Burnham Overy Dunes!

Tuesday Evening
My eyes lit up when I saw the pager at the end of my working day: "Greenish Warbler at Winterton', 'Pied Flycatcher in Great Yarmouth Cemetery', 'Wood Warbler at Sheringham and another Greenish at Gibraltar Point and also in Yorkshire, mean't there must be more birds to be found along the Norfolk Coast. This inspired to get out of the house for some 'Hot Birding'!!!

Headed to one of my favourite places to find migrants, Burnham Overy Dunes. It was a beautiful evening and perfect temperature for walking. I was quite disappointed, they was a massive lack of birds overall. I didn't see or hear a single bird along the beginning of the hedge-lined track. On the grazing marshes, there were good numbers of Greylag and Canada Geese and the odd Swallow graced the blue skies and that was it! Once I climbed the sea wall, things improved with nine Spoonbills in the pool east of the path. The sea wall that was scalped earlier in the year, now has a wonderful array of wildflowers, all the way along to the boardwalk end of the path.

In the scrub and bushes at the end of the boardwalk I didn't see a single bird. I headed east and only found 2 Linnets and 1 Meadow Pipit for my efforts. Walked as far as the bottom of the big slope of dunes and sat for a while viewing the deep gulley of scrub and managed to see two Hedge Sparrows only. There were hundreds of small white moths flying around, which I think were Ghost Moths, but I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong. I then returned to the end of the boardwalk. 'Pishing' as loud as I could, produced a smart Sedge Warbler in the middle of the scrub just east of the apple tree. In the main scrub at the end of the boardwalk I watched a very elusive Reed Warbler flitting about, but it wouldn't keep still for a single second, to have its picture taken! I also had a single view of a very pale warbler, which could well have been an Icterine, but I couldn't entice it out for love nor money!

Headed back after sunset. The nine Spoonbills remained in the pool along with a good number of Black-headed Gulls and at least 10 Little Egrets flew overhead east. Phoned Eddie to see what had been found in Cley and he and others had jammed in on an Icterine Warbler, 'showing well' in bushes next to Daukes' Hide!!! Where was my Icterine Warbler?! Made it back to my car before the light went completely and cruised home to King's Lynn passing a Barn Owl near Bircham. So, Autumn begins! Bring it on! I have two long weekends booked in September and for the first time, I have booked two weeks in October for hardcore birding, can't wait!