Blackborough End Tip

7/12/08, Connor, James and Simeon

Gullwatching was the order of the day for the first Young Norfolk Birders trip since James left for university in the Autumn. Before meeting Connor at 10:00 we stopped at Tottenhill to look for the Smew. A Skylark and a Bullfinch flew over, calling, and several Pintail were on the pit, but there was no sign of the Smew.

Meeting Connor and Billy with David and Ray Roche, we drove to Blackborough End Tip to find Dave Hawkins already there. Despite spending a good hour there we saw nothing unusual, save for a group of Goosanders which David spotted flying over. A Redshank was feeding at the edge of the pit and a Bullfinch called nearby. Eventually we drove to some nearby lakes to try our luck, but there was still no sign of the Caspian, Glaucous or Iceland gulls. A group of about 10 Siskins was searched thoroughly for Redpolls, with no success. However, a couple of Green Sandpipers brightened up the trip, with two adult Bewick's Swans which were later joined by a juvenile.

We ate our sandwiches before leaving for Kings Lynn to meet with Mr Munns about our birding trip to Poland next summer...!