A check of the normally wader-less beach at Overstrand on the 5th produced an amazing tally of 12 different species, most of which had obviously been frozen out of their usual haunts and probably pushed over from the continent - Bar-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Knot, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Ringed Plover, Redshank, Oystercatcher, Dunlin, Sanderling and Woodcock were all recorded, with the latter watched as it came in-off before landing on the beach.
A check of the reservoir on the 6th revealed the big surprise of a Coot (115), a local rarity away from Felbrigg, and a nice addition to the growing list of birds recorded on there.
Daily checking of the lake at Felbrigg failed to produce the hoped for Smew, with a couple of Pochard being the only new arrivals; the Whooper Swan continues to linger. On the 7th I decided to check the stream which runs south of the lake for Jack Snipe, but this was more in hope than expectation, although with good numbers of Common Snipe in evidence as I walked along hopes grew, and eventually one was flushed which, unlike all the others, rose silently and flew only a short distance low along in front of me before pitching down again in the stream. I managed to see where it had landed but it again took flight before I could get a decent look at it, but thankfully this time it flew right past me at close quarters, giving me the opportuntity to confirm it was indeed a Jack Snipe (116) as it gave excellent flight views before returning to the stream further along, where I left it in peace really pleased with the find.
A flock of 11 Bewicks Swans (117) flew over Felbrigg Park on the 9th, and one of the Sheringham Purple Sandpipers (118) did the honourable thing of flying beyond the east end of the prom and consequently into the patch whilst I was there on the 13th.
The 15th finally produced what I'd hoped for over the last 10 days with a pair of Smews (119) gracing Felbrigg Lake, and as ever the male was just truly stunning to see with the added bonus of it being my first one ever for the patch following the 3 redheads previously recorded. Sadly with it being beyond dark (well at least for my 50x lens) only a few grainy pics were possible but still a nice record of their occurrence, and hopefully they'll hang around to allow some better shots to be obtained tomorrow.
Four pairs of Mandarins were also welcome visitors to the lake, and it was really nice to know that they are still about locally in fairly good numbers despite spending the majority of their time elsewhere now. The Whooper Swan was as usual in amongst the Mutes, and a Goldeneye was also present.
