Sunday was the day of the NENBC ‘Big Sit’, so we were tied up all day in Felbrigg Park. This meant that we were unfortunately unable to go for the Citril Finch at Burnham – truly gutting. Yesterday we were again occupied at Cley NWT, as Monday is our ‘duty day’. The Citril Finch was reported again first thing but by 06.20 it had disappeared – oh well it’s ‘just a bird’! It was a steady start on the reserve but there were plenty of birds about with a few migrants to maintain our interest – Yellow Wagtail, Wheatear, Curlew & Common Sandpiper etc. By late morning the news began to filter through of a female Subalpine Warbler on Blakeney Point – now that’s more like it. Hopefully it would stay on until the evening and provide some recompense for the day before. Suddenly the pressure went up a few bars when news broke that there was also a male Subalpine present but this time of the rare Moltoni’s race (future full species?) – from the Mediterranean islands. The hours ticked by until we’d finished work and were able to commence the long trudge up the Point. We finally got there around five and were treated to rather fleeting or partially obscured views for the next hour or so. ‘Showing well..’ it wasn’t, but adequate for the purpose. Surprisingly, having seen other rare sylvia warblers in Norfolk, including several Sardinian and Ruppell’s, Subalpine, leaving aside the Moltoni’s aspect, was a Norfolk ‘tick’ for me. We were also able to catch up with Temminck’s Stint, which had eluded us all day, as we passed by Cley on our way home. Not a bad day, all things considered.

Not the best photo but this was one of those occasions when it was better to watch the bird than to try for ‘the shots’