Snettisham Coastal Park!

I arrived at Snettisham Coastal Park at a very silly time of the day. Not a place to go to whilst holidaymakers are still on their Easter Holidays. It was like a dog party as I started my walk at lunchtime – big ones, little ones and most off their leads, charging around like devils possessed and owners shouting loudly for their dogs to heel – no chance! Lots of noise and disturbance, but you expect it here, being adjacent to a very busy caravan site.

Anyway, back to birds! I immediately could hear lots of Chiffchaffs singing and saw several too. Cetti's Warblers also burst into song. I was very excited to find a stonking Male Ring Ouzel just behind the car park, but unable to photograph it as a dogs flushed it into hiding. Further along near the path that diverts south into the reeds I found another male Ring Ouzel, almost equally as handsome, but sadly again was flushed by a loose dog, so no pictures at all. There were 2 Wheatears on the large open expanse of short turf, but these were also being kicked around by dogs. I walked quite a way east and saw one Swallow heading west. Also had close views of a Sparrowhawk zooming through. Over the marsh by Ken Hill Wood I saw a Common Buzzard, Little Egret and 5 Snipe (flushed by walkers), Grey lag Geese, Shelducks, Teal, Wigeon, Pochard, Tufted Ducks, Heron, Lapwings and a Reed Bunting.

There were a young couple trespassing on the marsh – it looked like they were trying to find a way out. They were trampling everywhere and every bird was disturbed, which really annoyed me. I don't even know how they got there! I was walking back along the central high bank (between the coastal park and the marshes) and as they neared towards me, just the other side of the reed bed, I shouted to let them know that they were trespassing, disturbing all the wildlife and that they would not be able to get out in the direction they were walking. The young lady replied 'how do we get back?'!!! "back the way you came' I replied. There is a massive beach and coastal park and this couple chose to cross fences and walk in dangerous territory and disturb every bird on that marsh. Some people have no brains at all.

Arrived back at my car – it was boiling hot today, really it was! Driving along the A149 towards Heacham I could see that an accident had just happened, an ambulance, police car and fire engine were in attendance. The main road was closed and all traffic was diverted along Lamsey Lane into Heacham village and back round to join the A149 just before the roundabout at Hunstanton, so that delayed my journey getting to my parents.

At Holme I had some lunch and then Mother and I took a risk and left Father for a short while, whilst I took Mother to Wards Nurseries at Ringstead so she could buy some plants. Three Common Buzzards were spiralling high in the skies and they was a huge colony of House Sparrows in someone's garden by the nurseries. Back at Holme, I stayed with my parents for the rest of the day. Mother was very tired and had had another disturbed night with Father being awake and calling out. It was raining when I drove back to King's Lynn. Looks like tomorrow is going to be another nice warm day!