Hello from Norfolk

Just finished second great day here. Norfolk's just awesome! I'm enjoying every minute of it! Had my fourth lifer of the trip this afternoon with great view of Bittern at Tichwell. Read all about our day on Steve's blog later, I'm taking stacks of piccies and will be sharing them with you lucky readers when I get back. Got to do something with them all haven't I!? I'm posting this via my mobile phone, which is incredibly tedious.... Other lifers (so far) Tree Sparrow, Corn Bunting and a Pink Foot or two. More tomorrow - hopefully Hawfinch and Crane.

A Standing Dish or Two

I took the dog for his walk at Jubilee Gardens and Beer Beach this morning. I had a couple of brief glimpses of one of the Firecrests and the female Black Redstart was showing well on the beach huts, well that's 'til I got my camera out. She then became very coy and played hard to get. Here she is:

Gotcha!

After a frustrating time getting a photo of the Beer Blackred (why I bothered, I don't know) I got home to find this in a tree bordering our garden, having a bit of a preen. The sun was out so I just had to take a few photos even though I've taken oodles before. They're just so photogenic! I took a little video too, its a bit wobbly because it's hand held, just shows how well the image stabilization technology works when taking photos. I'm so shaky I'm amazed I ever get any decent images.

I've Been At It Again!

At precisely 8:00 am this morning Bun was doing a very good job of reading my mind and a text duely arrived, it said something like " if your tempted to twitch the Penduline Tit, give me a shout" I was VERY tempted and an hour and a half later we were on our way. There had been no news of the bird which was last seen yesterday at 'Clennon Valley Lakes' (teeny-weeny ponds more like) in Paington. When we arrived we could immediately see cameras and scopes in action and so knew the bird was still there. I lifted my bins casually and amazingly it was there in them straight away! What a grand little chap he was, I went all 'weak at the knees' and was allegedly heard to rashly utter the words "best bird ever" (these are words I'll probably be uttering a few times next week when in Norfolk with Steve and Bun, my first birding trip there) possibly true, but if not, he's definitely there in the top ten. Steve asked me this evening to qualify my remark, it's difficult but it was possibly a combination of the muted and subtle but at the same time bold colouring, combined with the acrobatics and generally un-skulking demeanor. Well, let's just say he had a 'certain something' if you know what I mean. Anyway here he is, a bit blurrier than in reality of course.

Due to it's constant acrobatics most of my pictures looked like this.


Here's one the right way up.

'Best bird ever'? Defimitly a contender :-)

Edit: Almost forgot. A very short video clip too.

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On patch today all I've done is have a q1uick look up the estuary from the house this afternoon, notable birds were the Spoonbill still ( I wonder if it's our longest stayer yet?) and the drake Tufted Duck