Probable Stejneger's Stonechat at Salthouse

This morning saw me and the Jims heading north to Cley for a spot of seawatching on the back of a weather forecast suggesting North easterly winds all day. We arrived just after 7.30am to be told we'd just missed a White-billed Diver.

It was a bit choppy 

It was bitterly cold but dry so we set up behind a tractor and enjoyed a couple of hours watching the sea. Our reward was a very close adult Pom Skua that flew right along the shingle in front of us and a very close Glaucous Gull. We missed a Sabines Gull but did spot a few Little Auks and a couple of Velvet Scoters among the large rafts of Commons. A distant Great and Arctic Skua added to the count as did a couple of Arctic Tern.

We then set off for Salthouse and searched the ditch at Meadow Lane to find the bird being reported as "probable" Stejneger's Stonechat. We found it straight away and enjoyed an hour or so but it remained quite distant. I managed a couple of record shots before the bird flew across the marsh and was lost to view.

The probable

The probable

Look at that rump

Last call for the day was Brancaster where we enjoyed a bit of lunch whilst watching the various waders in the harbour.

Black-tailed Godwit

Curlew

Robin

Redshank

Year list now 249 which includes the Stonechat listed for now as Siberian but if DNA proves it to be Stejneger's then it will be added to the life list.