Visiting my family in the UK has been transformed now that they have moved from Bath city centre to Fen Drayton in Cambridgeshire - they now have an excellent nature reserve their doorstep! As a result, during my trip I made a few visits to Fen Drayton Lakes RSPB reserve, as well as Kingfishers Bridge.
I also made a four day trip to Norfolk to see my good friend Sacha Barbato, who moved from London to Norfolk five years ago. Fortunately my trip coincided with some promising weather over the Bank Holiday weekend.
Highlights during my trip included: two Wood Sandpipers (Kingfisher Bridge), good numbers of Arctic Skuas and Bonxies on a couple of Norfolk seawatches, plus a possible Long-tailed Skua (in the company of a Bonxie, and dwarfed by it) seen flying down Blakeney Point at 3.30pm on 27th Aug, a total of 19 SPOONBILLS at Cley and Burnham Overy, two Whinchats, Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper (Cley) Sooty and Manx Shearwaters off Sheringham, and (re-)finding a STORM PETREL at Sheringham which I got lots of people onto after it or another had been glimpsed by a single observer some twenty minutes earlier.
I finished of my UK tour with a pub lunch in the Surrey sunshine, whilst enjoying a Common Buzzard over Reigate Heath. Every time I go back to the UK nowadays I'm astonished at how easy it is to see Buzzards in SE England and East Anglia.
Whilst in the UK I also went to the Birdfair at Rutland Water, which provided excellent opportunities to catch up with many old friends. Perhaps I should go every year!
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