Vertigo Enforced Radio Silence

I'm not trying to make you feel sorry for me, but I feel that I need to explain why I haven't posted for a few days and perhaps why I won't post for a few more days! I'm currently suffering with some form of vertigo and until day I was unable to stand or walk through dizziness and nausea! I'm now popping some pills and starting to feel better, so to keep the blog going over the next few days I may need to revert to some 'blasts from the past'. Hopefully normal service will be resumed as soon as possible!

14th March 1987

For a few years back in the 1980s I used to live in northwest Norfolk in a village called Snettisham and later in King's Lynn. I moved down to Norfolk from Lancashire so I could live and work in one of Britain's best birding counties. I remember it was quite a cold winter down there in 1986/87 (mind you it often is Norfolk) and spring was slow to start, and my birding more or less on this day 28 years ago was definitely a typical winter's day birding rather than one of early spring.

I started off at Cley and it was dull, misty and cold. Before looking on the reserve I did a short seawatch off 'Coastguard's' and clocked up 30 Common Scoters, 12 Red-throated Divers, five Fulmars, a Red-breasted Merganser, Eider and Guillemot. Dark-bellied Brent Goose were numerous with 426 logged during the morning and later I had 1500 at Stiffkey.

 Common Scoter

A look on the reserve produced two Ruff, 200 Wigeons, nine Avocets and three Bearded Tits. I suppose what stands out to me are the Ruff, Avocets and Bearded Tits which would all make it a 'red letter day' if they turned up on my patch today!

I lived in King's Lynn at this time and on my way home I stopped off at my seawatching location on the cliffs at Hunstanton and had more winter fayre in the form of 69 Goldenyes, 5 Long-tailed Ducks, eleven Scaup and 600 Common Scoters. So a late spring that year and I didn't record my first Wheatear until 29th March when back home in Lancashire.