Norfolk, May Birding

 Thursday May 25

Despite Pam's sore throat, we went out for a birding day, our Norfolk month list is rather short. We spent seven hours driving the north Norfolk coast, with limited success number wise, seeing several new birds for the year and more for the County. We were horrified to experience seeing no birds at all until Thorpe Market, when Wood Pigeons appeared. Is it Avian Flu or, the general decline in species  brought about by global warming, countryside degradation etc. Or just a bad day. I recently read that the UK is the most nature impoverished country in the  world. That is horrifying.

But, we did see Swifts at last. Our first were wheeling above West Rudham, long known to us as the Swift village.Others appeared at Snettisham Country Park and at three other places along the north coast. Always a pleasure to see these scimitar-winged, crow-black, aerial masters, arrowing through the May/July sky. By popular vote, the club I ran whilst still working, was called the Swift Club. I still have the lino cut  of a Swift that we used  for cards etc in the days before the internet.

A very brief appearance by a Grey Wagtail on a roof apex at Sculthorpe Mill, disturbed by the TWO waste disposal trucks going about their noisy work. One seeing to the commercial bins of the Inn, and the other the nearby houses. We quickly gave up the notion that we might see a Spotted Flycatcher. 

 A Little Owl made an equally brief appearance at Flitcham. No sooner had I located its comfortable ,squat, oval silhouette on a branch, than it helicoptered up into the Oak, out of sight.

Snettisham reserve pit has become a megalopalis for Black-headed Gulls. Scanning carefully through them, there were a few Common Terns and Avocets sitting on eggs. Pretty dodgy choice of nesting place I would have thought. 

Surprisingly, the shoreline held at least 200 Brent Geese. Non-breeders? I can't envisage them migrating now. A few Oystercatchers were sitting on their stony nests, one pair of Shelduck shepherded their six young across the exposed mud.

 


During the day, we saw eight Red Kites, all in the air where we couldn't stop for photos. What a wonderful thing to be able to see and to type, I never tire of seeing that distinctive aileron tail and theirglowing deep red  feathers, adorning the local skies.

Holkham Park looked empty now that the winter flocks of geese have departed. A short wait added Great White and Little Egrets and Spoonbill to the day list. The nesting trees are now so densely green that even a big bird like the Spoonbill disappears as it lands.

Somewhere, we also added such common summer migrants such as Common Whitethroat and Sedge Warbler to the year list - both lacking in the Outer Hebrides.

Friday May 26

I have not had any WhatsApp messages for the last week, since leaving Uist in fact. That has meant my missing out on a new moth for Norfolk which David N 'borrowed' and took to Cley yesterday. Sara phoned this morning to finalise arrangements for her visit when Pam has her hip operation. She intends looking after us both. Flights from Australia have gone up in price a lot since Covid. She also has to arrange her work schedule. We don't even have a date yet but Pam has her pre-op appointment next week.

Sara also has an IPhone, and was able to suggest a possible solution for my problem. It worked. I had 37 Silvery Gem messages, let alone the three birding WhatsApps.

Moth-ing at home has picked up. Here are a few of our recent additions.

White-point - aptly named

 


The Coronet

 


Orange Footman 


By-catch

Twenty three Cockchafers yesterday, a mere eight to-day.

A Hornet

Such handsome insects, twice the size of a Wasp.




 

 

 

 

 

 




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