The day did not start well as it was much windier than forecast and snowing.  This ruled out an Atlas tetrad visit, but didn’t stop me braving the cold for 10 minutes to look successfully for Purple Sandpiper at Ness Point.  After a morning of household chores I was then “stood up” for my lunchtime date. I made do with a cold pork pie I found in the fridge and decided to try my luck at Haddiscoe/Waveney Forest.  I usually stand up on the road bridge at Haddiscoe but recently there have been reports from a site at the edge of Waveney Forest north of Fritton, so I thought I would give it a go. 
 
I found the right spot eventually, after misinterpreting some ambiguous directions and wandering down every path that leads to the marshes!  Finally finding the westerly edge I set up scope "on the mound" with the widest possible view of the grazing marshes.  The light was pretty poor but it had at least stopped snowing, “be grateful for small mercies” as Grandma always said… My first raptor was a Kestrel, then a couple of Marsh Harrier, then a 10 minute wait before finding a Short-eared Owl mobbing another Marsh Harrier.  I was joined by a fellow bird watcher at that point who soon thought he spotted a Rough-legged Buzzard, which I didn’t.  The Marsh Harriers glided about erratically being blown in the stiff breeze.  A ring-tail Hen Harrier popped up very briefly and headed away into the murk.  Another 3 Kestrels, a Green Woodpecker, Curlew and lots of “small stuff” provided a few more ticks for the site until it was nearly time to go – I’ll just give it another 5 minutes..  And up came the Rough-legged Buzzard, probably the closest and best view I’ve had.  It hung in the wind, hovering with slow heavy wing beats, scruffy white tail band but quite dark overall.  Very pleased I made my way back to the car, fifteen minutes faster than I had arrived in the first place.  In summary probably a better spot than the bridge, certainly quieter and cleaner, but less windy too.