Early June is turning out to be a very productive time indeed. And it seems so much more relaxed than the Autumn headless chicken times. Its light till 21:00hrs for a start.
In recent Junes, we've had this
.......on a Monday morning!
...a beautiful Wednesday evening
.....a pleasant Friday evening
....and the unforgettable Monday evening
I thought that it would go quiet again following the Short-toed Eagle twitch. To be honest, I struggled a bit on Monday as I was still tired from Sunday but I coped. I'd completed the work I'd been given and was sitting in the office. My boss then asked if I was owed any time, and at 12:45hrs I headed for home. Just before I set off, I sat in the car and checked my phone. There was a singing SPECTACLED WARBLER in Norfolk.
Again, I mulled and thought and headed down to Westport. Then, I again thought, what did I do on past twitches, past summer evenings of glory? What was I doing sat at Westport? I rang the good lady wife to see if there was anything planned during the evening, and then I rang GAS to discuss the situation. The week ahead was busy. I'd already dipped a single day SPECTACLED WARBLER in Suffolk in 2008. We decided to head off to Norfolk.
The journey was interesting with the sat nav taking us on a variety of roads to get past Leicester. We arrived at Burnham Overy at 18:00hrs and took the half hour walk to the dunes via the sea wall. We passed plenty of returning birders but there was a small crowd still stood in the distance.
The Spectacled Warbler showed well on occasions during the evening, but for the majority of the time it was out of view and skulking. It did sing several times but by 20:00hrs, we knew we had to head back home. We arrived home at just before midnight, and with work the following day, I knew I would be absolutely knackered. But two ticks in two days - just like the old days again!
As for the rest of the Clayheads. CJW finished work at midnight on Monday, and stayed up until positive news came on, then he set off. He also survived the scare of it flying off before it returned to its favoured bushes again. PJ had to wait all week until the Saturday before he went down, along with Phill Locker and "Stalker" Ian Burgess.
The journey was interesting with the sat nav taking us on a variety of roads to get past Leicester. We arrived at Burnham Overy at 18:00hrs and took the half hour walk to the dunes via the sea wall. We passed plenty of returning birders but there was a small crowd still stood in the distance.
The Spectacled Warbler showed well on occasions during the evening, but for the majority of the time it was out of view and skulking. It did sing several times but by 20:00hrs, we knew we had to head back home. We arrived home at just before midnight, and with work the following day, I knew I would be absolutely knackered. But two ticks in two days - just like the old days again!
The Spectacled Warbler
The distant crowd
The harbour at Burnham Overy
As for the rest of the Clayheads. CJW finished work at midnight on Monday, and stayed up until positive news came on, then he set off. He also survived the scare of it flying off before it returned to its favoured bushes again. PJ had to wait all week until the Saturday before he went down, along with Phill Locker and "Stalker" Ian Burgess.
