Godwit and a lesson in Wader ID

Two visits to Surlingham this weekend, a rather smart Black-tailed Godwit present both today and yesterday is new for the patch list. Also of note yesterday was a single Green Sandpiper, which I initially mistook for a Wood Sand! It was a rather smart looking bird, and at first looked quite delicate and dainty, just as a Wood should. Despite seeing plenty of Greens on the patch this last year, I am seeing them in all of their guises, and having poured over my Shorebirds book I can see how I made the mistake, and a lesson learnt! If I wasn't regularly watching a patch, I would not have had the opportunity to make such a balls up, and then correct myself!
The 2 Little Owls were showing well today, and nearby Ricky picked up a pair of Treecreeper- the third territory on the patch. 2 Green Woodpecker on the tree belonging to the Owls were probably youngsters, and 2 Marsh Harrier passed through. A total of 9 Lapwing were seen: 5 at Wood's End, 2 on the lagoon and one with a chick on the hill by the ruins. Great Tit broods were further evidence of breeding activity, and a Great Crested Grebe on the river had a single youngster.
In line with local sightings, there does appear to have been an emergance of Red Admirals, and I would suggest to a smaller extent Commas also. Speckled Wood being seen regularly on the reserve now, along with Ringlet and Meadow Brown. No sign of the Purple Hairstreaks this weekend, and no Gatekeepers as yet.
Picking up both Blackwit and Green Sand yesterday was a patch highlight for me, and although I like to think I 'watch' Surlingham regularly, I only really scratch the surface over the course of an average week. If I can come across goodies like the aforementioned by putting in 4 hours a week (approx), what else am I missing?! With the summer holidays fast approaching, I intend to maximise my time here for a short period and see just what I can turn up.

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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 ...

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 ...

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...

Notes from the valley

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