor Centre NWT – whilst in here, several people suddenly rushed outside, so I followed suite and with others we watched 7 Common Cranes overhead making their way west at 11.10am!!! These had first been spotted at Northrepps this morning and then steadily made their way along the coast as far as Titchwell RSPB and then crossed 'The Wash' to the Lincolnshire coast. I ran to my car to get the camera but annoyingly the camera played up – it was black when I looked through the viewfinder and there was all sorts of funny messages coming up, when I eventually had the sense to turn the camera off and back on again, which then cleared it, the cranes were specs in the sky, so only achieved out of focus, distants shots. It was a real pity, as the cranes were directly overhead and would have made a spectacular picture.

 Common Cranes over Cley NWT Visitor Centre.

Cley Coastguards – lunch and a very long doze. I was going to walk Blakeney Point, but changed my mind – couldn't be bothered and felt in a very low mood.

Walsey Hills – Popped in here again just in case something more exciting had turned up, it hadn't.

Sewage works, Cley – Grey Wagtail and 2 White Wagtails.

Gramborough Hill – Reed Bunting, meadow pipits and lots of hirundines hurtling through. 

Daukes Hide NWT – 2 Little Ringed Plovers, 3 Snipe right in front of the hide, 1 Pintail, 2 Marsh Harriers, good numbers of shelducks, avocets and lapwing. Also teal, pochard, gadwall, carrions crows, redshanks, pied wagtails and the highlight as I was leaving the hide at 8.30pm was a Spoonbill on Cricket Marsh.

 Snipe at Daukes Hide NWT.

 Lapwing at Daukes Hide, Cley NWT.

 Goodnight!