Yellowlegs and Kite

Had I remembered to put the memory card back in the camera I would have had more pictures... To be honest, the wind was bitterly cold and the call of a nearby hot cup of tea was too much to resist. Good numbers of Kittiwakes were feeding offshore at Holme (53 in one count) and 3 Little Gull appeared on cue during the afternoon seawatch. Saturday bought Hen Harrier and Bean Goose at Abbey Farm but the unboubted hilight of the weekend was laying eyes on the creature below....

After many weeks of frustration ,the Snettisham Black-eared Kite finally gave itself up, offering amazing views and providing me with my 202nd Snetts tick. The first weekend I had a chance to see it and it dissapeared on the friday, after being present all week. From here the Kite dissapeared to the broads (though it was claimed around the Snettisham/Wolferton area over the weekend) and then moved back along the coast to Cley. Here, it remained for a number of days before returning again to Snettisham. Thinking the bird was to be safely "in the bag" I was proved to be wrong as it then made a return journey back to Cley, where it remained just untill the new year. At this point I get a little confused as to the birds movements but the important point is that story ends with the bird returning to Snettisham and me being able tick it.... something I did with enormous satisfaction.

One of the caravans along the beach at Snettisham. Similar to the destruction of the College Wallaby shed but on a arger scale...

Snettisham hilights

Short-eared Owl and Smew

After adding Red-throated Diver as the final patch tick of the year, my Snettisham year list was to finish on a new personal record of 181 species. Apart from Guillemot and Tree Pipit, and possibly Slavonian Grebe, most of the "expected" species were recorded, with a total of 14 patch ticks seen within the year...

Smew - Hawfinch - Red Kite - Mealy Redpoll - Common Crane - White Stork - Pacific golden Plover - Little Auk - Long-tailed Duck - Great Skua - Little Bunting -Snow Goose - Red-necked Grebe - Razorbill

Species that I managed to miss included Spoonbill, Manx and Sooty Shearwaters, Pom Skua, WRSandpiper, Grey Phalarope, Black-eared Kite, Goosander, Arctic Tern and Iceland Gull, all of which would have been snettisham ticks.

Black-eared Kite, Goosander and Lapland Bunting start off the 2007 dip list...

A total of 184 species were recorded at Snettisham RSPB last year...