Kesgrave Waxwings and Orford Short-eared Owls: a Suffolk fill-up!

A great day down in Suffolk with Brian Tubby, mopping up some decent year ticks in surprisingly sunny (if cold!) weather.

First stop was Orford Quay, where several Black-tailed Godwits waded around just inches from the path. We slithered southwards along the muddy paths, until we bumped into super-imager John Richardson. He'd found a Short-eared Owl huddled down on the saltings and, despite it being somewhat distant, we all managed some reasonable photos. Also on the saltings and reed fringes were at least two pairs of Stonechats, some well-marked Mipits and a continental race Cormorant with large white flank patches.

A twenty minute drive south saw us in Kesgrave, where our second target - a flock of at least ten Waxwings - were feeding on  buds high in an Oak tree. Lighting conditions were far from perfect, but we managed some images of these beautiful visitors from the northern forests.

Last stop was Ellough, where a short search gave us both good flight views - but no usable photos - of a juvenile Glaucous gull.