Actually, we went down to Suffolk for the day - Minsmere. At last. This was going to be the best place to pick up some easy lifers. Checked with one of the wardens about the best place to see Dartford warblers, and was told where to go where we couldn't really miss them. Armed with that information, we set off for a tour of the hides. The first target was the SHORE LARK, which we managed to find - with a little help as to where it was from someone who had already located it. Sue (my partner) had it in her scope and offered me a look, as I couldn't get onto it with my bins. Oh great - it'd moved by the time I got my eye to the lens! This was one of our "Yellowhammer" moments! (She once saw a Yellowhammer which flew off before I could get a view of it, and it took me months to finally get one!) Luckily, it came out from behind the small mound it had disappeared behind, and I got a decent view, even if it was too far to grab a photo).
Without changing hides, we also get a couple of MEDITERRANEAN GULLS, and a couple of decent (if distant) pictures. Then I managed to find a BRENT GOOSE. Yes, I know, pretty easy to find, but something we don't see in our neck of the woods.
Three more life ticks took our total to five so far. For the sixth, we went to get the Dartford warbler. After walking and standing around in the "right" places for an hour or so, we gave up! We were either crap birders, or someone wasn't telling us the whole truth! Nothing. I brief glimpse of something "small and brownish" caught our eye in the heather, but neither of us would positively identify it as the warbler. Oh well, never mind - just gives us an excuse to come back and search again sometime soon. We were told that they were a doddle to find, when they were singing, but that they hadn't really started that due to the cold weather - spring was late, and as we found out, rather knocked us back.
Ended up with a species count of only 66 at Minsmere. Could have been a lot better, but… Other highlights were a Bittern for the second day running, female Smew, Great-spotted and Green Woodpeckers, a nice Stonechat, and of course, Sue's favourites, the Marsh harriers.
We rounded the day off with half an hour at North Warren. Not a great deal going on there, but the cold got us again, and we decided to call it a day at 4pm, and head back north