Seconds!

Well, being such a sunny morning, I couldn't resist: I tazzed up to Holt Country Park for another look for the Parrot Crossbills. Since the carpark was somewhat crowded, I thought I'd strike off on my own to check out the belt of trees to the south west. After a few minutes Richard Millington kindly whistled me over to say the flock was in the car park - what a nice person he is....

The views were less than wonderful, but I managed a few dodgy snaps and enjoyed chatting with extremely knowledgeable Suffolk birder Steve, who apparently used to be a frequenter of Strump / Buck. He mentioned that he'd seen three Red Kites at the Edgefield tip, so I stopped for a look on the way home. No Kites, but I'm pretty sure I found a Glaucous Gull!

Tiny 'grumble': I notice several popular sites copy my records at the end of the day (eg: the 30 Beans yesterday) Only Steve at 'Yare Valley Wildlife' has the courtesy to acknowledge his sources...

Beanz meanz.... Cantley!

Despite a very painful bout of Plantar Fasciitis (Ouch!) I decided to take a walk around the 'loop' at Cantley. Most noticeable feature is the delightful smell of beetroot and toffee apples from the sugar factory - I suppose the novelty would soon wear off if you lived nearby!
There were well over 60 Egyptian Geese on the marshes, but no sign of the recent Ruddy Shelduck: they did, however, attract a patrolling Peregrine.
As I reached the footpath that cuts across to School Road, I noticed a mixed flock of Bean Gese and Pinkfeet) for once they allowed a reasonably close approach (around 200 metres) There were probably around 30 Beans, which were soon joined by 1000+ Pinkfeet.
The walk back was enlivened by Golden Plovers and Lapwings, and a perky little Kestrel.

Twitchy twitchy!

Despite the freezing rain, Martin was adamant that we meet up and have a bash at the Parrot Crossbills at Holt Country Park. During two visits (interspersed by coffee and Black Brant at Cley!) we 'enjoyed' flight views of twelve Parrots over the car park. Other birds for the day included A Great Spotted Woodie at Holt and a coffee-coloured leucistic Brent on the Eye Field.

Good to be back!

Spent a very cold morning walking around Strumpshaw: no sign of Mark, Brian or Norman - perhaps they've been abducted! But Kim and Adrian were pleasant to chat with as always, and there were a few nice birds too! Jays, Fieldfares and Redwings were passing through in flocks and an obliging Bittern chugged past Fen Hide before the 'little men with scythes' arrived to scare everything away! An otter torpedoed through, giving good views, but no chance of a photo...On the riverbank, Liz / Elizabeth found two huge puffballs!

Raptor help wanted!

Ok! What's this? I was driving towards Potter Heigham, just past the Oby turnoff, when I saw this large raptor in a cereal field right by the road. By the time I managed to turn around and return, it was flying away, gliding on flat wings and looking like one of the slim-winged Harriers... On the ground, it was very peachy, with a distinctly foxy cap. No pale rump, so it's probably a Marsh Harrier: but it just didn't 'feel' like one!

All alone and palely loitering! (look it up!)

I was all alone at Strump this am (from 8 until 11!) Where was everyone? Was it something I said???? LOL! Saw a Ruddy Shelduck flying downstream, which was nice! Only other birds of any note were Redwings & Fieldfares - lots of both - and a Harris Hawk: presumably the one that's been kicking about for a couple of years...

Here comes Winter!

With news of snow-affected roads in Cumbria already and large flocks of both Pink-footed and Eurasian Whitefronts at Buckenham, my stroll down to the windpump had a definite feel of Winter! Other interesting birds included a Lapland Bunting (which I couldn't relocate once it had landed!) a Peregrine and a pair of Stonechats: always nice to see!

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Raptorous!

A trip down south to visit Mum-in-Law was surprisingly productive: a Rough-legged Buzzard in Suffolk, A Honey Buzzard over the A11 near Barton Mills and dozens of Kites and a Goshawk at Maidenhead!