Excellent Mimic at Winterton

Saturday 11th June, Jenny & I visited the Old Vicarage gardens at East Ruston near Happisburgh in Norfolk. As we walked past the car park near the entrance, a Norfolk Hawker dragonfly flew past. At one of the ponds, a Four- spotted Chaser posed well constantly returning to a perch near the edge of the pool. At another pond, a Common Toad was seen plus 1 or 2 froglets crawling up the spike of a Water Soldier leaf. Also seen here was a fine male Broad- bodied Chaser.

On Sunday morning, I was just about to leave the house to go down to Minsmere when I received a call from Tim H to say he had found a Marsh Warbler at Winterton. Some 40 minutes later at 10.40am, I was making my way down the public steps by the caravan park and joined Tim and Neil M by the path in the southern valley overlooking the sloping bank leading up to private gardens. Snatches of the bird's song were heard with the calls of Swallow and Great Tit interspersed within it. Still I couldn't see the bird but when we were joined by John H I saw a very pale sandy coloured warbler fly over to a bush half way up the bank lined on its left side by a flowering honeysuckle and the excellent Marsh Warbler appeared just to the right of the bush for a couple of seconds before disappearing. I later saw the bird closer perched on a bracken stem for a few seconds before it flew back top the bush again. It was then heard singing for more prolonged periods as the sun came out and the wind abaited a little. Suddenly, a Cuckoo flew over our heads and inland over the bank. Paul & Jane and later OFB arrived and at around 12.50pm I left. I should have stayed a little longer as the bird came out just after I had left and posed briefly (albeit some distance away) for the cameras.

A great find for Tim and very well deserved and many thanks for ringing me personally and letting me know, cheers Tim.