Birds and Beer

WHITLINGHAM: Week 5 and it's all quiet again

2012-01-30T16:53:00.002Z

28th January 2012

Spring was in the air today, with pairs of Egyptian Geese using every vantage point to noisily proclaim their territories. I did actually see a pair mating in late December, so there could even be some young anyday now. The Great Broad was busy with canoeists and model yachters, the result of which was that much of the wildfowl had departed, much of it to Thorpe Broad. I spent a while at the bird screen picking through the ducks, of which the presumed Pochard x Tufted Duck was the only interesting one. A Snipe on one of the smaller islands was out in the open and made a nice change from the usual undergrowth lurking. A couple of Lesser Redpoll flew over unseen, but I managed to track them down to some riverside Alders along with a raucous flock of c30 Siskin. A few more Siskin were further along the path.

The farmland at the top of the Lime Tree Avenue was devoid of birds other than a flock of Jackdaws, but I struck gold looking back towards the city, with one of the cathedral Peregrines perching on the spire. Walking back along Whitlingham Lane I went across Trowse Meadows and saw two Kingfishers, one on the ditch that runs along the lane and one on the river.

WHITLINGHAM: Local rarity - Ferruginous Duck

2012-01-21T21:23:00.002Z

21st January 2012

Firstly many thanks to those who sent messages regarding the Ferruginous Duck. As planned I got to Whitlingham on Saturday morning and soon got onto the bird, which was asleep on the edge of the main island on the Great Broad. After a showery wait the Ferruginous Duck eventually took to the water, and at one point took off after something spooked the jittery Teal. It landed slightly closer, and allowed views for another 15 minutes or so before flying off, this time away from the bay.

main points noted were:

Small black nail to the bill
Pale sub-terminal area before the nail
Main area of the bill grey (bluey grey in some lights)
Mahogany coloured head
Head shape appeared slightly squarer than previous Fudge Ducks I've seen
Pale eye
Dark brown back
Paler brown sides
White wingbar noticeable when preening and in flight
White vent
Pale belly patch, some brown flecking visible in flight
Slightly smaller than nearby Tufted Ducks
No attachment to particular species (spent all of the time on its own)

Also around were 250+ Teal, the Wigeon x Gadwall hybrid, the apparent female Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid and a Snipe.

[Edit] If anyone has any photographs of this bird then I would be very interested to see them! I can be contacted via the email address on the right hand side of the blog. Thanks.

WHITLINGHAM: Fudge Dark

2012-01-20T17:00:00.000Z

19th January 2012

Rather out of the blue a drake Ferruginous Duck was found at Whitlingham on Thursday afternoon. In hope rather than expectation I managed to get to Whitlingham after work, but even a part jog (part wheeze) around to the conservation area bay wasn't enough to beat the impending darkness. The conservation area bay was almost empty, with most of the wildfowl drifting into the middle of the broad to roost. I tried to find a consolation Owl or Woodcock, but it was not to be. The Fudge Duck has been seen again today, so if you don't need to use your digits for a while, I would appreciate you crossing them for me that it stays until tomorrow.

WHITLINGHAM: A probable hybrid and a nice woodland walk

2012-01-18T17:02:00.000Z

15th January 2012

So far its been quite slow going at Whitlingham. I noticed an odd-looking female Pochard, which had a uniformly dark head, clearly marked white patches alongside the base of the bill (like some female Tufted Ducks) and a seemingly thicker or differently shaped bill. It could well be a female Pochard x Tufted Duck hybrid, hopefully I can get some better pictures to help confirm this. Well hopefully I can find a Smew or something interesting, but you know what I mean, a hybrid is better than nothing.

With the wildfowl looking similar to the past couple of weeks I decided to head into the woods for a change. This paid immediate dividends when I found a Stoat rummaging around in the leaf litter. Further round I had to move off the path to allow a pack of Nordic walkers* through. Most of them were grateful, although one of the last ones muttered something about there being a murder in the woods, a reference to the bird-themed episode of Midsomer Murders broadcast last week, were two twitchers were killed in a wood**. Despite their ski-poles, it appeared they hadn't been up the steep steps as there was plenty of wildlife about. A while spent watching a mixed tit flock paid off with close views of a Nuthatch, whilst further round a Fox ran off through the undergrowth and I got neck-ache checking through a flock of Goldcrests.

* Nordic walkers are people that walk around with two ski poles. I think the original idea was that it was practice for skiing, but now it seems to be a fitness activity in its own right.

** As you'd expect this was straight out of the annals of birding stereotypes, and centred around the stringing of a Blue-crested Hoopoe (sic).

NORTH NORFOLK: Some Shorelarks and Geese

2012-01-16T16:59:00.001Z

14th January 2012

In the afternoon we went to Holkham to have a look at the Shorelarks (or Shore Larks as I guess they are meant to be called. I'm not having it). The fields either side of Lady Anne's Drive were full of Pink-footed Geese, Wigeon and Moorhens, and Cathy saw a Firecrest in a Holm Oak at the end of the drive. After walking around the bay we located the Shorelarks, albeit most of the time there was just a head sticking up from the vegetation. By the time we got back to the car the Ross' Goose was visible with the Pink-footed flock, which was nice. No luck with Rough-legged Buzzards towards Burnham, but we did see Lapland Buntings, a Barn Owl and loads of Grey Partridges.

WHITLINGHAM & THORPE: Ruff Justice

2012-01-16T16:56:00.000Z

14th January 2012

In the morning I headed down to Thorpe Marshes in the hope that a group of Ruff that had been seen in midweek by Ricky would still be in the area. Upon arrival I immediately heard a burst of Cetti's Warbler song, but as the source appeared to be some way off I continued until I heard another one closer to the path. A couple of minutes wait was enough to get good views as it clambered about the dead vegetation. Negotiating the pool of water across the gateway I went and stood by the cattle pound to scan the marshes. 16 Lapwing and 3 Snipe were the only wading birds, and gull numbers were nowhere near the levels around last week. A Great Spotted Woodpecker by the railway line and a Wren were new for the year, and another ten Snipe were onsite, mainly along the far edge of the broad east of the spit.

NORWICH: City Kingfisher

2012-01-15T10:02:00.001Z

10th January 2012

Still not enough light to go anywhere birding after work, but I did see a Kingfisher flying along the river between New Mills and Barn Road Bridge in the gloom after work today.

BROADLAND: Malthouse Broad

2012-01-15T10:00:00.000Z

8th January 2012

We popped down to Ranworth in the afternoon to have a look at the female Ring-necked Duck. I have a particular affection for this bird as it is the only lifer (so far) that I have seen at Whitlingham, dating back to when it first appeared in Norfolk in November 2008. We found it pretending to be asleep with a flock of Pochard off the staithe at Malthouse Broad. Afterwards we went for a drive around the villages south of Norwich, the highlight of which was a Barn Owl south-east of Shotesham.

WHITLINGHAM: A more thorough look around

2012-01-09T16:51:00.000Z

7th January 2011

My visit on January 1st had been rather rushed as the light was going, so this week I took a bit more time and went around more of the patch. I picked up a number of common birds along Whitlingham Lane and various bits of scrub before I got to the broads. 4 Little Grebes were on the river, and Snipe numbers had halved (back to one). At least 170 Teal were in the conservation area bay, these are worth keeping an eye on with a Green-winged reported from Strumpshaw recently. Gull-wise a Great Black-backed was with the regular loafers.

There was very little of note on the river or on Whitlingham Marsh, although a flock of Fieldfares flew over. The sewage works held more gulls and some Rooks. On my way back I went through the woods, and scanned Thorpe Marshes from the viewpoint above the car park. The marshes looked completely flooded, but once again it was only loads of gulls that were taking advantage. A small flock of Goldcrests in the conifers was the third time I've seen them in a week, anecdotally appearing to be benefiting from the warm after a couple of harsh winters. I spent a while watching an area of beech mast near the picnic area, seeing lots of Chaffinches and Great Tits, but nothing more exciting. 12 new birds for the patch year list, taking me up to 48.

NORWICH: Earlham Cemetery

2012-01-04T16:42:00.001Z

3rd January 2012

A rainy day meant I spent most of the time indoors, seeing a Jay and a couple of Coal Tits in the garden. When the rain did stop I went for a walk in the eastern half of Earlham Cemetery (which would surely be renamed as Britain's Magical Squirrel Land if the Broads Authority had anything to do with it*). I had hoped to catch up with a Treecreeper or Nuthatch, but the best thing I found was a couple of Goldcrests. Redwing and Goldfinch flocks were also flying around. I thought I may have found a roosting Tawny Owl when I found a Jay screeching at a large tree, but it turned out that the Jay simply hates Ivy.

* If you don't understand this, it's my first mention of the year of the Broads Authority's re-branding of the broads as Britain's Magical Waterland.

NORTH NORFOLK: Titchwell trip

2012-01-03T14:41:00.000Z

2nd January 2012

Titchwell is always a popular destination early in the year, and so it proved on Monday when we went along for the afternoon. In fact there is probably an arguement for concreting over half of the marsh to provide extra carparking*. The Coue's Arctic Redpoll (which is apparently pronounced "Cows" - how many other bird names am I pronouncing wrong I wonder?) was showing near the picnic area as we walked past. As with the shrike last week we were treated to good views as it flew into the tree above us. A quick look through the rest of the Redpolls and a couple of Goldcrests later we moved on as a scrum was building. After a quick look at the sightings log we went on to Island Hide.

The bird I most wanted to see was probably a female Mandarin that had been seen earlier in the day, but I couldn't find it. There were two Scaup, and several other new birds (Ruff, lone Avocet, Shelduck etc). Cathy didn't fancy going to the beach so she stayed in the Parrinder Hide, whilst I carried on to the sea, noting three Spotted Redshanks on the way. On the beach I picked up Sanderling and Bar-tailed Godwit, whilst a number of Goldeneye were close in. A Goosander looked a bit out of place on the sea, but not as out of place as two Whooper Swans bobbing along a way out. A Red-throated Diver and several Common Scoter flew past, but as I was in a hurry I didn't hang around to wait for other flybys. On the way back to the car I found my second Water Rail in two days in the ditch by the main path.

We had a quick drive up to Choseley in the fading light, seeing a few Yellowhammers. There was no sign of any Little Owls, but several people were parked up partway down the road, presumably waiting for one (or something rarer that I don't know about!). Last bird of the day was a Barn Owl hunting over the fields just before Wells.

* This is said in jest, don't send me hate mail.

WHITLINGHAM: New Year's Day patch visit

2012-01-03T09:28:00.000Z

1st January 2012

I got down to Whitlingham for the first time in the afternoon, and the country park was completely packed with people who have made a New Year's resolution to get fit. Luckily they will have probably given up by next week. Along Whitlingham Lane a Green Woodpecker was feeding close to the road. Scanning from the slipway I picked up the usual common stuff plus a Little Grebe (the first of five seen), a Grey Heron and the presumed Lesser White-front x Ross' hybrid. The Little Broad held some Shoveler, but little else was seen until I reached the bird screen. Here there was a large number of gulls, including a large argentatus race Herring Gull, the first I can remember seeing here. My recced Snipe was still present, and had in fact found a friend.

Not much on Thorpe Broad, and it was starting to drizzle, so I power-walked the south shore, pausing to scan at convenient spots. The light was going, but I headed along the Little Broad to look for Siskin and Redpoll (no luck with either). Finally I decided to pick a likely spot and wait in case a Water Rail walked past, and I was duly smug when one did exactly that, picking its way slowly along the waters edge. A double "zee" alerted me to two Kingfishers, which flew past at speed. 36 species was a low-key start, but we can't be too far from a cold snap now, with its attendant increase in waterfowl.

THE FAR EAST: Lowestoft and Great Yarmouth

2012-01-03T09:17:00.000Z

1st January 2012

My first bird of the year was predictably Collared Dove, but the second bird was less so. Whilst I was having a cup of tea I heard Pink-footed Geese, and looking out of the window a skein flew high westwards. Whilst finishing breakfast news came through that the Hoopoe was still at Lowestoft. Cathy's interest in birds is partly linked to mine, but she had wanted to see a Hoopoe since she was given her first bird book as a child, so we put plans to go to Whitlingham on hold to go and see this iconic bird.

Arriving at Lowestoft we found the green roofs that the Hoopoe had been favouring, but as it happened it was now feeding on nearby wasteland. A cracking bird, and easily the best bird I've seen on January the 1st. After a while we went round to ASDA, and a look upriver gave us a masterclass in diving, with a Black-throated Diver, a Red-breasted Merganser, Shag and Cormorant. It was almost enough to make us start a "birds seen from supermarket carparks list."

