Skip to main content

Whimbrel always welcome, and a look ahead to SYWG walk

The weekend gone really felt like Spring, after some torrid weather the sun shone and temperatures finally rose. On the 30th I embarked on a walk that took in Claxton Marshes, the track to the Beauchamp Arms and back home along the Langley road. Hirundines were hawking in some numbers now, and my first Whitethroats (5) of the year were recorded. A single Lesser Whitethroat rattled from a hedge bordering a grazing meadow, a welcome return to the patch list after absence last year. Sedge Warbler sang from quite literally every bush anywhere near a dyke or reedbed and allowed smashing views.
That evening, Debs and I did the circuit at Church Marsh. I was lucky to observe a single Grasshopper Warbler reeling, and at least 2 Bearded Tit were hanging on and hopefully will breed successfully.

May 1st heralded the return of the Swifts, and in our new location we now have at least 2 pairs hunting for insects over the houses, often watched from the window. This is always such a highlight for me and that screech reminds me of long, hot summer days.

On the 2nd, I chanced Langley marshes in the hope of a Wagtail or Wader amongst the cattle. I was thrilled to observe 7 Whimbrel feeding in the grassy tufts of said cattle field, my third record of a group on the patch but a new record in terms of number: 2,2 and now 7 the high. I watched them for a while until they flew north towards Cantley marshes.




After some late night Owling earlier in the week (Barn, Little and Tawny heard) we continued the nocturnal theme with a few drinks at Coldham Hall followed by a walk along the marsh at dusk. This was a great call, for we had booming Bittern, singing Gropper and another new for the year, a Cuckoo.

The weekend looks promising, and I hope to see a good turn out for the South Yare Wildlife Group walk at Church Marsh, bright and early at 5.30am on Sunday. I can't promise a Red-footed Falcon, but I can guarantee a good breakfast at The Ferry Inn afterwards!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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 ...
Post a Comment
Read more

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...
Post a Comment
Read more

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 ...
4 comments
Read more