I get a phone call from Mr Eele (check out his birding blog) to say that a white-tailed eagle had just left the Lincolnshire coast and is heading out over The Wash towards us. Now for those who don't know, the Lincolnshire coast is around 15 miles away as the eagle flies, at least 14.5 of which are the North Sea (when the tides in!) So if I can get to the cliffs in the next few minutes I might just see it!
Put phone down....pause....don't play it cool....SOD THE WASHING UP! Chuck dishcloth in bowl, bins and scope chucked in car and I'm looking out over the The Wash towards the Lincolnshire coast quicker than you can say Haliaeetus albicilla (or Gwaihir the Windlord!)
Settle into raptor seeking mode...methodically scan the sea, horizon and sky.....forty minutes later I've seen nothing more exciting than a few fulmars and a red-breasted merganser; though a cormorant trying to reach the stratosphere did cause my heart to miss a beat. Soon enough the cold wind is nipping at my fingers and I retire back to the now cold washing up bowl.
Never mind............just the chance of seeing this flying barn door with a wingspan of over 7 feet is not one to miss. If you'd like to know more about white-tailed eagle hit the link. Keep your eyes on the skies....if it goes dark near you it might not be just a passing cloud!
Update... The bird must have come in really high. It was already in the Swaffham area by 3.25pm!
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