Sunday 15 August 2010

What's the Point?

Limitations III

JL: "OK, so now what?"
Doctor: "It will take six to eight weeks to heal. You need to rest, and ideally keep your foot up."
JL: "Understood. How about getting up at 3am and walking Blakeney Point?"
Doctor: "Perfect."




Up to Norfolk with Hawky and Bradders on a good forecast. A smattering of autumn scarcities the previous day, and guess what? As with all previous trips to Norfolk on a good forecast, a dismal failure. Well, I can't in all good conscience call six Pied Flycatchers in Wells Wood a dismal failure, but it didn't live up to expectations, which were for an awesome sea-watch complete with Cory's, followed by mopping up a stack load of interesting vagrants along the lines of Greenish Warbler and Red-backed Shrike. And yes, we did walk Blakeney Point.

For two Willow Warblers and a Chiffchaff.

It wasn't all bad, though don't ask my toe what it thinks. Although the Point was a barren wasteland, and Sueda is the invention of the devil, we did see a decent number of Arctic Skuas on our various sessions looking at the sea, a few of them pretty close. Huge numbers of Terns feeding just beyond the surf, and therefore quite a few aerial battles. Also, Icterine Warblers do not exist. Fact. Your Field Guides are wrong, that's all I can say.




My favourite part of the day was a rather good photo session with some feeding peeps on the rising tide. Mainly Sanderling and Dunlin, provided you didn't move, they mostly ignored you and carried on feeding. Slight wariness as they passed, but that just made for some nice running shots. I won't get technical, but the majority of the following images (of which there are more than a few....) were made whilst flat on my stomach in the sand. Many real photographers swear that the resulting angle is more pleasing, who am I to disagree?










1 comment:

  1. Lovely peeps! Much preferable to the marshmallow kind. I like the third image best.

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