April 2022

 April 2022

Spring had finally arrived as we moved into April, a lot of birds were on the move and because it was decent weather a lot of migrating birds probably headed straight to their breeding grounds, missing out on stopping here. The male Brambling was still visiting the garden during the first week but seemed to have moved on after that, but not before having its picture taken.

The garden birds were still busy as ever and some were attending to their nest and young by the amounts of food they were carrying. The Long tailed tits didn’t seem to have started nesting yet as they could be seen together every day together, always making their presence in the garden known by their trilling calls.

The Dunnocks, normally 4 of them, busily displaying and trying to impress the female, they were forever chasing around the garden and on the lawn.

On the 11th 2 Curlew flew over the garden. The 12th was a great day, on the morning dog walk I finally caught up with a Wheatear this spring, and this male was in the company of a female bird too, extra bonus. 2 Swallows started of a slow trickle of birds heading up the coast, so nice to see them back again.

With two species in the bag for the year as it were’, the 12th was far from over. During the afternoon whilst scanning the skies from the garden I glanced just behind me to see a large raptor spiralling high, once I got my eye on the bird there was no mistaking I was watching an Osprey! It slowly spiralled higher and further out to sea towards Sidestrand, what a bonus.

But that wasn’t the end of my day….. a new garden tick presented itself on a neighbours roof, and one I had been waiting to get since moving here, a Black Redstart.

Now the 12th could end !

The next day I saw and heard 2 Blackcaps singing, they had finally arrived. We saw 2 Fieldfare pass overhead whilst walking the dogs. Swallows still passed albeit single birds and a House Martin was the first of the year. It was lovely to see and hear new species arriving each day. On the 14th I saw 2 Willow Warblers, one was very vocal and very showy, typical as I didn’t have the camera with me. A Common Whitethroat on the 15th was the first of quite a few to be holding territory around the village by the end of the month.  House martins were soon to be seen over the village and feeding over the fields near the village hall.

What a stunning colour on the Greenfinches  at this time of year.

On the 16th a female Marsh Harrier flew south past the house, easily told by the dark brown plumage and pale creamy hood.

Most mornings after the dog walk I would take time watching the skies for birds moving over before getting to work in the studio. On the 17th the walk produced 6+ Song Thrushes and more Common Whitethroat, 6 Jays were part of a wave that moved across the north coast area. From the garden I set up hoping to see something, and I ended up spending most of the day watching the skies, I had 21+ Buzzards pass over the garden, one of those got the heart racing as it very much resembled a Rough legged buzzard, but some plumage traits didn’t quite match up so it was relegated to Common, they are so variable in their plumage you think you’ve found something different. A smart bird nonetheless.

The day was a raptor day for sure as I also spotted a female Hen Harrier heading inland.

On the 18th I hoped for more raptors moving over, not quite as many as the day before but there were a handful circling on the thermals, one in particular was a stunning pale Common Buzzard. It seemed to stay in the area nearly all day, displaying and calling to nearby buzzards and putting on a great display over the house.

Sadly after the weather took a drastic turn for the worse, with cold winds and temperatures coming from the north and straight in off the sea it seemed to stop everything moving and indeed made it difficult to see any bird! There was nothing of note up to the end of the month and a real downer after such a promising start, but thankfully what a great start it was.

March 2022

 March 2022

Depending on the weather there were definite signs of migration starting and signs of spring. I had regular sightings of Common Buzzards and Red Kite most days at the start of the month. Small groups of birds tracked along the coast heading east/southeast, mostly made up of finches, especially Siskin, I had a different bird to the previous one feeding in the garden which is always nice to see, they are such a lovely little finch.

Two things that signify spring to me are sounds of a Chiffchaff singing and the sight of butterflies on the wing. On the 10th I saw my first Brimstone butterfly of the year, followed soon afterwards by a Peacock. I had to wait until the 15th before I heard a Chiffchaff singing in the trees behind my garden. On a morning walk Sarah and I noticed the leaves of the Early Purple Orchids just starting to emerge from under the roadside vegetation, and there seemed to be good numbers again too.

Early evening on a mid-month day mid month I received news of hundreds of Blackbirds passing over Sidestrand heading east/southeast, I looked and although most were flying at a height I did manage to see double figures flying along the coast and alighting the trees around the house. It’s great to witness migration events as they happen along the coast here.

The local birds seemed to be paired up and gathering nesting materials and the House Sparrows were taking grass and materials into a neighbours eaves. Buzzards peaked at 6 over the house one day, and mid month onwards saw a very large amount of Starlings passing east, hundreds were seen passing inland as well as along the coast on quite a few days when we walked around the village.