The birds active feeding was too much for my poor digiscoping

Rather than go back to Norwich directly, we headed off to ASDA in Great Yarmouth. We walked around to Breydon Water, although seeing someone in the hide I decided not to make the assumption that it was a birder and to look from the path. The tide was in, making for a bigger spectacle but more distant birds. There was no sign of the Spoonbill that has been overwintering here, but loads of the commoner waders. On the way back we added Kestrel and Sparrowhawk to the year list.

FAKENHAM: Intergrade Great Grey Shrike

2012-01-03T09:03:00.000Z

30th December 2012

As the year drew to an end, the flagging up of the Fakenham Great Grey Shrike as possibly of the homeyeri race made a trip to see it more tempting. I remembered reading the Birding Frontiers article about a homeyeri Great Grey Shrike at Sheffield, so I had a rough idea of the key features, so I decided to go and have a look for myself. Upon arrival we saw birders turning to face us, so we stopped near a gap in the hedge, and were rewarded with a close fly past of the Great Grey Shrike. Whilst the bird was out of view we repositioned ourselves near the area it appeared to fly to, and after a short while it flew up into the tree above us and peered down. The 'expression' was something akin to one of the velociraptors from Jurassic Park, before it decided we were just too big to impale on a thorn and flew off. The shrike remained mobile, so we then employed the tried and tested 'stand and wait' technique, and eventually got perched up views, albeit distantly.

The next day the bird was clarified as probably an intergrade: Birding Frontiers Shrike update.

Before heading home we went to Wells, where we saw a Red-necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe and three Little Grebes from the quay.

WHITLINGHAM: Last visit of the year

2011-12-29T14:56:00.000Z

28th December 2011

Of course it might not be my last visit of the year, if someone finds a Slav Grebe in the next few days, I'll be there. But as things stand, with no change in the weather, my last few visits have been almost identikit, even including a very lazy Snipe that has been within a few feet of bank for over a week. Today it was very windy, which made loads of gulls land on the water. These counts, all very much minima include 450+ Black-headed Gulls, 200+ Lesser Black-backed Gulls, 160+ Common Gulls and 10+ Herring Gulls. As the light began to fade I headed up to the farmland near Whitlingham Hall in search of one more species for the patch year list (Barn Owl, Red-legged Partridge or Yellowhammer were the ones in particular I hoped for), but without success. Three heads poked out from behind a ridge in one of the fields, but slightly oddly turned out to be Mistle Thrushes. So there we go, 106 for the year, a respectable total considering 2010 was boosted by the crazy spell that brought in all 5 grebes, GN Diver, Smew, Ruddy Duck and Ring-necked Duck.

Bring on 2012!

Gull-fest

BROADLAND: Rollesby & Wroxham

2011-12-29T14:47:00.000Z

27th December 2011

Cathy was still ill, and politely disputed my notion that a good long walk in the fresh air would do her good, so we went out for a look at places with less than 5 minutes walking involved. First stop was Rollesby Broad, where a Great Northern Diver was floating along. It was distant, but still easily visible to the naked eye. Whilst watching it the bird didn't dive once, but did spend a lot of time with its head submerged.

Next we went to Wroxham Broad, which presumably had been disturbed recently as there wasn't a single Aythya present. I picked out one Little Grebe and a Marsh Harrier hunted over nearby alder carr, but that was it. Deciding to try closer to home, we stopped at Old Lakenham Mill, where the semi-resident Little Egret was feeding in the river. A flock of apparent swans near Caistor St Edmund was actually 4 Mute Swans and 7 White Domestic Geese. Finally we went for a look along the river between Bawburgh and Marlingford, which was bird-lite.

WHITLINGHAM: Christmas Eve

2011-12-29T14:39:00.002Z

24th December 2011

A pre-Christmas jaunt, and not much was stirring, not even a... well you get the idea anyway. Bird of the day was this colossal gull, dwarfing the Lesser Black-backs although matching them in mantle shade.

THETFORD FOREST: Lynford Arboretum

2011-12-29T14:36:00.000Z

22nd December 2011

A short walk around the paddocks was devoid of Hawfinches, but did see a nice perched up Crossbill. Poking around the arboretum I found a calling Firecrest, and we also saw some late fungi, including an Ear-pick Toadstool and some Stag's Horn.

Stag's Horn

MERRY CHRISTMAS

2011-12-21T11:35:00.000Z

21st December 2011

As I'm not sure when I will get to update the blog before Christmas, now seems as good a time as any to wish all of my readers a

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Many thanks to all those who have contributed to my birding throughout the year, be it through lifts, information about sightings, advice or companionship.

WHITLINGHAM: Red-crested Pochard & lots of Teal

2011-12-18T13:08:00.000Z

17th December 2011

My first impressions upon arriving at Whitlingham were that it was going to be a quiet visit, but it actually turned out to be quite productive. After a chat with one of the model yacht club members at the slipway I had a look in the woods near the car park. Unfortunately it doesn't look like any feeders are being put up this year, which is a shame as they attracted good numbers of birds. The reason is probably financial, but last year they did attract such large numbers of rats that the Pied Piper of Hamlyn had to be hired to get them out of the C.P, which probably was a factor too. The best bird using the feeders last winter was a Nuthatch, but as it happened I heard one calling further along Whitlingham Lane, so hopefully this shouldn't affect my chances of seeing one here next year.

A modest number of ducks were on the Great Broad, but there wasn't anything out of the ordinary, or any interesting hybrids. When I got to the river I scanned Thorpe Broad, and seeing there was a large number of Teal I set about scanning the margins to look for Green-winged Teal. Whilst doing this I saw a female Red-crested Pochard, my first here this year and the third autumn/winter that at least one has arrived. Carrying on to the conservation area bay I counted a flotilla of 90 Teal and a single sleeping Snipe. 10 Shoveler were on the Little Broad, and whilst watching them two Kingfishers flew through my field of vision, one chasing the other. Finally I located at least five Lesser Redpolls in the alders, along with a mobile flock of Siskin.

Thorpe Red-crested Pochard. The red bill is a photographic artefact, it was only red-tipped in the field.

NORTH NORFOLK: More Sandpiper and a productive raptor roost

2011-12-06T13:13:00.008Z

4th December 2011

The days birding started at Cley, for another look at the Western Sandpiper. The hides were busier than yesterday, but the bird was closer, so it was still worth the crowds. I got a few digiscoped pictures, which add nothing to any of the debates around the ID. Once the sandpiper moved further away we went to Teal hide. After scanning Pat's Pool my attention was drawn to a Shoveler in front of us. It was swimming backwards and forwards along the edge of the pool, regularly diving. It was making a meal of getting under water, the head starting low to the water then the wings thrusting down. I don't think I've ever see Shoveler do this before, but apparently it is noted in B.W.P. (thanks to Dave A for this info).

Is mincing a diagnostic feature?

Size comparison with a Dunlin

Before leaving Cley, we scanned through the Brent Goose flock in the field behind the visitors centre. We found one Pale-bellied Brent Goose and these two returning leucistic birds. The photos undersell how pale they look in the field. It was now lunchtime, and we headed off to the Three Swallows for lunch.

First stop after lunch was Blakeney. No sign of any wild geese from Friary Hills, but amongst the Blackbirds in a hawthorn was this tame, dark-beaked individual. Possibly a continental bird?

After Blakeney we went to Branthill Farm real ale shop for a stock-up, before having a look around the nearby area, finding a Great Spotted Woodpecker and a Common Buzzard whilst several skeins of Pink-footed Geese flew over. At around three we headed for Warham Greens, and upon our arrival the one birder already present put us onto a female Hen Harrier. Whilst watching this a Merlin flew through the telescope view, landing on the top of a small bush. A bit later a male Hen Harrier began to hunt, and at times was crossing over with the ringtail. Interestingly at one point they were both hunting in the same area, but with completely different flight patterns. Whilst the female flew level over the saltmarsh, the male was hunting in a series of semi-circular glides, creating a pattern that looked like an oscillating wave. As the light began to fade I picked up a Short-eared Owl gliding in from the east, completing an excellent days birding.

NORTH NORFOLK: Cley Calidrid

2011-12-05T16:39:00.005Z

3rd December 2011

Its always a little bit frustrating when a rare bird turns up on a Monday, more so if it is potentially a first for the county. I was very glad that the putative Western Sandpiper (hereafter known as the Western Sandpiper) seemed settled at Cley, and finally got to see it on Saturday morning with Cathy and Margaret. Everyone in the hide seemed to agree with the ID, although Jeremy Clarkson did suggest shooting it so that we could be sure. I think he was just deliberately trying to be controversial to drum up publicity for his forthcoming book "Where To Watch Birds Whilst Driving Really Fast And Offending People". After watching the Sandpiper from Dauke's and Avocet hides (trying to get a better view as it often hugged the bank), Robert Smith kindly came and told us the Green-winged Teal was showing well, so we went and had a look at that. The last couple I've seen have been asleep, so it made a nice change to see one moving

I took this picture of the Green-winged Teal, apparently whilst on a slope. For any American readers, forget about the G-W Teal and marvel at the amount of Eurasian Teal.

WHITLINGHAM: Windy gullfest

2011-11-28T16:56:00.003Z

27th November 2011

A friends stag do in London the previous day ensured that I wasn't out much before midday today. I arrived at Whitlingham in gusty winds, which whipped up the water into a serious of small waves. The winds were off the land, minimising the chance of windblown seabirds (although I notice that Graffham had 3 Velvet Scoter this week to keep me hoping), but what was noticeable was the number of gulls on the water, at least 120 Black-headed off the slipway alone. The hybrid LWF x Ross' Goose was present and calling repeatedly (I do have a rubbish video of this which I will try to upload). There was a welcome increase in Tufted Ducks, and a couple of Yellow-legged Gulls (an adult and a 2nd winter) were in a large mixed flock of Lesser Black-backed and Common Gulls.

Looking over at Thorpe Broad the river looked particularly high, and I later found out that there had been some localised flooding at the coast. The conservation area bay was packed with birds for a change, but still nothing scarce (2 Little Grebes, 5 female Pochard and some Teal the best birds). The Little Broad looked like it hadn't been disturbed that morning, with more Tufted Ducks and Gadwall, and a couple of Shoveler for good measure. 12 Siskins were also bombing about the site.

SUFFOLK: Lowestoft Hume's Warbler

2011-11-28T16:46:00.002Z

20th November 2011

A couple of people had sent me messages during the week suggesting that I should go and see a Hume's Warbler in the middle of Lowestoft. Phrases like "great views" and "you can't miss it" were dangerously bandied about. As it happened Norwich was completely enveloped by fog, so a trip out seemed a good idea, even if it was to Suffolk. Cathy located the alley where the bird had been, which quite frankly looked more likely to host a body than a rare bird. A couple with binoculars confirmed we were in the right place, but the only bird there today was one Blue Tit. Bugger. Luckily all was not lost. Lowestoft is so good for birds, if one leaves, there is always another one just up the high street. So it proved here, and I finally did see a Hume's Warbler, albeit a bit further away than the first bird would have been, feeding merrily in trees behind the Royal Falcon. Why don't we get birds like this in Yarmouth I wondered, oblivious to the fact one had been found in Yarmouth that morning. Having run out of 'foot-in-mouth' moments, we went home.

WHITLINGHAM: Fog, crab legs and a Goldeneye

2011-11-21T16:30:00.004Z

19th November 2011

As many of you will have guessed from the lack of news from Whitlingham at the weekend, "track the Eider" was not a successful campaign. After being seen drifting past Strumpshaw it was not reported again, presumably re-orientating itself and flying back to the sea. Nevertheless I was at Whitlingham on Saturday morning to have a good look myself. This initially seemed harder than it should have been as fog was still hanging over the broad, but as the sun rose it soon dissipated. There was a strong smell of the sea in the air, surely an omen? No, actually, it was someone's discarded seafood. One of the stranger items of litter to be found on site.

Wildfowl numbers were similar to the previous week, with a slight increase in Tufted Ducks. Are Aythya and Gadwall numbers still low in the broads I wonder? Last weeks Goldeneye was still around to the east of the island. I walked along the river as far as the bypass in case the Eider was still on the river, but saw nothing unusual. A couple of flyover Lesser Redpolls suggest there may be a small flock locally that move around rather than continuing passage. I went into the woods to get a vantage point over Thorpe Marshes, and saw a bit of late fungi, including my first site record of Verdigris Toadstool (pictured below).

Rubbish Goldeneye record shot

Track that Eider!

2011-11-15T17:18:00.003Z

15th November 2011

So, you find yourself with a week off and don't fancy wandering around Hunstanton on the off chance you find a garden with some buds in? Why not take the big Eider challenge? Ben Lewis originally found a female-type Eider on the river at Buckenham on Sunday, and then yesterday it was seen heading west past Strumpshaw. Continuing along the river, hopefully it will get to Whitlingham (and even more hopefully it will stay there. Unfortunately work prevents me from going each day and checking, but if anyone goes to Surlingham C.M., Brundall, Bramerton, Postwick, Whitlingham Sewage Works or Thorpe & Whitlingham please keep an eye out! Lets get some more sightings on the Map of Duck below.

