Snow

6 and 7 February 2018
On the 6th we had a good few inches of snow in Bircham but the coast was clear. School run and lock up run sorted there was just time to try for the Twite at Thornham. The problem here is that you have to view the small car park and it's incredibly frustrating as you see the birds coming in to get grit or have a bathe and then a car arrives or people with dogs appear. All completely justifiable of course, it's a car park not a private birding area, but so frustrating that after 20 minutes I gave up. Pied Wagtail and Reed Bunting the only birds brave enough to appear.

The next day and it was in search of Coues's Arctic Redpoll at Kelling. Even with the local expert (Malc) accompanying me we failed to nail it. We did see the flock and it would have been in that flock but they never settled. A few individual Lesser Redpolls were about in the hedgerow.

Having dipped on the Salthouse/Granborough Hill Snow Buntings last week I decided to try "third time lucky". And I was. Only 7 birds present, or that I could find. But they were showing nicely.

Fallow the leader

Monday 5 February 2018
With enough time following the school run and opening the shop I decided to have a walk round Holkham Lake in search of yesterday's reported Scaup. After an hour and no sign of it I headed back to the gates along the track. I heard what sounded like a vehicle behind me but didn't turn round immediately, only when it started to get closer. I then found myself staring at a herd of about 50 Fallow deer stags all charging along the track, in my direction ! My brain was trying to tell me that deer are easily frightened and there was absolutely no risk of them coming into contact with me, they would simply veer off from the track. Hmm they were now getting very close indeed and not stopping so gut feelings took over from brain and I jumped behind a tree at the side of the track. The deer thundered past ! I emerged unscathed and trying to look cool, not that anyone was around.

Something had clearly spooked the herd and I'll never know what would have happened if I'd stood my ground. Here are a couple of images ,when a little calmer, me and them.

Dipping

Thursday 1 February 2018
I started the day off early, in Suffolk near Aldeburgh to try and catch up properly with the Coues's Arctic Redpoll which had been seen the day before. A sunny but very cold start. Five hours later with just a Lesser Redpoll to show I left ! A quick visit to Dunwich Heath in case any Dartford Warblers had been frozen to some gorse bushes, but diggers on the common ruled that out. Headed home, but did stumble across a group of 11 Bewick Swans - another towards the big year.

Blue Moon

31 January 2018
Well what a plonker I am.  I knew the Blue Moon was due today but left it till the evening to look properly. The orange ball of a moon happened at sunrise not sunset ! Still it was brighter and apparently bigger, relatively as it doesn't actually get bigger of course. Not a totally clear night but pretty good with just wisps of cloud.

A grave approach

Tuesday 30 January 2018
An unexpected bit of bright weather had me off to Great Massingham church again to look for the Hawfinches. I arrived quite late around 11am and there were about a dozen or so people already there.  The Hawfinches had been showing but were mostly in the shadows of the Yew trees just occasionally popping out into the sunlight.

Taking the shine slightly off this occasion was the fact that half a dozen of the photographers had decided to stand amid the graves. There was really no need for this, especially as they were the people with the biggest lenses. I felt it was incredibly disrespectful and quite unnecessary just to gain an addition 5 meters. The second row in of people in this pics were all back from the graves. Such disrespectful behaviour is becoming more the norm these days and does put me off going to look for birds that pull the crowds.

But the Hawfinches were active and after a while of hiding in the shadows one bird came out to feed at the front of the tree. Bit of a soft image due to the wind (meteorological).

After this I went for a hunt round the lanes for Bramblings and found a flock of some 150 birds.
A few flew close to the car and one even stayed around while I floundered about getting the camera set up !

I then rounded the session off with a trip to Titchwell and added Velvet Scoter to my year list and saw some impressive flocks of Golden Plover.

The school run beckoned so just time to have a quick look at Holkham Bay for some Shorelarks but it was getting late and dark, so ended as just a nice walk.