Salthouse revisited

6 March 2010
With a couple of hours spare before a rather tedious trip planned to Ikea in Milton Keynes a decision had to be made. A walk round the village and to the old barn, or an hour at Pentney lakes ? So straight into the car and off to the coast ! Snow Buntings here we come (again). Glorious morning and on arrival there they were, feeding away on a little mound of grass.

These little birds really are fantastic and I make no apologies for my ramblings, both verbal and in distance to see these, so to that end more pictures..........

Ok that's enough. Other birds included a feeding group of Turnstones

a Ringed Plover

and a Common Gull

Time was ticking on so after about forty minutes I left calling in briefly at Walsey Hills car park to look at the Brent Geese.

and while doing so an elderly couple told me there was a Crane flying overhead, or was it a Stork !
I tactfully pointed out the main id criteria and we then agreed it probably wasn't. In fact as it flew right past us I was able to convince them as to it's real identity. They thanked me and left to see if they could find the Black Brant at Wells. Now some people would have been quite critical of their approach but I was happy to chat with them and I feel that such interactions are all too few with modern birding. Those who have good id knowledge can often be all too condescending and treat others in a very off hand manner. These two people were a lovely old couple that spent their time out bird watching. Great stuff really.

Not a Crane, not a Stork, but a Heron