Other random bird news:
Waxwings have returned to Norwich for the winter, with a small flock around the Hall Road area (thanks to Will from the Birdbeards blog for updates on these).

The Hawk & Owl Trust have put up a new camera on the Cathedral to look at the Peregrines next year. I don't know why they need a new one, maybe its conitnuous rather than shots every two minutes. Anyway, its good that the male is still holding territory around the Cathedral.

Woodfordes have given the NWT a cheque for nearly £2400, raised from sales of its "Once Bittern" beer launched earlier this year.

WHITLINGHAM: A few more ducks and a Goldeneye

2011-11-12T14:39:00.002Z

12th November 2011

Illness had prevented me from going out last weekend, so I was particularly keen to get to Whitlingham early on and see what wildfowl had arrived. November is one of the best times to find scarce ducks at the C.P, with Ring-necked Duck, Pintail and Red-crested Pochard in previous years. None of those species were present today (ironically its the Pintail I was hoping for most), but there was a range of the expected winter ducks in small numbers - 1 Goldeneye, 2 Shovelers, 5 Pochard, 16 Wigeon and 30+ Teal. A couple of Little Grebes were bobbing around near the Cormorant posts.

Many birds were flying overhead, I noted Redwings, Skylarks and a Lesser Redpoll, but I'm probably missing out on some ticks by not knowing more flight calls. Is there a CD of flight calls made anywhere, or is this going to be a bird-by-bird Xeno Canto job? I didn't see the Siskin flock that was around a couple of weeks ago, but it was quite mobile. Near the Little Broad was a dead Coot. I checked it in case it was ringed (it wasn't) then left it. I sort of felt that I should move the body into the undergrowth or something, but as I couldn't decided why that would be of any benefit I decided against it.

WHITLINGHAM: Owl watching

2011-10-31T16:45:00.006Z

30th October 2011

Apologies for the 'blank' post before this one, I am short of time and wanted to post about the owl.

On Friday evening a Short-eared Owl was reported at Thorpe Marshes. This represents a great sighting for the edge of Norwich, but by the time I got there it was almost pitch black. I still had a look round (I would have seen it had it broken the skyline I reckon) with no luck.

Saturday I was out, so on Sunday evening I remembered that the clocks had changed and went to Thorpe at 16:00. The first half hour of my vigil sitting on the cattle pen was pleasant enough, with a noisy stream of gulls heading back to the coast and a couple of noisy Grey Herons around too. Then the moment that in all honesty I didn't think would happen, a Short-eared Owl flew up from vegetation near the broad, and did a sweeping flight around the marshes. Less than a minute later it was gone, flying over Bungalow Lane. Absolutely amazing. I've seen a fair few SEOs at the coast, often in daylight, but for some reason this one on the patch was much more thrilling.

As the light got worse I decided to get up and double check that it hadn't flown behind some of the willows. At that point the owl flew back into view, coming in high over the poplars. I managed to get one sort of in focus picture (it is a SEO, honest!) as it flew over my head and out of sight. I waited ten minutes and then began walking back, only to get my best views as it flew across the path in front of me and then alongside the path at close quarters. A really enjoyable evenings birding.

At the time I presumed it would be the first Thorpe/Whitlingham Short-eared Owl, but as it happens I have just got my copy of the Norfolk Bird & Mammal report for 2010, which says that a maximum of three were seen at Whitlingham Marsh during the winter of 2009/10. Incidentally Whitlingham Marsh could refer to the council owned nature reserve of that name, or the marshy area behind the sewage works (with no general access) that is referred to as Whitlingham Marsh on Ordnance Survey maps. The only other B&MR nugget I have seen of interest to Whitlingham folks is a max count of 30 Little Grebes in Feb.

[Update] For those wanting to look for this bird, it is still being seen 10/11/11.

EAST NORFOLK: Waxham

2011-10-31T16:44:00.002Z

30th October 2011

One juvenile Shag offshore, an Eider, a few Guillemots and Red-throated Divers, plus a Red-breasted Merganser scared off by a jetskier. On the way back we stopped in Winterton as the Pallid/Common Swift flew over the car, but with the pale grey background I couldn't make out any plumage details at all. A Marsh Harrier flew over near Filby Heath, and there was a large flock of Pink-feet near Acle.

NORTH-EAST NORFOLK: Some seawatching

2011-10-31T16:40:00.002Z

29th October 2011

After a brief spell moving some furniture around, Gary, Adam & I set off for everyone's favourite stretch of "under-watched" coastline, Trimingham. Before walking to the woods Gary noticed a Buzzard sp. flying west that appeared to have a white rump. We managed to find a gap in the treeline and confirm that the bird was as suspected, a Rough-legged Buzzard. The bird then stalled in the air and swooped down out of sight. We intended to try to re-find it, but news of a Red-rumped Swallow flying north from Sea Palling with two Swallows had us instead choosing to go to the clifftop.

The sea was initially not too productive, but as time passed several groups of Little Gulls passed leisurely by, as did several Kittiwakes and a couple of Wigeon. A number of Red-throated Divers were on the sea, and a lone Snow Bunting flew east along the cliffs. At around 12:30 the moment we were waiting for arrived, when three Swallows flew up from the cliffs. In a blur we panned from bird to bird as they split up across the fields. Surely one had to be the Red-rumped? The closest two were definite Swallows, the third had come and gone none of us had seen a pale rump on it. We were faced with the truth that despite it being the end of October it was just a coincidence that there were two groups of Swallows along the coast.

Feeling hungry we moved on to the Poacher's Pocket at Walcott, where we could get a bit more seawatching in. After the initial curious questions from patrons and passers by had been answered we started scanning the sea. Most of the birds seen were similar to Trimingham, but here they were mostly pub ticks for me. Several Guillemots were loafing offshore, and a Common Scoter and 2 Red-breasted Mergansers were good birds, as was a flyover Redpoll. I missed a Great Northern Diver, but the best bird of the day was a Black Guillemot. A rare bird in Norfolk, it flew in and landed on the sea, allowing reasonable views before drifting west. Whilst eating we had been haunted by the calls of Pink-footed Geese, so we decided to have a look for them on the way back.

Following the calls we soon located a large flock of Pink-footed Geese in a couple of fields just inland of the coast road. We failed to find any scarcer species in with them, but Gary found a neck-collared bird (Pale blue CCI). The WWT got back to me very quickly about this bird, which was tagged in Aberdeenshire in April 2002, and has been sighted in Norfolk most winters since then. This year it had already been reported from the Horsey area the previous week, so the birds weren't 'new in' as we had suspected. On the way back to North Walsham we stopped off at Ebridge Mill where we saw a Grey Wagtail, and we had a Sparrowhawk near the library.

Neck-collared Pink-footed Goose

NORWICH: Annual Beer Festival

2011-10-28T16:12:00.003+01:00

28th October 2011

On Friday I went to my 10th Norwich Beer festival. The event is now so popular that the queue for the lunchtime session stretched well past the Playhouse, so we went to the Ten Bells first (I refuse to call it the X Bells, that's just silly). When we did get in, they had run out of half-pint glasses (this year a sort of tankard style), which rather ruins my collection. As a result of going late in the week many beers were no longer available, but it was still fun as always.

Norwich Beer Festival 2011

NORTH NORFOLK: Right place, right time

2011-10-28T16:07:00.003+01:00

26th October 2011

Travelling east along the coast road produced two notable occurrences. Firstly a flock of newly arrived Pink-footed Geese flying over Cley made a very convincing dinosaur pattern. Secondly I ended up being in the right place at the right time to see a recently found Pallid Swift flying above the grounds of Beeston Hall School. After a while it then flew almost overhead and off towards Beeston Bump, eventually being lost in a low cloud.

WHITLINGHAM: List moves on slowly

2011-10-28T15:56:00.002+01:00

24th October 2011

Walking around Whitlingham in the rain, I couldn't help feel that I should just write July-October off and spend any available time near the coast. Early November is the time when wildfowl numbers increase sharply, and it was noticeable that we were a way off. c60 Tufted Ducks and 32 Teal were the ducky highlights. A Kingfisher flew along the south shore, keeping my spirits up. Right at the end of the spit on Thorpe Broad a lone Snipe was feeding. I got a bit of deja vu along the riverbank when I heard a Bullfinch in the same scrub that I had heard earlier in the year. This time I managed to see it, my first patch year tick in a while. In the area between the Little Broad and Great Broad two Giant Puffballs were growing. Flyover stuff included a small flock of Redwing and around 30 Siskins, but no sign of any Brambling amongst a flock of Chaffinches. I've only seen Brambling here once, so if anyone does see some on the deck I would appreciate an email! Hopefully there will be more to report in the coming weeks.

EAST NORFOLK: A ropey set of shrike photos

2011-10-28T15:48:00.008+01:00

23rd October 2011

Shrike ID seems to be quite fluid, this bird is currently classed as the Daurian subspecies of Isabelline Shrike by the BOU. These digiscoped shots manage to capture the bird yawning (presumably bored of hearing the onlookers comment on its Wren eating) and stretching out the tail and wing feathers, which on some birds could have been very useful.

BROADLAND: Cockshoot Broad

2011-10-18T16:52:00.003+01:00

16th October 2011

A brief visit to Cockshoot Broad saw me make two basic errors. Firstly I presumed that it would be quite quiet, and secondly I thought I'd be able to see some ducks. As it turned out, loads of tourists were moored at the Cockshoot staithe, and there was a constant stream of people in and out of the hide. With regards to the visibility, the angle of the sun meant that all of the birds on the broad were completely silhouetted. There were definitely Teal, Mallard and Tufted Ducks. Bird of the trip was a Kingfisher, which did a double-flypast. Afterwards we took a detour to the Caistor St Edmund area, where a large covey of Red-legged Partridges was the highlight.

NORTH NORFOLK: Lots of men in a field

2011-10-17T16:43:00.006+01:00

15th October 2011

The place to be for any Norfolk birders with an interest in listing or rarities was Warham (site of the UKs second Rufous-tailed Robin for any foreign readers), and I duly took my place on the concrete pad at dawn, having been given a lift by Gary. Ultimately it was not to be, but a steady stream of commoner birds overhead and on the saltmarsh was some consolation. The cold morning was also a reminder that I need to buy warmer socks. Many congratulations to Rob Martin for finding the bird, and thanks to whoever organised the field for parking. The day promised more birds for those who spent the time looking, but I had a ticket for the Norwich City v Swansea match, so headed back to the fine city. We won 3-1 and played very well, so its all good.

For a finders account from Rob Martin see here: Punkbirder

For an account of the find from James McCallum see here: UK400 Club blog

Alternatively, make up a conspiracy theory about it. Bare in mind it will directly contradict the accounts of the people that were actually there at the time, so make sure its good. Maybe you were flying over in a microlite at the time and heard the whole sordid affair go down? Or maybe a friend of a friend was doing a mole survey for Natural England and was in a burrow three feet below the track and heard everything. There's no prize for the most creative entry. In fact, it might be best to just accept the statements made by Rob & James rather than pissing off two of the people most likely to find the next mega in Norfolk. Just a thought.

WHITLINGHAM: After the day of the owls

2011-10-17T16:31:00.003+01:00

14th October 2011

I don't often let myself get too bothered by missing a particular bird, but I couldn't help wishing I'd been at Titchwell the previous day to see the mass influx of Short-eared Owls. Surely a once in a lifetime moment for those present. With my inland patching hat on, it struck me that if ever I was going to see a Short-eared Owl locally it would be now. This was further brought home when I found out that one had got as far down the river as Strumpshaw (c6 miles away). Even without the SEOs there was an influx of Great Grey Shrikes and Yellow-browed Warblers, so more than enough to keep the interest up.

I headed down to Whitlingham after work, arriving around 5. After scanning the meadows and the scrub around the Little Broad (Adam had a Brambling here earlier in the week, a scarce bird at the C.P.) I went for a quick scan of the Great Broad. Gulls were pouring onto the broad for a pre-roost bathe, the 250+ Lesser-black backs on the water were only a fraction of the birds passing through. At the east end of the broad 213 Greylag Geese was an unusually high count. Today though the waterfowl were secondary. I had identified Whitlingham Marsh and the sewage works as being the most likely spots, so I headed past the woods (quickly scanning Thorpe Marsh on my way). Of course I didn't see any owls, and no shrikes were perched on the fence, but it was worth a shout. As I walked back along Whitlingham Lane in the vanishing light I wondered what fun and games were going on at the North Norfolk Coast.

WHITLINGHAM: As you were

2011-10-12T16:46:00.002+01:00

9th October 2011

Not too much wildfowl about today, c160 Coot and a couple of previously unseen domestic-type Mallards hardly set the pulse racing. A drake Pochard, a couple of Wigeon and a couple of groups of Gadwall accompanied the Tufted Ducks on the stretch east of the island. A few more Cormorants and a couple of Grey Herons were resting in the trees. A few Migrant Hawkers were still on the wing, and a male Kestrel was hunting over the meadows.

