Twite, two Cattle Egrets, and much more!

Despite a very gloomy weather forecast, Linda, Brian, Norman and I headed north-west to Thornham to see if we could find the small flock of Twite that were seen yesterday. When we arrived we found the tide right in and the road impassable, so we spent an hour at Titchwell (next post!) where we enjoyed terrific views of some excellent sea duck and waders.

Second time lucky! A brisk walk westwards along the raised bank soon revealed a flock of ten or more of these delightful finches splashing around in a muddy pool. Every now and then they'd fly up to the wire by the path to dry their feathers - marvellous!

After lunch at Brancaster, we carried on towards Cley, but noticed that the long-staying Cattle Egret that Linda and I found at Stiffkey way back in the Summer had been joined by a second bird: both were much closer to the path than previously. Parking by the flint barn, we scuttled down the new path and were soon enjoying terrific views.

On arrival at Cley, we were quickly told that the reported Grey Phalarope had departed, so we walked towards the village and soon found a Brent Goose right by the path that seemed bright enough to be another Brant: on reflection, however (and looking at the photos I took of the Black Brant in October), this wasn't the case. Nevertheless: a great day out in terrific company with some excellent birds to share!