Rye Meads, Norfolk and Hatfield Forest... that's Easter :D

I drove up the M25 on Saturday.... not too bad but glad I wasn't going south at that time.

I went to Rye Meads and was well rewarded..

One of the little Grebes was having a wash and brush up.

A pair of Black-headed gulls weren't... they were ensuring the continuity of the line!

A cormorant sat in the afternoon sun.. trying to keep cool.

And one of the pair of Kingfishers was sitting about and fishing.

Along the river, a couple of boats moved slowly.. it could have been a mid-summer's day!

Orange tip butterflies were every where.

So off I went having had a very enjoyable couple of hours or so!

Norfolk!

The following morning, Pete and I headed off for Norfolk at crack of dawn (well, it was just about daylight)

Sunny and warm!! Nooooo... the further north we went the foggier and duller it got.

We arrived in the car park at Morston being the 2nd car to arrive!

Brent Geese took off into the mist..

And a moored boat swam out of the mist into our line of vision.

We walked along the coast path towards Blakeney.

It seemed there were Sedge Warblers lining the pathway.. and ducking and diving - hiding from our view most of the time. Finally this one popped up just for a few seconds singing away..

All along the pathway, these plants hosted dozens of these insects.

If anyone can name both plant and insect that would be great.

Having arrived at Blakeney, the mist had lifted a little and very occasionally we saw a weak sun.

Black headed Gulls made the most of the incoming tide to start fishing for food.

Sadly this one found rubbish!

On the way back, I was lucky enough to spot a Wheatear which are such beautiful birds.

Having assessed the weather we decided to head inland in search of sun and warmth.

Sedge Warbler who sat still for a moment.

Lunch bought from the cafes in the Car Park; Bacon sandwiches and pots of brown shrimps and crabfish... oooooooh!

We headed off for Welney..

Loads of Avocets about - beautiful birds

A few Little Egrets..

And in the car park - a Sedge Warbler who posed.

We drove home - an excellent days birds with about 59 species seen throughout the day, including: Hobby, Skylark, Willow Warbler, Wheatear, Black-tailed Godwits, Little Ring Plovers (nesting), Marsh Harrier, Swallows, Sedge and Reed Warblers, Ruff (!), House Martins and Kestrels (on 5 difference occasions throughout the day).......

On Monday (today), Pete took me over to Hatfield Forest arriving very early before many people were about. The birdsong was incredible and beautiful.

A Grey Squirrel was having brekkie!

A Common Tern was having a few turns around the lake; we watched for some minutes and it disappeared. Disappointing as we thought it had left but we found it later on the Tern raft - fingers crossed it won't be alone before too long.

Six Great-crested Grebes on the lake and two obvious pairs; one with 3 young (lovely) and another pair still nesting.

A greylag goose had four young in tow.

And finally - got a much better view of the Whitethroat and a picture too! Seemed it was the weekend for finally getting to see Whitethroats!

And then finally home as the morning drew on. And the M25 was kind! Phew

A great weekend with amazing birds and a variety of weather conditions

Great company and thanks for some rather scrummy meals Pete :)