European Roller & Blue -winged Teal

With the Roller still at Horsey in Norfolk the decision is easy on sat morning to go for it, we meet up with Brian at 6 o'clock & two hours later we are parked up at Nelson's head track.
Not so sure where to start looking so we scope the whole way down the track looking at fence posts & dead trees, we then see a small group of birders down by the beach scanning across the trees so this looks good to us, as we get near them the pager goes off to report the bird is here, so we quicken our pace & reach the first scope & he has it in the scope, so we grab a look, then set up our scopes to get great views for a good couple of hours, a cracking bird & a lifer for Jimmy & myself.

We meet a new face who has turned up with a very large telescope that he watches the stars with, he gets some photos with it that are to far away for our cameras, he is as good as he's word as he sends us the photos he got.The colour when the bird opened it's wings to fly was a sight to see.

Roller

                                               
                                                                                       

European Roller ( Dan Self photo )

A quick climb up to the beach gets me an Arctic Skua for a year tick, also the beach is alive with seals taking in the morning sun.

Off now to Salthouse for a cuppa off the van on the beach.Then on to Titchwell to look for a Wood Sandpiper for me to tick, the scrape is full of birds, we see Bearded Tits,Reed Warbler, Red-crested Pochard, a couple of Snipe,Common & Green Sandpipers, Little & Ringed Plovers,plus a lot of other stuff but no Wood Sand again.

We spend a good couple of hours here but it's time to go now.

Before we go we meet up with Paul Hackett always nice to have a talk to him.

As we head home the pager goes off to tell us the Blue-winged Teal has been seen at Ouse wash, so it would be rude not to go for it.

When we arrive we speak to a very nice lady who lets us take the car down to Stockdale hide as we had an old boy in the car

In the hide a few birders are looking for it already, but after over an hour we see no sign of it, then the shout comes from the far end of the hide that he may be on it.

So all scopes are on it but nobody can say for sure, it's ticking all the box's but no sign of a blue flash on the wing up till now, then it just swims out of sight for a minute, but it walks up onto the bank & Jimmy is on it as it opens it wing to reveal a blue stripe, so another lifer for two of us.

While here we see three Cranes walking about in the grass, so a great day with two lifers & three year ticks for me.

Thanks Dan