No Norman today, but Brian and I nevertheless zipped down to MInsmere to see if we could catch up with the Bitterns. We hadn't even left the car park when we heard our first Nightingale of the year! After an hour or so in Island Mere Hide (enlivened by a distant Crane and a pair of charming Little Grebes - Brian's photo!) we finally enjoyed reasonable views of a smallish Bittern in a reed-filled ditch.
We carried on around the reserve, adding Sand Martin, Sandwich Tern, Barnacle Goose, Bar-tailed Godwit, Med Gull and all the other expected East Scrape regulars, before an enjoyable lunch at the reserve centre.
Following a fruitless search for Ouzels, Stone Curlews and Dartfords by the Dunwich sandpit, we ended the day at Hen Reedbeds, where the only wader on the Hide Scrape was a Spotted Redshank!
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