Holly Blues and Silver-washed Fritillaries

A few Holly Blues have been noted around the village in the last few days, and today I noticed a few were coming into the garden enabling me to grab a few pictures of them.

Over the last couple of weeks a number of Silver-washed Fritillaries had been reported across Norfolk, and with only one recent record of unknown provenance in the county, this influx was obviously creating great interest. So when news of up to 3 in Holt Country Park emerged today, they proved very popular, especially as they were putting on a good show on the buddleia in the car park.

In addition to the fritillaries, both a White Admiral and a Hummingbird Hawkmoth visited the buddleia too which added to the spectacle.

More Butterflies at Felbrigg

Having not visited Felbrigg for a few days, I popped down this afternoon where I found only my second Painted Lady of the year feeding in the meadow on the west side of the lake. Other butterfly species seen included both Gatekeepers and Commas.

Razorbill

An evening seawatch off Overstrand today produced the first Razorbill of the year which drifted past slowly east, also a drake Common Scoter was close inshore but little else of note was seen in the fairly calm conditions.

KING EIDER

News that a probable King Eider had been seen from the seawatching shelter at Sheringham and that it was drifting towards the patch was quickly followed by a phone call from my Dad to say he had relocated it off Beeston Church, so after a quick drive I was watching it as it slowly drifted towards West Runton, delighted with an unexpected but excellent new bird for the patch.

It was fairly distant but as it neared W.Runton it drifted slightly closer inshore and after lingering off the beach car park for a while it headed slowly back west. I relocated it off Sheringham prom where the record shots below were taken, and it stayed along the seafront there for the rest of the day albeit always fairly distant. This first-summer male had been in Yorkshire for the previous three weeks but had disappeared from there on the 25th.

Whilst watching off West Runton my first Whimbrel and Bar-tailed Godwits for the patch this year were also noted flying west, and a juvenile Med Gull was also noted along the seafront at Sheringham, performing well as it flew up and down the beach occasionally landing to allow pictures to be taken.

Southern Migrant Hawkers and Willow Emeralds

Today I embarked on my first dragonfly twitch with a visit down to Hadleigh Castle Country Park in Essex where up to 10 Southern Migrant Hawkers have been seen.

Initially it was very overcast and fairly breezy and not surprisingly no sign of them, but as the weather warmed up and the sun came out now and again, hopes were raised and eventually at least a couple appeared feeding over a pool and then patrolling a ditch in front of the delighted crowd. With only c5 previous records in the UK this small population was a very notable occurrence and afforded many keen dragonflyers with their first chance to see this species.

After patient waiting, one perched on bankside vegetation allowing for a few shots to be taken, plus a record flight shot which was quite an achievement using just a point & shoot camera.

Apart from the SMH's, there was a good supporting cast of other wildlife present including a Marbled White butterfly, Scarce Emerald Damselflies, Emperor Dragonflies and a rather spectacular looking Wasp Spider.

Heading back north I called in at Alton Water where some Willow Emerald Damselflies had begun to emerge. These Damselflies invaded Suffolk last year from the continent and hopefully look set to become a colonist which hopefully will spread further around the country like the Small Red-eyed Damselfly has done over the last decade.

I wasn't quite sure of the best place to look but after some searching found about 6 roosting on Nettles and Rosebay Willowherb before flying up into the trees above.

More from Felbrigg

Felbrigg today produced Small Red-eyed Damselfly, Comma and a couple of Grasshopper sp's.

Greenshank at Felbrigg

With Felbrigg Park seemingly the place to be on the patch, I again went down to the lake today and after a little searching the Red-veined Darter was again located up by the rabbit holes and it perched up on a dead branch nicely for me to get a photo.

A check of the lake revealed that there was a single Mandarin present, and also one of the Crested Ducks that I had seen earlier in the year was also on the lake. A while later when trying to relocate it for another birder, I chanced upon a Purple Hairstreak feeding on a thistle head where it remained totally unconcerned with our presence allowing us to take numerous photos of it.

A walk round to the west side of the lake produced the male Broad-bodied Chaser pictured below, plus 2+ Green Sandpipers flying round the lake and the adjacent water meadows.  

Numbers of the commoner butterflies continued to be good, including Ringlet and a Gatekeeper.

 Final surprise of the day came when a Greenshank was heard calling and by the sound of it had dropped down onto the lake. I quickly made my way round so I could view the shoreline, and indeed it was there and was a very welcome addition to the patch year list. It fed for a short while but then took off and circled round gaining height before disappearing off into the distance and was a very nice ending to the day.

Little Ringed Plover at Felbrigg

Today I made another visit to Felbrigg to try to get better photos of the Red-veined Darter, and whilst searching for it, a Little Ringed Plover flew up from the shoreline along the eastern edge of the lake calling and disappeared off high to the west. This was the first that I had ever seen on the patch so naturally I was delighted with the record.

After a further search I located the Red-veined Darter sitting on a molehill and was indeed able to get some better photos of it then I managed on the day I found it.

A walk round to the western side of the lake produced brief views of more Purple Hairstreaks and a Migrant Hawker hanging up in a small oak tree.

Final notable record of the day was the extrordinary sight of a Ringlet and a Gatekeeper in copulation! Quite why they had resorted to this when numbers of both species in the area were fairly abundant who knows, but it was good to get a photographic record of this very rare occurrence.

Lots more wildlife at Felbrigg

Having not had the opportunity to revisit Felbrigg yesterday to look for the Red-veined Darter, but pleased with the news that others who had gone there to see it had connected, I went there today and upon arrival joined a small group of people who had already located it and I saw it briefly again on the ground before it dissappeared off over the lake.

With news that more Purple Hairstreaks had started to emerge and were giving good views, I made my way round to the west of the lake where I quickly located one down on a patch of brambles and following the disappointment of a couple of days ago, was very pleased to get some pictures.

After a quick check for the darter without further success, I continued round the lake to the walled end to check for the presence of Small Red-eyed Damselflies and quickly located a few in the vegetation clumps.
 

Then making my way back round the lake to have another search for the darter, a Small Copper posed nicely and a couple of Stoats were watched going in and out of the Rabbit holes.

Again no sign of the darter, so I made my way to the boardwalk where I found a male Ruddy Darter sunning itself on the boards, and then after flying up onto the handrail, it decided it would rather be on my hand and quite happily sat there whilst I took its photo before flying up onto the adjacent vegetation. Also along the boardwalk was a female Broad-bodied Chaser.

Red-veined Darter at Felbrigg

A walk down to the lake at Felbrigg this afternoon produced good numbers of Black-tailed Skimmers, with one allowing close enough approach to get some decent pictures.

A number of groups of Crossbills were flying around and a few Common Blue Damselflies were around the vegetation clumps along the wall.

My first local Purple Hairstreak was a surprise find in the grass also along the wall but unfortunately it flew off up into the trees before I could get a picture. Feeling quite disconsolate that I had missed a good photo opportunity I headed back towards the car checking for any more Black-tailed Skimmers on the way but my attention was grabbed when instead I flushed up a male darter sp. off one of the mole hills. It fortunately settled again a few feet in front of me, and as I looked at it through my bins, I was immediately struck by the amount of red in the wings and I quickly perked up with thoughts of Red-veined Darter filling my mind!

Having never seen one before, and wondering about the variation in Ruddy Darter, I knew that it was imperitive that I got a good photo to aid my id. Fortunately it allowed relatively close approach and allowed study through bins when I was able to confirm that it really did have red veins in the wings and also lacked the waisted abdomen of Ruddy Darter, and I managed to get a photo before it flew off again.

Back at home I checked my literature and photos on the net, and was pretty confident that it was indeed my first ever Red-veined Darter, and this was quickly confirmed after posting the photo on a website, so I was really pleased with my find.

Small Red Damselflies

Today I paid a visit to Scarning Fen, the only site in Norfolk that holds the Small Red Damselfly. I failed to see them here last year, although I was probably a bit late in their season, so I ensured that I visited earlier this year.

After searching for around 20 minutes or so, I eventually discovered a small concentration of them, including a few pairs in tandem, and was naturally pleased to have seen another new species of Odonata.

Photography wise it was incredibly frustrating, as due to their small size the autofocus on the camera just refused to lock in on them even when they were posing as close as a couple of inches, but eventually I did manage a few pics that were in focus.

White-letter Hairstreaks

Upon checking out a site at East Runton on Wednesday, where I knew one had been seen last year, I was delighted to see my first ever White-letter Hairstreak, albeit high up in the top of its chosen elms.

Another visit yesterday showed that there were a few present but none really gave themselves up for a decent photo, again staying up high in the elms.

However today I had better luck when checking out another local site as they were periodically coming down onto the brambles below to feed, enabling me to get a few pictures.

Purple Emperors

Today I took a trip over to Fermyn Woods in Northamptonshire to look for the Purple Emperors that the site is renowned for.

