North Coast with Brian & Norman

Back from our various trips out of Norfolk, we decided to brave the 30+ temperatures and check out the North Coast. First stop was Titchwell: no Spotted Flycatcher, just Grey Wagtail and Great Egret after a sticky trudge out to the main hide. We moved on to Holkham - no sign of yesterday's Ibises - and then had to take a horrendous detour almost back to Fakenham.

Cley gave us just seven Spoonbills (of various ages) a Ruff or two and lots of Little Ringed Plovers. Most notable were the huge clouds of Hirundines: mostly Sand Martins, but with Swallows and a few House Martins...

Linda and I enjoy a few 'jars!

Since it was a beautiful warm evening, Linda and I decided to head north for our annual Nightjar quest. Just for a change from the usual spots, we parked on the heath where I first encountered the species 45 years ago. After a short wait (spent in the company of a delightful couple on holiday from Yorkshire) several birds began churring at around 10.00pm. Soon after, we enjoyed close views of at least four Nightjars, zooming low down among the scrubby trees: one repeatedly perched somewhat distantly on the same small birch. Great fun!

Our 'Summer Wine' East Riding trip...

Brian's driving and impeccable route planning made the drive to Hunmanby a pleasant experience, by-passing the larger towns and avoiding any major hold-ups. We were going to stop for breakfast at Far Ings nature reserve (as usual) but arrived before it opened! However, just to the east was a terrific garden centre, where I couldn't resist pancakes and maple syrup!

The cottage (appropriately called 'The Snug'!) was clean and comfortable and situated among a cluster of newly-built retirement cottages: the inhabitants were keen to chat every time we passed! The only minor setback was our failure to work out how to access terrestrial TV on the overly-complicated widescreen set, meaning (to Brian's delight!) that I couldn't watch the England vs Croatia match!

An enjoyable stay (sadly without Norman, who was with family in the North West ) with fish and chips two nights in a row and a delightful Indian meal in Scarborough on the last evening.

Hoots Mon!

There's a moose loose aboot this hoose! (Well: on the feeder outside Linda's office, in fact!)

Un-spotted Flycatcher!

Despite an early session  (06.30 - 08.30) at Strumpshaw I failed to obtain conclusive views of a Spot Fly in a traditional location where Brian has recently seen one. Lots of small tweets: Chiffchaff, Long-tailed Tit, Blackcap and Whitethroat - none of which were prepared to pose for the camera!

I'm 90% certain I glimpsed a likely candidate and Merlin identified the call: I'll wait for a year tickable view however (Like this from Titchwell a couple of years ago!)

Caspian dip at Hickling (But some decent waders!)

All the time we've been away in Yorkshire the pager has informed us of daily visits by a Caspian Tern to Hickling: naturally I left home early (I had to unlock All Saints anyway!) and was on the raised platform by 06.45. I stayed for three hours, but the tern was a no-show...

There were lots of other goodies to enjoy, however: normally they'd have been 'day makers'! These included Green Sandpiper, Curlew Sandpiper, Ruff (in full summer plumage) Greenshank and plenty of Spoonbills and Egrets.

Corn Buntings at Wet Wang!

We met a very pleasant couple at Flamborough who were kind enough to give us the location of a good population of Corn Buntings near the improbably-named village of Wet Wang! (You'll have gathered that the species has eluded us on this trip, and was very hard to pin down in past years too)

The site was more or less on our way home, and - to cut a long story short - the very first spot we checked produced maybe eight or ten birds: result!

As usual, we stopped at Frampton Marsh for lunch, where (after coffee) we trudged out to the Reservoir, just in time to see a nice group of nine Spoonbills before they flew off. And so home: another wonderful trip in fantastic company...

Last day in Yorkshire

Another early rise found us at Flamborough South Landing by 07.30: what a beautiful place! Lots of auks and Kittiwakes flying by, as well as several Shags, seven of which perched on a large buoy. Star bird here was a juvenile drake Eider quite close in.

After slogging back up the steep hill, we moved the short distance to Dane's Dyke, walking down the equally steep path to the chalky beach. From here the Shags were much closer, but there was nothing new available, so we  decided to visit the Lighthouse cliffs. After  a cup of tea we  walked to the seawatching hide: close by was a delightful Puffin and lots of seals. A walk right around gave us good views of some decent butterflies and dozens of orchids.

We drove the few miles to Thornwick Pools, where we relaxed and ate our lunch, before passing our old guest house on the way to Hoddy Cow Lane. A long walk in the Sun gave us fleeting views of Lesser Whitethroat, Yellowhammer and Linnet, but no Corn Bunting, sadly..

We rounded the day off with a terrific Indian meal in Scarborough, followed by an England win in the World Cup!