News that a probable King Eider had been seen from the seawatching shelter at Sheringham and that it was drifting towards the patch was quickly followed by a phone call from my Dad to say he had relocated it off Beeston Church, so after a quick drive I was watching it as it slowly drifted towards West Runton, delighted with an unexpected but excellent new bird for the patch.
It was fairly distant but as it neared W.Runton it drifted slightly closer inshore and after lingering off the beach car park for a while it headed slowly back west. I relocated it off Sheringham prom where the record shots below were taken, and it stayed along the seafront there for the rest of the day albeit always fairly distant. This first-summer male had been in Yorkshire for the previous three weeks but had disappeared from there on the 25th.
Whilst watching off West Runton my first Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwits for the patch this year were also noted flying west, and a juvenile Med Gull was also noted along the seafront at Sheringham, performing well as it flew up and down the beach occasionally landing to allow pictures to be taken.
