Notes from the patch

Not a great deal to blog about dear reader, but at the moment it is the comings and goings I am revelling in.

For real quality, look no further than our Common Cranes. Debs and I were treated to 3, then more distantly 16, of the broadland birds a couple of weeks back. Surprisingly, these were the first Cranes she had seen in Norfolk (but reminded me of the Estonian birds that seemed a lot more friendly). Perhaps the Estonian birds are more approachable. Despite their wariness, I do worry for our small population here in Norfolk. It will be interesting to see how many roost this Winter; will we see a flock of 40?
Also in the broads, we had a Short-eared Owl in near darkness on the way home.
I have not yet pinned one of these down on or at least closer to the patch. I have been staking out Langley Marshes for the last 3 weekends, but so far have only had the resident Barn Owls. I did catch a glimpse of a Tawny on the drive home, not an easy bird to see despite their widespread distribution and lack of fussiness when it comes to choosing somewhere to live.
Down at Church Marsh, a territorial Kingfisher chased another bird away from its favourite dyke last week, no sign of any yesterday. Of note was 1/2 Yellowhammer amongst a mixed finch flock, the other birds being Reed Bunting (out of place there) and Chaffinch.
I have been following with great interest the evening commute over our fine city. On a full moon, there appears to have been a steady flow of Pink-feet over my house for the last week or maybe 2. This usually occurs between 8 and 10pm. Furthermore, c3 Redshank were calling to each other in the black, around 5.30 when I returned from work one evening last week.

To end, some wintry pictures.

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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...

A weekend to live long in the memory

Saturday 12th, I picked up Connor around 6.30am and we headed to Waxham with migrant hunting in mind. It was clear that the NW blow and rain had dumped many common migrants. Every bush had a Robin, some more than one. There were also almost equal numbers of Song Thrush and Blackbird. As the sun rose, slowly more birds became active. Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Goldcrest and ticked and tacked from cover. Superb stuff! Overhead, Brambling and Redpoll were moving, and some did rest long enough for decent views. Heading out into the dunes towards the pipe dump, we encountered a female Redstart and a Woodcock on route. Still, birds were arriving including more Thrushes and even a few Skylark. Without much success around the pipe dump itself (a Robin with a sore throat gave us a headache for a while) we headed back to the car and onto Horsey. Although there were less birds around by mid morning, little clumps of cover were alive with activity. In the same patch of scrub and pines that last ...

Claxton-on-sea!

Although it was not quite the Christmas we wanted here in the valley, the rain has bought its own gift. A grim vision of the future, perhaps. But right now, the patch is peaking and is alive with birds, and for that I am thankful. On Christmas eve, it was a job to navigate away from the village due to standing water that had left abandoned cars and undelivered presents in its wake. The rain had been persistent and unforgiving, the ground, saturated. Over on the marsh, where there had once been a muddy puddle amongst the pasture, a city had sprung from the leak, with a plethora of new occupants noisily laying claim to a patch of sodden marsh. Wigeon and Black-headed Gulls in their thousands now wheeled and whistled over and amongst the newly formed pools, accompanied by smaller numbers of Teal and Shoveler. A flock of two hundred-strong Lapwing enjoyed feeding on the less damp spots where green grass was still exposed, and thrown in for good measure have been a couple of Ruff, the ...

Notes from the valley

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