Slippery customer

After a visit to the Lowestoft North Beach area yesterday evening, I resolved not to look there this morning as I had seen very little.

This was a big mistake as a Roseate Tern spent the early morning on the groynes there but as usual I missed it, this must be around the 12th time I have twitched one unsuccessfully in Lowestoft and not to mention the countless visits I spend trying to find one myself in this area in July & August. 

Some birders go in for year lists, I could never do this as I have rotten luck I usually miss a lot of birds this way & Roseate Tern is currently my bogey bird this year, I've even missed them at Minsmere this year where everyone else has seen them. Perhaps I should compile a list of birds dipped, I'm sure I'd be the undisputed winner here, last year in the Spring I tried to twitch Thrush Nightingale, Great Reed Warbler, Marsh Warbler, Purple Heron, Temminck's Stint and missed them all I had about 8 successive unsuccessful trips to Minsmere for these birds, this must be some kind of record.

Back in the garden, 4 Painted Lady butterflies were on the Buddlea and at around 11am as I was attempting to hook the washing line onto it's hook, I heard something rustling underneath and I was just in time to see a Grass Snake slither out of sight.