Hunstanton Short Break

With the local weather forecast pretty grim we headed off south east , earlier this week,for some better stuff.
We enjoyed a short stay at Hunstanton, one of my favourite holiday spots where the weather on Tuesday was absolutely scorching.

A walk along the beach to Holmes-next-the-sea turned into a long job when we happened across a good selection of Waders along the beach pools and I had to stop 'every 5 minutes' to take a butchers hook.

On Wednesday the forecast strong winds came along but it was again very warm.

We managed to squeeze in a couple of hours at Titchwell Marsh - RSPB Nature Reserve.

The SW wind here was a lot calmer than at Hunstanton.
This is a fantastic place and for me a place for many head scratching 'experiences'.

Sue was a bit peeved by the lack of communication by some of the birders in the hides;but we hooked up with a couple from Thetford Forest, just as we were leaving, and enjoyed a very informative 15 minute chat with them.

As the RSPB warder mentioned at Cleethorpes, the other day; some birders are very secretive and others quite loquacious about their hobby.

According to Sue we had lots of the first sort and a few of the second sort, here today!

Anyway I've taken a few pictures - hope you enjoy looking at them. 
I certainly enjoyed taking them and being perplexed by some (if not most) of the waders.

Anyway, I'll have something to do tomorrow, when the forecast deluge arrives - Look through my Titchwell photos with my 'Shorebirds of the Northern Hemisphere' at the ready and see if I can improve my birding skills.

Sue's eyesight is 10 times better than mine …. along Hunstanton beach, Sue is seeing Turnstone with the naked eye whilst I'm squinting through my bins trying to locate the same birds!

If only I could persuade her to stop knitting Poppies to raise £200 for Help the Hero's and take up birding
... ho hum.

Birds:-

Hunstanton:

Black Tailed Godwit
Sandwich Tern
Oystercatcher
Sanderling
Redshank
Turnstone
Little Egret
Herring Gull
Common Gull
Black Headed Gull
Cormorant
Ringed Plover

Titchwell Marsh 

Pink Footed Geese.
Turnstone
Great Black-backed Gull
Common Gull
Herring Gull
Egyptian Goose
Greylag Goose
Canada Goose
Pintail Duck
Teal
Dunlin
Black Tailed Godwit
Bar Tailed Godwit
Ruff
Redshank
Spotted Redshank
Shelduck
Avocet
Linnet
Widgeon
Snipe
Ringed Plover
Tufted Duck
Sanderling
Starling

Hopefully I've ID most of 'em.

(This bit added later):
Shoveler.

Hunstanton:

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

??

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37

38

39

Titchwell Marsh:

40

41

42

??

43

44

45

46

47

48

49

50

51

?? in flight

51(a)

52

53

54

55

56

57

58

Pinkie with shattered wing

59

60

61

62

Distant Snipe

63

64

65

66

67

??

Probably Herring Gull

(not Caspian!)

68

69

70

71