I wasn't quite sure of the best area of the wood to see them so basically decided to keep walking round until I met someone who did as there were plenty of other cars parked when I arrived. (For anyone visiting, park in the entrance opposite the glider club along the minor road along the edge of the wood rather than in the country park car park itself and then just follow the one main ride through the wood).

With some information gleaned from other blogs, and after chatting to one observer I made my way over towards a couple of other woods which lie beyond the main wood across some fields. Here I met someone who had seen one earlier and then we walked along to Souther Wood where he knew others had headed, and which was apparently the best place to see them.

On joining the others we discovered they had been watching one on the ground for about 20 minutes, but it took an anxious wait of about an hour, during which time a couple were seen briefly high up over the trees, before another one eventually came down onto the path where it gave excellent views. Incredibly pleased with seeing my first ever ones coupled with the one showing as well as it did on the path, I walked further along the track into the wood and found another three on the path, and then returned to the original spot where again one showed very well on the ground and eventually held its wings open. By adjusting your position relative to the sun, it was possible to get the purple sheen to show, although getting it totally across both wings didn't quite happen, but the amount of purple seen was stunning none the less.

They would visit the made up tracks to get the salt up from the surface and would also visit piles of dung on the track, including horse and fox.

 Also seen in the wood were a single Purple Hairstreak, plus plenty of White Admirals.

Downy Emerald

Today I visited Norfolks only site for the Downy Emerald Dragonfly with not much expectation as access to most of the site is restricted, and I wasn't sure if they'd still be flying or even viewable if they were.

I spent half an hour or so distantly scanning the pool through bins and saw a number of Emperors and Four-spotted Chasers, plus a single Darter sp. Then just as I was about to give up thinking the task of actually seeing one from my very limited vantagepoint was going to be impossible, I noiced a smallish dark dragonfly buzz an Emperor before zipping off. This obviously aroused my interest further and after about another 10 minutes of scanning I picked it up again along the edge of the pool and as it flew towards me, its green eyes were very obvious.

I quickly dashed back to the car and grabbed my scope, and after a few more minutes I locked onto it again hovering over the pool, and to my delight confirmed that it was indeed an Emerald with its metallic dark green body shining in the sunlight, and as noted earlier, its green eyes were very conspicuous.

Over the next hour I watched it patrolling back and forth over the same stretch of water, frequently hovering and clashing with other dragonflies, including possibly another Downy Emerald. I didn't see it land but it occasionally disappeared out of site into a bay for a while and may well have been going up onto the pool side trees.

Although it was always fairly distant, good scope views were possible, and once you'd got your eye in, you could pick it out with bins amongst the other dragons on the lake, so I was very pleased to have added a new species especially as I had initially little hope of seeing one.

Silver-studded Blues

A visit to Kelling Heath today produced the hoped for Silver-studded Blues with a number found just over the railway near to the level crossing.

The blustery wind made photographing such a small butterfly fairly difficult with them being frequently buffeted around, but I did manage the couple of shots showing well the silvery-blue studs on the underside of the hindwind of the female which gives them their name.

White Admirals and Dark Green Fritillaries

A walk along the track to the west of the bottom of Lady Annes Drive at Holkham today produced the surprise sightings of around a dozen White Admirals. Most were just seen zipping along the path and disappearing up into the trees, but a few landed on the brambles and other trackside vegetation to feed, and with careful stalking I was able to get a few pics.

A Hummingbird Hawkmoth was also seen feeding along the path, and then a check of the dunes on the seaward side of the pines near to Washington Hide produced a few Dark Green Fritillaries.

Camberwell Beauty

With news that the Camberwell Beauty that had been discovered at Titchwell on Monday was still present today, I headed back to Norfolk to hopefully see it, and fortunately it was still there when I arrived mid afternoon.

It mostly kept relatively high up in the trees, when I managed to get a picture, but also had a couple of fly-rounds around the picnic area at head height right in front of us.

After watching it on and off for about an hour, it did another fly-round and disappeared over the trees towards the Meadow Trail, and as events later transpired, that was the final time it was ever seen.

House Finch and Large Blue

With the relocation of the Lands End House Finch at East Prawle in Devon, I decided a few days in the south-west were in order to see this and look for some Butterflies and Dragonflies whilst in the area.

Having spent 4 hours not seeing the finch on Tuesday afternoon and evening, I was seriously questioning my sanity for 'cracking' and going for a bird that seemingly has virtually no chance of making it onto the British List. However I was again in position at its most regular feeding point soon after dawn and after another painful wait of a couple of hours, much to my relief I spotted the House Finch perched on a roof in the distance. It quickly flew off but after a couple of minutes it came down onto the seed that the lady of the house had put out for it to try to encourage it to appear for us yesterday, and it happily fed away, but it was quite bizarre having a 'first for Britain' all to myself!

I hung around for some better light for photography, and was rewarded with it again eventually coming down onto the seed infront of me where it gave excellent views.

With having wasted the day before dipping on the finch, I was now behind schedule so quickly headed back north, well as quickly as the tortuous south Devon roads would allow, and called in for a brief walk round Stover Country Park where I was delighted to see my first ever Golden-ringed Dragonfly briefly hawking along a woodland ride.

I then moved onto Collard Hill near Glastonbury where I quickly located my first ever Large Blue Butterflies at this reintroduction site. With the very warm and sunny weather they spent most of their time flying quickly along the steep sided hill rarely landing in sight, but with much patient stalking I eventually managed a couple of half decent pics of both the underwings and one with the wings spread, plus a record shot of a pair together.
 

Good numbers of Marbled Whites were also present on the hill, along with a Black-tailed Skimmer.

Northamptonshire Revisited

Today saw me pay a second visit to Northamptonshire with a couple of birding friends with again some new Butterflies and Damselflies being the aim.

First stop was to revisit Glapthorn, where after a brief view of a Black Hairstreak, and acting upon information gleaned whilst on site on Friday, we made our way to the opposite corner of the wood where we located a pretty freshly emerged male Silver-washed Fritillary, my first new species of the day, and an excellently timed visit as the first one for the year had only been recorded the previous day.

Whilst we were looking for the Fritillary, I very fortunately noticed a 'roosting' Elephant Hawk Moth in the vegetation in front of us, and despite its mangled right wing it was very nice to see one away from a moth trap.

With our success at Glapthorn, we moved on to Upton Mill on the western outskirts of Northampton, where after careful checking of the riverside vegetation I located a White-legged Damselfly, my second tick of the day! With further checking of the riverbank we located a few more individuals, with one staying still long enough for some photos.

We then moved on to the River Tove at Towcester where I quickly located my third new species of the day in the form of a Beautiful Demoiselle, its all dark wings separating it from the Banded Demoiselles that we get back in Norfolk. We located a second Beautiful, with also a number of Banded also being present, along with a White-legged Damsel, but with the warmth of the day running out and one more stop on the agenda, I only had time to grab a quick record shot before we had to move on.

Final stop of the day was Bucknell Wood nr Silverstone, but despite searching we couldn't locate any Wood Whites, although as it was getting right towards the end of their flight period, we were probably a bit late in the year so will have to wait for either a potential second brood, or there is always next year. Some compensation was had though with at least half a dozen newly emerged White Admirals present, and all in all an excellent day with three new species and great company too.

Black Hairstreak and Scarce Chasers

Today I took a trip over to Glapthorn Cow Pastures near Oundle with Black Hairstreak the target species. Upon arrival at the wood I made my way to their favoured patch of brambles and was immediately rewarded with one performing very well. Over the next hour or so, three or four individuals came down to the brambles from the overhead trees all being very approachable and giving excellent views.
 

With the forecast of it clouding over later, I thought I'd make the most of the current sunny weather and quickly move on to look for my second hoped for new species of the day, the Scarce Chaser which is far more numerous in Northamptonshire then it is in Norfolk.

With information kindly supplied by a local at the Hairstreaks, I made my way to the River Nene at Wadenhoe Mill and quickly located a few males which were patrolling the river and landing on the bankside vegetation. After a lot of patient stalking I managed to get a nice set of photos, including a pair in tandem, which perfectly illustrates how the males get the 'pinch' marks half way down their abdomen!

Other highlights at Wadenhoe included a number of Red Kites passing overhead, numerous Banded Demoiselles, a few Four-spotted Chasers and a female Emperor Dragonfly oviposting.

With the warm and sunny weather lasting longer than predicted I decided to make an unscheduled late afternoon stop at Twywell Hills and Dales which is just off J11 of the A14 to check out the site as I intended to visit it later in the month to look for Marbled Whites.

 

However that visit was made superfluous as I quickly located about half a dozen presumably very recently emerged individuals just beyond the car park. Obviously I was delighted with my unexpected find, especially as it must be about 25 years since my only previous encounter with the species, so they almost felt new.

A nice range of other more common butterflies were also present, along with a few Six-spot Burnet Moths, and I'll definitely be paying a repeat visit to this excellent site, if not later in the summer, then certainly next year.


 

A day in the Broads

Today was spent around the Norfolk Broads with the main target of the day being Variable Damselfly.

