Saturday March 5th

NNE 2-3 overcast, drizzle cold

After the sun almost burnt my back through my office window yesterday, I was suitably inspired to get up when the missus went to work this morning and do a bit of birding. Yesterdays sunshine had lolled me in to a false sense of security and it soon became pretty obvious as I stood on the clifftop that I had underestimated me' thermal layers this morning, within twenty minutes I was perished! I stuck with it though, and the constant trickle of Red-throated Divers, and a couple of parties of Eider just about maintained my interest. A small fishing boat offshore started to pull in a few big gulls, which my birding sub-conscious muttered something about 'white wings', and sure enough within fifteen minutes the large, glowing sight of a 2c/y Glaucous Gull appeared in with the Jeebs and took charge. It pursued another gull down the beach but unfortunately just kept going south-eastwards, towards and past the BlackGate (I mean, Mundesley!) and into Mordor! Poor thing!

A quicklook at Gimingham Lakes drew a blank, and searching other little hidy-holes only produced a couple of Gadwall, brace of Teal, flockof c25 Yellowhammer and a couple of Treecreeper. Closer to home a tilling tractor had attracted half a dozen or so 'alba' Wagtails one of which I initially thought good for White (although it was fairly distant) but I hung around for better views which enabled a couple of shots.

adult male Pied wagtail

2c/y Pied Wagtail (female?) The extensive brown greater coverts age this bird as 2c/y, and although the upperparts are largely grey a few dark mantle feathers are coming through.