Notes from the valley

Just happy to be alive and kicking after a nasty accident involving a berk in a lorry and my now scrapped Fiesta. Luckily, a lady stopped and offered to be a witness if necessary which put my faith back in humanity within a few minutes. Moral of the story? Do not take out insurance with Hastings Direct. Useless.  Anyway, rant over and new car is on the way. Starting with the South Yare patch, a new species was added to the year list, and a very pleasing one too since Grey Partridge have declined considerably in the last 20 years. A pair were seen in a field along Surlingham Lane. At Church Marsh, 2 Feral Pigeon were an almost regrettable patch tick. Things have been quiet here, as the resident species settle down to breed and absolutely no Waders pas through. It has been rather more lively over at Claxton, where a Montagu's Harrier has been hanging around opposite Buckenham RSPB. Despite 3 evening visits after work, I still haven't connected. A calling Greenshank did provide...

With Debs away with friends for the weekend, the opportunity to disturb nobody but myself arose, so I headed to Surlingham at dawn on Saturday morning. I like to make at least 2 early visits around this time of year. The weather was chilly and overcast, and therefore birdsong was not at quite the heights I had hoped for. However, 2 Grasshopper Warblers were reeling in front of the hide, unseen. 2 Garden Warbler were picked up on call near the Ferry Inn, a year tick and not the easiest of species here or anywhere. Brief glimpses were all I could manage, but at least I know where to look once breeding commences. A Barn Owl was out hunting at half 5, and on the lagoon of note were 3 Lapwing and 6 Tufted Duck (5 Drakes). 2 House Martin in the village were also NFY. Perhaps my favourite moment of the morning was a Cuckoo, calling in flight over my head near the pub. He was cuckoo-ing so fast that it sounds almost as if the bird narrowly avoids choking. Clearly a bird desperate to make itse...

Our small garden was a hive of activity yesterday, 2 Holly Blue butterflies the diurnal highlight along with various White sp. passing through. That evening, 2 Pipistrelle Bats were hunting at rooftop level. The bulk of our day was spent at Cley, enjoying an excellent crab salad at Cookies after a short walk around the reserve. Avocets were noisily about their business, and 2 Little-ringed Plover were also on the scrape keeping their distance. A Lesser Whitethroat was heard along Old Woman's Lane, and the expected Marsh Harriers were soaring over the reedbed. Unexpectedly, a group of c30 Brent Geese dropped in to graze. Surely the latest into the breeding season I have seen this species in Norfolk. Today, the temperature cranked up another couple of degrees to 19, I enjoyed a stroll round Wheatfen. For once, I didn't have the reserve to myself. A Cuckoo was heard and was subsequently new for the year. Whitethroat were everywhere, as were Reed, Sedge and Cetti's Warblers....