Christmas, and still the thaw will not come.

I could quite happily watch the garden birds from Mum's window all day. More often than not, with drink in hand, this is what I spent much of the festive period doing. Fieldfare and Redwing would sometimes stop to rest in the bare trees, whilst Song Thrush, 10+ Blackbird, Tits, Pheasant and Robin fed on or around the feeders provided. Star bird was spotted by my 10 year old cousin, a male Bullfinch feeding amongst Chaffinches.
Leaving rural Suffolk and returning home today, of course I found time to stop off at Surlingham on route. For once, there were ducks on the river- Tufted Duck, Gadwall and Mallard. A group of Coot cracked on with some much needed weeding, and Wigeon were grazing on the opposite bank. Exciting stuff, for the patch. Further away, towards Postwick, 3 farmyard type geese fed amongst the Greylag. Without my scope, it was difficult to gauge size but they appeared a little cumbersome and nothing of real interest. A couple of Lapwing were out on the marsh.
Carrying on with the usual circuit, a Bullfinch called from deep within the scrub. The reed bed itself was silent, not even the Cettis was singing. I had to walk round to the ruins to see another bird, but worth the walk it was. A mixed flock of finches held one Brambling, and 2 Bullfinch called and quickly flew off. Good stuff! A few Teal were in evidence on the unfrozen dykes, and a Grey Heron was fishing. No sign of the Bittern that Ben had seen, but still a good few birds to blog about.

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Everything is about edge

Hardley, where it is often confusing to define where the garden ends and the marsh begins. Tumble-down houses and rickety shacks, away from any bus route and Team Sky sorts wrapped in lycra, this is a village that by choice is cut off. The secret is out, and pre-storm Ciara as many as 10 large lenses littered the river bank firing at will. Their target- Winter ghosts. First, the classic Scooby-Doo type, as a Barn Owl responds to an ill-advised squeak in the grass and heads towards the onlookers. Another quickly joins the hunt, their formation a picture of double-edged stealth. But these year-round residents are not the key objective today, that honour is given to the Short-eared Owl. 3/4 of these can be seen from the staithe at the minute, floating like giant moths over the tussocks and edges. In a recent article in The New Yorker, Jake Fiennes states "Everything is about edge". Hedges, ditches, scrub, forgotten tracts of land that link nothing and no-one. Fiennes, now ...

Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

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...

Wood's End and Surlingham, 13/03/11

Decided it was time to search for a Lesser Pecker within and around the patch, ideal habitat alongside the Yare and plenty of deadwood. I should say now that the search was fruitless, but did throw up some good habo and a few decent birds for the area. Wood's End had a large flock of Siskin in a small conifer plantation, and a Nuthatch called from within. A Common Buzzard called overhead, and was seen again from the pub- I will keep an eye on this a potential breeding site. Great Spotted Pecker showed well, and my second Brimstone Butterfly in 2 days passed through- stealing a march, or so I thought! My first was seen from the staffroom yesterday, not all bad on the Western Front then. Surlingham was looking pristine in the sunshine, and approaching the lagoon I could hear Lapwing- usually across river at Wood's End- and then a familiar call which I almost ignored, but then realised where I was.....Redshank! Never actually saw it, but still a new bird for the patch. A pair of S...

Notes from the valley

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