With a Ring Ouzel having been seen at Northrepps early morning, a gentle stroll over there was the first task of the day, and whilst passing the nursery, I made a mental note to check the paddocks at the back if there was no sign in the area where it had been reported. As there wasn't I retraced my steps and headed off down the path towards the paddocks, but was quickly stopped in my tracks as there on the path in front of me was not one but three Ring Ouzels, which were drinking from puddles on the track by the 'Shrieking Pit', and then soon after a fourth one appeared on the track!
They then moved into the paddocks briefly, but a dog-walker flushed them off along an adjacent hedgerow, and then a second dog-walker was too much for them and they flew off across the fields revealing that there were actually five birds present. As they continued across the field, calling away, a sixth bird flew up and joined the flock, which was presumably the bird first reported this morning.
I managed to take a few pics of them before they flew off, including a record shot of three of them together.
A couple of Wheatears were noted in the field north of the nursery, and a number of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were in song. A walk along the golf course revealed three more Wheatears on the turf slope and a steady trickle of Swallows and a single Sand Martin were going through west. A Muntjac and a Fox were seen along the cliff base, and whilst watching the latter my attention was drawn to the calls of Sandwich Terns and a pair were noted fishing offshore before carrying on west. Another Tree Pipit flew over the golf course near the lighthouse, but was heard only, and more singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were along the cliffs and in the woods.
A visit to East Runton revealed my first Willow Warblers of the year, a couple more Ring Ouzels were flushed from just in front of me by another dog walker, and my first female Blackcap of the spring was also seen.
