We are back from a two week camping trip to windy Norfolk and Suffolk where we saw 111 species and I added Little Gull, Nightjar, Woodcock, Grey Partridge, Golden Oriole (heard only), Stone Curlew, Pectoral Sandpiper plus Pink Flamingo (of unknown origin!) to my 2010 year list which now totals 154. We enjoyed many walks and had a handful of sightings of flying Bitterns and numerous encounters, albeit at some distance, of Marsh Harriers including watching food passes plus Nightingales feeding their newly fledged youngsters.
To keep things ticking over, while I put together a series of posts of the locations that we visited, here are a few images.
Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)
Pied Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)
Black-headed Gull (Chroicoephalus ridibundus).
Apart from Woodpigeons these gulls were the most numerous and noisiest of all the species we saw!
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus)
Working boat leaving Walberswick.
This was my first return visit to this location for many many years so I took a series of shots along the river, including the famous ferry, in the hope my friend Steve in Cape Ann, MA. who has a particular passion for his local waterfront will be interested but he'll have to be patient while I sort through all the images for a future post.
Barnacle Geese (Branta leucopsis).
This shot was taken at Pensthorpe Wildlife Park where breeding has been very sucessful this year.
Immature Coot (Fulica atra)
Juvenile Starling (Sturus vulgaris)
Ox-eye Daisies enjoying the the sunshine (we did have some!)
After two weeks of neglect and dry weather the garden is in urgent need of attention and I need to get out and about locally but I hope to bring you some more sights from our holiday very soon......FAB.
I recently saw a baby Coot for the first time. I never knew they had those little baldy red heads! They remind me of my favorite bird the Turkey Vulture.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a nice holiday!
It's great to have you back. I always enjoy your posts and images. Today's are wonderful and I look forward to others coming, too. :)
ReplyDeleteYour posts are always so fun! Such a variety. The Avocet appears to be b & W. Ours have white, black, and rust colors. Good photos!
ReplyDelete...sounds exciting! Can't wait to see all the photos. These images are gorgeous. Love that little baby coot and the beautiful Barnacle Geese.
ReplyDeleteHi Frank,
ReplyDeleteWow you sure got an exciting tour... 111 species and plenty of new species on the year list... Cool... Did you get any lifers???
Young are starting to pop up here too, and they are quite cute and funny...
How was the weather during your trip? Are we gonna get more pictures ? ;-)
Bad Girl. Sorry to hear you hate Starlings as I took a lot of shots of the parents and the youngsters!
ReplyDeleteLynne. I can understand the resemblance but a BIG difference in size....Lol.
Lois. Thanks...It's good to be home in my own bed.
Mona. Yep...all B & W except the juvs that show a little brown. More shots to come just for you.
Kelly. It was fun despite the COOL temperatures and the windy weather! Plenty more to come but NO Egret shots!
Chris. No lifers...they are few and far apart for me these days unless I decide to travel and 'twitch'!! The weather was better at home but I have some half decent pics to post in a while.
Take you time, Frank. I can wait but you better get to that garden before it blows away!
ReplyDeleteWe have TONS of Ox-eye Daisies here too.
Sounds like a great trip! and you bagged some interesting birds. Wonderful pics, especially the barnacle goose and the cute juvie coot!
ReplyDeletewelcome home! You can't seriously count Flamingo Frank :-)
ReplyDeleteSteve. I had to cut back some plants so that I could walk down the garden path with the watering cans!!
ReplyDeleteHilke. Yes, it was good to revisit some old haunts that I've not been to for many years other than in the winter.
Warren. I've responded direct by e-mail.