Another Bee-eater Missed & Big Race East for Norfolk's First Upland Sandpiper!

Sunday 26th May
I dawdled this morning, I didn't really know what I was doing or where I was going! I knew that I had to go to HBO to pay my membership that was due in a few days, if only I had arrived at Holme just before 10.35am to see the awesome Bee-Eater, which Neville Smith found, as he walked out of the VC!!! Congratulations to him and he managed to get some video footage too! Apparently it was only perched up for a couple of minutes before it flew east.

Drove through Hunstanton to look for Starling flocks in hope of seeing the Rose-coloured Starling that was seen in Hunstanton on Friday. I see now that RBA have a picture on their website, taken by "Marcos Gambero Vela", wow! I then diverted to Wards Nurseries at Ringstead to buy some flowers for my patio. My dear mother always used this nursery and I love to go back there, as it reminds me of taking her there to buy plants. I feel the need to be surrounded by flowers in my garden, to remind me of my mother – she was always potting up lots of colourful summer bedding plants. I bought some 'Stocks', 'Snap Dragons' and 'Poetry Nemesia Mixed' and a big bag of compost. Went back to Hunstanton to buy 2 cheap pots. My car was now full of birding gear and gardening purchases!

Raining on and off all day with heavy showers. Drove along the Firs Road and parked on the NOA car park and had lunch in the pouring rain. Went to pay my NOA membership subs. I didn't stay to do any birding, after all, bird of the day had been and gone! Went to Titchwell to look for the Cattle Egrets – the directions for these are not clear – the pager message reads 'in Gypsy Lane by cattle field', which I suppose is correct, but I took it from that, they were in a cattle field next to the lane by the main road. The Cattle Egrets are in a field with cattle to the east, at the very end of Gypsy Lane – walk along lane until path opens up to reed bed on left and marsh on the right and the Cattle Egrets are with cattle on the right hand side distantly (scope job) or white blobs with bins in my case.

Whilst here, the pager bleeped up at 5.10pm with 'MEGA UPLAND SANDPIPER Sheringham in field briefly c3pm then flew west' Bl**dy H*ll!!!! My initial thoughts were, why had the news only gone out over 2 hours after the sighting?! This left only a small window of light before dusk to re-find it!!! Speed walked back to my car, which was parked by Titchwell church, as no spaces at end of Gypsy Lane. Whilst walking I phoned around and found out the Upland Sandpiper had been found in a field near Dead Man's Wood at Sheringham and had been searched for since, as far as the windmill at Weybourne, with no further sign so far. I was tweeting out about the sighting and then tweeted "Now heading east" What I mean't by this and what I should have written on hindsight was "I'm now heading east" as what happened after that was putting it bluntly a right balls up!!! So.... as I am driving east, the pager bleeps up with 'no further sign by early evening....' and then another saying 'Upland Sandpiper again 6pm.... then flew east'. Blimey!!! I put the foot down on the accelerator, and the adrenalin was kicking in big time! Rang a few people (hands free) on route to make sure they had heard this latest update. Discussed where to go and someone said it would probably be on Sheringham Golf Course and best place to park would be the cemetery.

When I got as far as Wells I had a phone call from RBA, who sensibly wanted to check something out.... apparently Birdguides had read my earlier tweet "Now heading east" as the Upland Sandpiper now heading east!!!!!!! OMG!!! Will at RBA was really nice about it and said 'don't worry Penny its not your fault'. So if there is anyone out there that is cross about this, then I apologise for my tweet, but please remember that I also was racing to see the Upland Sandpiper that had 'flown east'!!! I was massively disappointed to find out this was not the case, as I'm sure many others were! IF I had known that the bird was flying east, I would have put ALOT more detail for others than just writing 'Now heading east' I would never have been that brief!!! Oh dear!!! Several people I spoke to about it thought it was really funny, but its not at all when you're talking about a bird THIS serious!!! I will be very careful what I write on Twitter in future!

I continued on my journey east and arrived at Coastguards, Cley to look in the Eye Field. 'Richard The Hat' had also just pulled up in his car and together we walked east as far as North Scrape to check all the fields out with no luck. Richard was telling me about all his sightings of Upland Sandpipers over the years, including one on the Isles of Scilly. Walked back to our cars and then I headed to Beach Road, Salthouse. Checked the marsh north of the duck pond first and then scanned all the marsh east of Beach Road. I was going to walk to Gramborough Hill, but this area had already been searched I was told by another local birder 'Richard' on site. Local birders had also searched Kelling Water Meadows and Muckleburgh Hill too. I then parked my car by the horse field just up the road from Salthouse on the way to Kelling – this short turfed field looked an ideal spot, but was not holding any Upland Sandpiper when I scanned it several times! Eddie had already looked there I found out later.

I very glumly drove home exhausted and arrived back at 10.30pm. Unpacked my very full car by 11.13pm and then fell asleep in front of my iMac and woke up at 12.29 and hadn't written a single word on the blog yet!!! Blog posts now written! Last day of my holiday tomorrow! Hope its a mega one! Good night!