MARCH 2021

 MARCH 2021.

Moving forward into March and the thought of Spring and just a little bit of wildlife around the corner, the memories of snow faded away. It was a mixed bag of weather, to be expected, with some misty foggy days and beautiful sunshine making it feel warmer even if the thermometer didn't mirror that!

It was a welcome sight to see that the harsh weather and banked up piles of snow on the road verges had not perished the Early Purple Orchids that emerge every year along the back lanes. This year there actually seemed to be double the amount of plants just starting to come up.

Moving into the second half of the month I was able to get my moth trap out and start the year list off, not expecting many species I was happy with the species I added. 

Hebrew Character

Brindled Beauty

Oak Beauty

Red Chestnut

There was a movement of birds starting to move about and the prominent one I was keeping an eye out for were Ravens. A number of reports were being circulated of one or two Ravens around the neighbouring villages, and on one morning I narrowly missed out on a pair over the Plantation wood along the clifftop fields, typical I walked the other direction that morning! But on the 21st whilst in the garden I heard the unmissable 'gronking' call of one passing along the coastline, excellent, I could now add it to the patch list and also the garden list, and if that wasn't good enough I had another bird fly over the garden and a possible sighting of a third later that day! 

Things ramped up a notch from the 25th of the month, I saw my first returning Sand Martin from the garden. With warm weather and blue skies the raptors started to move, I had 8 Common Buzzards over the house at one time and a lot of Red Kites were moving along the coastline, 5 passed in one group.

The very next day, the 26th, started in a bit of a panic! There were 3 Common Cranes moving along the coast heading my way, now these birds are not new for me here, I have seen a couple of groups but they have normally been heading away from me, and what happens most times is that they totally cut off this stretch of the coastline and head straight inland after Cromer back to the broads. The last sighting I read was at Sidestrand heading towards Trimingham!! Frantically searching the skies from the garden I thought I had missed them/drifted inland before me.....then they appeared low over the fields heading closer and this time I grabbed a few photos of them facing me for once.

A passing female Marsh Harrier finished the day nicely. 

On the 29th we saw our first Swallow of the year, soon to be followed by quite a few more and Sand Martins by the end of the month. On the 30th I had a male Siskin on the feeders, my first one to actually feed in the garden, it was joined on another day by female type.

So March was turning into a great month, but the icing on the cake came on the last day of the month....a male Hen Harrier passed low south past the house whilst I was sitting in the garden during the afternoon, I had missed female ( ring tails as they're known ) hen harriers before, tending to head across further inland, so actually seeing a male from the garden was a fantastic sight.

Stunning Leaf Gems steal the month

Anticipation was high for October, surely there would be some nice birding on the patch and hopefully new moth species for the garden entering autumn. 

The weather was a mixed bag at the start of the month but the wind conditions and rain added to bringing birds in. Groups of birds were already starting to move along the coast, siskins were still heading through but in smaller groups than before. On the 3rd 15+ Brambling landed in a tree behind the back garden before heading off south over the house, a big fall of birds continued throughout the day with good numbers of Song Thrush, Blackcaps and Robins, near the clifftop I saw a single Hawfinch with chaffinches, Redwings were starting to increase and a Willow Warbler feeding in the ivy clad bushes. The next day, 4th Oct, numbers of thrushes were still coming in off the sea, 18+ House Martins, a couple of Swallows and Hobby passed along the cliffs, Blackcaps were dotted everywhere and a few Grey Herons were the first of a few to be seen passing over. 

On the 9th I trapped a new moth species, a Green Brindled Crescent.

On the 12th I picked out my first Fieldfare of the autumn, thrushes were still scattered all over the place. On the 13th the wind conditions were coming in off the sea so I set about doing some sea watching. Upon arrival at the cliffs I noticed a few gulls sat up on the sea and groynes, strategically placed for the birds coming across the sea on migration about to make landfall and no doubt exhausted. The thrushes had to run a gauntlet.

This Herring Gull took some of the feathers of this thrush but was unable to down it.

A Fieldfare makes it to the safety of the scrub and bushes, narrowly avoiding the pursuing Herring gull.

With the strong winds, the numbers of sea faring birds had increased, Brent, Eider, Wigeon, Shelducks and these Common Scoter, above, got blown closer to shore.

Groups of birds were still heading in over the coastline, these Starlings at least avoided the gulls below.

3 Velvet Scoter close in was a lovely addition to the tally of birds passing.

Some of the birds were not so lucky in making land.

Once downed in the water they had no hope unfortunately.

Later that day the weather worsened and the rain picked up, this in turn downed a lot of thrushes, behind the house a fall of 30+ Redwing along with a few Fieldfare, Starlings and Blackbirds busily fed in the paddock.

