At the end of May my list was 75-strong, which at the beginning of the year I'd likely have been satisfied with as a final total. But the first week of June was to be spent in Norfolk which offered a good opportunity to boost the tally further. Here's how I got on:
June 1 - Sculthorpe Moor reserve
Barn owl
Cuckoo
Sedge warbler
Marsh harrier
June 2
Linnet
Red-legged partridge (both Cranmer)
Ringed plover
Common tern (both Wells-next-the-sea)
June 4
Grey partridge
Yellowhammer (both Cranmer)
June 5
Avocet
Shelduck
Egyptian goose
Sand martin
Little ringed plover
Reed warbler (all Pensthorpe reserve)
Spotted flycatcher (Sculthorpe)
June 6 (Holkham)
Barnacle goose
June 15 (Dovestone)
Peregrine
TOTAL: 94 species.
The first day alone and I probably would have been happy to leave it at that, with cuckoo and barn owl both being lifers (I probably saw/heard cuckoos as a kid, but I don't remember it and definitely haven't done so for years). The other highlight was the spotted flycatcher that we watched close-up while in a beer garden. Lowlight was narrowly avoiding being mauled by two very aggressive dogs while having an evening walk (and picking up grey partridge and yellowhammer).
(pic from Wikipedia)
I still remain some distance from the real hardcore listers though. And talking of those, while at Sculthorpe Moor reserve on June 1st, we stumbled upon pro-twitcher Lee Evans leading a merry band of birders as part of his week-long round-Britain trip. Surely I ought to get a bonus tick for that?
So the next question is, can I hit the ton?
