A whirlwind weekend visit to The Naze (with thanks as ever to the Higgins clan for putting us up) and a full day's birding on a beautiful, sunny day with golden light, mercifully few bipeds and great birds. Lots of classic wintering species and enjoyable photo opportunities (to follow), but the highlight was a flock of no less than 22 Twite.
An increasingly rare bird at the Naze (and along the Essex coast), a few tell-tale calls penetrated through the rowdy cacophony of Brents, and with a little old-school fieldcraft, the flock was located; hoping for perhaps one or two amongst a flock of Linnets, it was a joy to discover they were all flavirostris.
After thirty seconds or so at close quarters, they departed over to the impenetrable and extensive saltmarsh of Hamford Water. A quick review of the photos revealed, surprisingly, a colour-ringed bird (pure luck). Details hopefully to follow soon.
