wildlifeaylmerton: Saturday pm

With Josh having a matinee performance of the school panto, I was able to have a ride along the coast before returning to pick him up. I called into Salthouse first, with my pager alerting me to the current presence of a White -rumped Sandpiper on the flood meadow here (an American visitor that has actually been here since the autumn) Unbelievably as I arrived the birds on said meadow all took to the air in mass panic, with a Sparrowhawk speeding low over the field. I say unbelievably, because it was my motor that disturbed the Sparrowhawk sitting on a roadside post! Typical! Once gone, the birds started to drift back, and with only one small wader returning I immediately focused my scope...on a Dunlin!
I continued onto the beach carpark and just managed a very distant back end view of a Balearic Shearwater, as it had just passed close offshore! Scanning out to sea therewere many Red-throated Divers and auks and superb views of an immature Great Northern Diver as it actively (very actively!) fished in the surf under some fishing rods! Also here a couple of flurries of Snow bunting and an out of season Arctic Skua.
Carrying on, I stopped off at Cley and headed for Daukes Hide on the reserve having recently heard about (pun intended!) a loop system having been installed here for people hard of hearing or being hearing aid users. Falling in the latter category I often find that half the time loop systems are displayed as being present anywhere they don't work, but this one just worked fine and a big thumbs up to the Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Anyway by now the sun was quickly on its down turn from not being very high in the first place, and with the hide to myself I could take a few pics in peace.

Shoveler gaudy but gorgeous