North Coast in the sunshine!

The fine weather demanded a run up to the North Coast, so Martin & I met up early and were at Edgefield looking at a flock of 30 - 40 Crossbills by 9.00. Most of these were Commons, but by call we identified at least five Parrots. I think I managed a couple of photos, but the telescopic views were much more conclusive! The whole flock were nervously eyeing a Sparrowhawk that circled above them, and Buzzard & Marsh Harrier didn't help!

A move to Stiffkey added Little Egret, Skylark and a few Brents to the day-list, but (having walked right out to the 'beach') we realised we were in the wrong place. Accordingly, we drifted eastwards to Morston and paid our £2.50 parking fee, only to discover that there was no way out to the Channel! A long walk westwards followed, until we found a vantage point which allowed us to grill the water. Quite soon we found a flock of Mergansers Pintail and Goldeneye and then a group of divers. We reckoned there were two Great Northerns and three Black-throateds. Only other birds of note were five Twite that flew around us without landing and a photogenic Ruff.

Tonight I took advantage of the clear sky to photograph an Iridium Flare satellite: those of you who are space-freaks will know what these spectacular objects are, while those of you who aren't couldn't care less, so I won't explain!