MAY 2021

 May 2021.

The month was definitely affected by the weather which wasn't great but the birds kept moving through regardless, some of the good birds unfortunately kept inland and I failed to connect with them. The month began with a few Swifts moving west, so nice to see them again, Marsh Harrier also seemed to be coming in along the coast and I saw a female type, don't think I've seen a male bird at Trimingham yet! On the 12th I gratefully found a Lesser Redpoll singing in the tree behind my garden, a new species for the garden and for the patch no less.

Lesser Redpoll

House Martins started to pass through as the month neared halfway, a Spoonbill flew past the house, Little Egret over the fields, it almost felt like May was going to finally get going but it didn't manage to really. What I was looking out for were Golden Orioles, a super beautiful bird, and it seemed a large movement of them was taking place across europe and heading west, numerous birds were seen along the coast and as close as Sidestrand but I think they were taking a route inland and missing this corner of the coast? 

One morning whilst walking the dogs Sarah and I picked up on a Osprey flying over Woodlands which had just previously been seen flying in at Sidestrand, it wasn't long before it was being mobbed by the corvids as it headed inland. Cuckoos were being reported and heard at numerous localities but I am still waiting to hear my first one of the year. 2 Chinese Water deer hidden in a crop field was a nice sight, there seems to be good numbers of Roe deer around too.

The local Tawny Owl was again calling during the day and a Whimbrel calling at night was a lovely sound, numerous bats flew along the lanes early evening, when it wasn't bad weather that is.

Whitethroats had set up territory at numerous locations around the village and hopefully will have a good year, just one Lesser Whitethroat was seen mind you. Blackcaps sang, seemingly all the time and everywhere! Lovely to hear them singing every morning alongside the Chiffchaff.

At the end of the month I turned to photographing birds at the garden feeders, in full summer plumage some of the common garden birds looked stunning, and young birds were starting to be seen too.

The pink flush on the male Chaffinch is lovely, and the Goldfinch just looks stunning in the sun.

Blackbirds seemed to be having a good season, I had seen a couple of young birds around the garden, alongside these I noticed young Robin and Goldfinch.

The young Goldfinch have the same golden wingbars but they lack the obvious red on the head.

This young Robin kept hidden a lot of the time, very mottled on the feathering but nowhere near ready for that red breast.

This year has been great to watch a pair of House Sparrows visit the garden feeders regularly, now nesting in nearby roof eaves the adults still visited to re-energise on the feeders. The male I think has beautiful colouration, the female may be drab next to the male but still has lovely patterning. 

Talk about colour! How bright do the male Greenfinches look at the moment.

Mothing has been a wash out this spring, many inland locations have been spared the cold weather we have had on the coast here and their tallies of moth species show that, I won't be chasing the target I set last year that's for sure, but I am slowly seeing a few more species when I manage to trap.

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.

A Quiet November for me.

 Due to working in the studio nearly every day, November was a quiet time for me birding or recording stuff. The weather had a big effect on being able to put the moth trap out, some nights when I did put it out I trapped nothing!! But not to be disheartened, I did get 2 moth species that I had been hoping for and new for the garden list....Feathered Thorn and December Moth. Maybe if I am lucky I will get the trap out in December in the hope of something on the wing I still need, but as it stands my 2020 Macro list stands at 211 species, easily beating last years tally.

Feathered Thorn

December Moth

Now onto birding and busily working away, my main viewing came from the dog walking, Sarah and I were seeing a lot more Pink footed geese passing over as of late, one morning we watched 400+ geese pass overhead, a lovely sight and sound to start the day. The flocks of birds were on the rise locally, the Linnets were increasing in numbers as were the Yellowhammers, Reed Bunting were still around no doubt but they were keeping further afield.  Blackbirds were still arriving in the area, some mornings along the lanes that is all you could see flitting along ahead of us. Woodcock were flushed on the walks too.

Mid month another Yellow Browed Warbler was found near the shelter, I managed to hear and glimpse it but it was very elusive and no way going to stop for a photo, Chiffchaff and Willow warblers were loosely associating in the same vacinity.

With quite a few reports of Great Northern Divers and Bonxies moving through, I managed a short seawatch and got just the one Bonxie'. 

Hopefully I can get out more during December.

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.