Whirling waders at sunset

Last night we had a good journey to Norfolk, it was a bit busy on the M25 but not too bad for a Friday night. 

After breakfast this morning we decided to walk from Brancaster Staithe to Burnham Overy Staithe, an 8km route that goes along the sea defence wall with the sea on one side and the marshes on the other. We saw the areas that were burnt by the summer fires in July, one house had a burnt garden shed and one had their verandah posts burnt which must have been very scary for the occupants. 

When we got to Burnham Overy Staithe we stopped at The Hero, a very popular pub with good food where we had oat milk cappuccinos. I then took photos of all the attractive boats in the creek, it was a lovely sunny day and so there were also many artists there painting the scene. We decided to go back to The Hero for a quick lunch, and then we caught the coastal bus back to Brancaster Staithe. You know you are in the quieter pace of life in Norfolk when the bus driver chats to everyone getting on the bus and even helped one couple plan their walking route without hurrying them up so he could get to his next stop! 

This evening there was going to be another whirling waders phenomenon at RSPB Snettisham. When the tide is sufficiently high, the wader birds are washed off the spit of land they are resting on and it causes quite a spectacle as thousands of birds take to the air. The RSPB have a timetable of these events on their website, and tonight was the last time this event would happen on a weekend for the rest of the year, so we had to go see it. 

We left mid afternoon to go to Snettisham but decided to visit Sandringham on the way to pay our respects to the queen. When we got to Sandringham there were many police directing cars and people. When we finally got into the Sandringham car park we realised it had taken much longer than expected and we would not get to Snettisham in time, so we left but planned to go back tomorrow. There were so many people and cars it was very busy, as it has been at all the other royal residences.

At Snettisham the car park is a about 2km from where you have a good view of the birds flying over The Wash so it was a long walk with a heavy camera bag, chairs and a cooler bag with glasses and champagne to enjoy the sunset and to start early celebrations for our wedding anniversary which is tomorrow. There were many people there but it is a large area so enough space to sit and relax and not feel crowded. We stayed until the last group of birds had taken to the skies, and left at about 7.45pm so we got back a bit late for supper. There was some lovely light rays as can be seen in this image - extras of the murmuration, and of the boats at Burnham Overy Staithe.

Luke and Meriel got back from New York this morning, they really did not enjoy New York at all. It has always been a bit expensive but with the weakening of the pound against the dollar it is now extremely expensive and they felt they were continually being ripped off. They found the city filthy, public transport difficult to use and it was also nearly impossible to cycle around the city. They were very grateful to come back home to London.