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Wednesday 13 January 2016

North Coast with the 'Summer Wine' crew: year ticks and a funny Teal...

Today saw Norman ('Foggy') taking his first birding trip since his triple by-pass: I'm pleased to say we walked seven miles and he led most of the way!

First stop was Bishop's Hide,  Cley, where the most interesting bird was a Eurasian Teal (green speculum!) with head markings reminiscent of a Blue-winged Teal...  Lots of Avocets, Godwits and Snipe, but little else of note. A walk along the East Bank failed to produce Snow Buntings, but a few White-fronted Geese and Little Egrets were some compensation.

After coffee we headed west to Brancaster, where we added a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers to the year list. Other birders began to turn up in numbers, apparently because the long-staying Red-necked Grebe was reported on pagers: we didn't see it and neither had several birders who'd been there all morning. A move to Wells Quay gave us the interesting sight of a couple of Herring Gulls eating a large Dogfish!

Titchwell gave us views of lots of common waders as well as a beautiful Barn Owl hunting close to the path.

A great day out in pleasant company and bright (if cold) weather.







 
 





 

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