NORWICH: Mousehold Heath, more Redwings arrive

2011-10-10T17:00:00.002+01:00

8th October 2011

A quick trip to Mousehold Heath was accompanied by a small passage of Redwings, which continued overnight. I can usually occupy myself in the autumn in periods of low bird-activity by looking at fungi, but the dry weather has meant that there is hardly any of that around either. Trip aborted, we went to the Wig and Pen for a beer.

MEDIA: Whitlingham Ferry?

2011-10-10T16:45:00.004+01:00

Whitlingham was in the news last week, with Thorpe St Andrews council considering building a chain ferry between the C.P. and Thorpe Marshes. Whilst this would obviously be convenient for me, I don't really understand what benefits they think it would bring. The quoted cost of up to £250,000 means that it is highly unlikely to go ahead in any case. Perhaps they could have saved some money by looking at the one at Reedham rather than a similar one in Scotland. There would be a bit more mileage in linking Thorpe riverside with Whitlingham (allowing people to have a walk then go to a bar or cafe), but the railway line is in the way. Anyway, interesting to hear its being contemplated, and something to keep an eye on over the next few years.

SUFFOLK: Boyton Crane twitch

2011-10-03T16:35:00.003+01:00

2nd October 2011

I had intended to go to Whitlingham, although I hadn't exactly decided what it was I expected to find, other than hundreds of people. Luckily I was saved from myself by the news that the Sandhill Crane had been located in Suffolk. Thanks to Cathy & Margaret who agreed to give me a lift, and to Gary who gave updates as it flew around a bit, we arrived in Boyton, parked outside the village so we weren't obstructing anyone and got there just in time. The Sandhill Crane was standing in a stubble field, and we watched it for around 10-15 minutes before a microlite spooked it and it circled then flew over the hedge. Someone had the presence of mind to set up a collection basket for the local church to try to keep onside the bemused (and in one case livid) local residents, and I see that since then the church carpark is being used.

The crane has also made it onto the Norfolk list (or it should do once the formalities are gone thorugh) by virtue of a retrospective identification from some birdwatchers at Snettisham. As frustrating as it is to not see the bird in Norfolk, it is surely a good thing that the bird can take its place on the county list, when everyone realised there was a very high likelihood that it had gone through or around the coast of the county in reaching Suffolk.

SUFFOLK: Lowestoft North Denes

2011-10-03T16:23:00.004+01:00

1st October 2011

Another hot day with southerly winds, making searching for migrants that little bit harder. I decided to have a walk around the dunes and scrub north of Lowestoft. The banks of brambles that should have a nice mix of outgoing warblers feeding up and incoming birds were empty. The only thing that was in the dunes were semi-naked old people burning their skin, and that wasn't an encouragement. Walking back along the beach a Red-throated Diver landed on the sea, still partially in summer plumage. A Grey Seal emerged with a fish and was mobbed by gulls, and four Med Gulls flew around.

NORFOLK: Some shiny beetles

2011-09-30T16:05:00.003+01:00

Late September 2011

In the absence of birds, please accept this token offering of insects from earlier this week. The first picture is off two lovely irridescent beetles, sometimes known as Rainbow Leaf Beetles, taken in Lakenham. The second picture is a Dor Beetle, taken on my trip to Thornham. Whilst I was there we also saw five Devil's Coach Horse beetles.

WHITLINGHAM: A misty landscape and some redwings

2011-09-26T16:38:00.005+01:00

24th September 2011

An early morning visit to Whitlingham was delayed a few roads from my house as I watched a cat furiously chasing a Grey Squirrel in and out of gardens, along a fence and under a car, before the squirrel finally found refuge in a Holly tree, still being watched by the cat. I arrived just after dawn, and was treated to some nice views as the banks of mist began to clear. Whilst watching the mist rise up from the river at Trowse Meadows a Bullfinch called in the distance. A walk around the broad was largely uneventful until the final stretch, when a Kingfisher flew across the path and a Marsh Tit popped up in a tree beside the path. Several Redwing flew over, my first of the autumn.

In the afternoon we agreed to go to the coast to have a look around. The lack of migrants reported and the westerly winds meant there was no obvious destination, so I decided on Thornham (the wrong ...rnham as it happened, but there we go). We parked at the staithe carpark and walked along the coastal path, but there were hardly any passerines about, and a Spotted Redshank in one of the creeks was the best bird of the trip.

NORWICH: Students in not drinking shocker

2011-09-21T18:36:00.003+01:00

21st September 2011

It wouldn't have happened in my day. Anyway, it appears that someone on the UEA campus wasn't in the student bar, and as a result found a lone Snow Bunting wandering around on the grass outside some of the new accommodation blocks ('new' as in not Waveney Terrace/Prison). I found out about the bird when I got home from work (thanks to James G for the text) and after a cup of tea decided to walk down to UEA and see if it was still around. To my surprise it was, and was every bit as tame as Snow Bunting usually are at the coast. It was walking around, picking at white feathers and dandelion clocks as if to check that they weren't snow. Eventually it flew in a tight arc around two other birders, landing even closer to them on the next bit of lawn. Well done to the finder, and to any new birders starting uni here - its not always like this!

WHITLINGHAM: Lots of gulls

2011-09-19T16:38:00.004+01:00

18th September 2011

What a difference a day makes. In contrast to the previous day when I had the country park almost to myself, the sun had brough out hundreds of people. Wildfowl numbers were accordingly down, the whole Wigeon flock had gone. The only new arrival was a drake Pochard in with the Tufted Ducks. A Shag had been reported near the island in the morning, so I checked and re-checked all of the Cormorants, but with no joy. If anyone who reads the blog knows anymore details (adult/juvenile, time seen etc.) I would appreciate it. Whilst scanning from the bird screen a flock of 146 Lesser Black-backed Gulls dropped in, and I spent a while scanning through to check for Yellow-legged Gulls. There definitely weren't any adult YLG, but it did highlight the fact that I don't know how to separate juveniles and 1st winters, so some evening reading needed!

2nd winter Lesser Black-backed Gull. Maybe.

WHITLINGHAM: Big arrival of Wigeon

2011-09-19T13:20:00.005+01:00

17th September 2011

A couple of weeks since my last visit, and with Grafham Water showing the potential of inland reservoirs (albeit much larger ones) I thought an early morning visit was in order. Upon arrival I was scanning from the slipway when I heard the whistling noise made by Wigeon, and sure enough six were swimming around near the far bank. As I continued round I found a further 37 mixed in with a similar sized flock of Gadwall. It wasn't long before the ducks were disturbed by a speedboat sent out by the watersports centre, but when they landed again I was able to confirm that there were 43 Wigeon, far and away my highest count here. In the conservation area bay another 25-odd Gadwall and a Little Grebe were loafing around. Three Chiffchaffs were singing around the site, and five Cetti's Warblers were singing too. A Speckled Wood and a couple of White sp. were the only butterflies, whilst a Shaggy Ink Cap was by the path at the east end.

Shaggy Ink Cap

NORWICH: Hummingbird Hawk Moth

2011-09-16T16:18:00.003+01:00

15th August 2011

Sitting indoors isn't usually a very productive place to watch nature, but Cathy made the most of it this evening by spotting a Hummingbird Hawk Moth in the back garden. We ran outside and were treated to close views of this delightful moth feeding on honeysuckle flowers. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera on me (my only picture of a hummer was ironically one settled on a leaf rather than the hovering they are famous for) but fingers crossed it will return...

NORTH NORFOLK: It's like a Bittern, but smaller

2011-09-12T16:34:00.005+01:00

10th September 2011

No prizes for guessing my destination on Saturday, with the juvenile Little Bittern at Titchwell defying a supposed period of inactivity resulting from the presistent westerly winds. It took two and a half hours of pool gazing before we got views, but it was worth the wait. A close Red Kite and a late Swift flew over. Everyone has their moments where a bird shows after they leave, and this was nearly mine. Cathy had waited patiently for a few hours and I had agreed to go after checking the freshmarsh, but on the way back I noticed everyone had bunched together. The Little Bittern had came into the open then back into the reeds (a nearby birder accurately described picking it out as a "Magic-eye puzzle") but I finally saw bits of it. After a short wait it then stepped out into the open again, looking straight towards us then turning side-on and catching a fish. Despite the reeds blowing about in front of me I managed to get a couple of digiscoped photos for posterity.

If only all bird-related arguments were this easy to answer...

2011-09-06T13:50:00.006+01:00

Q: Could a sea eagle mistake (a) young child for prey, ask gamekeepers?

A: Umm, No. Definitely no. Next question.

What happened to make gamekeepers ask if sea eagles could mistake young children for prey you ask? Ah. One attacked a clergyman* (who presumably wasn't a young child**) who has defending his prize winning*** goose (called Bertie****), a natural prey item, from the eagle. The clergyman was the Very Reverend Hunter***** Farquharson. Does this sound too surreal to be true to anyone?

* It jumped on his back. Thats weird isn't it? I mean, Eagles don't strike me as good jumpers. Maybe he was lying down.

** This is a guess, but how many young children have a prize-winning goose?

*** What prize(s) has it won? Tastiest goose? Goose that looks most like a fish? I'm going to try to find out, I hate not having all the details.

**** Possibly after Bertie Wooster, who in an episode of "Jeeves and Wooster" sung a silly song with the refrain "Ever so goosey goosey goosey goosey"

***** Yes his first name is Hunter. Make of that what you will.

YARE VALLEY: Marston, Eaton & Keswick

2011-09-05T14:48:00.004+01:00

5th September 2011

A warm morning was a mixed blessing, nice enough to go out but warm enough to bring hoardes of people to Whitlingham. Adam suggested a walk along the river south of the city, so we headed for Marston Marshes. The paths had been resurfaced since my last visit, but the riverside ones don't appear to have been raised, so its only a matter of time before they flood. The new wader scrape was similarly disappointing, both in size and the fact that it is almost invisible from the path. We saw Great Spotted Woodpecker and Kestrel, whilst a flock of House Sparrows were on the feeders on Marston Lane.

It began to drizzle as we crossed the railway to Eaton Common, stopping to watch a Green Woodpecker in the paddocks. A heard-only Kingfisher was the only bird of note here, and we headed off to Keswick Mill. Only a lone Moorhen on the mill pool, but in a sun-trap around the corner we saw a number of butterflies including a pristine Comma. We followed the track down to Harford Bridges, where we had a cup of tea and marvelled at the extensive Tesco Local Nature Reserve. walking back up the main road we were heckled by morons whilst photographing some Sandy Stilt Puffballs (a rare fungus) before heading back along Marston Lane.

NORTH NORFOLK: Blakeney to Stiffkey

2011-09-05T08:46:00.002+01:00

3rd September 2011

For the last Saturday of the summer holidays I had planned a day out around Blakeney. Unfortunately the weather hadn't played ball, and it was never going to be a famous day for migrant species. This happens more often than not, so it was a case of just going out and enjoying the birds that were around. I got the first Coasthopper from Sheringham and met up with Josh for some local knowledge.

We decided to walk the coastal path west to Stiffkey, checking various points along the way. In a field just out of Blakeney we found a flock of Golden Plover and a family of Grey Partridges, and further along a Wheatear was in a horse paddock. A few Sylvia warblers were in the hedgerows and brambles, but it was rather quiet. Upon arrival at the fen we saw 11 Spoonbills resting on one of the islands, and a good range of waders. The best were a couple of Curlew Sandpipers, but we also saw Common Sand, Green Sand, Dunlin, Knot, Greenshank, Black-tailed Godwit and Little Ringed Plover. There was a large flock of Greylags, from which Josh found a lone White-fronted Goose of unkown origin.

On the way back we perched on an upturned boat for a seawatch. The strangest bird was a Black Swan on the shore, which eventually joined some Mute Swans in the channel. An almost constant stream of boats were ferrying tourists to the seal colonies, but behind them several Arctic Skuas and Gannets were passing, along with the Sandwich and Little Terns. Once we got back to Blakeney we decamped to the White Horse to play Mongolian Chess and Scrabble. Many thanks to Josh for the good company.

YARE VALLEY: Strumpshaw & Cantley BF

2011-09-05T08:16:00.005+01:00

2nd September 2011

Jim had been seeing good numbers of waders at Cantley over the past week, and invited me to join him there for the afternoon. On the way we called in at Strumpshaw to look for the Willow Emerald Damselflies. We didn't see them, but as this is the third year they've been recorded at Strumpshaw I'm sure I'll catch up with them eventually. We did manage Common Blue Damselfly, Common Darter, Ruddy Darter, Brown Hawker and Migrant Hawker. From the reception hide a Hobby was perched on a dead tree and an immature Grey Heron was standing half-submerged, perhaps trying to cool off? Several Brimstones were flying, a rather late second brood.