Clumps of frog spawn and frogs mating could be seen nearing the months end in the small drain off pools along at Grove Farm, I only noticed them when I watched a beautiful Grey Wagtail flitting around the edge of one.

A couple of bird species I normally see during the winter months showed in better numbers now than I had seen since the year started, Golden Plover and Redwings, the Redwings were part of a movement that happened as the month drew to an end, 5 together past the church was the highest tally I’d got this winter and the Golden plover numbered around 40 one day flying overhead before seeing a flock of 200 or so circling fields looking for somewhere to land.  So birds were obviously moving but the changing weather played havoc some days with the high winds, but as soon as a window of opportunity arose birds took to the air, other notable numbers were of Pied Wagtails, Rooks and Magpies passing over, and hopefully better weather in April will really liven things up.

Much going on in May

Marvellous May.

Looking through my notebook for May I thought I had a few decent entries to write about, so I then checked through my 800 or so photos taken during May and found a few more subjects to add and came out with quite a wildlife filled moth. On a morning walk along the clifftops we saw a few more Swifts passing along the coast and my first pair of Sandwich Terns of the year. Further along the coast in the bigger towns there were good numbers of Swifts which is lovely to hear, but in Trimingham I have only noticed one pair, presumably not enough suitable nesting sites.

Common Swift

I had another 'funky' looking Buzzard over the house, it had also been hanging around Mundesley, it was associating with another buzzard at the time. Lovely to see these paler type birds, so striking.

Little Egrets

Entering the second week the birds were in full song everywhere with some migrant birds still moving through, 3 Little Egrets were a nice sight flying along the cliffs, seen from the garden. I got a Sedge Warbler and Whinchat along the clifftop fields, the Sedge Warbler was only heard as it was tucked away in set-a-side crops, Common Whitethroats were holding territories around the village lanes and clifftop scrub.

 Great Tit

Garden birds were now actively feeding their young, Great Tit, Goldfinch, Blackbird and Dunnocks all seemed to of done well. 

Goldfinch begging for food

Carrion Crow

The young birds had to keep their wits about them, the Crows and Magpies were always on the lookout for an easy meal.

Entering the second half of the month I added a great new bird 'tick' for the garden, a single Turtle Dove flew along the clifftops, high enough above the trees for me to watch it, a lovely addition and a sight that sadly is not seen enough. On the 26th Sarah and I listened to a Cuckoo calling from the coastal scrub behind the house, it didn't call for long but was a welcome sound none the less.

Painted Lady

Even with the glorious sunny days upon us, some days seemed to be butterfly-less. But a few graced us with their appearance, I didn't expect to see a Painted Lady quite so early, what a stunner they are. 

Painted Lady

Orange Tip

Green Veined White

Red Admiral

Marvellous Moths

On the mothing front the number of species being seen were increasing and adding to the year list, but I also managed to trap a few new species not recorded in the garden before. The tally for the year is now standing at 89 macro species.

Lime Hawkmoth

I've waited for a couple of years to get one of these lovely hawkmoths in the garden here, typically another one was trapped a few nights later ( more greener colouring made it identifiable as another)

Puss Moth

This is quite a large moth, lovely patterning.

Orange Footman

Pale Oak Beauty

Light Brocade

This was a welcome new moth and what lovely markings.

Scalloped Hook-tip

Some lovely new moth additions with plenty more species to be on the wing entering June, mind you they will have to run the gauntlet as I've seen a large bat, probably a Noctule by the size, active at the bottom of the garden recently!

April was Outstanding.

 Back garden birding and lock down were still in place, I am so lucky to be in a position where I can see so many different species of bird and wildlife, and April proved to be very good indeed.

The month started with a couple of Hooded Crow sightings in the area and I picked up another sighting of one past the house on the 3rd ( by the look of things it was probably the same bird that had been moving around the neighbouring towns and villages ). Sarah and I counted 16 Hares on the morning walk of the 3rd too, and Buzzards were starting to pass in numbers.

 On the morning of the 4th I saw my first Stonechat of the year, along the clifftop. The next spectacle when we had gotten back from the walk were a group of 7 Common Cranes passing over the house! Sarah had been the one to pick them up as they honked overhead, a lot of the time they cut off this corner of the coast but I have now seen them on a couple of occasions and no doubt will see them hopefully regularly each year.

 On the 5th I had a pair of swallows pass over the garden in the morning and by the end of the day I had had 6 pass over, so nice to have them return.

 During the beginning of April there were large numbers of Peacock butterflies around, the colours are simply stunning on these butterfly.

