Monday 12 August 2013

Gulls and waders at Cley

It was the Norfolk Records Committee meeting today, so I headed up to Cley for some birding in the morning before the meeting. I met up with Mark Golley and we headed for North Hide at Cley. One of the first things we saw was an amazing-looking leucistic Barn Swallow. It was almost totally white apart from some buff areas around its face and back. The other swallows and Skylarks gave it a bit of a hard time so it didn't hang around for long.
North Hide was quite good, with the best bird being a juvenile Red-necked Phalarope feeding not too far from the hide.

Red-necked Phalarope, juvenile

Red-necked Phalarope, juvenile

Red-necked Phalarope, juvenile

Red-necked Phalarope, juvenile

Red-necked Phalarope, juvenile


It was then down to Kelling Quags to look for Wood Sandpiper, of which we saw two. There were also a rather nice juvenile limosa Black-tailed Godwit which flew off before I managed to get some shots of it, plus some Ruff and Greenshanks.

Kelling Quags



Wood Sandpiper

Wood Sandpiper

Ruff - male at back, female at front

After the committee meeting, a few of us went to the Cley roost where there was a nice male Caspian Gull on Pat's Pool, plus a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls, about 50 Dunlin and one moulding adult Curlew Sandpiper.

Adult male Caspian Gull

Adult male Caspian Gull



Marsh Harrier


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