NT
On the 25th August:
1975
An early start, we decided to do the walk from Cley to Blakeney Point, walking on shingle it seems to take for ever! Along the way we saw quite a few, mainly small, waders and on or over the sea 5 Arctic Skuas, 5 Common Scoters, 3 Gannets, a Guillemot and a Common Seal, a new mammal for us. Also alongside the path there was a Common Lizard. Reaching the point we saw c150 Oystercatchers, 5 Wheatears, another Arctic Skua, 2 Red-legged Partridges and we found an Icterine Warbler.
Later, we drove to Felbrigg Hall where an immature Honey Buzzard showed, a new bird for us.
From there we went to Holkham Gap and a walk through the woodland produced a Pied Flycatcher and 3 Spotted Flycatchers. Back at Cley there were 6 Black Terns, an immature Little Gull, 4 Yellow Wagtails, a Coypu and we watched an immature Marsh Harrier playing with 3 Grey Herons which were trying to mob it, a real comedy.
Lastly, we visited Weybourne where along the beach we saw a Fulmar, a Little Gull and a Glaucous Gull, another new bird for us.
1978
An evening trip to Steart to see an immature Wilson's Phalarope, also seeing lots of other waders including a Spotted Redshank and 7 Yellow Wagtails.
1980
A Bank Holiday trip to Weymouth, at Radipole Lake we saw 2 adult Little Gulls, then at Lodmoor there were 5 Wheatears, a Whinchat, 70+ Yellow Wagtails, several species of wader including a Wood Sandpiper.
Around the bill on Portland we saw 69 Wheatears, 2 Pied Flycatchers, 2 Spotted Flycatchers, 4 Whinchats, a Yellowhammer and 12 Corn Buntings. On a late afternoon sea-watch, feeding in the rough water off the bill, there were 800+ Gannets, Fulmars and Kittiwakes, and a single Great Skua.
1996
A night ferry crossing from Swansea to Cork, docking early morning, I was with Tim Cleeves, John Rossetti and Keith Vinicombe. We then drove west along the Southern Irish coast to Baltimore, where we took the boat to Cape Clear Island.
After dumping our stuff at the cottage we had booked, we then had a walk to the southern point of the island seeing Hooded Crows, 2 Peregrines, 10 Ravens, 3 Chough and a Sparrowhawk, as well as lots of common birds. At the point we did a 2 hour sea-watch seeing Manx Shearwaters, Fulmars, Gannets, a Minke Whale - a new mammal for me, 10 Porpoise, 3 Storm Petrels, Guillemots, Razorbills, a Balearic Shearwater, 4 Sooty Shearwaters, 3 Kittiwakes, 2 Shags and 2 Great Black-backed Gulls.
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