Benacre Migrants

A walk to Benacre Sluice from Kessingland with a fresh southerly wind, initially revealed very little save for the fact I saw the Norfolk Visitor and he informed me that the BNG had been spooked off by a dog leaping into the water. Richard M walked over and together we saw a female type Black Redstart on the grass just south of the sluice building. Walking over along the concrete road, by the bend looking north just metres away a fine male Common Redstart flew out and perched on a tiny sprig of gorse. A really smart bird, it flew left and perched in a bush before flying right again perched on the sprig of gorse before flying right further and showing on other small patches of gorse. A female Black Redstart then flew east by the edge of the bushes. A Swallow flew north over the sluice stream. Rene B joined us and we saw a fine male Wheatear on the bank between the stony grass area and the path leading south by the pit. I saw a hybrid Hooded Crow walking down the bank to the sluice and in a scene reminiscent of Alfred Hitchcock's "The Birds" it followed Rene and I over to the beach, by Beach farm and the copse just east of there! Walking over to the beach, we saw a further 2 Swallow follow each other in quick succession flying low past the path. On the beach we sadly saw a freshly dead Guillemot corpse and a decomposing headless Puffin corpse, a smaller dumpier bird with tell-tale orange legs. A brief look at the copse east of Beach farm failed to reveal the LEO that Carl B had just found. We went back to the sluice and we saw Carl B there, the ever sharp Carl spotted a distant Whimbrel walking around the path between the pit, the bird walked back away and the flew to the wsetern edge of the pit. and I decided to walk back to the car. At Kessingland Sewage works, seeing richard W briefly, I walked onto the large bush east of the path and initially saw a Chiff- Chaff and briefly a Firecrest, the olive green upperparts and bronze shoulders briefly apparent as it moved back through the foliage. Carl B appeared and his pishing conjured up not one but 2 Firecrest one posed nicely for several minutes right in front of us and they were joined by a Goldcrest. By the Sewage beds, initially no birds seen but several wagtails flew in including 2 Pied and the female Grey Wagtail perched on the edge of a Sewage bed at the back. I gave Carl B a lift to Lowestoft and next stop were the net posts, I immediately saw 1, then 2 and finally 3 female type Black Redstarts in the south west corner. The birds perched on the netposts along the vertical beams and flying down to the ground. A chap trying to film them with a standard camera walked in front of me and rather ungratiously pushed them further over to the corner and they were last seen perched on the top of the large bramble bush. As I left, Justin L and his brother arrived. After a brief visit home, I drove over to Lound Lakes on the approaches, 80+ Redwing flew south over the road. and could clearly see the fine male Goosander swimming between the 2 islands and latterly swimming further north out and into full view.