After signing in at the security lodge we preceded down the footpath to the settling pools. On my previous visit to Cantley the water levels had been high, but it was immediately obvious from the large areas of exposed mud that I should expect more birds this time. Quietly viewing from the first corner we found a flock of Dunlin & Ringed Plover that also included 11 Little Stints and four Curlew Sandpipers. Eventually we walked alongside them, getting my closest views of both of the latter species. David N was already onsite, and we were joined by Ricky, creating a sort of 'bloggers-elect'. Most of the rest of the time was spent scrutinising each Ruff and Dunlin, but we also turned up Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Greenshank, Snipe, Yellow Wagtail and more Curlew Sands. Good views, good company, great birding.

Mixed wader flock

Juv. Curlew Sandpiper

NORTH NORFOLK: Sheringham & Beeston

2011-09-01T14:22:00.002+01:00

30th August 2011

Entering the last week of the holidays Tuesday seemed the only day that may be good for a few seabirds on the North Norfolk coast (barring Monday and its Yelkouan of course). Adam & I got the first train to Sheringham, where we were met by Gary, and headed to the shelters. The past few times I've been here there has been no room to sit, so the fact they were empty was an ominous sign.

Settling down there was a steady passage of Sandwich Terns heading east, and a trickle of small groups of Gannets were also passing. Eventually a few Arctic Skuas passed by, and a Red-throated Diver flew East. Small numbers of Great Skuas flew past fairly close in, and we almost missed a Razorbill flying just past the end of the groynes. Eventually we saw a lone Fulmar and another Red-throated Diver, before the slightly odd sight of 12 Canada Geese flying east. Once it died down we walked east and had another look from a higher vantage point, seeing a close-in Great Skua.

Rather than go straight back to Norwich we went up Beeston Bump (almost stepping on someones Racing Pigeon on the way) and then searched the area of scrub between the coast and railway line. We turned up a few Whitethroats and a Lesser Whitethroat, but not much else really. The paddocks between the railway line and main road held corvids and gulls, but not even a returning Wheatear.

NORFOLK: Castle Acre

2011-09-01T14:04:00.005+01:00

29th August 2011

Ostensibly today was a series of historical visits, but we managed to pack in some birds too. We started at the ruined castle at Castle Acre. The site is free to visit and has some chalk flora such as Lesser Calamint to look at when not staring at the ruins or running backwards and forwards over the bridges. The landscape looks a bit like what the Teletubbies home would be like if they decided to fortify it.

After visiting the castle, we went to Castle Acre Priory. Another English heritage site, this one charges admission, and it wa touch and go whether it was worth £5.60. However, as we were already there and it looked quite good, we went in. Straight away I located a calling Grey Wagtail, and we spent a while stalking at least three more amongst the ruins. We also saw a Great Spotted Woodpecker and Margaret found a couple of Little Owl feathers.

After Castle Acre, we briefly stopped at North Elmham Chapel, Norfolk's first Cathedral apparently, and a very small one. Driving back to the Fakenham Road we had just got to Guist Common when a stunning Harris Hawk flew alongside the car and then over the road. I think one has been kicking around that area for a few years, but it was my first experience of one in the 'wild' (I know its an escape). We stopped in case it flew back, and whilst waiting a Bullfinch flew into the hedge.

WHITLINGHAM: late August update

2011-08-28T21:11:00.001+01:00

28th August 2011

1 Black Swan. Yep its chock full of birds. There weren't even any birds feeding on the blackberries, as dozens of city folk have decided to come with carrier bags and take them to make a years supply of jam.

NORTH NORFOLK: Rain in Cromer? What a surprise.

2011-08-28T12:03:00.004+01:00

26th August 2011

After a couple of days of rainy weather I headed to Cromer on the train to try to catch up with the Greenish Warbler at Warren Woods. I walked through Link Woods on the way, and found a couple of birders looking into a Holm Oak across the playing field from Warren Woods. One of them thought he had seen the Greenish in it a minute before, so I spent a while staking out the tree and nearby scrub, seeing a couple of Nuthatches, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Chiffchaff and Coal Tit, before a Phylloscopus sp. flew out and into trees on the cliff-face. After another twenty minutes waiting to see if it would re-emerge I decided to have a look around the main woods.

By more luck than judgement I found myself almost beneath the Holm Oak that the Greenish Warbler had been seen in. Keeping still I was able to watch a number of small birds passing through the branches, including six Chiffchaffs. Several other birders came and asked if there had been any sign of the Greenish or Bonelli's recently, to which I replied no, only to find out that a large crowd around the other side of the hill had seen both 15 minutes after I had arrived. The curse of trying to locate birds away from the main group of birders I guess. I went round to join them, and heard the Greenish Warbler call on three occasions. On the first occasion a Phyllosc flew from the direction of the call into the oak, but was in no way "tickable" on those views. I stayed until 5.15 then left to get my train, a decision I was glad of when it started pouring with rain, even if the bird was seen briefly an hour or so later. On the bright side, hearing the call will hopefully help should I encounter a Greenish Warbler at some point down the line. During the afternoon a number of Swifts (max of 16) flew through.

WHITLINGHAM: Great Diving Beetle

2011-08-24T10:08:00.003+01:00

23rd August 2011

With north-easterly winds I had been contemplating getting up very early and going seawatching, but a late night put paid to that idea. Instead I contented myself with a trip to Whitlingham in the hope of some windblown Scoters. As it happened the best bird of the day was a Common Gull in with the Lesser-black backs, which a quick notebook check suggests is my first August record here. There is still an uncut cereal field at the top of the lime tree avenue, so when that gets cut it could push some Red-legged Partridges into the meadows, but I'm struggling to amuse myself here at the moment. Plantwise some Hops are growing near the river. A large beetle wandering along the path was a Great Diving Beetle, a normally aquatic species, but one I have seen on land before. One of the Whitlingham Lane residents told me he'd seen a Grass Snake on the lane in the week, which would be good to see locally. And thats about it.

I know it doesn't look too spectacular here, but they are a pretty hefty beetle, with a good nip too.

CAMBS & NORFOLK: Terns & Waders

2011-08-22T18:02:00.005+01:00

21st August 2011

After a fairly quiet August (so far) I didn't take any tempting to go to Graffham to see the White-winged Black Tern that has taken up recent residence. Gary & I arrived to see a few birders on site, and took advantage of a close Black Tern to get some pictures. It wasn't until it flew off that the comments around us made us aware that some individuals thought it was the White-winged Black Tern. The bird we were after was actually flying around with some Black Terns on the far edge of the reservoir. Eventually they made their way round to the sailing club, and the White-winged Black Tern treated us to some close fly-pasts before settling on the pontoon. After giving far better views than 90% of vagrant species* it set off on another lap, and we took our cue to head back to Norfolk.

After getting stuck in traffic near King's Lynn, we headed inland then north to Titchwell. We had a look through the waders, where Gary earned himself hero-worship status from a nearby birder by locating three Curlew Sandpipers near the back of the freshmarsh. Whilst this birder told his friends how he could hardly see the bird, let alone an eye-stripe, another well-meaning birder committed a cardinal sin. He tried to express his doubts about a recent Buff-breasted Sandpiper sighting (on-site this was changed later to Dotterel, I'm not sure on what basis) but insisted on only calling the bird a BBS. Don't do it folks. Maybe use acronyms when writing to save time, but not when speaking. You have time to say "Buff-breasted Sand(piper)". What if we think you mean Broad-billed Sandpiper? Or Big Balled Stint? More importantly, it justs sounds really really silly.

After calling in at Stiffkey campsite carpark (a couple of Spoonbills on the saltmarsh), we went to the Dun Cow, hoping to cash in on the wader bonanza around the coast. The best bird was pretty much the first one, Gary spotting a Yellow Wagtail get up from near some cattle and fly west. I picked up a Hobby soaring above us, and at one point four were circling together, a lovely summer sight. A kettle of gulls over Cley seemed to be highlighting where we should be, so we finished the evening in the central hides. We were treated to some very close Common and Green Sandpipers, whilst further out six Spoonbills slept, and amongst the waders were one each of Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper, plus three probing Snipe. The whole lot was put up by a marauding Sparrowhawk, and some Swallows flew into a nest they had made inside the hide! Always a great place to end a days birding.

* This, like pretty much any unreferenced statistics on the blog is a completely made up stat.

YARE VALLEY: Surlingham CM

2011-08-19T12:00:00.002+01:00

18th August 2011

For a bit of variety we went to Surlingham Church Marsh. Unfortunately the nearby Gun Club was in session, which probably accounted for the lack of Little Owls (they were scared off, not shot, just to clarify). Even without large numbers of birds it was a pleasant walk, the view from the bush shelter hide was particularly nice, as was the view across the fields to the Woods End. A large gathering of Swallows and House Martins hawked low over the pools before flying off eastwards. The muddy edges to the top right of the pools looked great for waders, but were bare. On our way back a Dark Bush Cricket jumped onto Cathy's shoe, and we were seen off by several Southern and Migrant Hawkers.

WHITLINGHAM: So many posts, so few birds

2011-08-19T11:55:00.003+01:00

17th August 2011

With a Black Tern at Rockland and a variety of interesting raptors reported within a 10 mile radius I decided it was worth putting a few more hours in at Whitlingham. It wasn't. With autumn approaching I can hear the coast calling, and as a result visiting less often until the ducks start coming back. That said, if anyone sees any collections of large gulls at Whitlingham then give me a shout, Yellow-legged Gull is possible late August, and I still haven't seen Med Gull here (ever) or GBB Gull (year).

Ps. If you want a laugh at my expense, I thought I had found a Grey Plover across the river at Thorpe. At 8x I spotted a black band, edged with white, and what appeared to be a grey back. What could it be? Not convinced but ever hopeful I phoned Cathy to bring my telescope, upon which point I hurried back and saw this very nice flint. Click to enlarge the embarrassment.

EAST NORFOLK: Winterton Dunes

2011-08-19T11:41:00.008+01:00

16th August 2011

Just a quick walk today, having a look around Winterton North Dunes. A large number of Grayling butterflies were flying around the dunes, along with loads of Grasshoppers. A few gulls, terns and Cormorants were offshore, and there was a steady stream of Swallows flying south low over the dunes and strandline. Two Swifts were also flying south but noticeably higher than the Swallows. On the way back a male Marsh Harrier flew over the road in fron of us and gave crippling views alongside the car, before drifting off inland. In the evening we went down to Carrow Road to watch Norwich reserves, and were treated to a beautiful sunset with tonnes of Gulls flying over to go to roost.

Camo-fly

The sky over Carrow Road

WHITLINGHAM: Orthopteran update

2011-08-15T14:04:00.003+01:00

14th August 2011

Still no sign of a good Tern or Osprey, or anything good birdwise really. Of the resident stuff a Marsh Tit was calling in scrub near the river and a family of recently fledged Pied Wagtails were catching flies along the shore of the Great Broad. A couple of fresh looking Small Tortoiseshells were the pick of the butterflies. Poking about in the grass I disturbed a Mint Moth, and found Meadow Grasshopper, Field Grasshopper and Long-winged Conehead (which sounds more exciting than it looks). Conehead literature suggests it is best heard with a bat detector, but this is the second year I've found them at Whitlingham by ear, maybe they're getting louder?!

Long-winged Conehead

WHITLINGHAM: Ooh a bug

2011-08-12T16:54:00.006+01:00

12th August 2011

A good look around the country park, meadows, woods and marsh still failed to turn up any unusual birds (how I wish the White-winged Tern at Graffham had chosen Whitlingham instead). A couple of Common Terns were flying around the Great Broad, but that was it. From memory the number of Coot should be building up now, but it isn't. A few Blackcaps were eating Blackberries near the river, and a "bull-necked"-looking Marsh Tit may have been strung for Willow in the days of old. Whilst scanning the meadows for partridges I saw a large bug out of the corner of my eye, which it turns out is a Western Conifer Seedbug. Smart looking thing, but apparently a huge pest species accidentally imported to Europe from the USA. On the bright side we are quite low on Ruddy Ducks, so it'll give DEFRA something else to shoot.

WHITLINGHAM: Thorpe Greenshank

2011-08-11T13:39:00.004+01:00

10th August 2011

Earlier in the week I had noticed that Ricky had seen five Greenshanks at Thorpe Marshes, but as they had flown off shortly after I hadn't given them too much thought. However whilst I was out I received a text from Adam saying he had seen five Greenshanks and two Green Sandpipers that morning, so I decided to go and have a look. At first glance most of the waders including the Lapwings appeared to have cleared out, but careful scanning revealed a Green Sandpiper on the edge of the shingle, finally my 100th patch bird of the year! With several groups of people walking around I decided to do a lap and then come back and wait for the birds to emerge. For once this paid off, with a lone Greenshank (101) walking out onto the shingle spit. This is my second record at Thorpe, following a long-staying bird in spring 2009. Three calling Oystercatchers flew over heading south but showed no signs of landing.

