A breezy but pleasant afternoon. Well under an hour spent in the hide overlooking Rockland Broad produced a Kingfisher, Common Tern and young Reed Warbler. Very few wildfowl or waterbirds in general, a brood of Tufted Duck and a Great Crested Grebe were noted though. A Kestrel was hunting the meadow but no other raptors were over the marshes. I saw my first Painted Lady of the year along the track to the hide. A Common Buzzard was circling a beet field on the way home.
The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day. I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once th...
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