An Sunday evening trip to Buckenham Marshes in hope of Raptors heading to roost yielded an unexpected Great White Egret, initially seen at 4pm over the river at Claxton/Rockland Marshes (bird of the year on the patch in terms of 'points') flying strongly across the river towards Strumpshaw before being lost to sight. Real monster in flight, size and long yellow bill leaving me in no doubt as to what I was looking at. Get in! Supporting cast of 3 Barn Owls at Claxton, Marsh Harrier at Buckenham and a superb Corvid roost by the station. And all those Wigeon for company, what a site Buckenham is.
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...
Congrats on the find Jim!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise you managed to tick it on 'your' side of the patch too, great work!!
Hopefully it'll reappear soon at Stumpshaw
Cheers Ben. I was on the phone straight away on the off chance you or Matt were at Strumpshaw! It would be nice if it stuck around, bit of variety this winter.
ReplyDeleteJim.
I spent a couple of hours looking for the GWE so I could 'claw one back' from Ben - no luck though! Good find, Jim!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised it hasn't been seen again David, rarely inconspicuous these monsters! Still, a nice one for the year list which stands out just a little bit. All the best with the conclusion of this year's patching.
ReplyDeleteJim.