I had a spare hour and although not holding much hope of seeing it I thought I would have a look for the White-tailed Eagle that has been in the area near Houghton Hall.
After passing Houghton Hall, with no other birders around, I stopped on roadside for a quick scan and then found the car would not start at all! I called the RAC and they said it would be a 2-3 hour wait.... I had given up all hope of seeing the Eagle and was by now just hoping it wasn't just flying around nearby with me stuck, unable to chase after it.
What happened next was unbelievable... A birder stopped next to me to announce that he had seen the Eagle fly in and land nearby. Of all the places it could have landed, it chose the nearest group of trees to stop.. amazing view of such an impressive bird. Other birders arrived then before I had a chance to study the bird while perched it flew up and was mobbed by some of the many Buzzards around. In flight you really get to see how big these birds really are.. They are huge!!
Thanks to all the people who offered to help with the car and to the birder who offered me some food too.....
The damage was £100 for a new battery (RAC prices!)... But I have never been as happy as this to breakdown before.
I have been fortunate too have seen many WT Eagles in Japan, even next to the even bigger Steller's Sea Eagles. However, I have not seen many in the UK and I missed one in Norfolk in 2011 by 15 minutes when it decided to leave the county and settle in Lincolnshire crossing over the Wash before I got to see it! A nice county tick for me.
