once more unto the beach

On Wednesday we left Norfolk feeling that there was unfinished business, so on Friday we were back on the coast determined to find something good before the weather set in. We were fortunate that the rain held off for a while, and in that time we found the Wryneck that had been reported the day before, as well as a bushful of Garden Warblers and Willow Warblers, Redstarts, Spotted Flycatchers and Whinchat spread along the dunes. With the wind at our backs steadily strengthening, and despite the gloom, a Yellow-browed Warbler appeared.

In hindsight, we should have left it there, but we pushed on with the drizzle now getting worse, and the birds getting harder to find. Drizzle turned to rain, and, having reached the pines at Holkham we decided to take shelter in the Jordan hide for a while, but the misty scene before us was not the wildfowl filled extravaganza that Holkham is famous for. A few harriers, a Peregrine, Spoonbill and Great White Egret were about, and six Pinkfeet flew past, the vanguard of future spectacle.

It was clear that the rain wasn't going anywhere except on us, so, doing our best to string a couple of barely seen birds fleeing our attentions, we bedraggled our way back to the car.