A below average May ends with a bang

I had set aside last Friday to do some serious birding away from the patch, and met up with Connor early doors and headed to West Runton, where the female Black-headed Bunting proved a little too elusive. We checked out Wareham Greens where the only bird of note was a Spoonbill. With no further sign of the Bunting we had planned to call it a day, but news of a Rustic Bunting at Happisburgh had us sticking to the road for a little longer. This was to be a double Bunting dip, for the Rustic had gone to ground and has not been seen since. Ricky turned up and found a female Redstart in the paddocks near the coastwatch, and a small Warbler that sprang from the same bush was probably a Blackcap, not the bird we were looking for. A Yellow Wagtail the other bird of note here. The day ended up being a bit of a birding social, with Tim and John making welcome appearances during the day.

I walked to the Rockland Broad hide and back today, and it is pleasing to see that the 1s Little Gull is still in attendance. Reed Warblers were noisy, and one in particular was worth a closer listen incase of Marsh. Not yet, anyway. Now is the peak time for arriving Marsh Warbler and I will be devoting some time into finding one of these locally of the next couple of weeks.

Last night we arrived home from a wedding and I stood in the garden for a bit, listening out for passing migrants. I found myself in a state of shock at 11.30pm, when overhead I could hear 'crex, crex, crex'. A Corncrake was flying over the garden! The bird headed north in the direction of the river. This has to be contender for bird of the year. Just a paltry 2 points in the patchwork challenge though!

This afternoon I got round to planting some Gernaniums, Peppers, Cucumber and Tomatoes in the garden, and as I got my hands dirty a Common Buzzard soared overhead. Another more distant raptor was probably a Hobby.

If Odonata are your bag, now is a great time to be out and about in the broads. At Wheatfen earlier in the week I had Scarce Chaser showing really well, and today at Rockland the first Norfolk Hawkers for me this year.

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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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