Pacific Swift, Trimley Marshes

About 500 people at the second day of the Pacific Swift Twitch at  Trimley  Marshes SWT, Suffolk joining the 400 who managed the journey on the first day.
The first surprise of the day was the fact that the Mega from  Siberia had remained overnight the second surprise was the hour and a quarter walk from the the Car Park to the Marshes.. They(?) would have made  a fortune if a Car Park  was created near to the viewing area.
Was it worth it----Of course it was. Only 6 previously accepted  records; this being the first for Suffolk (if accepted!)
The views had were best described as fleeting and very sporadic.

Lesser Kestrel Twitch

Picture taken by C Orders. On Monday 29th March we arrived at Westleton Heath full of expectation. After standing in the Drizzle for 2 hours with a light mist descending our expectations were being severely challenged; the Lesser Kestrel had gone to ground. Although two of our team were quite prepared to'sit it out' our third member decided ( he was after all the driver) that it would be a good idea to travel about 20 miles north to see the Pallid Swift which had been reported some hours previously. On arrival at the Swift site we were infomed that it had not been seen for about an hour after flying purposely to the West---our expectations were now at an all-time low. Half the day gone and no ticks! A passing birder then informed us that the Lesser Kestrel had been relocated . Travelling south over familiar roads at speeds approaching a F1 Red Bull we revisted out previous Stake-out. And there it was--- the Mega rare Kestrel. Having got a tick at last we forgave the driver even though we dipped on the Pallid Swift. A supporting cast of 4 Dartford Warblers and a lone Swallow completed a memorable day. .

The Big Dip

The Leas, South Shields

In this Quarry our Quarry (the Eastern Crowned Warbler) was present the day before. But unfortunately on our arrival the Twitch was rapidly diminishing whilst the Warbler was, no doubt, on its way back to Sunny Shanghai.

The 417 miles round trip was not, however, a complete waste. A visit to Port Clarence, Cleveland on the way home revealed a Blue-winged Teal---a lifer which had eluded me for some time.

Great-spotted Cuckoo Twitch at RAF Weybourne

Seen it! Ticked it! Off for some lunch! Tried to avoid treading on the thousands of 7 spotted Ladybirds which were invading the north Norfolk coast!

Grinning like a Cheshire cat after bagging the Great-spotted Cuckoo.

Needless to say it was too far off for a decent pic.

It took two visits---one week apart-- to see this little beauty.

In between the two visits I managed another lifer---the Pacific Golden Plover at Breydon Water