Friday 22 November 2013

Cold frosty mornings and a trip to the coast.

Since my last post I have made a couple more trips to the FOD but without much success. I did manage to get a rather nice Tufted Duck shot though.


















Just love the purple sheen to his head.

The highlight since my last post was a trip to Norfolk with Chris Grady, Mike Smith and Andy Carey. The trip was planned hoping for decent weather and an influx of birds. Neither were particularly kind to us and the trip turned out to be hugely disappointing in more ways.

However, that said there were birds and we did have one stunning day of weather. So a trip to the beach at Titchwell was very much enjoyed, Chris, Mike and I made the best of the incoming tide.

The birds did not disappoint and I managed to get my first shots of Sanderling, and didn't they oblige. They are really speedy little characters, rushing about here and there. They were joined by Turnstones, Oystercatchers, Redshank, Gulls and a Grey Plover which wouldn't come too close.

Common Gull

Oystercatcher


Redshank
















Turnstone and lastly Sanderling.



















There had been a Short Eared Owl seen on the site but we didn't see it that day.

On Saturday another trip was planned to Holme looking for Snow buntings but despite another walk on the beach we failed to see any, whilst Andy, Chris and Mike spent some time at Titchwell again in the hope to get some SEO shots I went off on my own to the Harbour at Brancaster and despite much worse weather there were a couple of occasions when the sun came out allowing for a few shots.

Dunlin

 















and Black Tailed Godwit,


















Friday morning before we went to Titchwell was spent at Cley NNR and once the sun had broken through the cloud we we given close ups of a few of the ducks on site. I'll save them for the next post. The stars of the show at Cley that morning were the Bearded Tits. Unfortunately there are no shots, but none of us could remember seeing them at the reserve before, although we knew they were there, and non of us had seen them as close as we did whilst walking back to the cafe, they were right there in front of us in the reeds and on the footway. Brilliant.

Finally two differing shots of the Harbour at Brancaster, one with tide out the other with tide coming in. Beautiful in both cases I'm sure you will agree.



















I love Norfolk and I can still see myself having to have a move down there for 12 months in the not too distant future.