I started out at Cockshoot Broad, and whilst walking around the boardwalk loop, I chanced upon a Swallowtail, and whilst not quite as showy as the ones at Strumpshaw, it somehow felt nicer to find one in a 'wild' setting. It was very mobile moving quickly along the flowerheads next to the boardwalk, but stayed still long enough on a couple of occasions to get a photo.

Whilst looking for damselflies, and having glimpsed two probable Variables amongst the many Azures and Red-eyed, my attention was grabbed by some crashing around in the vegetation on the far side of the dyke. Presuming it was just a Moorhen or Coot, I was shocked to see a Chinese Water Deer gently launch itself out into the dyke and proceeded to swim across with just its head sticking out of the water.

I quickly positioned myself in the hope that it would cross the boardwalk, which indeed it did momentarily pausing to look at me, and allowing me to grab the image below, before running off into the reeds barking loudly.

With most of the Damselfly action being on the far sunny side of the dyke making viewing difficult, I decided to move on to Upton Fen to see if any Variables could be found there.

At Upton I soon found a few Four-spotted Chasers and a male Hairy Dragonfly patrolling a ditch, and then carried on along the path and upon seeing a few 'blue' damsels along a reedy ditch I paused to check them out and was pleased to eventually find two or three Variables amongst them, a new species for me. After getting your eye in it was surprisingly easy to pick them out amongst the Azures, with the broken ante-humeral stripes and the marking on segment two being the best field characters. 

Whilst watching the damsels a Large Skipper was busily flying up and down the path feeding on thistle heads. Further along the path towards the viewpopint, a number of Norfolk Hawkers were watched feeding along the ditch with one briefly alighting on a stick in front of me.

Whilst watching the Norfolk Hawkers, a Swallowtail flew over the reedbed in front of us and then headed off across a meadow into the distance. A couple of Emerald Damselflies were also noted, my first ones of the year, and back at the first ditch I looked at, a female Hairy Dragonfly was briefly watched oviposting, and a Four-spotted Chaser posed for a photo.

Heading back towards the car park, at least a dozen Black-tailed Skimmers were basking on the boardwalk.

Finally a check of the area around the small pools in the meadow by the dragonfly model revealed more Black-tailed Skimmers, and a couple more Variable Damselflies rounding off a very enjoyable day nicely.

Chilean Flamingos at Cley

With mutterings about them being Cat C vagrants from a feral population in Holland and Germany, I went to Cley to see the two Chilean Flamingos which had appeared on the reserve today after spending the afternoon at Minsmere yesterday.

Whatever their origins they, an apparent pair, were really nice birds to see, and the size difference between the much larger male and the female was very noticeable.

 

On the way to Cley, a Spoonbill was seen feeding on the pools in the field to the north of Walsey, and was then seen flying west over Cley, and on the reserve there it was noted that the local Mute Swans had 2 'Polish' young in their brood of 7, these being pure white morphs as opposed to the usual grey-brown colour of cygnets.

Swallowtails and Norfolk Hawkers at Strumpshaw

As I was playing football in Norwich this evening, I thought I'd make the most of the day and the reasonable weather with a day at Strumpshaw RSPB reserve with the aims of getting a decent photo of a Swallowtail Butterfly and to try to see a Norfolk Hawker Dragonfly which would be a new species for me.

Upon arrival I made my way down the track just before the reserve car park to the house in whose garden the Swallowtails often frequent. To my delight there was a Swallowtail there as soon as I got there and over the next couple of hours there was always at least one on view, often two, and at one point there were three having an aerial tussel right in front of the delighted onlookers.

 

After taking a few hundred pictures of the Swallowtails, I eventually dragged myself away and made my way onto the reserve proper heading for the meadow trail and virtually immediately I spotted two Norfolk Hawkers chasing each other over the adjacent ditch. After spending some time watching one patrolling its teritory, but rarely landing for more than a second, I made my way further along and, as hoped for, spotted another perched on the reeds on the far side of the ditch and which continued to show well for the quickly assembled group of photographers. We watched it for about half an hour, and then as I made my way back, the first one was still patrolling its ditch and eventually landed on a stick on the bankside long enough for a few photos too.

Hobby and Black Redstart

With birdlife seemingly having entered that summertime lull, it was a big surprise to find a Black Redstart at East Runton today, presumably a very late migrant, rather than a summering bird, maybe having been brought in by the fairly stiff north-easterlies of yesterday. It showed very well in the clifftop paddock, and posed well for photos too.

 

Shortly after came the second good sighting of the day when a Hobby was seen briefly over Cromer sewage works, my first of the year, and with it being the most obvious bird that had so far eluded me this spring, it was nice to catch up with one. The final notable record of the day was a Red Admiral, only the second one I've seen on the patch this year, basking on the path down into East Runton village.

Large Skipper

A visit to Felbrigg today revealed that there was a couple of Large Skippers still in the meadow, which finally stayed still long enough to get some pictures.

What was presumably a Meadow Brown, the first one of the year was seen in flight but disappeared off before I could get a close view, and a few Common Blues and an Orange-Tip were also seen.

Both Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers were present along the stream, and on the bird front the Cuckoo was still calling from the trees behind the lake, and a flock of c35 Crossbills flew over calling.

First Painted Lady of the year

A walk around East Runton this morning produced the first Painted Lady of the year, but little on the bird front.
 

 I then moved on to Beeston Common to look for Dragonflies and duely found an Emperor, and Broad-bodied and Four-spotted Chasers, with the latter two engaged in some fierce teritorial tussles over a small pond.

After placing some sticks over the edge of the water to act as perches, the Four-spotted Chaser quickly made use of them allowing for some photos to be taken.

Felbrigg

A visit to Felbrigg to see if the Crossbills were still visiting the lake drew a blank, but a Large Skipper was again seen briefly in the meadow along with a few Common Blues, Orange Tips and a single Small Copper.

1+ Cuckoos were calling from the trees at the back of the lake, and a female Broad-bodied Chaser posed well on a bramble.

Lesser Flamingo past Overstrand!

With the news that a Lesser Flamingo had been seen heading east past Sheringham, I hot-footed it to the seafront at Overstrand to hopefully pick it up passing, and almost immediately located it distantly to the west coming along above the horizon.

It slowly headed east, never coming closer than the horizon, gaining height as it progressed and I eventually lost it as it disappeared off to the east into the low cloud, maybe heading for the continent rather than hugging the coast and heading off to the south. It'll be interesting to see if it is reported elsewhere either before or after this sighting.

The rest of the day was spent at an open day at Bawburgh Lakes on the west side of Norwich where there were very good numbers of Banded Demoiselles present, plus a few Red-eyed Damselflies amongst the more commoner damsels.

Foulden Revisited

A repeat visit to Foulden Common was made today in the hope of better views and photos of the Dingy Skippers, but alas in about seven hours of searching I failed to find any, and another visitor who was also looking in the afternoon also drew a blank.

I had about 10 sightings of Grizzled Skippers, but possibly only two or three individuals were involved, and none posed for photos, unlike a Peacock and Common Blue. 

A male Hairy Dragonfly was flying around one of the Pingos, along with Four-spotted and Broad-bodied Chasers, and an Emperor Dragonfly was over the common.

On the bird front my first Turtle Dove of the year was seen and heard in the trees opposite the car park, at least 3 Cuckoos were continually calling and chasing each other around and a Grasshopper Warbler was reeling away from the marshy area along the southern edge.

Crossbills at Felbrigg

A walk down to Felbrigg Lake today revealed that with the hot and sunny weather, Crossbills were coming down to drink from the lake. Flocks were continually coming and going with others calling and singing from the adjacent trees, and I would estimate that there were somewhere between 40 and 60 birds in the area, with a good number of juvenile birds in the flocks which was a pleasing sight.
 

A check of the meadow for Butterflies revealed my first Large Skipper of the year, and a Cuckoo was calling away from the wood someway to the south.

Around the lake edge was the first Emperor Dragonfly of the year, along with a Broad-bodied Chaser, a few Red-eyed Damselflies were settling on the weed patches plus a good number of Common Blue Damsels.

Dingy and Grizzled Skippers

With temperatures on the rise, I decided to take a trip to Foulden Common to look for Grizzled and Dingy Skippers, both of which would be new for me. As luck would have it another birder that I knew had also done the same so we were able to search in tandem which made covering the area much easier.

By the end of the day we had managed to see about half a dozen Grizzled Skippers, and a single Dingy so I was naturally pleased with two more additions to my Butterfly List.

Some good birds around Cley

Today was spent around the Cley area, with first stop being the male Red-backed Shrike which was showing well from the west bank near the bottom of the beach road, which as ever was a simply stunning bird as it fed from the tops of the gorse bushes there.

Next stop was to join the crowds along the shingle bank at the side of Arnolds, in pursuit of the Trumpeter Finch which was present now for its third day. It had been originally found on 31st May on Blakeney Point before moving east to Cley later that day, and coincidentally that was exactly the same date as the only other Norfolk record was found, which was also on the Point in 2008!
After locating it perched on a fence and then watching it on to the shingle ridge where it was feeding, I decided to come back later when there would be fewer people around to try to get some photos, so it was left to the growing crowd.

