Mixed Weather...

14/6/08 Norfolk Coast - Simeon (and Connor)
I got up early and did some ringing at Snettisham Coastal Park. It was nice weather and we caught quite a few birds - female Bullfinch and a family of Long-tailed tits being my favourites! At about 12:00 Ray Roche kindly gave me a lift up to Holme where we met Connor. The sea was fairly dead - 1 female Eider, 7 Gannets and a Fulmar. A Tope shark had been washed up on the beach. Then it started raining so we hid in the obs for a bit. There wasn't much on the marsh but a Tawny Owl was showing very well in the pines. At about 4:00 we headed back towards the car park where we were to be picked up. A female Common Scoter was on the Broadwater along with 3 Ruddy Ducks - 1 male, 1 female and one young bird! Connor then went to the car park to scan the marsh but I went up into the dunes breifly. The winds had been getting stronger throughout the day and I was eager to scan the bushes for any final migrants of spring. 6 Jackdaws "in-off-the-sea" were nice. Then I spotted something very far away. At first I thought it was a massive gull but as it came closer I got my bins onto it. Realising it was a Heron sp. and it had come in off the sea I quickly got my scope onto it. It was an egret which looked very large, so it could have been a Great-White Egret, but unfortunately there wasn't another bird nearby to compare the size so it remains a possible - the one that got away... It dropped onto the marsh not to be seen again despite extansive searching by both Connor and I. Unfortunately I didn't manage any pictures of it because it was flying but I got several other shots during my visit - see gallery...