Whirlwind couple of weeks

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 me with a new bird for the year however.

Yesterday, Connor and I agreed to put some time in on the Norfolk coast searching for migrants. Upon hearing that he and Ben had endured a largely fruitless day on the point the day before, I was already lowering my expectations. We walked Burnham Overy Dunes and Wareham Greens, not seeing a single migrant. The saving grace was smashing views of a pair of Montagu's Harrier and a Red Kite.

Today, Debs and I enjoyed a stroll in some sunshine around Wheatfen. Finally, we observed our first Dragons and Damsels of the year. A pair of both Large Red and Azure Damselfly and then 2 singles of Hairy Dragonfly were seen. Other bits of interest were a Sparrowhawk, Cuckoo and at least 2 Grass Snakes.

We had our eyes to the skies here and later at Rockland, but no sign of the reported Black Kite from yesterday.

A Bat update- last night I was on a NBMP course which dealt with survey methodology and identification. I'm good to go! Bats were not really playing ball, a few Daubs and less than 5 Pips; it was bloody freezing. We did see a roding Woodcock and a Barn Owl at Santon Downham.

At the Norwich Bat Group AGM I ended up joining the committee, so the way this Summer is shaping up I won't be seeing too much daylight!

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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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