Sunday 24th February Day 3 of 3 day tour North Norfolk

Another cold, grey day - with a gusty NE wind, made it feel very chilly! However, we still had an excellent day......first we stopped off in a rough field full of unharvested rape & maize. A lovely mixed flock were scoped as they dived in & out of the hedgerow - 30 Brambling, 50 Linnet, c20 Chaffinch, 20 +Goldfinch, 2 Greenfinch, 1-2 Yellowhammer & Reed Bunting.

A brief stop for a smart Red Kite overhead & then another farmland stop; this failed to produce Tree Sparrow, but at least c60 Yellowhammer & more Linnet & Chaffinch, plus Buzzard & a Marsh harrier.

We weaved on along the lanes towards Burnham Overy, but were again distracted, this time for a nice flock of skyward Pink-footed Geese, after a bit of driving around we found them feeding inland of Burnham Deepdale - around 1500-2000 Pink-footed Geese. Despite 30 minutes of scanning we failed to pull out anything unusual.

We then headed to Holkham/Burnham Overy area, we had 1000's of Wigeon & Teal, plus Shoveler & Shelduck, several Marsh Harrier, plus 5+ Buzzard & a hunting Barn Owl, but we couldn't make any of these into Rough-legs! However, a nice surprise was c20 White-fronted Geese.

We lunched at Cley, 3 Red-throated Divers flew past, but the sea was relatively quiet. After a thaw & coffee in the cafe plus a close hunting Barn owl we walked out along the East & Sea bank, a lovely mix of birds along here - c130 Dunlin, c30 Bar-tailed Godwit, 6 Knot, Redshank, Curlew, Turnstone & a single Purple Sandpiper. In the dunes there was c20 Linnet, a few Skylark but no sign of Lap Bunts.

Total 3 days - 108 species