Skip to main content

On your marks.......Patch and Brecks.

Much like Gary Lineker, I've been everywhere lately. Not all of this 'everywhere' has been birding related sadly. I can however report that Lisbon is a super city, and it was here on the way back from beach football that I saw my first Bat of the year, probably a Pipistrelle sp. I have also been to Bath for a wedding, and the return journey through Berkshire threw up 15 Red Kites. An unidentified Butterfly near Thetford was a first of sorts.
Things are starting to pick up on the patch, finally. On Sunday 7th, Debs and I took the short walk from the pub to the hide in order to be back in time for dinner. I was thrilled to encounter 5 Brambling near the ferry, a sure sign that Winter was not yet prepared to loosen its grip. On the lagoon, 3 Shoveler had returned and a Little Egret stalked a smaller pool behind. Walking back, we stopped dead in our tracks as the sounds of a pair of courting Little Owl rang out. This pair have once again been pushed out of their preferred nesting hole by an Egyptian Goose, but have presumably re-located behind the gun club.
A return visit on Tuesday 9th finally felt like Spring, and I welcomed back 3/4 Chiffchaff. Last year, 3 had made it by the 29th of March! A Linnet over was NFY here, but other than that the presence of Redwing scattered around and the remaining Siskin told their own story. I finished by watching a male Marsh Harrier floated over the reedbed, spooking small numbers of Common Snipe.

Onto yesterday, and a trip to The Brecks. In genuinely warm sunshine, I sat and ate my lunch on a bench in the forest. A friendly walker alerted me to something strange hunting low over the water. I assumed Sand Martin, and was quite taken aback to see a Daubenten's Bat trawling for insects! Fantastic views were obtained, photos not so good. My first British Bat of the year, and in broad daylight.
Onto the birds, and the star was predictably a male Goshawk, a little distant to appreciate fully but nonetheless good to know they are there. Kestrel, Sparrowhawk, Common Buzzard and a probable alighting Harris's Hawk completed the Raptor fest. Only 2 Chiffchaff were heard all day, and Redwing were the most numerous bird at one site! Other good bits included a singing Firecrest, Nuthatches seemingly abundant and a large flock of Chaffinches holding 2 Reed Buntings feeding on cover crop. A Golden Pheasant was heard at one site.

A final mention should go to the insects. The buzz and hum of The Brecks in Summer began today for me. There were many Orange Underwing Moths flying, and before my attention was stolen by the presumed escaped Harris's Hawk, I enjoyed the flutterings of my first real Butterfly of the year, a male Brimstone.

What next? Sunday looks good..........




Comments

  1. Awesome pic of the Orange Underwing. Saw them myself on Saturday gone - didn't manage a pic tho. Nice one ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Jonny. A new Moth for me believe it or not. Such a short period on the wing, for such a beautiful moth.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Yeah, was new or me too. Really hoping to catch up with Dingy Skipper too - in a typical year I think they get out April end / May. But who knows this Spring!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 the ho

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 firs

A change is as good as a rest

Casting my mind back to February 14th, survival rather than love was in the air for the birds of the Yare Valley. Tramping across the Surlingham corner of the patch, I recorded 8 Woodcock within 2 hours. These Cryptic Waders had been forced out of hiding, and even amongst the woodland floor they were easier than usual to spot against a backdrop of snow. The small pine wood opposite the church and adjacent to the parking area held at least 2 birds, creeping around and huddled up low to the ground. A further investigation of likely habitat around Church Marsh and I was presented with 6 more, a record count for me in a single day. I hope they made it through the trial sent from the north in the form of ice and snow. A Great Egret exploring a dyke at Postwick must've been thinking twice about the whole range expansion thing. However, a small Squadron of Bewick's Swan and a single Goosander over Claxton fitted the mise en scene nicely during this period.  That image and that day fee