A Swift Decision . .

With a nasty hangover from an enjoyable friday evenings entertainment, I decided to get some air and try for the Pallid Swift in Kessingland, Suffolk this afternoon. However upon arrival at the sewage works the bird was not to be seen & had apparently departed NE an hour or so before. After some optimistic scanning I began to feel a dip coming on so thought of another coastal option - the Alpine Swift at Cromer! I might just make it before it went to roost in the church . . .

I arrived in Cromer as the sun broke through what had been a very grey day. I had heard the bird was showing well at the lighthouse so had a frantic time in the town trying to find where the lighthouse was and how I could get to it, not knowing Cromer at all. By 4pm I was stood at the lighthouse & met a local birder who pointed out the Alpine Swift to me, some distance away between the lighthouse and the church, feeding high & fast over the sea & coastal woodland. I was delighted as this was a British tick for me! I walked down from the lighthouse & up a small hill where I enjoyed this large swift for over an hour before it went to roost in the church. I left attractive, sun-drenched Cromer very happy & with a few record shots of my first 2010 British tick!