The Fen was pretty quiet - at least I couldn't find anything unusual there (there were plenty of common birds to sift through). As I stood there I thought I might have heard a call from two birders who were further along the footpath. Wasn't entirely sure and turned round to look... but before I'd finished turning I heard a Crane overhead! Looking up 2 Cranes were flying west over the Fen. Nice.
Cranes, Stiffkey Fen, 3rd October
The footpath to the west of the Fen (Stiffkey Greens, I think), failed to deliver the migrants I was hoping to find, just a couple of Blackcaps and a flock of 30+ Ruff.
So on to Cley where the group and I walked down to Dauke's Hide. A Sparrowhawk showed nicely sat on a post and several Bearded Tits showed in the reeds.
Sparrowhawk, Cley, 3rd October
Bearded Tits, Cley, 3rd October
Waders on the scrapes included at least 6 Greenshank (but no sign of the reported Marsh Sandpiper) and at least 40 Ruff. A Great Skua flew east over the sea, visible above the shingle ridge.
A charm of Goldfinches entertained us while a Moorhen was busy feeding on blackberries.
Goldfinches, Cley, 3rd October
Moorhen, Cley, 3rd October
House Sparrows, Cley, 3rd October
As we walked down East Bank a Merlin flew past - maybe fresh in. From the end of East Bank we could see a few Gannets were passing by, and a couple of Red-throated Divers, but we didn't pick out the Basking Shark that was seen from the beach car park. We looked particularly intensely for that when news of it came through a few minutes later, but no sign from where we were standing. Another Sparrowhawk flew across the marsh as we walked back to the centre.
Meadow Pipit among Glasswort (Purple Glasswort?), Cley, 3rd October
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