Blakeney Point

26th April 2009

Earlier in the week, the weather forecast looked great for migrants at the weekend, so Gary had invited me & Adam along to walk the point. As the week wore on, the forecast looked less promising, but a few good birds on saturday still gave us a bit of hope. Starting at 5.30, we left Norwich and the local fox enjoying a meal at the bottom of our road. On the way we almost made a game casserole from: Pheasant, Woodpigeon, Guineafowl (running down the road near Edgefield), R-l Partridge and a Roe Deer (running down some streets on the outskirts of Holt).

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Arriving at Cley, we decided to have a quick look around the village on the offchance the Red-rumped Swallow was still around. It wasn't. We did see my first Whitethroat of the year, and heard a distant Cuckoo. Further scanning near the mill proved fruitless, so we went on to the beach car park. The walk started well, taking two minutes to find our first Wheatear, and another two minutes for me to be sick of every bird being a Wheatear. A few Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits and a very reddish-brown Wren later and it had reached the stage where we were having to claim 'migrant' Woodpigeon and 'migrant' Dunnock to keep our spirits up.

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The area around halfway house (halfway to where?) had 2 Yellow Wagtails, but little else...except Wheatears. The Marrams were quiet except a small army of Shelduck going through training exercises. A good number of Brent were in the channel, and the plantation held one Chiffchaff and one Willow Warbler. We waited at the Coastguards, where we were joined by Gary's friend Phil, but even with an extra pair of eyes we didn't add anything else.

On the way back a quick check at Salthouse failed to produce Spoonbill, and listening from a laybe at Salthouse Heath we didn't hear Nightingale.

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Year list 181 species (+1 heard).