New Years Day Birding

Water Rail, North Norfolk


After a sickly Christmas I managed to get a full day in the field today. Worked the coast from Hunstanton to Holkham and back. A coincidence that this was New Years Day and so if I wish the beginnings of a new year list [something I didn't bother with last year]. Good to be out and about auditing what birds are about in the neighbourhood and something I enjoyed all the more now that fatherhood has restricted the time I can spend in the field.

First birds of the year were fly over Black Headed Gulls as I got into my car in Hunstanton followed by Fulmars riding the updraft along the cliff top. Almost the first bird at Holme Marsh was a Water Rail, followed by a hunting Barn Owl. A slow drive along some back roads added Yellowhammer, Corn Bunting and Reed Bunting. Then to Titchwell via a quiet Brancaster Staithe harbour. Titchwell was just getting busy as I arrived and looking great in the bright New Years Day sunshine. A Red Kite quartering the dunes over Thornham Point was a unexpected treat as was an adult Little Gull. Less surprising but equally wonderful was a male Bullfinch.

After Titchwell I headed for Holkham and Lady Anne's Drive. This was absolutely bombed with people, the busiest I've ever seen it. I thought I'd get away from the crowds on the saltmarsh, but all that happened was that I had their dogs for company and was unable to find any Shorelarks. Still the grazing marsh was productive with tens of thousands of Pink Feet present and a single Snow Goose.

To get away from the crowds I decided to end the day at Burnham Norton, here I added a single ringtail Hen Harrier to the day list along with another three or four Barn Owls.

The day wasn't quite over yet as I drove back via the road that cuts through Courtyard Farm I flushed two Woodcock from the roadside species number 83 for the day.

Snow Ponies

Ponies in today's snow at Snettisham

Normal service isn't resumed just yet but maybe over the Christmas break I will find some time to update this blog properly. In the meantime you can always look at my Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/bullofthebog/ for some up to date images of North West Norfolk.

Summer on delicate wings

Clouded Yellow, Courtyard Farm, NW Norfolk, August 2009


Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Rosary Cemetery, Norwich, August 2009


Been a summer of grabbed moments between work and baby care duties. Despite these restrictions its been a good one for butterflies. Starting with the phenomenal Painted Lady invasion, then an unexpected emergence of Small Tortoiseshells, then in the last couple of weeks I have seen my first Clouded Yellow for a couple of years and added Hummingbird Hawkmoth to both my year list and Rosary Cemetery lists. It just goes to show what you can see when you keep your eyes open.

Damsel in the Bog

Emerald Damselfly, Dersingham Bog, Norfolk

I managed to get out for a few hours on Sunday and headed for Dersingham Bog with my friend Jim. This wet bowl of heath and bog is managed by Natural England is perhaps best known as the location of the infamous 'Sandringham Harrier' incident a couple of years ago when a couple of Hen Harriers were seen being shot out of the sky. Rather unfortunately this happened at the same time that Prince Harry was out shooting with some chums. You decide whether this was a worrying coincidence, a security lapse with armed criminals loose on the bog, the figment of the wardens imagination or something else.

Anyway there was no shooting going on Sunday and we had the Bog pretty much to ourselves. Although quite warm, cloud cover kept the sun from breaking through and this seemed to depress Odo activity. Did see some nice Four Spotted Chasers, Black Tailed Skimmers, Emperor dragonfly's, Black Darters and lots of these little gems Emerald Damselflies.

Cley for Spooners and Demoiselle's

Spoonbill Cley Marshes NWT

Managed to get out with the family yesterday for a drive east along the coast road to Cley, to visit the NWT reserve and to see the flock of Spoonbills that has been feeding on the scrape there for a couple of weeks now. There were 15 birds present yesterday and they spent most of the time doing what Spoonbills do best, sleeping. However a light aircraft did spook some of the birds and this bird flew overhead, not the best of shots, but not to bad given I had a camera in one hand a and a three month old baby in the other.


Banded Demoiselle, Cley Marshes NWT

Standing on a small bridge over the clear channel that separates the reserve from the coast road we were able to do some Dragonfly watching. The beautiful azure blue Emperor Dragonfly never stayed still long enough for me to grab a shot, but this Banded Demoiselle did land briefly enabling me to take this 'record shot' of what to my mind is one of our most beautiful Odo's.

We even found time to have lunch in the new NWT Visitor Centre, great view but slow service and not the most generous of portions. The ride in the lift up from the car park to the Visitor Centre was good fun. Really rather disappointing that in this new eco friendly building there was no baby changing room.

Norfolk Butterfly Tick

White Admiral, Holkham Pines, Norfolk.

Sometimes it pays to pay attention when a friend tells of a conversation with a complete stranger. My friend Rob was telling me last week about a birder he bumped into, who asked whether the White Admiral's were showing at Holkham Pines this year. This was the first that Rob had heard about this rather splendid insects presence here and he did wonder whether the bloke had got his butterfly id right even though "He did seem to know what he was talking about".

Today with a sunny afternoon free, I popped along to the spot described to Rob and after a few minutes of watching large numbers of Whites flying around, I caught a glimpse of a White Admiral. Even a brief view was enough to tell me what I was looking at, the whole way it held its wings stiff and in a shallow upside down V was very distinctive compared to the floppy handkerchief flight of the Whites. I wasn't able to spend long at the site, but did manage to grab a few celebratory record shots including this one.

Return of the Tortoiseshell

Small Tortoiseshell, garden in Titchwell, Norfolk.

Already this year we have seen a miraculous butterfly event the invasion of the UK bu millions of Painted Lady butterflies. This weekend an almost equally miraculous event happened the return of the Small Tortoiseshell. This butterfly has declined by 80% in recent years the victim of a small parasitic fly [Sturmia bella] that has spread north in recent years on the back of our warming climate.

So it was good to see large numbers of freshly emerged Small Tortoiseshell's at all of the three sites I visited this weekend; a back garden on the coast road, a nature reserve and a country lane. The picture is of an individual feeding on Lavender in a back garden in Titchwell.