NORTH NORFOLK: Titchwell Moths

2011-08-11T13:32:00.002+01:00

10th August 2011

We had decided in advance to go to Titchwell to see the moth traps opened, and despite the forecast of rain we decided to go anyway. The catch was predictably small, although it did include my first Ear Moth sp. and two Canary-shouldered Thorns. Peter from Holme (Moths of Holme Website) had brought a few from his trap, the most notable being a Straw Underwing. In the gift shop I had a look at the new Cranes in Norfolk book. It looks nice, but at £30 may well be pricing a number of people out of buying it (including me). It is also possibly bad timing, as British Birds have just published an article on Cranes in Britain.

WEST NORFOLK: Roydon Common

2011-08-11T13:25:00.004+01:00

9th August 2011

Last year whilst in west Norfolk we had called in at Dersingham Bog to look for Black Darters, without success. I had heard that they were easier to find at Roydon Common, so that was todays destination. I had been to the western carpark at Roydon a few times and the heathland looked very dry, so I guessed that the eastern carpark would be better. The map in the NWT reserves handbook showed a sort of figure of eight track, with mire at the far end of it. We took the left hand path, and at a junction took the left hand path over a style, thinking that it wouldn't make any difference. Well it did. This path, not marked on the map, simply took us along the boundary of the reserve to a road at the end. It was a nice walk, loads of butterflies and commoner dragonflies, but no wet heathland.

After a picnic lunch we re-traced our steps, but for some reason the Cathy had rather lost some of her appetite for looking for small black dragonflies at this point. We took the other path at the point we had gone wrong and looked over a small rushy clearing, but agreed to go back to the car rather than go for another long walk. I presume it is just a matter of following one of the small tracks through the woods, but if anyone can put me out of my misery and give nice directions to a good area for Black Darters I would appreciate it.

NORTH NORFOLK: Natural Surroundings moths

2011-08-08T15:34:00.003+01:00

7th August 2011

We spent the morning at Natural Surroundings. I had let them know that we were coming in advance and Andrew had kindly agreed to put the moth traps out for me, so we had a large number of moths to sort through. There were around 40 species, the most spectacular being a Red Underwing. There were large numbers of Setaceous Hebrew Characters and Shuttle-shaped Darts, and some of my favourites like Black Arches and Swallow Prominent. There were also several burying beetles, some black and some orangey-red and black striped ones. Whilst we were sorting through the traps we showed interested visitors some of the catch and talked about moth trapping. As it was Sunday they also got the resident Hedgehog (Cookie) out to show.

WHITLINGHAM: Oh so quiet

2011-08-08T15:29:00.002+01:00

6th August 2011

Back at Whitlingham it was eerily quiet for a Saturday. With no noise coming from families and walkers many of the ducks were still drifting asleep like an early morning in winter. With no disturbance on the broad Cormorants were diving on the water straight out from the slipway. Six Great Crested Grebes loafed together near the main island. There was frequent short showers, and I only really stopped when I heard a Bullfinch calling from deep within some Willow scrub. When the rain got harder it stopped calling, and after waiting for 20 minutes I finally gave up and went home.

NORWICH AREA: Cringleford & Eaton

2011-08-08T15:24:00.002+01:00

5th August 2011

In the evening Adam & I went for a walk to Cringleford, initially following the river down to UEA. Seeing nothing out of the ordinary we retraced our steps and tried the other section of the river, battling along the overgrown path south of the road. We carried on to Eaton Common, where we saw a Kingfisher flying along the river from Keswick Mill. It was beginning to get dark, so we went back to the river at Cringleford to look for bats, and saw a good number of Soprano Pipistrelles hunting over the river before flying off over the meadows.

CENTRAL NORFOLK: Foxley Wood

2011-08-05T15:32:00.003+01:00

5th August 2011

Foxley was the destination today, following up on reports of a SW Fritillary last week. The rides were teeming with butterflies, but no luck with the fritillary. A sign of how peaceful it the woods were came when a Roe Deer and fawn crossed our path, obviously aware that I hadn't brought my camera. I saw my first Migrant Hawkers of the year, and also saw Oak and Dark Bush Crickets. Plantwise there was some Enchanter's Nightshade and Yellow Pimpernel along the path edges. Birds calling (most of them seen eventually) included Green Woodpecker, great Spotted Woodpecker, Nuthatch, Bullfinch and Marsh Tit. Some footprints found in some soft mud looked like Badger, but I need to check that.

For lunch we went to the Bridge Inn at Lenwade, probably unique in that it has a modest-sized fishing lake in the beer garden. We ate outside, but only saw a Common Tern and four Canada Geese around the lake.

WHITLINGHAM: Rain does not equal birds

2011-08-05T15:28:00.004+01:00

4th August 2011

Against all common sense I went down to Whitlingham in the rain, hoping that the inclement conditions would bring in something out of the ordinary. I managed three Bantams and 132 Mute Swans. The rain kept up a steady pace, ensuring I was soaked by the end. I did see a possible hybrid duck that had a bright yellow end-third of the bill, which made it stand out from the rest of the dowdy eclipse ducks, but I didn't care enough to hang around for it to come closer to the shore.

NORTH NORFOLK: Baconsthorpe Castle

2011-08-05T09:48:00.003+01:00

2nd August 2011

Today we visited Baconsthorpe "Castle" (it was a fortified private home) near Holt. Lovely weather, lovely place. It has a moat which connects to a small lake on one side, where we saw a Kingfisher. Scouring the ruins we also found a resting Knot Grass moth blending in well with the lichen. Other stuff of interest were a number of dragonflies and a singing Yellowhammer on the approach road.

NORWICH: Mousehold Hairstreaks part 2

2011-08-01T16:14:00.003+01:00

1st August 2011

The recent Brown Argus sightings have brought up the unlikely scenario that I could see all 34 regular Norfolk butterflies in a year (I'm not counting Silver-washed Fritillary in that as it seems they are yet to establish themselves - I'd still like to see one though!). I reckon I'll bump into Grayling around Salthouse later in the summer, so Painted Lady seems to be the one I may struggle with as they seem very thin on the ground this year. Anyway, that left Purple Hairstreak to see, and luckily enough there are some at Mousehold Heath.

With the sun shining I started at Zak's, where a colony of PHs are meant to live on the central oak ("Turner's Oak"). With no sign there I went to investigate the myriad other oaks on the heath, finding Small Copper butterflies, Brown Hawker, Common Darter and Emperor dragonflies and a Common Lizard. Eventually I found a couple of Purple Hairstreaks, even getting a record shot of a tatty individual before it flew off. I then found another five around some oaks where I had seen them last year, and four more (2 and 2) near more oaks on my way back along the edge of the heath. I did fail in my secondary mission, to find Striped-winged Grasshoppers, which have apparently colonised in the last few years. I didn't actually put that much effort in, having seen that most of the ones I was kicking up (not literally) were Field Grasshoppers.

Another one for the "poor record shot" album

WHITLINGHAM: Flyovers. You've got to love them.

2011-08-01T16:05:00.003+01:00

31st July 2011

A lazy morning in Lakenham was interrupted when I found out that an Osprey had just been seen over South Tuckswood. This is just the other side of the ring road from Cathy's house, and with no details as to what direction it was heading (maybe it was just circling, daring people to make a move) we went out into the garden and looked south, hoping that it would glide past. It didn't. We were going to Royston later, so a proper search was out of the question, but Margaret offered to drive down to Whitlingham before we went so that I could satisfy myself that there wasn't an Osprey perched up on my patch laughing at me. Whitlingham was packed with people and boats, and no self-respecting Osprey would have done anything other than fly over. Looking on the bright side it would be better to find one out of the blue rather than semi-twitch one I suppose.

NORTH NORFOLK: Chalkhill Blues

2011-07-30T17:32:00.004+01:00

30th July 2011

Last year we went to Warham for the first time to see Chalkhill Blues. We were successful, although they were largely over, with most butterflies being washed out or tatty or both. We had a hard time finding the site, in the end having to ask a local in Wighton. This year we still didn't find it straight away (almost getting sucked into the Warham Triangle, a local version of the Bermuda Triangle that only causes people looking for Iron Age forts and flocks of geese to disappear). Eventually we did get there, and were pleasantly surprised to find 30+ Chalkhill Blue butterflies in tip-top condition. I also found a Wall Butterfly and several interesting looking plants which will take me a while to work through and identify. On the bird front we had a singing Yellowhammer accompanyment and a Buzzard overhead.

Who says romance is dead? This pair of Chalkhill Blues pick a dried cow-pat to mate on.

NORFOLK: Cantley BF

2011-07-30T17:20:00.004+01:00

29th July 2011

Following a fairly unproductive morning visit to the broads, Jim & I went for a look around the pools at Cantley Beet Factory. It was my first visit here, and the potential was apparent, even if the birds initially weren't. There wasn't that much mud exposed, so we concentrated on the margins, and managed to turn up two Wood Sandpipers, a Dunlin, a Ruff (possibly two) and several Green and Common Sandpipers. I see that 45 Green Sandpipers have been seen today (30th), is there a pit we missed or are they commuting between the pits and nearby fields? There was also a large number of Shelduck, including some young ones.

We saw three of these whopping longhorn-type beetles in the morning. I haven't had a proper look for it in books yet, but if you know what it is then do please comment.

Wood Sands with bonus Dunlin. As soon as I got my camera out they refused to turn side on and show their nice spangly backs.

EAST NORFOLK: Rollesby Waterside

2011-07-30T17:11:00.002+01:00

28th July 2011

Today we visited the relatively new Waterside restaurant at Rollesby, which if you believe the hype is the best thing to happen to the broads since some bright spark decided to dig up some peat near the river. We had a bit of cake and a drink on the terrace overlooking the broad. It was nice. There was a nagging feeling though, that the broads aren't really meant to be nice. They're meant to be wild and windswept rather than seen from posh decking with food on square plates (I am not a fan of plates with corners. Round ones are just fine thank you). My conclusion was that it is fine for tourists, but its rather too sanitised for my liking. Bird wise it looks like Common Terns have had a productive year, with c25 loafing on a jetty on Rollesby Broad. Scanning Ormesby Broad I located a Grey Heron in a tree and a few more Common Terns.

WEST NORFOLK: Hunstanton

2011-07-30T17:04:00.002+01:00

27th July 2011

Fancying a drive, we decided to take in Hunstanton, scanning the rooftops in case the escaped Eagle Owl that has been frequenting the area was still around. Having not seen anything we were driving back to the amin road when I spotted what looked like an owl on the top of a building across some playing fields. It didn't look as big as it should have done for an Eagle Owl to me, but we drove back to check it out. It was a big fake owl. Presumably to scare pigeons I guess, as there was a mock Peregrine-type bird at the other end of the roof. How annoying. This is the second time I've spotted a "bird of prey" only to find it is a decoy - there is one near Hevingham as well. And as for the joker that put those fake Bustards in the brecks...*

* Note: As far as I know there are no Bustards, real or fake in the brecks. There are fairly frequent rumours though. My guess is that some sightings may relate to non-birders seeing Egyptian Geese or something like that.

WHITLINGHAM: Thorpe & Town House

2011-07-26T15:21:00.004+01:00

25th & 26th July 2011

Thorpe Marshes (25/07/11) - c50 Lapwing, Stock Doves, not much else.
Thorpe Green (25/07/11) - Black Swan (1)
Whitlingham C.P. (25/07/11) - Usual stuff, plus some juvenile Lesser Black-backed Gulls
Thorpe Marshes (26/07/11) - c60 Lapwing, Stock Doves, still not much else.

Its no wonder everybody sacks off inland birding over the summer with wonder hauls like this. On Tuesday after Adam & I had looked around Carey's Meadow and Thorpe Marshes we decided to go for lunch at the Town House, and despite the drizzle we sat outside so that we could scan the river and areas of scrub. This proved to be the most productive hours birding of the holiday so far, seeing a Sylvia warbler triumvirate (Blackcap, Whitethroat and Garden Warbler), a family of recently fledged Goldcrests and the icing on the cake, a Kingfisher.

Also a hearty congratulations to Whitlingham Country Park on receiving the Green Flag Award for the fifth year in a row (Broads Authority Press Release). However, when will the Broads Authority give up and stop calling Whitlingham "The Gateway To The Broads"?*

I'm off to learn Two-barred Crossbill calls in anticipation of an invasion. Come to think of it, I'd willing take Common Crossbill locally.