The 15th was a day I won't forget in a hurry, whilst checking along the lane for birds I decided to set myself up and try to photograph the Redwings coming and going to feed on the berries. 

There were lots of Blackbirds present along the lane hedgerows and nearby paddocks. 

I noticed goldfinches coming to a puddle to drink and bathe, then joined by Goldcrest drinking, my attention was drawn to the puddle now and then to a few Goldcrests feeding in a nearby sycamore tree, such a lovely dainty little bird and a challenge to get a nice photograph before they flit off out of the camera view!

I managed to grab a couple of shots which were okay, it was at this point that whilst watching 3+ goldcrests flitting around in the tree my eyes came across a tiny warbler......straight away I knew what this was and panic set in to follow it feeding, I had to get a photo of this self found stunner......a Pallas's Warbler.

I was able to get the attention of an arriving birder who got onto it straight away as he joined me, it thankfully kept to a short circuit of a few sycamore trees allowing some lovely views and the chance for me to grab a few photos of this stunning little gem.

The next day whilst walking the dogs through the clifftop wood a birder had found another Pallas's feeding in a group of Goldcrests, after walking the dogs I went to view the bird, albeit more elusive than the bird the day before, what was noticeable were the numbers of Goldcrest that were in the wood, well into the double figures. During September I had found a Yellow Browed Warbler along the lanes and indeed there was one reported the same day of the Pallas's in the clifftop wood, so on the 17th after seeing the Yellow Browed whilst walking the dogs I tried to get some photos of the other little leaf gem. It was showing regularly in a couple of sycamores so it was a game of waiting for it to return to feed there, during this time the rain started to get heavier and without a coat I decided to pop home and grab a coat then come back out, firstly I headed to the other end of the village to check out some buntings a friend had been viewing, I headed off after a short while to try for the Yellow Browed again and on the way found a Black Restart on top of a bungalow roof.

The weather had now brightened and I once again set up near the favoured sycamore trees for the Yellow Browed, I didn't have to wait long before it returned and grabbed a few flitting images.

What a month October turned out to be, with favoured wind conditions bringing in the birds and photo opportunities of two stunning leaf warblers I couldn't of been happier, and then there were the moths which did actually make me happier!

This Merveille Du Jour was a welcomed new addition to the garden list which I had been waiting to trap.

Yellow Line Quaker, another new garden species.

Grey Shoulder Knot

&

Brown Spot Pinion 

Both new macro species for the garden, and I'm hopeful of being able to bag another couple of species on the wing at the moment weather permitting.

JUNE. In the studio much of the time!

June.

The start of the month looked promising for one bird in particular, the Rose Coloured Starling or Rosy Starling as it's also known. There had been a large movement of these birds across europe moving from Hungary and now there were quite a few birds across the water in France. It wasn't long before the odd bird was showing up further south. Then there was a report of a bird in Cromer followed by reports of maybe 2 different birds in Roughton, I unfortunately could not get to see them and despite searching the flocks of Starlings around the village or flying over I could not find one. The adult birds are stunning to look at, this bird in the photos was from Weybourne back in 2014.

Local birders were treated to a couple of Blyths Reed Warblers, one at Beeston and one near North Walsham, the weather was a mixed bag with some lingering sea fog for a few days. Mediterranean Gulls were starting to turn up along at Cromer but I didn't pick any out this way, later in the year is the time I see the gulls feeding on insects over the trees behind the house. There were some large numbers of swift passing over during the second half of the month, I estimated quite a few hundred from the back garden on a couple of days, made up of feeding birds and also non-breeders they probably included younger birds prospecting nesting sites for next year, once the young birds have left the nest they will not land or nest for the first couple of years of its life, they will stay airborne.  Near the end of the month a staggering count of around 6,000 swifts were counted past Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire, birds probably feeding further south as the weather was probably rainy further north and unfortunately they didn't venture this way. I had a new garden tick on the 24th with a group of Crossbill flying over low. 

The dragonflies are now starting to appear in the garden and down the lanes, a Black Tailed Skimmer was sunning itself early one morning down Church road and a Southern or Migrant hawker was patrolling over the garden.

Mothing has been very productive , although entering the last few days of June has put a stop to that with the strengthening winds. I have trapped 34 species of macro moth that were new for the garden year list which stands at 125 species at the end of June. Here are some of the great moths.

This Sandy Carpet moth was a new species for the garden and a first for me.

Treble Brown Spot, another new species for the garden.

The Scorched Wing, named so because of the 'burnt paper' look to the wings.

These Yellow Shell moths can sometimes be seen during the day if disturbed from hedges or resting on the underside of plants.