Into The Murk

 Monday February 2

 We didn't go out yesterday because Man U were playing Fulham at 2 p.m. We won 3-2. Today was cold, damp, low overcast. with fog producing poor visibility. Ideal birding weather - not. However frustrating, it was still good to be out and about. Having decided to look at as many spots as possible, we made the short detour to Selbrigg. Here we picked up Mute Swan, Mallard, Moorhen. Robin, Coal Tit, Blue Tit and several Nuthatches. Pam thought she'd heard a Treecreeper, none seen.

Then, Sculthorpe Mill, Valley Farm, Harpley Cottages, Abbey Farm, Sandringham and Snettisham. We'd inched our way to 20+ species by the time we arrived at the latter. My heart sank. Miles of mud, scattered Shelduck and thousands of duck, all too distant to identify species. Probably Wigeon and Teal. A lone Redshank and a single Curlew were the only waders in view. A few Tufted Duck and one female Goldeneye plus a Little Grebe on the pits, we didn't linger.

Oystercatchers and a mass of gulls on the extensive rocky shore revealed by the low tide at Hunstanton, even the lovely red sandstone cliffs were muted. Several pairs of Fulmar occupying the ledges looked freshly minted.

Brancaster Staithe was devoid of cars and people - apart from two men working on the mussell heap. We've never been here on our own, if only the birds had turned up too. Grey Plover, Redshank, Turnstone and Brent Geese padded the list. I hadn't taken any photos until now, one can see why. Not only poor light, but the birds were back-lit. We could hear the Teal dibbling their bills in the mud, occasionally finding a morsel. A lot of editing required to get this photo! 


 Almost the last stop was Wells North Point Pools. I would happily give them a miss, but Pam loves it there. By now, what light there had been was fading fast. Maybe Stiffkey was worth a look. Plenty of parking space so that we could turn the car sideways on to the marsh and scope. The expected Little Egrets and Curlew. As I was peering at distant boats, Pam saw a male Hen Harrier fly along the shoreline. Although it kept disappearing from view, I followed its flight ending up with the bird flying fast from behind a line of bushes, banking nicely, before disappearing again. Bird of the day and a year tick. One of the best things about the Uists was the daily Hen Harriers. I missed them last year.

No Glossy Ibis on the floods but one Cattle Egret with the Highland cattle. We'd crawled to over 50 species for the day, not a good total. 

On Tuesday, Pam had a Green Woodpecker on our front lawn, the Water Rail still visits daily.

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