Birds on the move as August nears an end.

Mid month saw a lot of Swifts and swallows moving off, 23 were counted on the morning of the 19th as Sarah and I sat on the clifftop bench with the dogs for a spell of around 20 minutes. A few Common Terns were seen heading east, which were my first here since moving to Trimingham! Chiffchaffs were seen in a few locations as were a few Hobbies, Whimbrel were passing over in numbers, giving themselves away by their call as they approached. On the 21st I found a Pied Flycatcher (possibly 2 birds) along the stretch of trees behind our house, later adding it to the garden list also...result.
A couple of Golden Plover were seen, won't be long before they are gathering in the clifftop fields again! I was informed about a Merlin taking a Swift just along the coast off Vale Road, the next morning Sarah and I saw, probably the same small falcon, fly over the playing field whilst on our morning dog walk and head inland. Whimbrel were almost daily now and I counted a flock of 20 head out to sea. With more birds now being reported I am hoping to add a Skua to the patch list, fingers crossed, along with a scarcer passerine.

During the middle part of the month Sarah and I had a tour of June and Patrick's garden along the coast from us, the amount of Common Blue butterflies and invite to return when I wanted, was enough for me to grab the camera and pay a visit. I recorded a few species in their garden along with some other insects/bugs and I will have to return next year for the Bee Orchids for sure.
Here's a selection of some photos taken:
 Gatekeeper
 Small Copper
 Common Blues >




Insect/bug wise I found these species:
 Field Grasshoppers

 Dock Bug Adult and Nymph
 Long Winged Conehead (top & bottom)

And one of the last things to see was this Yellow Shell moth which was disturbed from a bush, which reminds me of the great success the tobacco plants have had in our garden by bringing in Convolvulus Hawkmoths on a few evenings now.

Busy Busy Painting ! With a few Moths thrown in !

Copper Underwing
 Well it's been busy busy busy!! I have been able to get the moth light out a couple of times recently, the wind seems to pick up along the coast here at night recently and so I have not put it out as much as I would of liked, still I was able to add a few new species each time, and thanks to Dave from Overstrand, on the 14th August the tobacco plants he gifted us did their job and attracted in my very first Convolvulus Hawkmoth.
 Straw Underwing
 Small Pheonix
 Magpie
 Tree-Lichen Beauty
This Tree-lichen Beauty was another great addition and lifer, a lot of these were reported around Norfolk at the same time. The birding has been quiet but there is stuff now moving around, a juv Cuckoo was a nice addition to the patch list and probably the same bird seen a few days later around the same area. A surprise sight was a Chinese water deer feeding in a Barley field whilst walking the dogs one morning, a Willow Warbler was a nice addition to the garden, it seemed to be moving with a large flock of Chaffinch that had been downed by a lot of rain. I saw my first Common Terns for the patch, a adult and juv heading east along the front, Chiffchaffs were moving through a few days ago, and 5 Reed Buntings were found when walking the dogs along the clifftop path towards Sidestrand. The Swifts had all but cleared off except for a single one a couple of days ago, but this morning (19th Aug) we counted 23 fly past us whilst sitting on the clifftop bench.
 Square-spotted Clay
The artwork has been continuous and all on wood, some pieces for Cley Spy and some for Sarah's upcoming craft fair in Mundesley. A change of subject got me started on painting moths on the wooden pieces, great fun and plenty more to follow. But my favourite piece was the one of a Bittern, painted on a lovely piece of wood with bark edging, which really set off the work. Looking forward to the next ones, especially after obtaining some very nice cherry wood and bark edged sheets.
 Swallows
 Long-tailed tits
 Lime Hawkmoth
 Elephant Hawkmoth
 Grey Dagger
Burnished Brass
Barn Owl & Sanderling
 Bittern

 Hare