Winterton Early start

An early start at Winterton, had me meeting Peter C, having first heard a Coal Tit in his garden, we made our way onto the Dunes and in a dip close to the houses just north of Beach road and we soon saw the fine adult male Red- backed Shrike that showed quite well in bushes around here perching in a rosehip bushes and on top of a bramble bush. A fine bird with grey head, black mask and reddish brown back and a slight pink flush on its breast. Occasionally the Shrike would disappear amongst the brambles behaving more like a Warbler, before finally showing again and I managed to retrace my steps and crawl up the top of the ridge and take a few pics where the Shrike posed quite nicely for me, although I would have prefered to have been a little closer.

Meanwhile along Beach road, a Tree Sparrow showed well briefly amongst some House Sparrows. walking south along the Dunes, near the beach we saw lots of hirundines, swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins flew around both south and north. It reminded me that they were on the move the House Martins have left the nests under out house eaves (sad to see them disappear but all 3 nests were used and were very successful raising several broods and just 2 chicks were lost found dead on the drive during the summer) on Thursday 16th and just 2 House Martins were seen flying over the garden on Friday 17th We didn't see the hoped for Laplands, but a fine Hobby whizzed past and north and out of sight.

In the dunes, a Wheatear flew past us and south rounded off a fine early morning trip to Winterton today.

Later in the morning a look around the North Denes revealed nothing.

In the afternoon, I looked around the Hen reedbeds not seeing anything or the hoped for Wasp spiders so I took pics of Grasshoppers.

At Southwold harbour (where I saw several confiding young Starlings were moulting from their immature plumage to adult winter plumage) Dunwich beach car park, I couldn't see the hoped for King Eider, but there was a raft of 21 Common Scoter on the sea just south of Dunwich Beach car park. In the distance through my telescope looking south, I could see a crowd of birders standing on the cliff of Dunwich Beach car park and arriving at Dunwich NT, I joined the crowd including Roy M & saw the rather distant King Eider just south of their on the sea probably directly out from the entrance to Minsmere East hide.

On Blythburgh estuary, I saw a few waders, as well as the usual Redshank, Curlew & including 7 closer Knot (all winter plumage), many Dunlin and more distant singletons of both Avocet & Spotted Redshank.