As expected there were good numbers of birds both moving along the coast and coming in off the sea today.
Best bird of a mornings searching round the patch was a Ring Ouzel over the golf course, whilst good numbers of Redwings, Fieldfares, Song Thrushes and Blackbirds were all coming in in flocks of various sizes. Finches were also well represented with Brambling, Siskin, Redpoll, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Chaffinch and Linnet all noted in varying numbers, along with a flock of Crossbills which were heard but not seen.
Meadow and Rock Pipits continued to be on the move, and other species noted flying through/coming in-off included Reed Buntings, Grey Herons, Pied Wagtails, Skylarks, Starlings and a single Swallow.
News of a Yellow-browed Warbler at Northrepps was too good to ignore and after a short wait and a bout of 'pishing' it appeared right in front of me and as ever was a real delight to see and being over 2km from the coast it was a notable inland record for the patch too. A finch flock there was noted to contain several Bramblings, and as the day progressed more small flocks were encountered along the coast.
A bash round Trimingham produced the highlight of a couple of Short-eared Owls in-off, which were part of a major arrival of the species into the county today, the second of which landed briefly on the cliff-face, and then as the day closed in, a check of East Runton produced little extra of note apart from more Thrushes moving inland.
So an excellent day of overhead migration but this sharply contrasted with the complete lack of migrants on the deck, apart from a few Robins and Goldcrests which may have predominantly been local birds anyway, but hopefully with southeasterlies forecast throughout tomorrow, more continued effort of searching will pay dividends.
