I tried to take the old fella for the Owl yesterday but he had other plans so we put the trip on hold until this morning. We set off at 5am and arrived at the coast around 7am stopping briefly to tick Fulmar from Hunstanton Cliffs and to grab a shot of an obliging Barn Owl as we drove through Snettisham.
With the Arctic Owl seen at Thornham all day Saturday having also been seen at Heacham and Burnham Deepdale in previous days we decided Thornham harbour would be our first stop and we scanned hard from there with little joy. At Titchwell we walked the reserve finding lot’s of Scaup and Long-tailed Duck out on the sea but little else of note. As we did a second lap trying to tick Red-crested Pochard news came in that the Owl had been seen at Snettisham so it was all systems go.
We rushed back to the car drove the eight miles to Snettisham parked up and marched the two miles (40 mins walk at a good pace) to the end of the reserve to find a small gathering on the boardwalk policed well by a couple of RSPB wardens or volunteers. We now had the target Snowy Owl sitting in front of us on a grassy ridge less than 100 yards away and there it remained for the remainder of our visit.Life tick for the old man and a great year tick for me. (I had previously seen the 2001 Felixstowe ship assisted grubby bird through a hole in a fence)
Lot’s of familiar faces around today on what turned out to be a very smart twitch and full marks to the staff at Snettisham who several times had to rush down the path to stop people with free running dogs from getting near the bird but managed the crowd well with friendly respectful attendance.
Year list now 169
Brian Anderson
Essex Birder using the blog as a diary of my trips around the country chasing birds. Enjoying the places it takes me and the people I meet along the way. Great to spend time with my Dad and brother as we chase our year lists and grow our life list in the process.
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