Birding in a Porsche

Well I finally got a run in Colin's new Macan yesterday. Still not feeling brilliant, with a lingering cough, but we had a short day out in Norfolk. Thoughts that the a walk in the fresh air would help didn't exactly work as it was very cold with a strong wind, but we had a good time.
The car is a bit more compact than the Nissan, handles much better and is far more comfortable. It is also a lot more economical and has a 500+ mile range so long distance twitches should be a bit easier on the pocket. I spent a good deal of the journey  fiddling with the 18-way seat adjustments. I haven't quite got the passenger seat right yet but its close. The one failing of the car, if I can call it that is that the GPS altimeter doesn't like being below sea level, and at one point was reading 19999 feet when we were near Welney. All I need is a lottery win.
We kicked off at Thornham where we hoped to see a wintering flock of Twite. Not much of a challenge as they spent most of the time in the channel just behind the car park.

Viewing from the sea wall was a bit challenging with a very strong wind so I didn't stay long. Scanning the harbour mouth produced the typical selection of Brent Geese, Curlew, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Dunlin and assorted gulls. Hopes for a Merlin or Hen Harrier appeared to go out of the window due to a shooting party on Thornham Marsh, though I was later told that it didn't usually cause much disturbance.

Titchwell was pretty quiet for a change, plenty of spaces in the car park. The tide was just about high when we arrived, though it wasn't a big one. Despite this, the fresh marsh was pretty full with only a few small flocks of duck and waders. One Avocet, a small flock of Knot and a few Godwits being the highlight. Seemed to be more Ringed Plovers than usual, but no Ruff, Spotted Redshanks or Greenshank.
Most of the interest was on the sea. This proved to be a bit tricky with the wind and the fairly rough conditions. Most of the birds were some distance out in the heat (!) haze. The usual flocks of Great Crested Grebe and Red Breasted mergansers were in the bay, with a few others scattered over the sea. One or two close Red Throated Divers were easy to identify, but most other divers were a along way out and only one Great Northern was identified with certainty. Also a long way out were a coupe of Great Skuas and many auks. Luckily a few Guillemot and Razorbills were close inshore as were one or two smaller birds-my first Little Auks for several years.
Returning to the car we spent some time scanning the Pink Footed Geese on the grazing marsh but failed to find anything else-Taiga Bean Geese have been seen in the area and a small flock that we saw fly over Thornham was supposed to have a Greenland (?) Whitefront with them. All I managed to see were a few Snipe and Red Legged Partridge.
We called it a day after lunch, not wishing to spend too much time in the cold and returned home via Welney. No raptors or owls, in fact apart from a few Lawping flocks most of the fields were empty, and we only managed to locate two herds of wild swans. The only one we got close to turned out the be Whooper.

Bramfield Hawfinches

I haven't posted anything here for a while now. I did a long circuit around Aston End the Sunday before last, and tried getting some autumn colour landscapes but it was hard work and only a couple of images were worth working on.

I missed last weekend completely as a sinus infection started to take hold. I had planned on either looking for Hawfinches, following the large invasion over recent weeks, going to Tyttenhanger for the Great White Egret, plus several other good birds, and then meeting up with Colin the next day and doing Norfolk. Colin was quite keen, mainly, as it turned out, because he has changed his car and wanted to show it off, but by then I was too ill to consider it.
Ive still got a bad cough, feeling tired and very bunged up, but at least I am mobile. Been back at work for a few days and managed to survive that, so this morning felt like getting a bit of fresh air.
There were a couple of big Hawfinch roosts at Danemead and Broxbourne Woods last night but I decided to try Bramfield Church as a few are present again this winter.

Turned out to be a good move as shortly after I arrived, a couple of guys up from London told me that  they hadn't seen any birds at either roost. The Church yard has had a bit of work done since I was last here and the big limes have been severely pruned, so it is a lot more open now.
The usual birds were present-lots of vocal Nuthatches, a few Coal, Blue and Great Tits, some Goldcrests and Long Tailed Tits and Lots of Jackdaws and Rooks. Redwings seemed to be flying over on a regular basis, maybe 50 at a time, with a few Fieldfare and Song Thrush among them.
Two Hawfinches were eventually located, in one of the trees in the adjacent garden. They sat up in the tree for quite some time before the male flew west towards the woods. The female remained for a while then flew into the vicarage opposite. Some time later, it or another flew out and over the church  and presumably also into the woods.

Luckily I got to see Colin and was able to try out his new car- he's downsized from a Murrano to a Macan, which is a lot more economical to run. And a bit more stylish and upmarket.