American double

When asked on Saturday by a non-birding friend about the 'bird in Norfolk which was the first one ever the be seen in Britain', which turned out to the the Stilt Sandpiper in Lincs, I decided I really ought to go and see it. So having received the necessary clearance, I was up at 5am on Sunday, and had seen the bird by 7am, along with its compatriot, the Long-billed Dowitcher - indeed, both were feeding together at one point, which was quite a sight. 

So well worth the effort. And actually, it wasn't much effort at all - Frampton is barely over an hour from home. I clocked up 21 species of wader without too much trouble (including several Curlew Sands), there were scores of hirundines over the site first thing, and the saltings were hooching with Yellow Wagtails, feeding around the cattle. I guess if I wanted to go somewhere close to home and have a realistic chance of finding something good, then this has got to be the best option, so why don't I come here more often? Something to factor in for next year... 

Having seen the two main draws, I had a walk down the Witham bank to the Wash. There are hawthorn bushes dotted along here, but save for two Goldcrests and a Robin they were birdless on this occasion...