Swiftly does it! (26/10/2013)

Day tripping around the Cromer area today with Joseph Nichols, Drew & Later Daniel Watson. A very enjoyable day with not as many birds as usual but it was a case of quality of quantity today! So it all started nice and early getting into Cromer at about 9.35am. We walked up to the beach as it started to rain, immediately a small flock of twitchers where standing around looking lost. I asked if they where waiting for the pallid swift (as one had been reported the day before). He replied saying it had last been seen heading east past Overstrand a good 15miles away and after that I didn't think much more of it. As we walked slowly along the beach a very nicely showy med gull was roosting with the black heads. We scanned up the cliff and spotted a large movement of passerines which was mostly made up of chaffinches, gorging themselves on the berries. The birds where much paler than what I'm personally use to and so where probably continental birds. We decided to cut up to the top of the cliff, flushing a great spotted woodpecker possibly of continental origins, as the location was just all wrong for any normal woodpecker. As we walked past the lighthouse I had scan out to sea, I picked up on 3 auks flying west probably Guillemots but terribly far out! Suddenly out of nowhere Joe shouts 'SWALLOW, no SWIFT, no SWALLOW, no wait definitely SWIFT'. Suddenly the PALLID SWIFT which we had assumed to of left the area was back and feeding above our heads, in a panic I couldn't get any pictures as my camera was in my bag but Joe managed a few! It was showing incredibly well and in 2 minutes it seemingly vanished west never to be seen again. Crazy times! Besides that the rest of the day was fairly quiet, the only other bird of note was a Scaup which Drew amazingly spotted just off the beach at West Runton!

Off the back of the camera until Joe uploads the real things!

Distant Scaup