Long-billed Dowitcher at Cley

Despite a very gloomy forecast, Brian and I drove through the murk up to Cley. A good search of Snipe's Marsh failed to reveal any Jack Snipe, so we decided on a walk out along the East Bank. A group of half a dozen people were scanning the Serpentine: when I asked what they were hoping for, they replied that a Long-billed Dowitcher had been reported the previous evening: no sign yet today.

After continuing along to the sea (just a few Auks and Divers) we decided on coffee, moving the car from Walsey to the Centre car park. After the habitual cheese scone, we decided to check the centre hides, arriving just as the rain started. We were hugely entertained by a delightful Stoat: I'd never seen one swim before! Other birds included a Water Pipit and several Stonechats.

The rain began in earnest as we returned to the car: it was time to head home... On a whim, I asked Brian to stop in the East Bank car park: he was happy to do so, but remained in the car as I trotted northward through the rain. Just as I reached a small group of birders, the Dowitcher dropped in just twenty yards away! A friendly lady was kind enough to let me look through her scope before I grabbed some photos through the murk.