Merry Christmas

I’d only just mentioned to the girls that we should keep an eye open for Bob. Sure enough he appeared like some sort of apparition; feeding the gulls as we passed Walcott. It was good to see him. It’s been a long time since we got together and it was pleasing to spend a little time together.

Spending time with people has been difficult over the past twelve months. I’ve missed the camaraderie of friends and family; it was very pleasing Holly made it down from Manchester to spend Christmas with us.

We decided to have a morning walk at Cart Gap; that’s where we were heading when we saw Bob.

Scouring the beach we looked for mammoth teeth. This was the second day in a row we’d searched the shore for fossils. One day I’ll find a nice example.

It was Holly who saw a flash of orange behind the breakers. I suspected it was a Turnstone. No. On closer inspection it was a Purple Sand. Not one but three of them; picking and pecking at the alga on the walls and rocks. A nice find for Christmas.

I hope you all manage some time with family and friends this Christmas, you stay well and have a pleasant surprise or two. Merry Christmas from Tania and I (and Holly too!)

An early Christmas visitor from Lapland

We were watching a small group of Snow Buntings that were flitting around a field edge last week. They were completely ignoring dogs, kids and people walking the cliff top bank so were quite easy to observe. Arriving as quickly as it later disappeared was a single lonely Lapland Bunting among them. Always good to see these birds return each winter even in smaller numbers than they occurred in years passed.

A Blue Tale

Having spent much of one morning after a fall of birds last week trying to find my own Red flanked Bluetail and only turning up a few ancillary birds I decided I would go and photograph the bird seen at Happisburgh. Although a late Spotted Flycatcher (eastern race?), Snow Bunting, Redstart, a heap of Brambling and a nice brown crowned eastern race Lesser Whitethroat are all good to see locally … they don’t hold a candle to a Bluetail.

 

Enchanting Wader

I remember one October sitting at the edge of the golf course on the Isles of Scilly as two small waders wandered around me. The pair of Buff breasted Sandpipers; hatched that year in some distant remote part of Canada were completely fearless having never seen a human being before. They were so endearing.

Last Friday I was tied to the laptop at home when news of a Buff breast down the road broke. It was late afternoon before I could make it there. This individual was cavorting in a sown field with a couple of Ringed Plovers but never came close during me short stay. It was still nice to see though and brought back a lot of memories of a warm afternoon on the enchanted Isles. I’m sorry it didn’t stay longer and come closer for others to admire and photograph. Me … I’m off too … to the enchanted isles.