A walk around the lighthouse/golf course area this morning produced the now usual Chiffchaffs singing and a couple of Siskins flew over. East Runton was equally quiet on the bird front with just more Chiffchaffs, but a bit more action on the Butterfly front with my first Peacock of the year, along with numerous Brimstones and a few Small Tortoiseshells.
I then visited West Runton with little expections given how quiet it seemed to be, but that all quickly changed and it turned out to be a really excellent couple of hours there.
An initial scan along the cliffs revealed there was a flock of a dozen Sand Martins prospecting the cliffs which were then joined by a couple of Swallows, my first of the year. A couple of Wheatears appeared along the clifftop and then a scan out to sea produced the first Sandwich Terns of the year with a single and then a pair heading west. A Guillemot was noted close inshore and following too much attention from the local Herring Gulls it hauled itself out of the sea and hid amongst the rocks on the beach.
A few more Sand Martins were seen heading westwards, and a walk along the clifftop produced a couple of Snow Buntings feeding on the path and a White Wagtail in the field. Finally on the way back a Black Redstart appeared on the clifftop fence and then quickly worked its way inland across the fields.
