Birthday bonus = Mealy Redpoll, Waxwing, 2 Cattle Egrets & Slav Grebe!

Taking annual leave from work today today, Tues 15th November, leaving the house I saw skeins of Cormorants flying east, groups of 9, 4 and 3 because it is my birthday, I started on the North Denes at around 8.30am, just north of the Bird's Eye factory, where 2 birders were looking west along the path running along the southern edge of the weedy patch. I veered around carefully to join them where they said they had seen the bird, but it had flown into the bushes. A minute or so later it flew down onto the edge of the weedy patch the South- western edge and I slowly edged towards it, I was about to get some pics when a dog walker appeared at exactly at the wrong time going past it just as I was focussing on it, so no pics. How annoying. I had to wait around 20 minutes, but I hadn't realised it was back among the weeds when a brown bird with whitish rump flew back into the bushes. It perched high up in a tree with a piece of plastic caught in the branches and I watched from a distance before it dropped to the grassy floor underneath a bush. Of course, another dog walker walked past and flushed it yet again. But this time it was only 5 minutes before the excellent Mealy Redpoll, flew to the south- western edge of the weeds again by the path and this time I slowly manoeuvred myself into position and managed to spend around 20 minutes photographing it. It was voraciously feeding on the seeds of the weeds, sometimes perched vertically across a stem and plucking the seed heads. Other times it perched upright on the stem and continued feeding. I watched it until a birdwatcher walking west along the path, obviously didn't see the bird and didn't understand my gestures to keep back, flushed it back into the trees. At Ness Point, theere was no sign of the Snow B behind the hut or anywhere at the Point. It was very high tide and I walked to the northern perimeter of the Point and saw a lone Purple sandpiper on the rocks, that was quickly joined by 2 more, making 3 Purple Sandpipers in total, 2 flew south a little way. There was no sign of any Waxwings around Spashett Road area. Whilst driving north along the A12 just past the Hopton roundabout a lone Waxwing flew low and west over the A12 clearly seen from the car, it appeared to land in th bushes just west of the carriageway. Looking from Meadow road at Burgh castle, I could see around 3 Little Egrets in the distant fields plus a quartering Marsh harrier. No sign of the Cattle Egrets until 2 excellent Cattle Egrets got up and flew south along the Breydon south wall fields sporting yellow bills and more rounded wings. At Filby, I walked to Ormesby Little Broad and saw several Tufted Duck c10 and 7 Great- crested Grebes all in a line in front of the lookout. I was really pleased to see the Slavonian Grebe swimming on the water mid way out swimming right and seen right from the lookout, it appeared to swim into the eastern arm of Ormsby Little Broad. Meanwhile calls overhead revealed at least 1 Siskin seen in flight. Walking back I saw a female Marsh Harrier flying overhead right to left. On Filby Broad, I counted 7 Goldeneye, 2 males and 5 females.