Burnham and Blakeney
The new job started Monday last. A week of utter mediocrity, apathy, and a deep sense of regret for leaving the aviation industry - one that I love. Yet at the time it felt it wasn't for me and I left. Now eighteen months later, and a couple of months away from a significant birthday, I am kicking my own ass. As one masochist said to another, don't beat yourself about it brother (Heaton, 2013). This job isn't for me. It is as far away from my aspirations as a bull is from a china shop. We keep searching, and the hope for something in aviation is what I am now completely ready for.
It's been a hell of a year, but through it all, my outlet has always been wildlife and birding. With rare access to a car, the ultimate escape was a trip to Norfolk, just the most magical place and one where I could totally get away from the exasperation I had been feeling.
En route, news came in of a BARRED WARBLER at Burnham Overy so reacting to this, we headed up to the area close to where the Speccie Warbler was seen earlier in the year. After a short wait, the bird appeared low down in the bushes at the bottom of Gun Hill before disappearing a few moments later. The easterly wind was pretty keen, so opting to change my view of the hawthorn bush, I was rewarded with much better albeit brief views of the bird as it hurriedly skipped through the foliage remaining typically elusive. Having seen a singing male earlier in the year in Poland, this was a new British bird.
Also in the area were a single Whinchat, half a dozen Northern Wheatear, a Green Sandpiper, two Greenshank, nine Black-Tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, a Marsh Harrier, and a few 'pinging' Bearded Tit all by the pools.
Heading away, our initial destination was Blakeney Point. Having never taken the walk from the Beach Car Park to the Point, we decided to negotiate the seven mile walk. The skies cleared, and it was such a joy to take in the sea air and get some decent exercise in.
Despite the easterlies, it was relatively quiet with a few Northern Wheatear scattered along the shingle spit. A Common Redstart and a Whinchat were at the plantation. The sun was warm, the views over the freshmarsh were stunning and with that, I fell asleep.
On the way back, a quick seawatch produced a few passing Gannet of varying ages, a flock of Common Scoter, and a Fulmar flying east.
It's been a hell of a year, but through it all, my outlet has always been wildlife and birding. With rare access to a car, the ultimate escape was a trip to Norfolk, just the most magical place and one where I could totally get away from the exasperation I had been feeling.
En route, news came in of a BARRED WARBLER at Burnham Overy so reacting to this, we headed up to the area close to where the Speccie Warbler was seen earlier in the year. After a short wait, the bird appeared low down in the bushes at the bottom of Gun Hill before disappearing a few moments later. The easterly wind was pretty keen, so opting to change my view of the hawthorn bush, I was rewarded with much better albeit brief views of the bird as it hurriedly skipped through the foliage remaining typically elusive. Having seen a singing male earlier in the year in Poland, this was a new British bird.
Also in the area were a single Whinchat, half a dozen Northern Wheatear, a Green Sandpiper, two Greenshank, nine Black-Tailed Godwit, Grey Plover, a Marsh Harrier, and a few 'pinging' Bearded Tit all by the pools.
Heading away, our initial destination was Blakeney Point. Having never taken the walk from the Beach Car Park to the Point, we decided to negotiate the seven mile walk. The skies cleared, and it was such a joy to take in the sea air and get some decent exercise in.
Despite the easterlies, it was relatively quiet with a few Northern Wheatear scattered along the shingle spit. A Common Redstart and a Whinchat were at the plantation. The sun was warm, the views over the freshmarsh were stunning and with that, I fell asleep.
On the way back, a quick seawatch produced a few passing Gannet of varying ages, a flock of Common Scoter, and a Fulmar flying east.
This was a nice surprise - my first Air Canada Dreamliner crusing at 40,000ft on AC085 from Tel Aviv to Toronto
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