Church Marsh on Saturday

A fairly nondescript January morning, light winds and a threat of drizzle and the temperature mild for this time of year. Selfishly, I would quite like to see some colder weather but I doubt our resident birds would agree with me. This benign Winter is giving the Barn Owls a chance to recover and should allow for a decent breeding season for many, should it continue.
I arrived to birdsong, whereas last year the trees and bushes would have been frozen and silent. Chaffinch sub-song was a first this year, and in full swing was a Mistle Thrush in the churchyard. One of my favourite bird calls, something distant and wild about this one. Another bird was seen near the ruins. Elsewhere on the patch were Skylark overhead, a smattering of Teal on the lagoon, a Song Thrush and Treecreeper. The best of the action was near the landspring, Church side. A small flock of Siskin were showing well, and in amongst them were a Goldcrest, Treecreeper and common Tits. The Siskin were so close I could hear every squeak and squeal they made, quite odd when you listen closely.
Soon after I had left for home, a nice fella I bumped into at the carpark, Clive, later reported on Birdforum that he had seen a Marsh and juvenile Hen Harrier. I really hope the latter sticks around, but tomorrow will be a test since the shooting will take place at the gun club. If I can get home from Sunday lunch in time I may attempt a roost watch from the hill. This would be a South Yare tick for the year, there simply aren't many out there!

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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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