* The Norfolk Broads, in case you don't know, are a series of shallow lakes in East Norfolk that were excavated as peat diggings. When the Broads Authority started marketing Whitlingham they put signs up on the approach road saying "Gateway to the Broads". They had to remove the signs from the entrance as there was a lot of derision and complaints, mostly from places that are actually in or close to the broads. Acle has signs saying Gateway to the broads, and many people would consider Wroxham the broadland hub. Whitlingham, lovely as it is, isn't in the broads, and the great Broad and Little Broad aren't proper broads as they are flooded gravel diggings.

NORWICH: Bowthorpe & Colney area

2011-07-24T16:01:00.004+01:00

24th July 2011

As the weather was nice I decided to give Whitlingham a miss and head for the quieter option of the stretch of the River Yare west of Norwich. Walking along Earlham Road I noticed a Brown Argus settle on the grass, the first one I've seen around the city. Leaving the road to walk along the river at Earlham church I heard an increasingly frequent beeping noise like a metal detectorist getting closer to a buried tin can, and accordingly stopped to wait for the Kingfisher to shoot threw along the river. Further along a Song Thrush was whacking a snail against the path.

As the blackberries are beginning to ripen I paid particular attention to brambly areas, finding a Garden Warbler and numerous Blackcaps amongst the commoner birds. On the fishing lakes several Great Crested Grebes and Common Terns were nicking a few fish. As with many trips in the summer the highlights were non-avian. In this case a Grass Snake basking along the river bank, and two black Mink. Of course Mink aren't a highlight in the case of being glad of their presence, but it was only the second time that I have seen one.

A mink legs it across the path. Click for a slightly bigger picture.

WHITLINGHAM: Thorpe Marsh, frustrating times

2011-07-20T21:31:00.002+01:00

20th July 2011

Another evening at Thorpe, and more disappointment. There were 43 Green Sandpipers at Cantley yesterday, coincidentally 43 more than I saw this evening. I did get an inkling I wasn't going to see anything when I looked out over the spit, only to have my view blocked by two people throwing balls into the broad for their dogs to chase. I went around to the marshes side and counted the loafing Lapwing (49), and whilst doing this I heard a Bullfinch calling from scrub near the railway line. Now Bullfinch would have been new for the year if I could have located it, but despite calling a few more times it stayed hidden. Having waited for half an hour or so I decided to go and have another look on the spit, only to find two different people standing on the shore. The final straw for me was when I realised they didn't even have a dog, they had just decided to walk to the edge and throw stones in. Grrr.

In todays EDP there is a big article about the NWT taking over the running of Thorpe Marshes. It says they want to hear from people about the marshes, although it doesn't give an email address or any contact details for people to give their views, which I thought was a bit odd. For me the oddest thing about the article though is Mr Joyce saying that one day he hopes Bitterns will find Thorpe Marshes. If you've been, you'll know that only a very small amount of the site is reedy. Its just not Bittern habitat. Was this just a flippant remark, or does he really want to get rid of the existing habitat and reed it over? He also suggests a living classroom, which is completely unecessary given that across the river Whitlingham has a Forest School, pond-dipping platforms, a separate area of woodland for activities and an indoor classroom area in the barn. I await the consultation process with interest.

MID-NORFOLK: A hoooge caterpillar

2011-07-19T16:49:00.007+01:00

17th July 2011

A trip looking for Damselflies was perhaps a bit silly considering the overcast and showery conditions, but we went anyway. The target was Small Red Damselfly, and we didn't see any. This could have been down to the conditions, the flight period could be over or I simply may have been looking in the wrong place. Nevertheless in a short period of time we did see a number of notable things. Whilst looking amongst the vegetation I spotted a number of Marsh Helleborines and Fragrant Orchids amongst the Common Spotted Orchids (mostly a white form).

In a rare burst of sunshine the butterflies emerged, including a Small Copper and my first Brown Argus of the year. Find of the day though went to a huge Emperor Moth caterpillar that I found in a patch of brambles. What a beastie!

Marsh Helleborine

Fragrant Orchid

Brown Argus

Emperor Moth caterpillar

WHITLINGHAM: Egyptian Goose numbers still rising

2011-07-16T20:22:00.003+01:00

16th July 2011

After a day of persistent rain I finally got down to Whitlingham at about 5. I had already counted 82 Egyptian Geese between the watersports centre and the slipway, and added a few more along the south shore to finish up with a new record site count of 94. I wondered whether this could even be one of the highest counts for Norfolk, but it appears that there have been several large post-breeding gatherings, notably 200 at Holkham in 1979 more recently large gatherings at Breydon, Buckenham and Pentney.

Enjoying the relative quiet as the rain kept visitors away I had a nice stroll, accompanied by the calls of the three Common Terns (2 juveniles) that had flown from Thorpe to perch on the cormorant posts. Bird of the evening was a juvenile Linnet that was feeding on dried Hogweed seeds (or insects in them). I've seen several fly over and some more at the sewage works, but this was the first time I'd seen one on the deck at the country park proper. As I left the sun came out, bringing out Swallows, House Martins and several butterfly species.

WHITLINGHAM: Thorpe Marshes and some Lapwings

2011-07-15T19:51:00.005+01:00

15th July 2011

I'd noticed that Ricky had found two Green Sandpipers at Thorpe during the week, and sensing my 100th patch bird of the year I walked up there after work. Despite extensive scanning of the spit and broad edges I didn't find them, but they could well still be on site somewhere. Eitherway I would still expect to pick up Green Sand over the summer or autumn. Four Common Terns were screeching around, including two juveniles, which was pleasing. The recent Norfolk Bird Atlas doesn't show any breeding nearby (although I remember seeing a juvenile at Strumpshaw last year), so hopefully this is the first step to colonisation of this part of the river. Despite recent rain the scrape didn't have any standing water, but it did have 66 Lapwing, a reasonable summer count. Insect wise I saw my first Norfolk Hawker for the site and several small white micro moths which I need to have a look at.

On my way back I called in at Carey's Meadow. I was frustrated by loads of elusive stridulating insects, which I initially presumed were grasshoppers but having failed to see one I am now wondering if they are some sort of phantom insect. Or leafhoppers. They sounded like someone winding on the film on a disposable camera, so if that rings a bell then please put me out of my misery. I also saw a newly emerged Burnet moth, presumably 6-spot, but the top two spots were merged, which may make it 5-spot/narrow 5-spot, which can't be separated 100% etc etc so again, if you know what Burnet moths have been verified at Carey's Meadow please don't keep the information to yourself!

Upon returning home I decided to relax with a bottle of beer. Unfortunately I picked the bottle of "Black Death", which is flavoured with what is affectionately called Death Chilli (I believe there is now one hotter, but it used to be the hottest chilli in the world). Suffice to say I didn't finish the whole bottle.

EAST NORFOLK: Horsey Dunes

2011-07-12T16:47:00.005+01:00

10th July 2011

On Sunday afternoon we went for a stroll along the dunes at Horsey, keeping an eye on the sky in case any Pacific Swifts should appear. Straight away we saw butterflies galore from the carpark, a couple of Dark Green Fritillaries and several Essex Skippers being year ticks. Further along it seemed that most of the skippers were Small, and a steady stream of fritillaries sailed past but refused to settle for photographs. There was a slightly embarrassing incident further on when I thought I'd found one settled on the ground and crawled up to it on my stomach before finding that it was dead. To be fair it was partly covered in ants (eating it or working out how to take it to their nest maybe?), which meant that it was moving slightly.

Best of a bad bunch

It looked less dead from further away

I pointed out a couple of Stonechats "chatted" on the fence, prompting Cathy to remark "I'd almost forgot you were a birdwatcher". Maybe too much time spent on butterflies. Looking out at the sea a few Grey Seals were loafing just offshore, whilst a Common Tern with a seemingly rather darker grey back than normal held my attention for a bit. Other than that it was rather quiet birdwise.

In the evening we went out for another drive around the villages and fields south and east of Norwich. Best birds were six Yellowhammers and a Little Owl. The crops are getting closer to being cut, but hopefully this won't happen for another couple of weeks. I like the idea of watching whilst some fields are being cut to look for Quails being flushed, although it is probably still needle-in-a-haystack time, even if I pick a field that has some! If anyone has had luck seeing Quail at harvest time I would be interested to hear your experiences, either via comments or email.

WHITLINGHAM: Red Admiral influx

2011-07-09T18:43:00.003+01:00

9th July 2011

A lay in after last nights mothing meant not going too far, so I decided to go back to Whitlingham for another walk round. A group of 20-odd Egyptian Geese at the west end of the Great Broad convinced me it would be a goo idea to count them, and indeed it was, with another record-breaking count of 86. The greylags were 100 short of last weeks count, but the three hybrids (presumed Red-breasted x Barnacle, Lesser White-fronted x Ross' and Greylag x Canada) were all still present. Two Common Terns were flying around the broad, and a couple of Linnets flew over.

It became apparent from the first Buddleia that there were a large number of Red Admirals present. I counted over 40, but there were probably many more! I also saw my first Gatekeepers of the year and was led a merry dance by a small skipper sp, which turned out to be Small Skipper, funnily enough. Dragonflies were present too, Black-tailed Skimmer, Brown Hawker, Emperor (including an ovipositing female) and a female Ruddy Darter. Loads of damselfies in the undergrowth, all Common Blue or teneral from the ones I looked at. Two boatloads of drunken grockles were harbingers of summer (or the apocalypse, I forget) but unwittingly put up a Grey Wagtail which flew across for my 99th patch bird of the year. Hopefully it won't be long until the 100th!

WHITLINGHAM: Bat & Moth Night 2011

2011-07-09T18:15:00.005+01:00

8th July 2011

Cathy & I joined Peter Walton, Albert & Robin from the Broads Authority, a member of the Norwich Bat Group and three others for the annual Whitlingham Bat & Moth Night. After the introduction and a look at a selection of moths caught recently we left for a walk around the broad to find some emerging bats. I picked up a couple of Noctules flying over Thorpe, but they were barely visible to the naked eye. We stood and watched a number of Soprano Pipistrelles hunting amongst he alders, before walking towards the outdoor activities centre and got great views of four Noctules hunting over us. If you haven't heard bats using a bat detector I highly recommend it, the "raspberry" noises they make as they catch a moth never ceases to amuse me.

Heading back to the moth trap we found that as suspected the bright moon and cloudless sky was going to adversely affect our catch. We managed 16 species, including July Highflier, Ruby Tiger and several Dun-bars, but the best moth of the catch took a bit of identifying. In the end it was Cathy who took the book, diligently searched through and then gleefully announced she had it - a smart looking Dusky Sallow. We also have an interesting species pending, having detected a possible Nathusius' Pipistrelle around the trap. This could be the first record for the area, and will need a follow-up visit to take sound recordings.

SUFFOLK: Lakenheath Fen camping

2011-07-04T17:33:00.003+01:00

2nd & 3rd July 2011

On Saturday Cathy & I went to Lakenheath Fen for their "wild camp out". We had a tour of the reserve just before dusk, seeing a Kingfisher and a Barn Owl amongst others whilst watching the sun set over the reserve. We then had a hot drink and retired to our tent whilst a couple of moth traps were set up. At various points in the night I awoke to hear Grasshopper Warblers reeling nearby, whilst one of the wardens was awoken by Cranes flying over!

Waking the next morning after a chilly night we had a bacon roll then went to inspect the catch. Unfortunately the traps werent set up in areas favourable to the Lakenheath speciality (Marsh Carpet), but we did get Elephant Hawk, Eyed Hawk and Garden Tiger to keep the kids happy, and a couple of reed specialist Pyralids and a Southern Wainscot which were lifers for me. As the sun rose we saw our first Small Skippers of the year, and several Brown Hawkers were patrolling the reserve.

Young Bearded Tits flit amongst the reeds

CENTRAL NORFOLK: Buxton Heath

2011-07-04T17:24:00.005+01:00

2nd July 2011

With time to kill before we went out in the evening we took a trip to Buxton Heath. A large stretch of heathland between the carpark and the woods was quite barren(although with the sound of Yellowhammers filling the air), but we did find our quarry further on. A small number of the rather nice Silver-studded Blue Butterflies.

WHITLINGHAM: Record geese counts

2011-06-30T22:04:00.006+01:00

30th June 2011

A pleasant evening at Whitlingham was notable for the large gatherings of geese on the broad. In fact, I managed to beat my highest counts of Mute Swan (123), Greylag (224), Canada Goose (64) and Egyptian Goose (54). This is not including birds on the river, which would have added another 16 swans and 37 Greylags. There was also the usual white geese and Swan Goose types, plus the presumed LWF x Ross' Goose, a Greylag x Canada Goose and a return for the Red-breasted x Barnacle hybrid, allowing me to get a few out-of-the-water shots of it. A minimum of 6 Common Terns were flying around too, another high count.

