Winds hit their mark in the Yare Valley

Although the end of April and early May has been chilly enough to warrant a woolly hat and jacket, the winds from the east and north have bought with them some decent birds on the patch. Having been laid up for a spell after Scotland with an infection, I was finally getting better on the 23rd and headed to Church Marsh to conduct a Wildfowl and Waders survey, whilst at the same time noting any Bearded Tit or Marsh Harrier behaviour. Shelduck, Gadwall and Teal were paired up on the lagoon, and a single Snipe landed out of view. A male Marsh Harrier was circling over the western corner of the marsh but no sign of a female with him. I heard a couple of pings from the resident Beardies but nothing conclusive. Reed Warbler and Grasshopper Warbler although late were new for the year. The following evening I enjoyed decent views of the latter on Claxton Marsh, exciting to find new territories of this elusive Locustella.

A walk round the patch on the 29th threw up a beautiful Wheatear on Rockland Marshes behind the broad, not an annual bird for me and one often encountered close to the river on migration. 2 Common Tern on the broad were also new for the year, if expected. On the 30th, bird of the month bombed up river and onto the marsh- a Whimbrel! With the nights pulling out I hope to be able to add a few more migrants in the coming month before birds settle down to breed. Finally, as we entered May, Debs and I heard our first Cuckoo of the year singing near Coldham Hall.

If you are local, I am leading the South Yare Wildlife Group walk round Church Marsh on Sunday morning. Meet at the Surlingham Ferry Inn at 5.30am. Hopefully we get some nice birds to kick start the Sunday .http://southyarewildlifegroup.org/upcoming-events/

I had to share some awesome sky shots of Claxton, and of course a record shot of my Wheatear.

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Everything is about edge

Hardley, where it is often confusing to define where the garden ends and the marsh begins. Tumble-down houses and rickety shacks, away from any bus route and Team Sky sorts wrapped in lycra, this is a village that by choice is cut off. The secret is out, and pre-storm Ciara as many as 10 large lenses littered the river bank firing at will. Their target- Winter ghosts. First, the classic Scooby-Doo type, as a Barn Owl responds to an ill-advised squeak in the grass and heads towards the onlookers. Another quickly joins the hunt, their formation a picture of double-edged stealth. But these year-round residents are not the key objective today, that honour is given to the Short-eared Owl. 3/4 of these can be seen from the staithe at the minute, floating like giant moths over the tussocks and edges. In a recent article in The New Yorker, Jake Fiennes states "Everything is about edge". Hedges, ditches, scrub, forgotten tracts of land that link nothing and no-one. Fiennes, now ...

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...

Wood's End and Surlingham, 13/03/11

Decided it was time to search for a Lesser Pecker within and around the patch, ideal habitat alongside the Yare and plenty of deadwood. I should say now that the search was fruitless, but did throw up some good habo and a few decent birds for the area. Wood's End had a large flock of Siskin in a small conifer plantation, and a Nuthatch called from within. A Common Buzzard called overhead, and was seen again from the pub- I will keep an eye on this a potential breeding site. Great Spotted Pecker showed well, and my second Brimstone Butterfly in 2 days passed through- stealing a march, or so I thought! My first was seen from the staffroom yesterday, not all bad on the Western Front then. Surlingham was looking pristine in the sunshine, and approaching the lagoon I could hear Lapwing- usually across river at Wood's End- and then a familiar call which I almost ignored, but then realised where I was.....Redshank! Never actually saw it, but still a new bird for the patch. A pair of S...

Notes from the valley

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