Another Rain Changed Day

Wednesday June 12

We always make at least one visit to the Brecks every Spring. It's now Summer. Today was the day. Until we got up to steady rain. Opening the moth traps didn't take long, catches are very poor during these unseasonally cold nights. A record low, three moths of three species - in two traps. Common White Wave and Cinnabar new for the year.


The rain eased, we drove to Selbrigg near Holt, evidence of recent heavy showers in the large puddles on the roads - but not everywhere. No-one seems to be feeding the birds regularly any more, Pam scattered some seed and it wasn't long before Robins, Chaffinch, Dunnock, Coal and Blue Tits turned up. Mallard left the pond to investigate the food and soon left in disgust. 

The sun was shining intermittently when we reached Sculthorpe Mill, parking so that we could see the the gardens of the two nearby houses. Within a couple of minutes, Pam had the first glimpse, and shortly so did I, of two Spotted Flycatchers. Not together, my bird was actually perched on the purple umbrella in the garden, other views were of a bird in the overhanging willow. Moving the car so that we could try for some photos proved pointless, we never saw them again.  We concluded that we had turned up at nest changeover time. Even one of the many House Sparrows present refused to face me for a snap.


Holkham had plenty of distant white blobs in trees, or flying out and away, none of them good canditates for Great Whte Egret for a month tick. 'Just' Spoonbills and Little Egrets. The distant western pools usually have a good selection of ducks and waders. Today there was a large flock - about a hundred and fifty - of probably Black-tailed Godwits. The flock may well have held a few different species, not discernible to my scope turned up to maximum magnification. That just worsened the  haze. More rain, we went home.

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