Terrific Trimingham.

 Early morning from Trimingham, my usual starting point when I head out birding. There has been a few misty evenings and mornings which only made it more wonderful being out. And there has been plenty of new patch additions, alongside meeting some great people/birders and exchanging numbers and information my new home has got me buzzing to say the least.
 Never seen so many Red Admiral butterflies around! Plenty of Large White caterpillars in the garden, not gonna be many plants left at this rate!
 Love the early morning when the gulls just glide past at eye height, and a bonus was when I added Med Gull to my patch list, no doubt the same one that was at Overstrand, and whilst chatting to fellow birder Greg, he pointed out Harbour Porpoise! I frantically scanned and couldn't find them......aarrrghh
 Thankfully I picked up on them feeding just a few hundred yards off the coast, awesome and a first for me. Sarah wasn't too pleased that I didn't inform her straight away, instead I carried on walking and chatting to Greg, only when I departed to head home and noticed that they were still off the front did I then call Sarah and let her know, she desperately ran round to the cliff top bench and I met her there......yep you guessed right they didn't show again! I was not in her good books.



 My next morning excursion and I headed out in the hope of something but was chuffed to bloody bits when I found a Yellow Browed Warbler....yeessssss :-)
It moved around somewhat and eventually moved off and I couldn't relocate it ( message on the pager later from someone else put it a stones throw away on the other side of the road) there were plenty of willow/chiff warblers around, some really fresh bright colours. Upon moving back towards the cliff tops I turned around to find a Wheatear loitering on a park bench!




 Late afternoon/early evening whilst watching the sea for porpoises with Sarah, after her departure I stayed to watch just a tad longer and as the light began fading I too decided to turn and head home only to be confronted by a lovely Spotted Flycatcher flitting around the air insect catching, with no camera and just bins I stayed and watched for a decent amount of time, also turning to glance out to sea I picked out a distant porpoise, informing Sarah by phone, I will not repeat her reply! 
Unfortunately the Spotted Fly' was not there the next morning.





 With Grey Plover, Song Thrush and Red Throated Divers being seen I am being kept busy waiting for the new addition, just need the wind to blow in the right direction. And as for Harbour Porpoises, well Sarah and I saw a pod close in to shore at Overstrand giving good views to all those that were informed, in fact over the last few days we have had sightings every time we have looked, how cool.

Trimingham & Norfolk Birding.

 It's been a few weeks since my last write up, and I am still getting out as much as possible. I love getting up early and venturing along the cliff tops and scrub areas just minutes from my house. 
 One morning this Common Buzzard was hunting the cliff tops, just just hanging in the wind like a Kestrel, it moved closer and closer giving me some great views, it then realised I was there and moved away along the cliff to meet up with another.


 Sea watching was quiet at times but who am I to complain whilst sitting and chilling looking out to sea!
I did manage to see some new patch species though, with flocks of Wigeon and Brent geese moving through, Great crested grebe and diver species, probably red throated?

 Warblers were quite numerous on one day with Willow and chiffchaff and a Garden Warbler.

 In the garden I added Curlew flying over along with Green woodpecker and Jay and Goldcrest.
Not your normal view of a Hummingbird Hawkmoth but a welcome sight as this rested itself on the fence to sunbathe. 
 My 1st Norfolk Mega and my 1st Dip too, Pallas's Grasshopper Warbler......enough said about that.
And as walking back to my car with my wife Sarah and cousin Simon along Cliff Drive in Cromer, I saw a small green coloured warbler fly into a bush next to us calling, it wasn't right for Yellow browed and the call not right.....Greenish Warbler!! It flew towards the old putting green gardens where I lost it.

Life in Trimingham Norfolk.

It's been a few weeks now since our move to Trimingham in Norfolk, we're still absolutely loving being here. I have been trying to get in some local birding around Trimingham and watching from the cliff top as much as possible and I am already getting a tally of species together, can't wait for a full years count of what I will see.
Dusky Footman 
The insects have been overwhelming, we have quite a few mint plants in the garden and I have never seen some many types of bee feeding all together, great to see but a pain trying to tell Elka the frenchie that sticking your nose against a bee isn't the greatest of ideas!
The butterflies are very numerous and many species have been ticked off in the garden, including the lovely Painted Lady. Moths too seem in good numbers but my moth light has been trapped behind boxes in the shed so I am looking forward to many a good session next year and hopefully a lot of new species.
 Small White
 Holly Blue
 Dusky Sallow
 Speckled Wood
 Red Admiral
The birding is and has been getting better, the feeders in the garden are working a treat and getting emptied very fast. It is great to see different species on the garden list (inc from/over the garden) as from our last home. So many Swifts, Swallows and House Martins of which I haven't seen many over the last few years or so, even Sand Martins have been passing over regularly. Alas now the seasons are changing the only remainders are the house martins with a few swallows passing over. Buzzards have been seen and by far the best raptor so far was a low flying female Marsh Harrier over the garden, what an addition that was.
 Sparrowhawk
 Wheatear
One morning looking out of a bedroom window I saw this Wheatear on our back gate post! Fantastic tick for the garden list and the second one seen in Trimingham since we moved, the 1st being down the lane opposite when walking the dogs one morning. Having to go out with Sarah shopping, I was pleased to see it on our gate when we returned, unfortunately it stayed around the paddock behind and never alighted the post again despite me standing out in the rain for an hour waiting for a close up image.
 Wheatear
Lesser Whitethroat
 Another welcome find was a Lesser Whitethroat, feeding among the cliff side vegetation. 
 Lesser Whitethroat
White Wagtail
 I thought I had found a Citrine wagatil at the back of our garden but alas turned out to be a young White/Pied wagtail.
White Wagtail
I am looking forward to the rest of the year and what I might see here, could be very rewarding. Indeed this very morning whilst standing on the cliff top birding I was treated to not one but 3 water spouts!! What was frustrating was I had the big lens and couldn't get a shot of the entire spout from sea to funnel top in the sky, that will teach me to remember my phone, I could of gotten a shot of it with that, instead I had to do section shots because they were not far out to sea, but in no way am I moaning as it was a fantastic sight to see, the 3rd one moving to within a short distance of the shoreline and my position before dwindling away leaving just the top of the funnel to watch.