Glad I Went To Spectacle Savers - 3.6.13

Spectacled Warbler

 

After Sunday mornings very early start for the eagle I was knackered and in bed 10pm after 36 hours without sleep. Somehow I didn't feel too tired when I woke up at 6am for work but I was already looking forward to going home again for a kip! Lunch arrived and just as I was tucking into my first sandwich my pager started vibrating. My first thought was the eagle had been re-found but on checking I was amazed to read that a Spectacled Warbler had been found on the north coast of Norfolk. I was one of the many who had travelled to Suffolk for the last one a few years ago only to come away disappointed as it had gone. I finish work at 3pm on a Monday so an after work twitch was very tempting but I just couldn't face another long drive so soon after.

 Tuesday dawned and news came through on twitter that it was still around so I packed the satnav just in case. 3.30 and the end of the working day and the bird was still there so off I went. Halfway on the journey I checked the pager and the news was positive but I noted a message of a Blyth's Reed Warbler at Cley so thoughts of a two tick evening were in my mind. I arrived at Burnham Overy just shy of 3 hours later and started the walk along the coast path. Thinking that it may be a tad fresh by the coast I wore my coat but that was something I'd regret as thinking that it was only a half mile walk I suddenly realised I'd misread the info and that I had to walk nearer 1.5 miles! So by the time I got to where the bird was I was sweating like a goodun! My first Painted Lady and Little Tern of the year were nice and thankfully the star bird didn't disappoint as it showed well fairly regularly as it was nest building! Only the 8th Spectacled Warbler for the UK so another good bird for the list. Talking of lists under UK400 listing rules this bird became my 450th species. After watching the bird for 15 minutes or so I headed back to the car hoping to get to Cley in good time to try for the other warbler. The walk back was very productive with 4 Little Egret flying over and in the diatance to the east my first Spoonbill for the year were seen with 4 birds soon landing out of view. A lone Pink-Footed Goose was a strange sight considering its June and just past the last gate a Grey Partridge flew up and away from me.

After a clear drive through some of Norfolk's top birding spots I arrived at Cley and joined the small gathering atop the west bank overlooking a ditch in the hope of my second lifer of the day but I waited until 9pm but there was no sight or sound of the Blyth's Reed Warbler and so that's 2 ive now dipped. A showy Barn Owl made up slightly for dipping as it was a year tick. I had another one down the road on the way home along with a Little Owl and after some heavy downpours I crawled into bed at midnight. Today I felt tired!