Serindipity!

Before you tell me I know that the title is a mis spelling but I thought it fitted today, read on to find out why.

After a fairly quiet weekend we have had a fantastic day today! When planning this year we decided to blow caution to the wind and sign up to Rare bird alert (RBA) and we have not been disappointed. It means we know far more about what birds are around and has helped us head in the right direction. This morning was no exception and we went off seeking out a Serin which would be a life tick for both of us. It wasn’t long before the little gem showed itself, fantastic. It is a flighty little bird which didn’t make for good pictures but to be honest I was pleased to get even record shots!

Seeing any bird for the first time is always special so we were both very chuffed, as the only other time we had tried for a Serin we had dipped.

We headed up to the coast in optimistic mood feeling that today if we went for a bird we would see it! That didn’t quite pan out but we did have a lovely day even when we were not spotting what we had hoped for.

we went to Blakeney and went for a good walk hoping to catch the Lapland buntings which had been in the area for a little while, we didn’t get them but  the walk was not in vain. On our way out we saw a lovely little Grey plover which although distant it did provide some nice shots.

On our way back we were looking for a pair of Stonechats that we had just been told were near by. We saw the male very briefly and we’re still looking for him when I turned round and saw this fella instead!

He sat a while then slid himself back into the water and off he went. Good to have another mammal to add to our list.

A little further on and we spotted the male Stonechat again closely followed by the female, a smashing pair!

So we dipped the Lapland buntings we had gone for but we considered the trip a success!  Yesterday we knew a Phalarope had been in the Cley area but seemed rather mobile and there had been no talk of it today until we reached the car wondering about a trip to Sherringham. The message came that the Grey phalarope was back at Cley and showing well, no guarantee it would wait for us but we thought we would give it a try, this is the result!

These are super rather amusing birds and always remind me of a clockwork toy. They are constantly turning around and dipping (I will call him DIpity) This one was very cooperative feeding busily just outside the hide windows!

The Redshanks was feeding in a similar area so I couldn’t resist just a few shots of him.

I was explaining recently to my granddaughter that they are called Redshanks as shanks means legs, her response was to ask why they don’t just call them red legs then? Hard to know the answer to that really!

By the time we returned to the car the light was beginning to fade so it was deffinately time to head home for a cuppa (the first of the day!) it really was a brilliant day. So we began with Serin and ended with Dipity I hope the title makes sense now!

Whoever had the idea to take this year out to go in pursuit of wings and other things certainly needs a pat on the back!

Bird total: 113

Mammal: 5