American Black Scoter at Holkham

Later on Sunday 28th January, John H informed me that the ABS had been sighted 'close in' off Holkham, so I picked John up around 10am and drove to Holkham. The car park fee was a costly £6.50 for 4 hours so we walked past the Pines along the dunes and into the Marram dunes affording some height over the bay and sea. Joining agroup of some 40 birders. It was immediately apparent thaty the Scoter flock was quite a way out to sea. We initially thought we stood little chance of picking out the ABS. We moved from the left to the right of the group and people were having glimses of the bird. Indeed I saw the occasional flash of yellow on the bill of a bird. Probably it. It was only when a kind birder let me have a look through his 60X Swarovski scope that I could clearly see the Scoter, a fantastic American Black Scoter, all black with an obvious swollen yellow bill, this was the American Black Scoter, a first for Norfolk and only the second one I have seen seeing one a few years back at Berwick Upon Tweed, after seeing the Harlequin Duck in Aberdeen a few years ago.