An Sunday evening trip to Buckenham Marshes in hope of Raptors heading to roost yielded an unexpected Great White Egret, initially seen at 4pm over the river at Claxton/Rockland Marshes (bird of the year on the patch in terms of 'points') flying strongly across the river towards Strumpshaw before being lost to sight. Real monster in flight, size and long yellow bill leaving me in no doubt as to what I was looking at. Get in! Supporting cast of 3 Barn Owls at Claxton, Marsh Harrier at Buckenham and a superb Corvid roost by the station. And all those Wigeon for company, what a site Buckenham is.
.......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 ...
Congrats on the find Jim!
ReplyDeleteI didn't realise you managed to tick it on 'your' side of the patch too, great work!!
Hopefully it'll reappear soon at Stumpshaw
Cheers Ben. I was on the phone straight away on the off chance you or Matt were at Strumpshaw! It would be nice if it stuck around, bit of variety this winter.
ReplyDeleteJim.
I spent a couple of hours looking for the GWE so I could 'claw one back' from Ben - no luck though! Good find, Jim!
ReplyDeleteI'm surprised it hasn't been seen again David, rarely inconspicuous these monsters! Still, a nice one for the year list which stands out just a little bit. All the best with the conclusion of this year's patching.
ReplyDeleteJim.