Double Patch Update

An evening and morning visit to blog about.
Thursday evening, and a new bird for the reserve. 2 juvenile Grey Wagtail were on the muddy edges of the lagoon, and whilst being the first time I have clapped eyes on this species at Surlingham, there is plenty of suitable breeding habitat around the streams near the landspring.
Also present was a single Green Sandpiper. If I put in enough hours, I reckon I could record this bird for every calendar month! My short paper, 'The occurance and behaviour of Green Sandpiper at Surlingham Church Marsh', is under production! This individual seemed relaxed, little bobbing, no calling, infact not much of anything.
A Barn Owl was hunting over the river, and the usual Warblers gave us their eveningsong.
Today, I made an earlier start in order to 'do' the reserve before the shooting begins. Of note were 5/6 Oystercatcher on the other side of the river, which will hopefully fledge some young between them. The story of breeding Waders took a turn for the worse at the lagoon; no sign of any Lapwing chicks, but the pair that attempted to breed first time around are trying again. The female is sat tight, the male on constant guard. Plenty of ducks on the lagoon, including offspring of Mallard, Shelduck (where did they come from?) and Gadwall. A Grey Heron was lurking a little too close for comfort, if you are a duckling.
A Grasshopper Warbler was a late morning reeler, and Reed Bunting continue to call and feed young. I startled a female Sparrowhawk, and the usual male Marsh Harrier was hunting near the ruins. Walking back to the car, I saw my first Meadow Brown Butterlies of the 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 the ho

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 firs

A change is as good as a rest

Casting my mind back to February 14th, survival rather than love was in the air for the birds of the Yare Valley. Tramping across the Surlingham corner of the patch, I recorded 8 Woodcock within 2 hours. These Cryptic Waders had been forced out of hiding, and even amongst the woodland floor they were easier than usual to spot against a backdrop of snow. The small pine wood opposite the church and adjacent to the parking area held at least 2 birds, creeping around and huddled up low to the ground. A further investigation of likely habitat around Church Marsh and I was presented with 6 more, a record count for me in a single day. I hope they made it through the trial sent from the north in the form of ice and snow. A Great Egret exploring a dyke at Postwick must've been thinking twice about the whole range expansion thing. However, a small Squadron of Bewick's Swan and a single Goosander over Claxton fitted the mise en scene nicely during this period. That image and that day fee

Notes from the valley

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