A trip to a local heath was rewarded with suberb views of a Dartford Warbler as it tirelessly pursued a male Stonechat, and a couple of Woodlarks were also watched feeding on the ground there.

Late afternoon I returned to the Trumpeter Finch, and with fewer birders now present was able to get some excellent views of this exceedingly bright individual as it fed unconcerned just below us on the shingle ridge and posed for photos.
 

Having spent most of the evening watching the Trumpeter Finch it was farly late as I headed back home so decided to call in on the Nightjars as it was a fairly calm night, and was suitably rewarded with excellent views both in flight and as one churred from the top of a tree above my head.

Little Egret

With an apparent arrival of birds further along the coast in the north-easterlies and drizzle, the day was spent thoroughly checking the patch from Sidestrand along to Beeston Bump but unfortunately passerine action was distinctly lacking.

There were however a couple of highlights during the day with my first Little Egret on the patch this year, with one flying high west over Cromer golf course, and a Mole which was watched scurrying around on the coastal path in happy valley, and which I pointed out to a number of passing tourists, some of which had never seen one before.

After shielding it from a few dogs, I helped it back into the undergrowth so it could find cover and some ground more suitable for burrowing than the hard path it had chosen.

Nightjars perform well

Another visit to yesterdays Nightjar site this evening was rewarded with good flight views of a couple of birds, occasionally right overhead, and we could also just make out the male churring from atop a post on a couple of occasions although by this time it was virtually pitch black. With such a good showing, I'll hopefully visit the site regularly in the future, and naturally keep an eye on their progress too.

Common Tern and Nightjar

The morning was spent at Trimingham looking to no avail for the Icterine Warbler that had been seen there earlier, although a very quick snatch of song heard may have been it. Whilst looking a Cuckoo was seen flying east, calling as it went, and the other notable record was of a mole which spent a lot of time foraging out in the open right in front of the assembled birders.

A walk round East Runton and along to Beeston Bump produced no new migrants, but my first Common Tern of the year seen fishing just offshore from West Runton was a welcome sight.

Felbrigg produced stunning views of a Broad-bodied Chaser in the meadow, and I finally managed a decent pic of a Small Copper there too.

With a fairly still and moonlit evening, I decided to check out a site on the Cromer - Sheringham ridge for the presence of Nightjars, and was duely rewarded with one churring virtually constantly for half an hour. Unfortunately no flight views were had as it kept low below the tree-line each time it moved, but a further visit is definitely in order to enjoy what is always a magical encounter with these birds, so hopefully I'll see it/them next time.

Butterflies from Felbrigg

With the warm weather continuing, the meadow at Felbrigg still held good numbers of butterflies, with Orange-tips predominating amongst small numbers of Common Blues and Small Coppers.

Little Terns and Grey Seal

A look at the sea today off West Runton produced my first Little Terns of the year with around 30+ birds fishing and moving offshore.

I then noticed that there was a seal hauled up on the rocky foreshore just to the west, so I made my way along to it to see if it was ok. After finding no apparent signs of injury, I took a few photos of it and then continued to watch it from a distance just to ensure it was indeed healthy. As the tide was on the way in, the beach soon started to become covered, and thankfully the seal pushed its way out to the edge of the deeper water and then happily swam out to sea and was then seen occasionally coming to the surface as it moved further out.

Local reedbed finally attracts a Reed Warbler

A walk around Sidestrand today produced my first Azure Damselfly of the year, but my main target was the Reed Warbler that had been discovered the day before in the small reedbed there. I was naturally pleased when it popped up singing away, as although the reed bed, which was planted as part of an effluent treatment system, has been there for a good number of years now, it was the first one that to my knowledge had ever been recorded in there, so was a very notable local record.

Coming back along the front at Overstrand showed that there were good numbers of Common Blues present on the grassy slope above the east end of the prom feeding on the various patches of buttercups on there.

As I was heading over to Holt in the afternoon, I called in at Walsey Hills on the way where I had a few fleeting glimpses of my first ever Hairy Dragonflies, but unfortunately they never settled in sight. Also there I saw a few Four-spot Chasers and Wall Butterflies, plus Azure and Blue-tailed Damselflies.

Warm weather continues to brings out more life

With increasing temperatures the meadows aroung Felbrigg Lake were alive with Butterflies, with my first Common Blues of the year, good numbers of Orange-tips, and a few more Small Coppers all noted.

A few more Large Red and Common Blue Damsels were also evident, and I recorded my first Blue-tailed Damselflies of the year and on the bird front, the Cuckoo was again noted, and a few Mandarins continued to grace the lake.

Cuckoo brings up the 150

Another visit to Felbrigg today in search of more Dragons and Damsels, produced my first Small Copper Butterfly of the year along the northern side of the lake.

 

Yesterdays Broad-bodied Chaser was seen again over the small pool to the east of the lake, with it eventually landing on a bramble enabling me to confirm its id, but unfortunately a bit too far away to get a decent picture of it without the aid of my scope which I had left in the car.

The Red-eyed Damsel was seen briefly again, along with a Large Red Damselfly in the same bush.

Whilst watching the Damsels my attention was suddenly drawn to the alarm calls of the local Pied Wagtails coming from behind me. A quick scan across the lake revealed that they were mobbing a Cuckoo as it flew along the edge of the lake, which was a very pleasing sighting as in recent years they have become very scare locally. As I had spent a lot of time searching suitable areas for one this year, it was a very welcome record indeed and as a bonus brought up the 150 for the patch this year, a total which I took until early September last year to reach.

 

On the way back I scanned the area where the Cuckoo had flown towards and was pleased to relocate it sitting on top of a fence post. I watched it for a while as it dropped down onto the ground a couple of times before returning to the fence posts, and then eventually flew off across the meadow and disappeared into the trees behind the reedbed, but was notably silent the whole time.

First Dragon and Damsels emerge at Felbrigg

A walk down to Felbrigg Lake brought the first Dragonfly of the year when a presumed Broad-bodied Chaser whizzed past me but unfortunately quicked disappeared from view before a positive id could be made.

However whilst searching for it I was really pleased to discover my first ever Red-eyed Damselfly. It was always keeping fairly high up in a bush, but I managed to digiscope it.

I also found the Common Blue Damselfly in the grass below the same bush, along with a few brief views of a few more damsels which quickly disappeared off, indicating the welcome fact that they had finally started to emerge now that the weather was warming up.

Small Heaths

A walk round yesterday produced the very notable tally of 5 Common Sandpipers on the lagoon at Sidestrand, which I think is the most that I have ever recorded on there.

With an evening family get-together at the Dun Cow in Salthouse today, I took the opportunity to walk along to Gramborough Hill where a number of Small Heaths were found on the sunny southern slope and gave me my best views ever of the species.

More Butterflies and Birds

A walk round the patch yesterday revealed the southerlies had brought in a few more birds with a couple of Sedge Warblers and a Garden Warbler being the most notable.

Today I paid another visit to Trimingham to see the Green Hairstreaks which continued to give excellent views whilst sunning themselves, and whilst I was watching them a Holly Blue also joined them.

A evening visit to Felbrigg Lake revealed a couple of Common Sands on the shoreline, plus a Green Woodpecker and Wheatear on the grassland to the north.

Wood Warbler at Felbrigg

News that a Wood Warbler had been seen by the western entrance to Felbrigg Park early this morning had me hastening over there, and after a quick search of the area I heard it sing very briefly and eventually located it high up in the trees.

Over the next couple of hours it continued to sing and show occasionally although it always kept high up in the trees, but luckily I manged to obtain a few shots of it, the best of which are included below. Whilst one time fairly numerous, in recent years Wood Warblers have become very scarce visitors to the county, and it was certainly a very good record for the patch, being only my second, so I was very pleased that it hung around long enough for myself and others to catch up with it.

A family of Siskins were seen in the same area, and then a quick walk down to the lake revealed 3 Common Sandpipers and 3+ Mandarins, and on the way back a Common Buzzard was seen flying over the trees near the hall.

Green Hairstreaks

Having only really developed a major interest in Butterflies last year, there are still a number of species that I haven't yet seen , so when I received a text to say that there were some Green Hairstreaks at Trimingham, I quickly made my way there and was soon watching my first ever one, and then quickly found a second.

Fortunately one came down from the trees onto the lower level vegetation where I was able to get some excellent views and some reasonable photos of it too.

Spotted Flycatcher at Felbrigg

Whilst down at Felbrigg Lake today photographing the Mandarins, my attention was drawn to a very quiet call as a bird flew onto a bare tree only a few feet in front of me, and to my surprise and delight it was a Spotted Flycatcher, a bird that has become very scarce in recent years and which I rarely encounter in spring around the patch. It then spent the next hour or so feeding from the tops of the trees along the south side of the lake, singing on occasions.

Recent highlights

Some recent photos below of the Winterton Woodchat Shrike and the Red-necked Grebe down Gypsy Lane, Titchwell, which looked most odd sitting and standing in the field on the far side of the ditch!

