With the news that a Red Kite was heading towards the patch from the west, I quickly made my way to a good vantage point, and after a few minutes picked it up drifting south-east over Felbrigg Park. After watching it for sometime I decided to chase after it as views had been somewhat distant, and also to try to gain a bit more knowledge of the way birds track through the patch for future reference.
I caught up with it again over the north side of Roughton, and then followed it continuing south east where a quick stop at the entrance to Northrepps aerodrome produced excellent overhead views of it, and I managed to get a few pics before it drifted off towards Southrepps.
A check of East Runton produced 10+ Yellow Wagtails in the paddock at Wyndham Park, plus my first Swift of the year. Then when scanning the sky for more I picked up a wader heading over west. Given its shape and flight I had my suspicions as to what it was and as I quickly picked it up through my scope, its white rump and dark underwings confirmed that it was as suspected a Green Sandpiper, a bird that I haven't seen on the patch for a good few years, so I was very pleased that I had luckily picked it up going over. On the butterfly front, my first Green-veined White of the year was noted.
News of a Hoopoe at Sheringham was enough to tempt me further along the coast, but due to incorrect location details given I found myself at the wrong end of the golf course to where the bird had been seen. Anyway I sat up on top of Skelding Hill which served as a good high vantage point and watched others arrive in the distance and then start to walk along the field where it was believed to be. After a while I picked it up in flight and then watched it on the ground, although as it was nearly a mile away views were very distant to say the least but nevertheless totally unmistakable on the flight views gained.
