NORFOLK TRIP - FRIDAY MORNING.

I often make mistakes when out birding like leaving it too late to go and see a rarity reported locally or leaving a hide just before a bird shows but this morning I made a very good decision for a change.

After breakfast I drove the short distance down the A149 to Titchwell to try my luck there.However I had only gone 100m down the main path when my bird text alert went off : " The Wryneck showed again at 8.30 AM down the East Bank path at Cley".

As I said in my last blog my plan was to stay in this area and not travel around chasing birds but a Wryneck was very high on my Must Get a Shot list so I thought damn it I'll go for it.

I soon found myself back on the A149 heading east the 20 odd miles to Cley.Had some fun and games in Stiffkey where I met up with a petrol tanker coming the other way at one of the narrowest parts of the road but still got to Cley at 9.30 AM.The East Bank car park was full but I managed to slip into a space on the Walsey Hills lay-by.As I started to walk along the East Bank path I noticed 2 new scrapes had been dug out on the left.

I soon met a birder coming back down the path but his news was not good : "Not been seen for an hour it was up by those people down there but we lost it".As I was getting close to group of birders I saw something land on the path about 15m away.Checking it out with my bins I was amazed to see it was the Wryneck.Yippee ! ! !

I alerted the group of birders who were about another 15m away past the bird who had not spotted it and we enjoyed good views of it for about 5 minutes on the path.Quite soon there were about 30 birders watching it all being very well behaved but it only needs one clown. A photographer from the other group went down the east side of the bank walked along the bottom  and then climbed up the bank  to get close to the bird.He made so much noise as he climbed up the bank the bird flew off immediately into the reeds.What a burk ! ! 

I stayed on for another couple of hours and it came back several times and showed well.Great bird and great fun because when it came back it was hard to spot.They are pretty small and very well camouflaged.

Here are a few shots which I was very pleased with especially as it was a bit overcast and you could not get close.