Eastern Black Redstart, Black-winged Kite and winter in Norfolk
Late on Friday night Kris decided that he would finally take the plunge and travel to try and see the long-staying Black-winged Kite in Norfolk. It was a noble decision to accept his offer of a lift, but I managed to bear up under the weight of responsibility and passengered to a reasonable standard throughout a long day. Having had an immensely enjoyable but very tiring long day the previous weekend to see the Killdeer, we decided that 5am was a decent set off time for the day, and we luxuriated in arriving on site after sunrise for a change. We took a slight detour on our route in order to see a group of about 20 Bewick's Swans mixed in with a dozen Whoopers on grass near Ludham air field, and as someone who spends time in Lancashire with tiny numbers of Bewick's it was brilliant to see a small herd in the sunlight. Ten more minutes and we arrived at the Hickling Broad visitor centre. Hickling Broad NNR is one of those places whose name has been made famous by ...