Snettisham 27 November 1999
by Gordon Hamlett
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PBC Trip Report Snettisham 27 November 1999 by Gordon Hamlett |
With a touch of good fortune, we managed to pick just about the only fine day in November. The reserve has altered in recent months with the opening of a new RSPB car park - an attempt to please the owners of the holiday chalets who were fed up with the constant march past of birders.
The facilities look promising but the paths are incredibly muddy and don't bear thinking about if you visit after a prolonged spell of rain.
We started off with a bonus when a Hooded Crow flew over though poor Malcolm continued his run of bad luck by getting out of his car just in time to see a distant speck disappearing over the horizon. Parties of Pink-footed Geese were constantly flighting out from their overnight roosts and there were both Fieldfares and Redwings round the car park.
Reaching the sea, Trev picked out a small party of Scaup - the marine equivalent of Tufted Duck and a lifer for several members of the group. A flock of 14 or so Snow Buntings flitted up and down the beach, giving excellent close views as they searched for sea-poppy seeds.
It was rare to look at the sky and not see parties of several hundred Knot as they formed ever increasing flocks as high tide pushed them further and further into the Wash. There were tideline corpses of a Red-throated Diver and Pink-footed Goose for the not-so-squeamish and three Short-eared Owls hunted, one flying over the heads of half the group. Odds and sods on the pits included a Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser and Greenshank.
On to Holme village where good numbers of Waxwings had been reported. Though they had been seen earlier, we had no joy. Apparently they were feeding on windfall apples tucked behind a wall out of view. We saw a Barn Owl - slightly unusual at noon, good views of Green Woodpeckers and Sparrowhawks and Trev's group found a wintering Chiffchaff.
News broke that the White-tailed Eagle had just been seen a couple of miles inland so off we chased to Fring. The bird had been coming in to roost regularly for a week or so, so we settled down to wait. And wait. And wait. Naturally it didn't show so we had to make do with a few Grey Partridges and some 2500 Pinkfeet feeding in a field in front of us.
Several people - they know who they are, names available or suppressed for a suitable fee - got fed up with all the waiting and went back to Holme. It wasn't the fact that they saw ten Waxwings that hurt, it was evil delight they took in gloating so much. Prancing up and down the road, pointing to pictures in the field guides, counting up to ten in a manner likely to provoke. Expect a motion at the next AGM to drum them out or at least issue a yellow card!