Garden Warbler the highlight of a quiet few days

With the winds predominating from the north, this week has been fairly quiet with the only new bird recorded being a Garden Warbler today on Beeston Common.

A few Gannets and Kittiwakes have been noted offshore, the number of hirundines and Swifts have greatly increased, a few Yellow Wagtails have continued to move through, and at least 4 drake Mandarins continue to visit Felbrigg lake.

 

The first Holly Blue butterfly of the year was seen at East Runton on Wednesday, where Speckled Wood and Orange Tips were also present.

Northerlies produce Manx Shearwaters

With the brisk northerly wind, attention today turned from the land to the sea with a morning seawatch from Overstrand producing the hoped for Manx Shearwater with a group of 4 heading east. Other birds passing by included a steady passage of Gannets, c50 distant Auk sp's, Fulmar and half a dozen Common Scoter.

Good passage of Swifts

A walk along Cromer golf course this morning revealed that there was a good westerly passage of Swifts taking place along the cliffs, plus good numbers of both House Martins and Swallows also moving through.

 

A dozen or so Yellow Wagtails were also noted passing over, a Ring Ouzel was seen in flight a couple of times below the cliffs, 4 Wheatears were on the turf slope, and a pair of Yellowhammers were a welcome sight on one of the greens.

A walk round East Runton produced a couple more Wheatears, but little else new on the migrant front. The resident Song Thrush was as usual singing its heart out from its favourite perch, and its nice to see that there are quite a few present around the patch this year as they had been becoming a pretty scarce bird locally.

Whinchats at Felbrigg

A visit to Felbrigg Lake today revealed that the Reed Warbler was still in the reedbed and had now been joined by a Sedge Warbler too.

 

I then noticed a bird fly up onto an adjacent fence and when getting it in my bins was very pleased to see it was a cracking male Whinchat. It then flew across the reedbed over to the north side of the lake where it was joined by a second and they were watched feeding from the fence and from trees in the reedbed itself.

Other birds of note included a Wheatear around the gorse clump, a drake Manadarin along with a third Coot now on the lake, a Common Sandpiper flew round calling before flying off high as it started to drizzle and a Barn Owl was hunting the water meadow.

 

Red Kite, Green Sand, Swift and Hoopoe!

With the news that a Red Kite was heading towards the patch from the west, I quickly made my way to a good vantage point, and after a few minutes picked it up drifting south-east over Felbrigg Park. After watching it for sometime I decided to chase after it as views had been somewhat distant, and also to try to gain a bit more knowledge of the way birds track through the patch for future reference.

I caught up with it again over the north side of Roughton, and then followed it continuing south east where a quick stop at the entrance to Northrepps aerodrome produced excellent overhead views of it, and I managed to get a few pics before it drifted off towards Southrepps.

 

A check of East Runton produced 10+ Yellow Wagtails in the paddock at Wyndham Park, plus my first Swift of the year. Then when scanning the sky for more I picked up a wader heading over west. Given its shape and flight I had my suspicions as to what it was and as I quickly picked it up through my scope, its white rump and dark underwings confirmed that it was as suspected a Green Sandpiper, a bird that I haven't seen on the patch for a good few years, so I was very pleased that I had luckily picked it up going over. On the butterfly front, my first Green-veined White of the year was noted.

News of a Hoopoe at Sheringham was enough to tempt me further along the coast, but due to incorrect location details given I found myself at the wrong end of the golf course to where the bird had been seen. Anyway I sat up on top of Skelding Hill which served as a good high vantage point and watched others arrive in the distance and then start to walk along the field where it was believed to be. After a while I picked it up in flight and then watched it on the ground, although as it was nearly a mile away views were very distant to say the least but nevertheless totally unmistakable on the flight views gained.

Reed Warbler and Merlin

A check of the patch Monday revealed a few left-over Wheatears from yesterdays big numbers along the coast, plus good numbers of the common warblers filling the air with their songs.

A visit to Felbrigg Lake produced the desired result with a Reed Warbler, the first of the year, singing in the reedbed. A lot of patience resulted in a brief flight view and after a further wait it was eventually watched singing from a bush on the lakes edge.

Birds on the lake included a drake Gadwall, a new Coot which had joined the one that recently appeared, and a drake Mandarin flew in. On the north side of the lake, a Wheatear was present around the gorse clump.

A check of the cliff-top fields around West Runton today produced a few Yellow Wagtails and Wheatears but little else of note birdwise was seen there or around East Runton, but with the increasing temperatures butterflies were again out in force with the most notable species recorded being my first Orange-tips, Speckled Woods and Red Admiral of the year.

 

I then called in at Trimingham, and as I rounded the northern edge of Pond Plantation I scanned the ploughed field to the west and picked out a 'blob' in the field some distance away in the heat haze, but initially couldn't really decide what it was so carried on scanning the field. I then returned to the blob and started to pay it a bit more attention, and through the haze was pretty sure that it appeared to be a bird of prey which appeared to be eating something in the field.

I quickly hastened down to the clifftop, constantly checking it was still there as I went, and then made my way along towards it. With each look I was changing my mind as to what it was as the heat haze was still making viewing difficult, as was assessing its correct size, but what was evident was it was busily tearing apart some prey and was unconcerned by my approach. Eventually I got near enough to get a decent look at it through my bins and was delighted to establish that it was a Merlin, mainly still in juvenile plumage but with some blue feathering evident on the back. Knowing that another local birder was in the area I quickly phoned him and then sat down so not to disturb it whilst watching it continue to devour its meal. Fortunately it hung around long enough for the other birder to connect before it eventually flew off low along the clifftop towards Sidestrand.

This was only the third Merlin that I have ever seen on the patch, with the other two only being fleeting views, so it was a real pleasure to watch this one at close quarters on prey, but as is typical with encounters such as this I had left my camera in the car not expecting to see anything!

Wheatear influx

An early morning start revealed that there had been a good arrival of migrants, with lots more of the common warblers in the bushes, but most notable were the large numbers of Wheatears that were evident along the coast, many of which allowed very close approach giving good photo opportunities.

Pied Flycatcher - My first spring record on the patch

A walk along the golf course on Friday produced a few Wheatears, a couple of Yellow Wagtails and a House Martin through with other hirundines. An afternoon walk around Beeston was rewarded with a Ring Ouzel which landed briefly in trees before flying off inland, more Wheatears and both Whitethroats and Lesser Whitethroats singing in the bushes.

On Saturday a walk around East Runton and Cromer produced my second Sedge Warbler of the spring singing from a large area of brambles, more Lesser and Common Whitethroats, plus numerous Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs and Willow Warblers all singing away.

 

Early evening news came through of a female Pied Flycatcher in trees around Subway car park in Cromer, and although the light was fading fast I thought I'd give it a go just in case, so was delighted when upon arrival I noticed a quick movement up in the tops of the trees and a look through the bins revealed that it was indeed the Pied Flycatcher. It quickly flew along the trees and dropped into a hedge where it showed briefly before disappearing, presumably to roost.

 

This was the first spring Pied Flycatcher that I have seen on the patch, and a very welcome bird as I usually have to work very hard to find one each autumn, and some years have missed them completely.

Some more photos from Felbrigg

A walk round East Runton showed that a few more Common Whitethroats had arrived, but no other new arrivals were evident, although my first Comma Butterfly of the year was noted. However with the wind forecast to finally turn round to the south hopefully the next few days will produce some more migrants.

A visit to Felbrigg revealed that the Common Sandpiper was still feeding along the edge of the lake, and a Yellow Wagtail was again providing excellent photo opportunities posing on the lake wall.

A pair of Mandarins were on the lake, with another male seen heading off into the main wood, but no sign today of the two Crested Ducks.

Black-Necked Grebe - first patch record

With the news that a Black-necked Grebe had been seen off West Runton and was drifting east, I quickly made my way to East Runton to see if I could relocate it, but upon arrival discovered that there were a number of wind-surfers on the sea there, so my hopes were not high thinking it would probably have quickly moved off from the area.

A number of Sandwich Terns and a few Gannets were seen passing but after an hour or so of scanning the sea with no luck, I decided to check the sea further along towards Cromer as I guessed it had probably long gone past where I was.

To my delight, just as I arrived in Cromer, news came through that it was indeed off there, and after having found somewhere to park, I was watching it close inshore just to the west of the pier. This constituted my first ever Black-necked Grebe for the patch so I naturally delighted to have caught up with it, and the fact that it was a stunning full summer plumaged bird was a great bonus too. Black-necked Grebes are scarce birds in the county and 'at sea' records are even rarer, so this was a great record for the area.

Fortunately I got to meet the original finder of the bird so was able to pass on my thanks to him for his discovery, and managed to get a record shot of it.

Whitethroats and Hirundines

A morning walk around East Runton revealed a couple of newly arrived Common Whitethroats in the bramble scrub, with the second one quietly sub-singing.
 

