BLAKENEY POINT!

PIED FLYCATCHER

The Plantation, Blakeney Point

Today's post won't take very long to write! Walked Blakeney Point to find my own birds. Sat by The Plantation and watched a Pied Flycatcher, male Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler, Linnets and Meadow Pipits. Tried very hard to find a good bird, but a north west wind isn't exactly what I wanted. Cloudy skies and spitting with rain on and off, but nothing exciting dropped in. Had a few Reed Buntings and several Meadow Pipits elsewhere on route, but that was it. Late afternoon was beautiful, with full sun and blue skies – the walk back along the beach was beautiful, with waves crashing on the shingle. I had to walk on the inland side amongst the sueda for part of the way back, as the tide was in and I couldn't cope with trudging through deep shingle!

Pied Flycatcher in The Plantation, Blakeney Point

Blackcap in The Plantation, Blakeney Point

The sycamore where the Blackcap and Pied Flycatcher were


Sea Thrift

Tamarisk

The Lifeboat House and information centre

The walk back along the sloping shingle!

Palm Oil washed up along the beach!
I had no idea what this was until I read the report in the EDP later this evening and also KLFM!

Beautiful walk back along Blakeney Point

Back at Coastguards I bumped into David Tipling as I stumbled into the car park. David said he had just had an altercation with some dog owners along the East Bank – their big Alsatian was off the lead and jumping around in the reeds off the bank – sheer ignorance!

Driving along Beach Road, I had my bird of the day!!! The magical white Barn Owl that Steve G. and others have had the good fortune to see and photograph, appeared like a ghost over the reed bed towards the end of the road by the A149 and then doubled back. Wow, this bird is stunning! I spun the car round and headed back to Coastguards – the Barn Owl flew alongside my car on the west side of the road and then crossed over to the marshes on the east side and then disappeared over the sea wall – no pictures I'm afraid. I waved down David Tipling as he drove past me and he watched it from the seawall, where it was joined by a 'normal' Barn Owl and then flew over towards the village. Nice end to the day! This Barn Owl is like something from a fairytale!

This was my first BP walk this year and I was pleased that my dodgy ankle managed to behave itself and not give way. Its quite shocking really to think that there is only ONE Pied Flycatcher in the whole of Norfolk in May!!! Equally shocking, is the lack of birds in general. I have only seen two Swallows all day. I drove home exhausted!