 The 6th was a fantastic day if only for the fact that I got 3 Spoonbill pass, following the coastline just beyond the garden, a great patch and garden tick, I didn't manage any pics as there wasn't a camera to hand but that wasn't a worry, they were tracked along the coast and seen by other birders wanting this bird on their patch and indeed garden lists.

 On the 7th whilst sitting in the garden Sarah said to me all of a sudden, slowly look to your right!? I did as I was told and to my amazement saw a Ring-necked Parakeet (also known as Rose-ringed Parakeet)!!

This bird had been seen along at Overstrand previously and over the next week would be seen again over my garden and along at Mundesley among other places. No denying the colours are lovely. On this day we also heard our first singing Blackcap of the spring.

  

 The 7th also brought the full moon in April known as the "Pink Moon"  heralding the appearance of the “moss pink,” or wild ground phlox, one of the early spring flowers native to North America which blooms at the time of the April full moon.

 There was a large movement of Buzzards reported along the coast during the second week of the month and a few reports of "pale buzzards". This pale buzzard here had been seen moving along the coast, they can be so striking to see that I regard them as something a bit more special compared to the normal common type.

 I do like to watch the birds of prey as they lift up on the thermals off the cliffs, being so close I have good views of them soaring and diving.

 By now the tiny little wildflower "The Townhall Clock" had blossomed in the nearby woods, very easy to overlook due to its size. Each stem bears five flowers, one on the top and one on each of the four side faces, also known as Moschatel, I think the name Townhall Clock is a lot more fitting.

 With a few Holly trees present through our and our neighbours garden, the Holly Blue butterfly is a regular sight, mind you they seem to be forever on the wing and a challenge to say the least in getting a photo of one, so upon seeing one happily moving over some Bluebells with no urgency in flying off I frantically "legged it" indoors to grab a camera, thankfully it was still there and so I carefully moved closer to grab some pics...happy days!

 As the month progressed I saw my first Sand Martins of the year, Common Whitethroats started to become frequent on the morning walks (3 birds one day) Fulmar past the clifftops, a calling bird at night over the garden turned out to be a Moorhen. Then on the 22nd I managed to watch a new garden tick fly over the house, a pair of Bar tailed Godwits, being seen at Overstrand they kept to the coastline before cutting over the house heading east, but most memorable for me on this day was my first Swift of the year, low over the garden and a joy to once again have them in our skies.

 Whimbrel were on the move on the 23rd, and a group of 7 Barnacle geese flew past east only to be followed by a pair of Greylags heading west...then followed by the now turned around Barnacle's which then couldn't make their minds up and indeed turned around and headed back the way they were originally going!!!

 The best for the 23rd was a fly by Osprey heading along the clifftop, I had a camera to hand and got a couple of record shots before it disappeared below the clifftop treeline, it was that low. The previous year I had seen one fly in off the sea on the 26th of April so this bird beat it by a few days!

Hopefully a yearly experience?

 There were quite a few groups of Jays moving through along the coast.

 The 24th brought this different extremely pale buzzard over the garden as it drifted east with a couple of usual dark common buzzards, this bird was more striking to watch than the first one earlier in the month. It was obviously moving around a lot as it was later reported by David Bryant at Blofield Heath a few days later, check out his blog: http://birdsoftheheath.blogspot.com/2020/04/white-buzzard-is-this-same-bird.html

 Every day I would see the Mistle Thrush go back and forth to the paddock collecting food to take to young, unfortunately I saw a Crow chasing one of the young birds (was able to fly, but obviously not experienced in evasion enough) which did not end well for the Mistle Thrush youngster.

 Common Buzzards continued to move through, a Peregrine was seen on one day cruising along the coast.

 Sat 23rd and what a start to the day!

I had read that a Rough-legged Buzzard had been seen over Cromer, I thought how I'd missed out on one the previous year as it kept inland, I stepped out of the house onto the patio and noticed a raptor approaching just in of the coast from Sidestrand, I ran inside to grab a handheld camera and raced out to see it approach the garden and head straight over .............OH MY GOD!! It was a Rough-legged Buzzard, what a bloody awesome garden tick. It was the same bird that Ian had found over Cromer, the missing feathers identified that. 

 AND.......if that wasn't enough, literally minutes after a Osprey headed past!! (possibly the same bird as previous hanging around?)

 As the month drew to an end the skies quietened somewhat, I had finally gotten a couple of sightings of Red Admiral, ( seemed ages before one showed this year) as with the Holly Blue I had a Brimstone alight some Bluebell's and gracefully wait till I had photographed it, not often I am able to photograph these as they are on the move more than Holly's. 

A super packed April.