I then revisted Felbrigg Lake to see if the birds seen yesterday evening were still present, and as soon as I had reached the lake I immediately picked out my first House Martin of the year flying round with a fairly large hirundine flock over the water.

From time to time, both Swallows and Sand Martins from the assembled flock would briefly land on the fence along the north side of the lake, enabling me to get the pics below.

Whilst watching the hirundines, a few Manadarins were busy flying round and occasionally landing briefly on the lake before flying off again. When a pair landed on the water I quickly made my way round to the south side and quietly stood in the trees along the bank, and to my delight they swam towards me and the drake briefly climbed out of the water onto the tree roots right in front of me and started to display to the female, enabling me to get the shot below.  

Yesterdays Common Sandpiper was still feeding along the north shoreline, but was too wary to come close enough to get any better pics today, with my best effort below.

 

Also present were the two Crested Ducks, presumably a pair, and afforded better views than yesterday, with their bright red eyes making them look really stunning.

More migrants arrive and Crested Ducks too!

Sedge Warblers are always very scare birds on the patch, and to see one you have to rely on finding an incoming migrant in clifftop scrub, so I was pleased to hear the familiar song of one whilst I was taking a look round East Runton this morning. After locating where the song was coming from, I finally managed a few fleeting views as it flew a couple of times between bramble clumps, landing briefly on top of one before disappearing back inside. The only other bird of note found on my morning round was a Lesser Whitethroat.

Whilst paying an evening visit to Felbrigg Lake, I noticed two ducks sleeping under the trees at the back, with their heads tucked in under their wings. With them not looking right for female Mandarins, or any other duck come to that, I was somewhat puzzled as to their id, but suspected some kind of escapees.

A quick dash back to the car for my scope to get a decent look at them had given them time to wake up and they were now feeding along the waters edge. I still couldn't put a name to them but a quick check of literature at home later revealed they were Crested Ducks from South America, with a pic of one of them below.

A Common Sandpiper, the first of the year, was feeding along the shoreline on the north side of the lake, and a Yellow Wagtail, also the first one seen this spring was watched flycatching from the lake wall and adjacent trees.

Lesser Whitethroats arrive

A visit to East Runton this morning produced a couple of singing Lesser Whitethroats, and a Yellow Wagtail flew over calling but evaded detection.

Coastal movement included a few Linnets and Goldfinches but little else of note was seen around the patch, although it was nice to watch the local Sand Martins busily collecting grass from the clifftop path to line their nests with.

A quiet week on the patch

With a cold northerly wind blowing for most of the week, no new migrants have been noted over the last few days, but the winds have produced a few Gannets moving offshore.

A couple of 'tenebrosus' morph Pheasants have recently appeared, favouring the field opposite the golf practice ground, and are really stunning looking birds.

 

Holkham Shorelarks

Today saw me attempting to try to get some decent photos of the 15 Shorelarks at Holkham, but as usual they never kept still enough to get a great pic by digiscoping, but I still got some decent shots nonetheless.

Felbrigg

A visit to Felbrigg today produced the regular Firecrest in the car park and a single Crossbill flew over calling, with another two or three in the trees behind the lake. A pair of Mandarins were on the lake, and 3 more, two males and a female, were watched flying over in hot pursuit of each other. A Barn Owl was hunting the meadow, where Shelduck and Oystercatcher were also noted, along with the resident Canada and Greylag Geese, and a single Coot, Mute Swan and the Tufted Duck flock were also on the lake.
 

A small flock of Sand Martins and a couple of Swallows were feeding over the lake and the adjacent trees, with one of the latter landing briefly on the fence enabling me to grab a quick pic, although it was into the light.

Common Crane - third time lucky

With more clear and sunny weather, the afternoon was again spent looking for any raptor movement through the patch. A number of Common Buzzards were seen, but as usual it was unclear as to whether these were true migrants or just local birds having a fly round.

A brief 'chacking' from a nearby tree didn't at first register, then as it called again as it flew off across the field I quickly realised it was a Ring Ouzel. It briefly perched atop a hedge then carried on inland.

Having missed a couple of opportunities of Cranes going through the patch this year, including one over yesterday, when news came through of one circling at Stiffkey, hopes were raised of a third chance, but which way would it go? No further news came from points west, until I received a welcome call to alert me that it(?) had just gone over Incleborough and was heading towards me. A few seconds later I had picked it up flying over the south side of Cromer and watched as it disappeared into the distance towards Northrepps.

Red Kite Day

With clear sunny conditions and little wind, the day looked good for raptor movement, and it didn't disappoint. In between looking, I had to take a brief trip into Cromer and whilst walking into the town, still looking skywards, I noticed the distant silhouette of a raptor approaching from the east, and even without bins its flight action made it instantly recognisable as a Kite.

A mad dash back to the car to get my bins and then an equally mad dash up to a high point so I could see over the town initially resulted in frustration as there was no sign of it, but after a quick scan further west, I picked up a (second) Red Kite circling round with a Common Buzzard before it slowly drifted off westwards along the Cromer-Holt ridge. Two Red Kites had earlier been seen near Northrepps and two birds were tracked moving west further along the coast, so presumably these were the same two that had temporarily been separated.
 

Just over an hour later a third bird was picked up over the council offices, and although distant from where I was watching from, it was on view for at least 20 minutes as it too lazily drifted west off along the ridge, getting occasionally harassed by the local crows and Sparrowhawks on the way.

 

A few more Willow Warblers were evident today, and a few Sand Martins were going through.

Yesterday there was also a fairly good passage of Sand Martins moving west, and a flock of at least 25 were prospecting the cliff face near West Runton. Also yesterday, a Ring Ouzel was seen briefly in flight along the undercliff below the golf course before disappearing into dense scrub, a flock of c25 Common Scoter where seen offshore from Overstrand, and the first Small White butterfly of the year was seen at Cromer.

Ring Ouzels galore and more migrants arrive

With a Ring Ouzel having been seen at Northrepps early morning, a gentle stroll over there was the first task of the day, and whilst passing the nursery, I made a mental note to check the paddocks at the back if there was no sign in the area where it had been reported. As there wasn't I retraced my steps and headed off down the path towards the paddocks, but was quickly stopped in my tracks as there on the path in front of me was not one but three Ring Ouzels, which were drinking from puddles on the track by the 'Shrieking Pit', and then soon after a fourth one appeared on the track!

They then moved into the paddocks briefly, but a dog-walker flushed them off along an adjacent hedgerow, and then a second dog-walker was too much for them and they flew off across the fields revealing that there were actually five birds present. As they continued across the field, calling away, a sixth bird flew up and joined the flock, which was presumably the bird first reported this morning.

I managed to take a few pics of them before they flew off, including a record shot of three of them together.

A couple of  Wheatears were noted in the field north of the nursery, and a number of Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were in song. A walk along the golf course revealed three more Wheatears on the turf slope and a steady trickle of Swallows and a single Sand Martin were going through west. A Muntjac and a Fox were seen along the cliff base, and whilst watching the latter my attention was drawn to the calls of Sandwich Terns and a pair were noted fishing offshore before carrying on west. Another Tree Pipit flew over the golf course near the lighthouse, but was heard only, and more singing Blackcaps and Chiffchaffs were along the cliffs and in the woods.

 

A visit to East Runton revealed my first Willow Warblers of the year, a couple more Ring Ouzels were flushed from just in front of me by another dog walker, and my first female Blackcap of the spring was also seen.

An early Tree Pipit

An afternoon walk along the golf course produced my first Tree Pipit of the year, with one calling as it flew east past the lighthouse. I think this constitutes my earliest record for the patch, with the previous best being one through on the 10th April in 2008, again along the golf course. The strong southerly also produced a few Swallows moving through, and with the rise in temperature from recent days, Butterflies were again on the wing with single Brimstone and Peacock, plus a few Small Tortoiseshells.

A few more Blackcaps

A walk around the lighthouse area revealed that there had been a mini arrival of Blackcaps with a few birds in song in the clifftop woods. One was doing an excellent mimic of a Nightingale which got me going for a few seconds, and later it even did a bit of Red-legged Partridge! A few more Chiffchaffs were also evident in the woods and along the cliffs below the golf course.

The remainder of the Easter weekend was fairly uneventful, a lone Swallow flew west along the golf course on Monday, a Green Woodpecker and a Sparrowhawk along the cliffs and a few finches and corvids were on the move. A male Blackcap was in the garden, and it was nice to see Great Tits busily taking nesting materials into one of my nest boxes.

Hopefully with the weather set to improve and temperatures on the rise as the week progresses, we should see a bit more migrant activity in the forthcoming days.

Black Redstart at Felbrigg

A visit to Felbrigg today produced the surprise find of a Black Redstart down by the lake, which although mobile, eventually gave good views perched up on the fence around the lake and in the bush in the small inlet.

A few Swallows were lingering over the lake and reedbed, and on the lake itself were 23 Tufted Ducks.

Various flocks of Crossbills were flying round the area just to the south of the car park, with probably at least 30 different birds present, and the Firecrest was still singing in the car park itself. A pair of Common Buzzards were seen over the south side of the park from Metton Road.

