This was exactly what I needed to help me recover from the Dorset dip. Snowy Owl in Norfolk! If Ross's Gull was just about at the top f my most wanted list, Snowy Owl was there too. Mark and Amity are with us for the weekend, so it made all sense yesterday to spend the day on the beach at... Titchwell! From there it was a short walk to Thornham Point, where we joined the most family-friendly twitch ever. After first views Mark and I could breathe again. Phew. We positioned ourselves as close to the bird as possible, but still a good 400 meters away from it, so no matter how much noise my kids made, all was good. And we were surrounded by friends and other good people, the beach was large enough for everyone - just perfect. So nice to celebrate a much-desired lifer with my family and close friends. From a photography point of view it was nasty - distant, crap light and howling wind, but I didn't really care (until I saw Justin's video and the amazing photos from today at Snetisham...). The bird wasn't doing much. Sat around, preened, stretched, jumped up a couple of times. What a bird!
These were my best efforts using the camera:
These were taken through my phone and Swarovski ATX95:
Check those legs!
These were my best efforts using the camera:
After we had enough of the bird and disturbed other twitchers sufficiently, we enjoyed the walk back very much - lots of birds! The sea was good with Scaup and Long-tailed Ducks. A confiding Snow Bunting was feeding at the dune's edge. And the amount and diversity of wrecked marine stuff on the beach, blown in by last week's storm, was simply incredible. Expertly identified by Living Seas Mark.
Sunstar and Starfish
Snow Bunting
As always, I really enjoyed Titchwell. Lovely reserve. The second white owl of the day treated us to its fab display over the meadows.
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