Winter hits Claxton

Awoke this morning to find a fine covering of snow over the land, and the ice-grey sky promised more. I headed out towards the river and encountered a feeding frenzy on route to The Yare. Goldfinch, Chaffinch and calling Bullfinch were all stocking up on fat reserves. Overhead, Fieldfare and Redwing restlessly broke cover before joining the Starlings out on the grazing marsh. Sleet fell, and any chance of Raptors hunting diminished, although I did observe a Buzzard making for cover. At the river, the usual carpet of Wigeon. A few Teal were in the dykes and flushed easily. Back on the marsh, a buff female Stonechat perched atop a gate. I think I have finally pinned down these species here, and thankfully they seem to be present year-round. Back home, and the feeders in the garden are finally getting some attention, with Great, Blue and Coal tits all enjoying the sunflower seeds.

Last weekend I completed the WeBs counts at Church Marsh and Rockland Broad, which were rubbish. I flushed a couple of Snipe at Church Marsh, which along with 2 Mute Swans and a Mallard were all I could find. Rockland was almost as bad, 3 Coot and 150+ BH Gull as exciting as it got.

Turning away from the birds for a moment, this next bit is a shout out for a mate of mine who runs his own online business making quality leather accessories. All items are natural and respectfully sourced and hand-made. I have added a photo of a wallet I bought, ages really well. I just thought he deserved a bit of light backing, and with Christmas coming up you can get your belts, wallets and bracelets here rather than some shitty department store. Good luck with the growing business Si!

Ending on a more typically birdy note, Debs and I were travelling back from Suffolk this evening and spotted a nice Tawny Owl perched in a bare tree along Ferry Road, Claxton.

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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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