Blackcap and Alpine Swift continues to linger despite weather

My first Blackcap of the year was recorded today with a male in sea-buckthorn bushes along the cliffs at Cromer, and which was heard to be quietly sub-singing.

 

Despite a 50% reduction in temperature and numerous showers, including a few hail storms, the Alpine Swift continues to linger, ranging between the town and the lighthouse. In somewhat warmer and sunnier conditions yesterday it was often seen in the company of a few Swallows, with a small trickle of them moving along the coast in the afternoon.

Felbrigg and Alpine Swift still present

A trip up to Felbrigg Park today was very worthwhile with the two Firecrests showing well in the car park, a few groups of Crossbills were seen flying round, with a pair watched feeding in the larches, where there were also good numbers of Lesser Redpolls and Siskins present, and a number of Chiffchaffs were seen and heard in the woodland.

Down by the lake, a Barn Owl was hunting the fields, despite it being mid-morning, on the lake was a Mute Swan, a few Tufted Ducks and a pair of Mandarins which flew in calling and then engaged in a bout of mutal preening and other courtship display.

An Oystercatcher was standing on the lake wall, the first I've seen down there this year and a Sand Martin was feeding over the water. On the adjacent meadows 2 pairs of Shelduck have recently arrived, a male Reed Bunting was singing from one of the hawthorn bushes, and a Grey Heron flew over. Also a number of Egyptian Geese were also present flying from tree to tree which always seems weird for a goose.

Despite the light rain and the fact that it hadn't been seen by the people looking when I arrived, I still ventured up to the lighthouse for a look for the Alpine Swift and almost immediately picked it up flying round by the church, it then flew up to the lighthouse, did a few circuits and then started to feed over the trees inland of the coast road, so is now present for its 7th day.

Alpine Swift day 3 and first Swalllow of the year

My now usual morning walk along Cromer golf course was passing by fairly uneventful, apart from 3 Wheatears which quickly disappeared over the cliff face as the grass-cutter approached, and still a few Chiffchaffs singing along the cliffs.

As I was heading back towards Overstrand I noticed a now very familiar silhouette approaching high from the east, an Alpine Swift! It drifted up high above the sea and then I temporarily lost it, but swinging round I was delighted to see it flying around the cliffs behind me, and upon climbing up to a high point I was treated to amazing views as it was flying round in front of me for some twenty minutes, and I often had to duck for fear of it hitting me it was coming so close round my head feeding on the insects being pushed up in the updraught of the cliffs. At one point it was joined by my first Swallow of the year, with the two of them majestically flycatching together around the cliffs.

I guess this was the time to have a DSLR, as my little point and shoot camera was failing miserably to get anything decent despite the very close-up views, although I did manage a pic which I guess is slightly better than yesterdays effort.

It eventually drifted west but I then picked it up again around the Lighthouse area and was able to get a couple of locals who had just arrived on to it, as well as a group of tourist birders who had fortunately picked the right day to go for a walk along to Overstrand. We continued to watch it for about an hour and a half, during which time more people arrived to enjoy it before it drifted off westwards. A few more Swallows and a Sand Martin were also seen passing through whilst we were watching it.

I headed back towards the east end of the golf course and on my way back my attention was drawn to the sound of a Curlew calling and picked it up coming along the cliffs high up, the first record of one that I've had through the patch so far this year. At the far end of the golf course a Black Redstart was on the roofs of the bungalows.

I then headed along the coast to West Runton checking the spots where the Swift had previously fed on the way just in case, and then upon arriving in the beach car park I scanned Beeston Bump off to the west and there was the Alpine Swift flying happily around the top! As I watched, it slowly drifted towards me and then flew right past along the cliffs before heading back towards Cromer in front of the approaching rain. A simply amazing bird and I couldn't believe my luck in finding it twice today.

A check of the ploughed field revealed that there was still at least 3 White Wagtails in with the Pieds and on the sea was the unusual sight of a Brent Goose on the sea close inshore feeding on the seaweed being brought in on the incoming tide.

Sand Martin and White Wagtails

A morning walk along the golf course produced the first Sand Martin of the year, plus a female Stonechat and a Fieldfare over.

A visit to West Runton revealed that the clifftop field was being ploughed with a good gathering of 'alba' Wagtails feeding in the freshly turned over soil, with at least a couple of White Wagtails evident amongst the Pieds.

Alpine Swift from the window!

A very timely early morning text alerted me to the fact that the Alpine Swift had left its roost site and was now heading east along the coast.

As my bathroom window overlooks the coast, I quickly positioned myself and after 5 minutes or so picked it up over the house and then watched as it headed ESE towards Sidestrand, where it briefly paused to feed over the trees surrounding Sidestrand school, before it headed off SE.

ALPINE SWIFT

An early morning walk along Cromer golf course revealed there had been a mini arival of migrants with a number of Chiffchaffs singing from the woods and cliff-face vegetation and a Wheatear flushed from the clifftop by the lighthouse.

Further along I discovered a Black Redstart flycatching from the bracken and gorse just above the turf slope, and then quickly noted a second and then amazingly a third one, plus a Wheatear and a male Stonechat all on the same slope, which due to it catching the morning sun obviously had a good supply of insects on tap.

Whilst watching them I managed, by total luck, to get the picture below of one of the Black Redstarts in the pursuit of a fly, whilst the Wheatear looked on.

A trip down to West Runton produced 4+ Wheatears along the cliffs and in the car park, including the first female, and then my attention was grabbed by a group of large gulls starting to actively congregate on the sea and a look through my bins revealed that one of the Great Black-backs in the group was in the process of eating something. I got my scope on it out of curiosity, and it appeared that it was most likely a small (probably Little) Grebe which quickly disappeared head first down the gulls throat! Offshore a Gannet and 4 Red-throated Divers were noted passing by.

 

Having just finished a trip to the local supermarket, I received a phone call to say that an Alpine Swift had just been seen over Overstrand village but it had been lost to view and it wasn't clear which way it had headed. I quickly raced over there, dumping my shopping on the way, and then quickly scanned over the village and along the cliffs but drew a blank.

I then made the decision to have a go of chasing after it, and plumped for the option of it heading west so went back to Cromer and took position on a high point and scanned over the town, but again no sign. I then scanned to the west and quickly picked up the distant but unmistakable silhouette of the ALPINE SWIFT hawking over some pine trees just beyond East Runton, so heading further along the coast I picked it up again looking back west from between East and West Runton and phoned the news out so other observers could enjoy this suberb bird.

 

It then flew quite strongly west, fortunately passing right overhead and disappeared over West Runton. I then relocated it again over the village and managed to get the first couple of birders on to it who had just arrived, and it then settled down for a while giving more observers the chance to connect with it, and I managed to get the record shot below of it as it passed overhead.

 

After a while it headed back east and it was relocated over Cromer, where after feeding over the town centre for a while we watched as it made a number of apparent attempts to fly up onto the church tower. It then, after another attempt, disappeared from view and we presumed it had gone into the tower to roost as there was no further sign of it until dark.

This bird is part of a national influx of these stunning birds that have overshot southern Europe, and which we are experiencing in the UK at present, with at least a dozen or more being reported over the last couple of days, with at least one or two others in Norfolk today.

First Coot returns to Felbrigg Lake

A walk along the golf course produced a few more singing Chiffchaffs, but little else on the migrant front.

A trip up to Felbrigg Park was rewarded with the Firecrests continuing to show well on and off, and a number of Crossbills flying over and feeding in the larches. A walk down to the lake failed to produce any Mandarins, but a Coot was a real surprise as they had all moved off when the lake had frozen over before Christmas and had not returned until now. Somewhat strangely it was a very shy individual, spending all of its time hiding under the over hanging branches in the back corner, and seemed totally reluctant to come out into the open water.

Many frogs and toads were around the lake and in the feeder stream, and you really had to be careful where you were walking to avoid stepping on them as they were crossing over the paths.

Tawny Owl and Chiffchaff

First stop of the day today was Warren Wood and as I entered the wood I thought to myself on a day as nice and sunny as today if there were any Chiffchaffs about they'd surely be singing, and within 5 seconds of that thought I heard one singing just in front of me! A second bird was also heard but my phone then rang and it was my Dad letting me know that he had located a roosting Tawny Owl in Felbrigg Park.

So the Chiffchaffs were left till later and I quickly made my way to Felbrigg as Tawny Owls are hard birds to actually see on the patch, although I hear them calling now and again from the house throughout the year. Fortunately it was still present when I arrived buried deep inside a conifer with just its head and the top of its breast on view, and was as always a very nice bird to see. Whilst we were watching it a few Crossbills were heard flying around the trees and a couple of Sparrowhawks were circling up high over the park.
 

We then returned to Warren Wood where after initially hearing one in song again, I eventually located one of the Chiffchaffs high up in the trees where it was seen chasing off both Great Tit and Blue Tit when they got too close to it.

