A fine day at Cley! Long-billed Dowitcher & LEO

After a dose of food poisoning at the weekend, I was keen to get out to do some birding especially to Cley in North Norfolk to get some pics of the Long- billed Dowitcher which has been showing very well along the Serpentine from the east bank and it would be the best opportunity so far to get pics of a species I have only obtained poor records shots of previously. Especially as I was due to go with ace Norfolk team John H & Tony which is always a good experience & in great company, too. Sadly that was not to be, as I was quite ill on Saturday, not feeling great on Sunday either but fully recovered for Monday, I took leave (I have some days to use up!) for Tuesday 14th February and drove up to Cley in thick fog, but as I arrived at Walsey Hills just after 10am the sun soon dispersed the fog and it became a fine almost spring-like day, with the landscape bathed in a carpet of fine golden sunshine. The omens were good as some ladies at Walsey Hills said they had just left it sleeping on the island. I walked along the east bank and initially and couldn't see any sign of it. I heard some Bearded Tits calling from the reeds and saw around 5 Black- tailed Godwits. Suddenly, all the waders got up from the back of the island and I soon spotted the excellent Long- billed Dowitcher feeding along the close edge of the pool, albeit initially obscured by side grass and vegetation, but patience was soon rewarded as it was soon seen out in the open, but always constantly feeding, so photographically challenging with the sunlight was becoming a little harsh from some angles. It was also a little further away than I would have hoped and heavy cropping still required for the images you see. Next stop was Cley Spey at Glandford just inland from Cley and walking through the shop there was an outside area and a view to bushes around 60 metres away the fantastic Long- eared Owl was sitting right out in the open, initially it was preening, then it looked around then faced right and then looked right. After a while I left and then asked in the shop if I could purchase a spare rainguard for my Zeiss which had fallen off somewhere in the field. Amazingly the guy went off searching in his box of rainguard and came up with Zeiss rainguard which fitted perfectly and they were free of charge. I put £2.50 in the donations box and the went on the search for the WC Sparrow stained glass window at Cley Church. Famously one had occured just down the road and the feeders had been moved to the drive so birders could gather at the roadside top see it iccasionally come to feed. I had to wait an agonising week asi it was discovered late one Sunday afternoon but the following Saturday my patience was reared with reasonable scope views of this magnificent bird. I first Church I went to was the wrong one but gardeners gestured over to the right and another Church, St. Margaret's proved to be the right one. I walked all the way around the outside and couldn't see it so I went inside the Church and a nice lady helped me look for it but reading the literature of the Church it said the Stained glass dpiction was in the great west window above a sill. I wasn't sure which direction was west but I soon spotted in the large window to the left as you go in the main entrance, it was one very small pane in a very large plain window so easy to miss. I took some pics and bought the bargain bone China mug depicting an image of the bird and the writing White- crowned Sparrow, St. Margaret's Church, Cley, all for the bargain price of £10, there are still 2 mugs left!