Spoonbills and a Brant at Burnham Overy: lots of waders at Titchwell...

A long-overdue run out for Martin & me to the North Coast didn't produce any of the anticipated rare stuff, but we enjoyed great views of some excellent 'proper' birds.

The walk out to Gun Hill and the end of Holkham Pines was pretty unproductive: just a few Wheatears and Linnets, but possibly we glimpsed something rarer - a smallish, short-tailed buff-coloured Lark with a plain head that flew off before we got enough on it. We did see our first Small Copper of the year: what splendid little creatures they are!

The walk back provided close views of the fascinating Brent / Brant hybrid: larger, more aggressive and with many of the features of a 'true' Black Brant. Further along a Little Egret shared a small pool with a Spoonbill: later a second Banjo flew over just above our heads.

We finished the day at Choseley (where we year-ticked Dotterel with some extremely distant views of at least 26 birds) and Titchwell, where Whimbrel, White Wagtail, Garganey, Common Sand and LRP were the highlights.