Snettisham

 Sunday June 2

Our first day out birding since returning from Scotland. It should have been last Friday but the strength of the wind and the frequent showers put a  stop to that. 

Harpley Cottages have always had a good colony of House Martins and at least one pair of Swallows. This year too. A Swallow was perched on the wires and a good number of Martins whizzing about the chimney tops and eaves, impossible to count. It's worrying how few Hirundine we see around the County. Not a hirundine but often associated, Pam saw one Swift high above the village of West Rudham but nowhere else.

We didn't stop anywhere until  we reached Sculthorpe Mill, where we knew that the Spotted Flycatchers had returned but, were apparently nesting in someone's garden. Our best bet was to linger in he car park and hope for a glimpse. No luck today but a handy few June additions to the list. We regularly see Song Thrush here, another sadly depleted in numbers bird.

More in hope than expectation,we took the back lane to Abbey Farm. The meadow surrounding the Little Owl oak is shoulder high in grass and weeds, mainly nettles, no sign of any birds at all. Further along the lane , near the farm buildings I saw a blob on top of a roadside telepgraph pole. A Little Owl. We were delighted. Pam turned so that a photo could be attempted, I took a few, never seeing its face as the sun was behind it. 

 


It then flew down into an oak tree and away into the main farmhouse gardens.

Cresting the rise to Snettisham RSPB, the tide was so far out that it looked as though walking to Lincolnshire would be feasible.The roped off section of the shingle bank had four netting circles with a camera beside each one. The fourth one still had a sitting Ringed Plover. Maybe the others had already fledged, it's a while since we were here. 

Still a worrying number of strolling summer clad visitors, many with dogs, on the reserve. They must cause some disturbance to the nesting shorebirds merely by their presence and proximity.

As we were leaving, a Common Tern flew by and started to fish the northern end of the pit. I'd never had the opportunity to photograph a flying tern before so decided to try.The bird never hovered, just constantly flew rapidly about, sometimes diving. It was fun - but not very siccessful. Not a single photo is sharp. Some interesting shapes though.








Hunstanton was chokka. A motorbike rally saw several hundred parked on the main green and around town. Some real beauties, with a throaty roar as they set off. The influx of people was reflected all along the coast, Thornham, and Brancaster Staithe in particular. We turned inland at Stiffkey and made our way home. There will be other days.

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