Out with the old and in with the new

On the 28th Debs and I visited Ludham and the area around St. Benet's Abbey, without doubt one of my favourite places in Norfolk. On arriving in the small car-park, a Short-eared Owl was hunting right out front, cruising by scanning the long grass. A superb start! We enjoyed the Owl for a while before heading back down the track towards where we had seen a group of wild Swans on the drive down. Sure enough, there were 36 Bewick here and further towards Catfield we could hear the call of a group of Whoopers. A single Barn Owl hunted the far river bank, and the Cormorants headed to roost overhead. There is something eerie yet familiar about the Abbey, and the big skies and open country make for an evocative cocktail of the best of Norfolk.

Yesterday, the final day of 2014, Debs and I walked round the marsh (quite literally round the block) and enjoyed calls of a 1/2 pinging Bearded Tit. This is the first time I have had them so close to home, and hopefully they will stay to breed this year, be it here or Church Marsh.

This morning I blew the cobwebs away and walked round the block again. 27 Species which for a change have all been Birdtracked! Highlights were a male and female Bullfinch feeding with a mixed Tit flock, Sparrowhawk and calling Water Rail and Cetti's. Not a bad start to the year, and I hope to have that total up to at least 50 by the time I go back to work on Monday.

For me on a personal level, 2014 will be tough to beat having married Debs and moved to Surlingham. This year, I am looking forward to our main honeymoon in (Thailand?) and a trip to Scotland in April. I want to make the most of the breeding season in both the Brecks and The Broads, and ultimately have a good year at Church Marsh after a couple of leaner years. I continue to meet some top folk through birding and hopefully this will be the case again in 2015. All the best guys and girls. To all readers of my blog- I wish you a happy and bird filled 2015.

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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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