A Small Tortoiseshell was on the adjacent playing field, and a male Stonechat was watched flycatching from the bracken tops on the edge of the golf course.

 

I then went to Trimingham where I quickly located a singing Firecrest which had been seen earlier in the morning, and after a walk along the clifftops there, I found a second bird in Pond Plantation. Just to make sure it wasn't the original bird just having moved I rechecked the first bird was still there, which it was, and I managed a quick picture of it through the branches.

 

Crossbills and more migrants

A walk along Cromer golf course produced a female Stonechat and a fox asleep down the bottom of the cliffs, and a few Redwings were still in the sea-buckthorn bushes.

A visit to West Runton produced a different Wheatear from yesterdays bird, and a hirundine sp. (most likely a Sand Martin) flew in off the sea and disappeared inland before I could get a look at it through my bins. The Med Gull was as ever patrolling the car park for food and had now moulted out the last few white feathers from its head and was now sporting a complete black hood.

Next stop was Felbrigg where a Mealy Redpoll had been reported, and I managed to find a few Redpolls feeding high up in the larches with some Siskins and Goldfinches but viewing was pretty difficult looking high up and into the light, so I decided to have another look another time when conditions were better.

A number of flocks of Crossbills were flying around the trees and then having discovered where they were coming down to drink, excellent views were obtained. A Grey Wagtail flew over a couple of times and landed in the stream for a short time and at least a dozen Common Snipe were flushed from the adjacent water meadow by a dog.

Back in the car park the Firecrests were showing well and a Tawny Owl was heard but evaded attempts to locate its roosting site.

Patch Mega and first Wheatear of the year

A walk along the golf course was proving to be fairly uneventful when my attention was drawn to the unmistakable calls of BEARDED TITS coming from behind me, I quickly swung round and watched in disbelief as a pair flew strongly east along the cliffs before gaining height and disappearing into the distance towards Overstrand.

This was my first ever record of Bearded Tit on the patch, and looking through past bird reports, although they are an irruptive migrant in autumn, a record of a spring movement in the county appears to be a very rare occurrence and I couldn't find any similar record in the previous 10 years.

I then went to West Runton, and as I was walking along the clifftop path a bird flew along the field edge some way in front of me, and on raising my bins I was delighted to see that it was a Wheatear, my first of the year, and the first one that I am aware of to be recorded on the north coast far this spring.

It was extremely flighty, but I managed a quick record shot before it disappeared off into the ploughed field.
 

With temperatures today hitting 18 degrees, the warmest day since October, butterflies started to make an appearance, and I recorded Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock and Brimstone during the day.

Peregrine and Goosander

Whilst having a look to see if yesterdays Black Redstart was still about, I noticed a raptor circling round over the village, and as soon as I had it in my bins I realised it was a Peregrine. It continued circling round overhead for a couple of minutes or so, so I took the opportunity to grab a few record shots, before it purposely headed off inland at some speed.

I then had a brief walk along the clifftops towards the golf course and whilst glancing out to sea my attention was drawn to a medium sized grey bird with a dark head and white wing flashes coming along the tideline below me, and again upon getting it in my bins I was delighted to see that it was a female Goosander, the second excellent patch year tick of the day, with both birds being very scarce and far from guaranteed to be seen on the patch during the year.

 

A visit to West Runton in the afternoon revealed that there was a pair of Stonechats present, the first that I had seen at the site since before Christmas when they moved off with the onset of the snow and freezing temperatures.

The first spring migrant arrives

After what has seemed like a very long winter, I chanced upon my first migrant of the spring today in the form of a Black Redstart in Overstrand. Traditionally one of the earliest spring migrants, I always manage to find a few on the patch each year, and this beauty drew my attention as it flycatched from a roof as I was walking past.

A Grey Wagtail flew over Cromer and 4 Common Buzzards were seen distantly from the golf course.

Mandarins and Stonechat

After being very erratic in their appearances during Jan & Feb, the Mandarins have made a welcome return to Felbrigg Lake, with 3 pairs present during my visit today. Also on the lake were some Pochard, Tufted Ducks and a pair of Gadwall.

The West Runton Mediterranean Gull is rapidly attaining its summer black hood, with only a few white feathers remaining around the bill now. 

On the 6th, a male Stonechat along the lane into Northrepps was very welcome, being the first one on the patch this year, with the pre Christmas snow having driven away the ones that were around last year. Also a family group of 4 Roe Deer were seen on the walk back.

Yet another Waxwing

March started with another Waxwing, this time at West Runton, which as always provided a good photo opportunity which was too much to resist.

Glaucous Gull Part 3

With the Glaucous Gull again at Sheringham I couldn't resist another visit to see it, and to take a few more photos.

Cley and another Waxwing

A brief visit to Cley started well with a Red Kite flying west through the reserve, and then a walk along the East Bank produced some showy Bearded Tits and a Pale-bellied Brent Goose in with the usual Dark-bellied birds feeding on the sepentine, where there was also a Water Pipit and a few Ruff.

 

There is a small population of Fulmars on the cliffs at Cromer, and they were watched flying round over the beach and sea before landing up on the cliff-face.

 

Over at North Walsham, a Waxwing was present in the car park of one of the leading supermarkets.

Glaucous Gull Part 2

With better weather and the wind swinging round away from the cliffs, the Black Redstart at West Runton was far more showy today as it fed along the cliff-face, and even appeared to be singing at one point, although due to the noise of the waves crashing on the shingle behind me I could only see its beak moving rather than actually hear its song.
 

The Glaucous Gull seen previously here on the 18th Jan, and which had been touring the coast down to Cley since, spent the afternoon by Cromer pier, showing very well on the groynes and beach there.

Great Northern Diver

A visit to West Runton produced a Great Northern Diver, my first of the year on the sea close inshore, which I got a few visiting birders on to before it drifted further out. Whilst the occasional one will be seen flying past during a late autumn seawatch, its always nice to find one on the sea, especially one that was showing this well.

 

The Black Redstart had become increasingly elusive as its stay continued, and today was no exception, although we eventually managed to see it briefly before it headed off along the cliffs.

A Kestrel that was hunting the cliff-face probably didn't help the matter much, but it did provide a good photo opportunity.

Waxwings

Today I visited Cromer to help a birding friend relocate a flock of 4 Waxwings that had been seen in the town centre early morning. As I arrived there was a flock of 5 or 6 briefly perched in a tree before quickly moving off, so we walked around the back streets to try to refind them, and eventually found a couple feeding in a crab apple tree as pictured below.

Whilst we were watching these, they flew up calling loudly and joined a much larger flock of birds which were flying over, and from what I could see the flock of birds that they joined were Waxwings too. They disappeared over the rooftops towards the town centre, but it wasn't clear whether they had carried on or not, so I decided to have a further look for them.

Eventually I located them feeding on some cotoneaster berries in a back garden of a house, and after much trying to count them, eventually established that there were 24 present. I phoned the news out and there was a regular flow of birders arriving for the rest of the day as they periodically came to feed on the berries and also sat on the adjacent rooftops and telegraph wires.

Black Redstart

A trip along the coast produced a flock of Shorelarks at Holkham Bay and a few assorted waders at Titchwell including Avocet, Ruff, Spotted Redshank and Black-tailed Godwits, plus Mealy Redpoll and Water Rail.

Back on the patch a visit to West Runton produced the hoped for Black Redstart on the clifftop near the car park as it was getting dark, which had been present albeit very elusively for the last week or so.

 

As it was virtually dark when I saw it, I returned next day to try to get some photos of it, and eventually located it feeding on the field where the sheep had been recently, and where it was seen to be feeding on the flies around the left behind droppings. It was pretty active but I managed to get the two pictures below of it.

 

Nearby a few Fieldfares were feeding on the playing field on the edge of the adjacent caravan park.

Back in the car park the wintering Med Gull was easily attracted to some bread, and I took a few shots as it flew round us.

Redpolls and Bramblings

There has been a fairly sizeable finch flock near Roughton this winter with at least 20 Bramblings in amongst the Chaffinches, and a good number of Linnets also present in the same weedy field. I regularly check the flock for anything else of note and on the 9th found at least 2 Lesser Redpolls there, my first on the patch this year.

I returned to the site on the 11th to have another look for them, and to check in case there were any Mealy Redpolls there too, which the site had hosted last winter, but unfortunately couldn't find any Redpolls on this visit but the Bramblings were showing well as they flew up into the adjacent trees and bushes and I took a series of photos some of which are included below.

Early Feb

February got off to a rather quiet start, the Tundra Bean Goose stayed until the 2nd, and a couple of Firecrests continued to delight in Felbrigg Park.

With a warm and sunny day on the 7th I ventured into the east end of Felbrigg Park in the hope of finding a Marsh Tit, and I wasn't disappointed with one or two birds calling away and giving good views.

Although I had seen quite a few auk sp's (Guillemots/Razorbills) flying distantly past out to see, I hadn't specifically identified any to species, so a Guillemot on the sea off West Runton on the 8th was a new addition to the patch list for the year.