Skip to main content

100!

Finally managed the 100 species mark at Surlingham Church Marsh this evening. 101 soon followed, but the big one first.
As you may know, I am currently stuck on 299 BOU for my British Life List. What will number 300 be? It won't be a Caspian Tern. It might be a Quail. It might even be a Little Swift. It will be a special bird whatever the feather. Now, my 100th bird recorded in the Surlingham CM tetrad was never going to be as grandiose as the above cast, but I had hoped for a little better than a pair of Red-Legged Partridge! Still, colourful as ever, and this time they really meant something!
Whilst the main reserve was a little quiet with Duck numbers right down, number 101 went to a much nicer bird- a Common Tern, purposefully heading up river. 95 for the year, thankyou!
The lagoon was quiet as aforementioned, 2 Lapwing were present and 1 chick was seen- running away from me on the circular footpath! One odd piece of behaviour to report: The Shelduck with 6 young appears to have attracted the attention of a single Egyptian Goose. On my 2 previous visits I had the Goose with the ducklings, and thought nothing of it, a fluke perhaps. But today I can confirm- this Goose thinks it is a Shelduck.
I decided to check the Little Owl tree again, and for the first time I actually watched 2 birds together. I had no doubts there was a pair around, but this is the first time I have recorded 2 individuals. Lots of head-bobbing going on, glorious views of this species so full of character.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Finally, just in time for the tail end of Spring migration........

.......we get some good weather. Too little too late? Only time will tell. I have enjoyed watching the resident birds go about their business on the local marshes and broads, but that ranks as the poorest Spring I can recall in terms of migrants and variety. That is not to say the birding is not good- but just a little underwhelming. Over at Rockland Broad on Saturday, I enjoyed a bit of a raptor fest, with 3 Hoby, 2 Buzzard, Sparrowhawk, Marsh Harrier and Kestrel all seen well. 2 Garden Warbler were singing, one by the carpark and one by the broad. A couple of Common Tern were hawking over the broad, and a Kingfisher was up to the usual near the hide. Don't get me wrong, this is all great (and in the warm too) but I was hoping for something a little different at Rockland this Spring. Still, with the decent weather set to continue for the next week, eyes to the skies. And indeed, to the ground, for my first Wall Browns of the year were flying and I happened upon my first 4-spotted ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more