01/02/08, Norfolk Coast

James and Simeon

After a February devoid of lifers we decided to kick start March with a day trip to the coast. We took Nigel as he hadn't seen the White-crowned Sparrow yet, and really needed a break from work. However, the trip maybe wasn't what the doctor ordered, as it was a far from relaxing day!

We set out at 6:30, with the wind buffeting the car and debris all over the road! Somehow we arrived safely at Cley, to find a somewhat smaller crowd than when we went in January! The atmosphere was still there in part however, and Nigel was ecstatic when the bird eventually showed (much better than when it was on the driveway). Next stop was Salthouse where the Snow Buntings showed extremely close, as did the sea - it wasn't far off from crashing over the bank! The Ross' Goose at Holkham showed extremely well from the roadside when we stopped off on the way to Titchwell.

On arrival at Titchwell we were greeted by a flurry of Robins, which seemed to be putting on a show for us in the hope of being fed. We promptly sat down and had lunch inside the car. After lunch we made our way to the feeding station - 3 Bramblings showed extremely well. There wasn't a great deal in the way of variety on the lagoons (perhaps unsurprising considering it was still winter), but a Kingfisher flew over the reeds and Simeon and Nigel had another flock of Snow Buntings through. Moving on to Parrinder hide we were delighted with some showy Spotted Redshanks and a Water Pipit, the latter another lifer for Nigel! The weather had decided to play behind schedule, so the wind didn't die down until very late on - we didn't go to the beach! This turned out to be a great decision - a flock of 9 Redpoll in front of Island hide and a Black Brant in fields on the way back to the visitor centre polished off our visit rather nicely. Of course it wouldn't be the same without bacon butties, which we noticed had dropped in price for once... Feeling generous, Nigel bought a tub of mealworms for the robins on the way back. A Woodcock was skulking near the path in 'the usual place'.

With a bit of time to spare we popped in at Holme as Nigel had never been. 7 Bramblings and a Barn Owl were in the pines (yes, that's right, a Barn Owl!). Jed collared us to play cricket for Holme in the Summer, as he often does around this time of year, and we were also forced to do a seawatch in the interests of science. I won't be doing anything in the interests of science for a long time...

A great day out, despite the crumminess of Holme!