Took a quick trip along the coast to Cley yesterday to see the Sacred Ibis which is currently gracing Popes Marsh, and whether its an escapee or a Cat C vagrant from the feral French population is was just a nice bird to enjoy as it devoured a host of invertebrates expertly extracted from the bottom of the wet meadow.
Heading back I called in at Beeston Common and soon found my hoped for target Keeled Skimmer, my 20th Dragonfly species for the patch, with one seen briefly but well in an area of sedges.
Butterflies seen on the Common included a few Common Blues, Small Copper and Large Skipper.
With some decentish weather this morning I headed down to Felbrigg Lake to check out what dragonflies were about, but on approaching the lake my attention was instead grabbed by the sound of a Green Sandpiper calling from somewhere nearby. After scanning the skies drew a blank, I was relieved when I eventually found it feeding on the newly created water meadow, and was naturally delighted with the unexpected year tick.
Getting back to my intended quarry, it was nice to see a good number of dragonflies feeding over the water meadow including Broad-bodied Chasers, Four-spotted Chasers and my first Emperor of the year.
A walk round the lake produced good numbers of Black-tailed Skimmers were also present with as usual many resting on the molehills in the grass along the eastern side. Another Emperor was seen over the lake where good numbers of Common Blue Damselflies were present too along with a few Red-eyed and Blue-tailed Damsels.
Not surprisingly the dragonflies had attracted the attention of a Hobby which gave excellent views as it hawked over the lake, before perching up in the lakeside trees, with other birds of note seen including a female Mandarin on the lake, along with the resident Whooper Swan.
