Pacific Golden Plover Cley Marshes

A Pacific Golden Plover was reported on North Scrape at Cley yesterday afternoon so I decided to give it a go this morning. By 7am I was sitting in the Swarovski Optik Hide with Jim and Dad.

View from Swarovski Hide

The reserve is full of breeding Avocet with plenty of chicks about. Shelduck also have plenty of young with them. There's a really smart summer plumage Spotted Redshank and equally impressive is a full summer plumage Ruff which Jimmy picked out in the scope for us. I picked up a Hooded Crow flying through chased by gulls and a Peregrine flashed through giving the Lapwings concern.
Sandwich Terns flew along the beach line. A nice visit but no sign of the Pacific bird we'd come for.
We moved on to try some local areas for Montagus Harrier but on route picked up a Red Kite over Burnham Thorpe. We found a pair of Marsh Harriers and whilst scoping Jim had a Turtle Dove fly past which we all managed to get on. (A year tick...246 now!) Further down the road we find more Marsh Harriers in good numbers but no sign of Monty. (I'm told we're down to only one bird in Norfolk this year)
We moved on and tried our luck for Honey Buzzard but despite seeing good numbers of Buzzard we couldn't pin any down to Honey. Two Hobby flew over along with Kestrel and Sprawk here. Three more Turtle Dove fly over these fields whilst we watch.
We encountered Fallow, Roe and Muntjac deer today and loads of Hare too but it'll go down as a frustrating day compounded by news that the Pacific Golden Plover landed back at Cley as I landed back in Essex at around 5pm.

Great Ryburgh