Twelve Hours Birding!

It was freezing when I arrived at Coastguards, Cley at 6.45am. Cloudy skies and spitting with rain, very cold indeed. I was going to walk Blakeney Point, but changed my mind and glad I did when I found out later they didn't have anything major down there today, apart from a Redstart in The Plantation. Re-located to Gramborough Hill at Salthouse and sat and watched the Common Cuckoo being mobbed by lots of Meadow Pipits – light was atrocious and no good for photography. A single Robin and Linnets were in the main scrub and 3 Wheatears were around the fence line and hill. Several Swallows and House Martins skimmed through, not much else seen. 2 Avocets and a Little Ringed Plover were on the pool just west of the hill. I was frozen as I left here.

Three hot cheese scones and butter were enjoyed by Eddie, Andy J. and myself in the Cley NWT Visitor Centre and certainly helped to warm us up. 7 Barnacle Geese flew SE over the V.C. as we sat there and the sun was now fully out and warming everything up! Andy showed me a fabulous phone-scoped shot of a male Garganey he had taken from Dauke's Hide this morning. Went to Walsey Hills, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, Cetti's Warbler. Because of an incident on Friday (can't go into it) I didn't get any sleep at all last night, so I was beyond exhausted today and couldn't be bothered to do anything much and partly regretted even leaving my house. Cruised to Weybourne and sat and watched the scrub east of the beach car park in case the Great Spotted Cuckoo decided to go on an expedition, nothing here at all. I was thinking about going to Muckleburgh Hill to see the GSC, but when I saw all the cars parked in Weynor Gardens, I decided to give it a miss, plus I didn't feel like socialising.

Parked the car up along a field track between Weybourne and Salthouse and had a very long snooze and then had lunch and coffee. Returned to a much warmer Gramborough Hill, where I found Rob Holmes and Anna photographing the Common Cuckoo. Nothing else seen different from early morning. Later on, Eddie and John F. joined me and John spotted a Hobby going east over the marsh at a great rate of knots.

Walked back to my car and headed for Dauke's Hide, Cley NWT. Initially I was the only one in there, but closely followed by Steve and Sue G., Eddie and then Richard B. The light had now deteriorated, so my pictures of the mid distance Garganey were not my best. The Bittern was booming, which was wonderful to hear. Several Dunlin were feeding along with a Wood Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Little Ringed Plover, Black-tailed Godwits, Shelducks, Shoveler, Wigeon, Marsh Harrier, Heron and Pied Wagtails. Sedge Warblers and Reed Buntings were singing in the reedbeds as I walked back to my car and drove home. Good night.