Walking around the north side of the broad I was surrounded by the sweet smell of Buddleia, which is hopefully covered in butterflies during the day. I could easily have missed out on a patch tick, but happened to be looking the right way when my first Whitlingham Turtle Dove belted past and across the river towards Thorpe. Watching a Stock Dove fly past a bit further round brought home just how fast Turtle Doves fly. I double checked the river edges for Grey Wagtails (I still am at a loss as to why I havent seen one here this year, I'd had 6 sightings at the equivalent date last year) with no luck. As I left I noticed a Black Swan on the Little Broad.

NORTH NORFOLK: White-letters and Bee Hawks

2011-06-29T16:36:00.005+01:00

25th June 2011

Although my main interest has always been birds, I have long been interested in the gaudier insects as well. Whilst there are loads of moths, Norfolk has a list of 34 resident butterflies, which should be easily achievable. Last year I saw Chalkhill Blue (albeit the colony is introduced), which was my 31st. Earlier this year I saw Dingy and Grizzled Skipper, leaving me with just White-letter Hairstreak. A number of people had suggested sites to me (thanks guys!) but in the end I took the Butterfly Conservation website advice and headed to Holkham.

We arrived to unpromising dark clouds. Margaret assured us that it was meant to get brighter soon, an irony not lost as a Barn Owl flew out of the pines and out over the marshes. Eventually it did lighten up, and with the light came the butterflies. Loads of Meadow Browns, and a few Ringlets, including a newly emerged one with crinkly wings. A couple of White Admirals, probably my favourite butterfly, flew past but never looked like settling. Arriving at the favoured stand of Elm I spotted two hairstreaks flying near the top, but then found one lower down on the privet. Despite the overcast weather I managed to get a record shot of a White-letter Hairstreak, Norfolk butterfly number 34. Get in!

Hoping to see some Dark Green Fritillaries we carried on, but soon came across something even better as Margaret found a Broad-bordered Bee Hawk Moth on some everlasting sweet pea. As Cathy watched it fly off I found another slightly further along, and we both got some photos of this enchanting mimic. The sun had gone in again so I didnt spend long looking for fritillaries, but we did see a resting Hummingbird Hawkmoth, a Common Lizard, lots of small Toads and several Earthstars of unknown species - Holkham has records of nine different earthstars, but the likelihood is that these were the commonest one, Geastrum triplex). After a successful trip, we went home via Wells for chips.

Incidentally despite having now seen the main Norfolk butterflies I have yet to see any immigrant species (although I have seen Clouded Yellow and Silver-washed Fritillary in other counties), so I'm still keeping my eyes peeled!

NORWICH: Start as you mean to go on...

2011-06-21T17:06:00.002+01:00

21st June 2011

Its no exaggeration to say that if I start the day in a grump, then I'll probably be grumpy for the rest of the day. Luckily the reverse is also true. This morning whilst refilling the bird feeders I startled a Fox cub, which ran and hid behind a recycling bin. Whilst watching it a Grey Squirrel jumped over my head, landing clumsily in a Privet bush. On the way back I had to avoid steeping on a large Frog, which was jumping through the garden. In the five minutes before leaving for work, newly fledged Blue and Coal Tits came and fed, as did Dunnocks, a Robin and our local tail-less Magpie. What a great start to the day!

WHITLINGHAM: At last, a Goldcrest

2011-06-19T18:14:00.004+01:00

19th June 2011

Aware that I had had a bit of a twitchy week, I made sure I ignored the drizzle and went for a stomp around the patch. A couple of Common Terns were fishing along the far edge of the Great Broad, only the second time I've seen them here this year. With the rain getting a bit steadier I went into the woods and decided to spend some time hunting out Goldcrests, a resident species that I havent seen since the harsh spell of weather in the winter of 2009/10. After staring into the canopy for a while (probably the "type" of birding I enjoy least) and being decieved by the high-pitched calls of young Coal Tits, I did eventually find a couple of Goldcrests. Huzzah.

At Whitlingham Marsh the old bird hide has been replaced by a reed screen. This isn't a big problem, there was usually very little to see anyway, although I'm not sure some sections of the public will find it as good for business. Nothing of interest at the sewage works either, and a paltry 7 spikes of Pyramidal Orchids in the meadows opposite the woods. A search of the scrub between the Little Broad carparks and the broad yielded Marsh Tit, female Blackcap and some young Chiffchaffs. Butterfly wise I saw another 2 Ringlets, and an unidentified orange butterfly sp. flew frustrating past and vanished behind a tree.

[Edit] Also, so bizarre that I blanked it from my mind, for some reason there was a Bantam scratching about in the undergrowth near the main carpark. What's that about? Sculthorpe get Golden Pheasants, we get a Bantam. Ridiculous.

NORWICH: Keep a lookout for a Parakeet

2011-06-19T18:02:00.002+01:00

18th June 2011

Having agreed to have a lay-in at the weekend I turned down a lift to see the Caspian Tern, and turned my phone off as well. Whilst having my breakfast and a cup of tea I turned it back on and received a message from Adam to say he had seen a Parakeet at Jenny Lind Park, opposite our old house on Trinity Street. he cautioned that it could have been an escape, but I thought it was worth checking it out anyway, so I walked across to the park, and conducted a tree-by-tree search. The park is small enough to assume that if I couldnt see or hear it then it was gone, so I moved on to Chapefield Park and similarly drew a blank. It could well be in the area still, and I'd be interested in seeing it even if it turns out to be one of the green parakeets other than Ring-necked. I've made sure my feeders are well stocked in case it moves on to Earlham Cemetery!

Walking back from the city a brief spell of sunshine allowed some butterflies to come out, including my first Ringlets of the year on Lakenham Way. In the afternoon we went to Pulham Market, and on the way returned via Stoke Holy Cross. I found a Little Egret hunting in the shallows of the river opposite Lakenham Mill, my second at this location and third around Norwich this year.

EAST NORFOLK: Rainy Red-foot

2011-06-17T21:02:00.006+01:00

17th June 2011

With rain forecast for the weekend, Neil & I decided to go and have a look at the long-staying Red-footed Falcon at Horsey after work. The slight flaw in our plan - the rain had started already. Nevertheless we set out along the Nelson's Head track, and as we approached the dunes we saw Julian Bhalerao and another birder, who told us that the falcon was currently sheltering in a bush close to the path. It was well tucked-in, and slightly poetic that my first view of a Red-footed Falcon was off a pair of red feet. Incidentally these are magic feet. Check out the redness of those, compared to the orangey yellow of the feet on some photos of this bird, e.g. Gary's: http://www.birdforum.net/attachment.php?attachmentid=331286&d=1308254741

Moving round to view the tree from the other side we could see a bit more of the bird, and were able to watch it at a range that I could only have hoped for. I had always imagined that it would be best to see an adult male, but this 1st-summer male changed my mind. I rather like the orangey bit on the back of the head, it gives character. Rather soggy, we walked back along the track, very glad we'd braved the weather. On the way back to the car we saw a singing Yellowhammer and a brood of newly fledged Whitethroats. Between Sea Palling and Ingham I saw a Little Owl sitting on a gatepost, but it flew off before I could get any photos.

SUFFOLK: Cannabalistic Magpies and a Marvellous Roller

2011-06-14T17:55:00.005+01:00

13th June 2011

Firstly I do apologise if a) if you read a lot of East Anglian blogs and have heard about the Roller 20 times, and b) if you live in East Anglia but couldn't go and see it. You have my sympathies.

Anyway. At lunchtime I checked BirdGuides and found that a Roller had gone through the punctuation marks ("?" - We're not sure if this is genuine. "!" - Oh goodness, it is genuine). Birds seen on Mondays tend to be frustrating, because it means I have to hope that they stay until the next weekend for me to have a chance of seeing them. The difference with the Roller was that it envoked the "IT'S BLUE FOR HEAVENS SAKE" arguement, and whether genuinely excited or simply humouring me, Cathy & Margaret agreed to give me a lift into Suffolk to see this most delightful of birds.

On the way through deepest Suffolk we arrived at Blythburgh, where my attention was grabbed by what appeared to be a black, white and red bird. What the hell is that? I thought, until my brain caught up and I realised it was a recently deceased Magpie. Cathy said it was a shame that one of a pair had died (another Magpie was sat by the road) and I was about to agree, until it ran into the road and grabbed some giblets from the recently deceased bird, then squabbled over the juiceiest bits with another Magpie! I know Magpies often commit cannabalistic infanticide, but this is the first time I've seen one actually eat another adult bird.

We arrived at Upper Hollesley Common and the Roller was immediately visible, gleefully found by Cathy with the naked eye whilst I was scanning the fence with my 'scope. It proceeded to give great views at mid-distance, spending most of its time perched on a fence or small tree, with occasional feeding forays onto the ground. This sparked an interesting debate with Cathy, who whilst being initially excited to see the Roller, didn't understand why I would want to keep watching the bird just sitting there for so long, when it "wasn't doing anything interesting". I was just happy it was sat out in the open (hours spent watching scrub waiting for Barred, Dusky and Radde's Warblers still give me flashbacks). My sincere thanks to the finders of this amazing bird.

The best of my many record attempts, this one being unusual in that it is in focus. If you don't know what a Roller looks like you really should take the time to find out. For much better pictures of the bird see http://www.freewebs.com/suffolkbirding/june2011.htm

WHITLINGHAM: 'NWT' Thorpe Marshes

2011-06-14T17:31:00.004+01:00

12th June 2011

A drizzly day, and with no-one wanting to go very far I went out to spend an hour at Thorpe Marshes. When I arrived I found a shiny new sign announcing "NWT Thorpe Marshes". Too late now, but calling it "NWT Thorpe Station Marshes" would avoid the constant confusion with sighitngs from Thorpe Marshes near Haddiscoe. I thought they had built a radical new hide as well, but on closer inspection it turned out to be the wooden cabin of a boat built in the childrens play area across the river. I had been told that the NWT were helping with the management of the site, but I wasn't sure whether it would eventually become one of their reserves. I guess its a good thing, although several locals I spoke to a while back were concerned about a reduction in access. I will look out for any information regarding the wildlife trusts involvement and report back here.

Birdwise the broad was quiet with no waders at all, although there were dogwalkers on the edge of the broad - blocking the open shingle that leads from the path to the waters edge should be a priority as people just use this now that the main route is gated. Swifts and hirundines hawked low because of the weather, but there was no sign of the long-anticipated Hobby. I was reduced to looking through the waterside vegetation, eventually finding a Brown China-mark moth. Various warblers were still singing, but that was pretty much it.

WHITLINGHAM: A new hybrid goose

2011-06-11T16:57:00.006+01:00

11th June 2011

Exciting times this afternoon, as I found a new hybrid goose at Whitlingham! Superficially resembling a Barnacle Goose in size, beak shape and head pattern, the back was dark and there was a brown tinge to the back of the white on the face. It was with a large flock of Canada Geese and a Canada x Greylag hybrid (also pictured). If anyone wants to comment on parentage, or has seen this goose elsewhere in Norfolk or North Suffolk then I would be pleased to hear from you.

Click to enlarge if you really want to...

Other than this goose there wasn't much to write home about. No sign of the Spotfly, but there was a singing Garden Warbler near the Little Broad carpark. A Norfolk Hawker and several Black-tailed Skimmers were flying along the south shore, whilst a Cinnabar Moth and a Large Skipper were found amongst the vegetation. Rather than walk around the back of the broad I went up to the end of the Lime Tree Avenue to search for partridges. Whilst here I saw some Meadow Browns, then absent mindedly looked at the skyline above the meadows. Ah. Up until last week I had never seen a Peregrine at Whitlingham, and yet all this time there was a vantage point where I could have set up my 'scope, brought some sandwiches and just waited to see one flying up to the cathedral. No wonder I never see anything, I'm not paying attention!

Who put that there?

EAST NORFOLK: Hickling Broad for insects

2011-06-07T17:38:00.008+01:00

5th June 2011

For the last day of the Whitsun holiday we decided to go and see some Swallowtails. Cathy isn't a big fan of Strumpshaw, so we bucked the trend and went to Hickling instead. On the way we detoured to Yarmouth to have a quick look for a Channel Wagtail mentioned to us the previous night by Justin L, but we didn't find it.

We arrived at Hickling with a cloudy sky, and we arrived at the observation hide having not seen a single dragonfly or butterfly. Luckily the sun was beginning to come out, and we soon saw 2 Swallowtails, a Norfolk Hawker, two Four-spot Chasers and a Hairy Dragonfly. Walking back to the visitors centre we saw at least six more Swallowtails, loads of Black-tailed Skimmers including a yellow-and-blue immature male, and lots of Blue-tailed and Azure Damselflies. We also saw a Cuckoo, which was the 9th or 10th one I've seen or heard this year, suggesting anecdotally that they are doing well this year!

Swallowtail

Norfolk Hawker

Four-spotted Chaser

I laid on the ground to get this dragonflys eye view of a Black-tailed Skimmer

Immature male Black-tailed Skimmer, changing from 'female-type' yellow to typical male blue.