After a trip to see my dentist in Sheringham this morning I had a brief walk along the East Bank at Cley. There was a young great crested grebe in one of the channels, and – as usual – a little grebe on the first pool near the road. Plenty of teal, shoveler and wigeon were feeding on the march alongside black-tailed godwits, redshanks and lapwings.
It was relatively quiet on the sea but I did spot – along with plenty of the usual gull species – a guillemot, two red-throated divers and a couple of seals.
I then met up with Brenda for a spot of lunch in the café, from which we spotted several marsh harriers. We then headed over to Kelling Heath to look for Dartford warblers, which I am determined to try to see before the end of the year, but with which I have so far had no luck.
We didn’t see one today needless to say! But it was a lovely walk, though there were very few birds about – mostly rooks, linnets and long-tailed tits.
Brenda writes: “What a joy to see sunshine today! There were three moths today, another feathered thorn (or possibly the same one), a light brown apple and, sitting on the brickwork below the window, a merveille du jour. That was nice.
In the afternoon we had a walk on Kelling Heath where the autumn colours are beautiful, the fresh gorse greenery and flowers contrasting with the brown of the bracken and here and there spots of pink from the last of the cross-leaved heath.
We saw lovely flocks of long-tailed tits and linnets but still no sign of the “demmed elusive” dartford warblers. The mild autumn is still throwing up some surprises. I found a clump of Michaelmas daisy still in flower on the roadside verge in Cley.”
No new species for November 9th:
TOTALS TO DATE:
Birds = 227
Moths = 256
Wildflowers = 290