Skip to main content

Slowly does it

With summer continuing to outstay her welcome, birding has been slow of late. Having been over at Strumpshaw Fen to look through some Moths with Ben on the 31st, and feeling like I hadn't seen anything 'good' for ages, I strung out the morning with a walk round to Tower Hide. The immature Glossy Ibis was showing well in front of the hide, and continues to be present at time of typing. This bird constitutes my 5th Yare Valley record after 4 birds at Reedham/Cantley Marshes in 2012. A target bird south of the river for sure.

Frosted Orange, my first, from Strumpshaw Fen
 The Glossy Ibis, a mid-stayer 

Having been round Church Marsh and Rockland Broad this weekend, along with regular walks down to the river, I can safely say there is not much around at the moment. Still, the weather is glorious and I never tire of getting out and exploring the valley. Church Marsh had a juvenile male Marsh Harrier, a pinging Bearded Tit and a few returning Teal and Shovelor. Chiffchaff are everywhere, their 'hweet' call giving them away. I wonder how many will stay for the Winter. Rockland was dead this afternoon, although a Small Copper was a new one for the site. 

On Butterflies, my garden has really delivered this Summer. Along with the expected common species, we have had Small Copper, Painted Lady, Wall Brown, Speckled Wood and Brown Argus! The beds we have been digging and tending to already paying off. 

Being back at work means the Moth trap only gets set at the weekend, which is hurting. A few new ones of note: Engrailed, Marbled Beauty, Pale Water Veneer, Common Purple and Gold, Rush Veneer and Rusty Dot Pearl. I am still letting many micros go without ID, but hopefully The book will turn up on my birthday later this month. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

A weekend to live long in the memory

Saturday 12th, I picked up Connor around 6.30am and we headed to Waxham with migrant hunting in mind. It was clear that the NW blow and rain had dumped many common migrants. Every bush had a Robin, some more than one. There were also almost equal numbers of Song Thrush and Blackbird. As the sun rose, slowly more birds became active. Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Goldcrest and ticked and tacked from cover. Superb stuff! Overhead, Brambling and Redpoll were moving, and some did rest long enough for decent views. Heading out into the dunes towards the pipe dump, we encountered a female Redstart and a Woodcock on route. Still, birds were arriving including more Thrushes and even a few Skylark. Without much success around the pipe dump itself (a Robin with a sore throat gave us a headache for a while) we headed back to the car and onto Horsey. Although there were less birds around by mid morning, little clumps of cover were alive with activity. In the same patch of scrub and pines that last ...
3 comments
Read more

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