Waders and terns in North Norfolk

Had a good outing to Cley and Titchwell today. The return passage of waders has started already, with non/failed breeding Black-tailed Godwits, Spotted Redshanks, Ruffs, and a Lesser Yellowlegs all putting on a show.
Along with 3 Spoonbills, there was a Lesser Yellowlegs was at Cley which showed constantly from Dauke's Hide.







On Arnold's Marsh was a couple of adult Roseate Terns (below) and some Arctic Terns. I took some video of the Roseates which is embedded below from YouTube.



Roseate Tern video (nearest bird)















On to Titchwell and there was plenty to look at, but nothing too rare. Many birds have young now, like Avocets and the Black-headed Gulls below.




There was a nice montage of adult Ruffs, having returned from their leks and now starting to moult. There were 3 together, which showed much of the variation between them, namely, white, black, and chestnut individuals.


A black male Ruff



A black and a white Ruff together



A white Ruff



Chestnut Ruff (above and below)

Shrike-tastic!

A morning out around East Norfolk on Sunday 22 June was quite good. I popped round to see a Lesser Grey Shrike, just south of Hickling village, near Stubs Mill. It was feeding around a sheep paddock.






Also, at nearby Sea Palling, a long staying male Red-backed Shrike showed well for all. There was also a Marsh Warbler singing quite close to the site, but I had to shoot off to pick Angela up, so I'll have to save that one for another day (or year).