Mousehold Heath

28-07-09

A stroll across the city and around the misnamed Mousehold Woods for butterflies. Birds were scarce, as is always the case here (bar that one time when there was a flock of Arctic Redpoll), with a Whitethroat the only thing I stopped to look at. I went as far as the prison on one side and the playing fields on the other, scanning brambles for White Admiral butterflies, but none. I did manage 2 Purple Hairstreaks flying around oaks near Vinegar Pond, but they never came within photographic range. I took a picture of a damselfly that I can't ID, it was a very deep blue and has too much black to be a standard male Common Blue, Azure or Variable. Suggestions welcome.

The damselfly has been identified as a blue-form female Common Blue Damsefly. This was an education, as none of my insect books show any colour forms other than the standard one. Thanks to Simon for the ID.

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Pacific Golden Plover

27-07-09

Yesterday afternoon, the American Golden Plover at Breydon started being reported as a Pacific GP. By now used to this sort of to-ing and fro-ing neither me or Adam took much notice. However as the first decent pictures emerged, it appeared that this bird was indeed Pacific, and for once there didn't seem much of an arguement against. This was more than compensated for with debate about where this bird fits in with the Cley AGP and possibly a Dutch PGP, but to be honest I don't give two hoots where it came from. The simple explanation is that a number of Lesser Golden Plover spp. have travelled here under similar weather conditions.

I got up at 6, to find the rain hammering on my window. Bugger. Still, a summer plumage PGP is a big draw, so I walked through the rain to the station, paying extra for the privilege of travelling before 8.30. An hour later I was standing, completely soaked, scanning waders in the rain, with visibility that I would kindly describe as "poor". Having looked through more Dunlin than I care to remember, I walked back towards the tern platforms, where two birders had just relocated the plover. We got good views (I even managed to digiscope a few record shots) before it flew around into the next bay. A few more minutes of it in the open, before decent flight views. Enough to convince all observers that it was indeed a Pacific Golden Plover, and justifying being out in the rain. First good bird of the summer holidays sorted!

Year list 209 species.

Whitlingham at night

w/c 20th July 2009

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Don't mention cuckoos. I was attending a wedding reception Friday night, and did consider whether to go to Salthouse in my suit, amongst other things, but it just wasn't happening. Anyway, at this rate I'll get another dodgy Lesser Golden Plover at Breydon and everything will be fine. Sob.

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Having mooched around the house for a couple of days since returning from Latitude, I went down to Whitlingham on Tuesday evening with Adam. Whilst there was very little there in terms of numbers, I did add an overdue Water Rail to my site list, and there was a return for Januarys Barnacle Goose (unringed and with a valid UK passport containing Arctic Circle border stamps, just out of shot). Following a tip off from a man on a train (so slightly more reliable than a man down the pub), we waited until dusk in the hope of Little Owls, but no joy. Maybe one for the winter when there are less leaves on the oaks.

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Second generation hybrid goose, something like (Chinese x Greylag Goose) x Domestic Goose. Probably a new low in plastic wildfowl.
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Thursday evening it was back to Whitlingham, this time for some moth trapping. A humid evening was punctuated by the sound of chavs screeching their cars around the Little Broad carpark, in some sort of mechanical lek, trying to impress some random girls they met at Tesco Metro. Probably. We managed about 40 species, including some new to me like Small Rivulet and Scarce Footman, before calling it a day around midnight.

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A giant Common Footman brings terror to the fields of Norfolk

Birding in August - suggestions please!

Shortly I depart for the Latitude Festival, and after that I am in the unfamiliar position of having August off! However, as birding goes, August wouldn't be my pick of the months. I intend to go seawatching towards the latter end, but I would appreciate any suggestions of places to go in Norfolk to get the most out of the summer break. Failing that, pubs that I can birdwatch from (e.g. the Dun Cow) would also be welcome!

Carey's Meadow & Thorpe Marshes

5th July 2009

In stickily hot conditions, me & Adam walked down to Carey's Meadow to look for orchids and butterflies. I managed to get a few shots of Pyramidal Orchids, but the butterflies were too flitty, with Ringlet and Small Skipper the only ones to settle. My first Cinnabar Moth caterpillars of the year were of note. At Station Marsh there was no sign of any Garganey (for the millionth time), but 4 herons were of note (1 ad and 3 juv)

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