July - birds and butterflies

Although it seemed to start slowly as its gone on July hasn't been a bad month for birding and wildlife watching.

As ever at this time of year I am mindful that the Swifts that in so many ways are synonymous with summer will be on the verge of leaving us for another year shortly after the schools round here break for the summer holidays. So during my regular evening walks around the block I have tried to count the local Swifts, always a tricky proposition but by standing on Hunstanton's Recreation Ground I have managed a couple of counts on Wednesday 15th July I counted c 47 Swifts and the following evening 35 from here. Last night [the 23rd] there seemed to be fewer Swifts and I detected a certain indefinable urgency about the packs that remained as they careered through the air above Hunstantons' residential streets.

Peacock butterfly, Ken Hill Wood

Lunchtime walks in Ken Hill Woods near Snettisham are always a bit hit and miss, if the weather is too nice the and the dog walkers are out there is a noticeable drop in the amount of wildlife on view as the dogs and their owners sanitise an area either side of the path of snakes, deer etc. Still on the 17th I saw a Silver Washed Fritillary patrolling a ride and occasionally settling although never long enough for me to take a picture and it disappeared the moment the sun went behind a cloud. Also flying were some White Admirals and a few wonderfully fresh looking Peacocks. The highlight though were two Grass Snakes my first of the year on the ride that skirts the woods southern boundary I even managed to catch one for a closer [and smellier look]. The walk was topped off with nice views of Muntjac and Green Woodpecker.

Black Tailed Godwits, Snettisham

Brown Hare Snettisham

On Saturday 18th I got a call in the morning about a Broad Billed Sandpiper in the wader roost at Snettisham, family commitments meant I couldn't go and look for the bird until the evening tide. I spent a pleasant hour in the hide looking through the large flock of Black Tailed Godwits bit the Broad Billed Sandpiper didn't show. Nonetheless I had a great time photographing terns against the pink twilight sky on the old jetty and had the place to myself.

Oystercatcher at dusk, Snettisham

Terns at dusk, Snettisham

The next morning I had another phone call letting me know the bird was back and this time i could make a mad dash to the southern pit where I joined a few folk, the bird was hidden behind a Black Tailed Godwit and a Knot, eventually it moved and I enjoyed great views for all of about five seconds before the whole roost spooked and it disappeared, at this stage the hide was begining to creak at the seams as more and more birders arrived and I left. On both visits I saw and heard Med Gulls.

The "Gallery" for the Snettisham Broad Billed Sandpiper

Adult Med Gull, Snettisham

A rare treat on the evening of Wednesday 22nd July a week day evening at Titchwell, I got no further than Island Hide where I must have spent an hour and a half. The Marsh was stiff with birds with several hundred Avocets present and good numbers of Black Tailed Godwits plus Ruff and Dunlin, single Greenshank, Whimbrel, Common Sandpiper and a couple of Curlew Sandpipers. Overcast when I arrived the sun broke through and for a short while I had a wonderful combination of great light and close birds including some stunning summer plumaged Black Tailed Godwits. The birds on the Fresh Marsh were quite jumpy and eventually the cause a large female Sparrowhawk showed itself and then later a Hobby shot though. Other birds  included juvenile Bearded tits on the edge of the reedbed and a couple of juvenile Marsh Harrier. But the best bird was a wonderful summer plumaged Little Gull that came really close to the hide.

Adult Little Gull, Titchwell

Black Tailed Godwit, Titchwell

Spring gathers pace

April has been a really busy month with nights away for work, a short family holiday and a family bereavement. Below is a bit of a wrap up of some bird and butterfly sightings this month. I've posted two short separate blogs about visits to the Peak District and Bempton Cliffs.

Friday 4th April, Snettisham
A work visit in between discussing the storm damage it was nice to see a male Red Breasted Merganser, a Black Brant and three Mediterranean Gulls. At the Coastal Park I heard my first Willow Warbler of the year.

Monday 7th April
On the way home from Norwich I saw my first Swallow of the Spring whilst waiting for the traffic lights at Heacham to change colour.

Wednesday 9th April
A sunny lunchtime walk in the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich gave me nice views of my fist Orangetip Butterflies of the year plus Holly Blue and Small Tortoiseshell and singing Blackcap and Chiff Chaff.

Rosary Chiff Chaff

Rosary Primroses

Friday 11th April
Durng a work visit to York University it was nice to see a male Goosander on the University lake and a early Swallow hunting for food. Two Great Crested Grebe nests close to the edge of the lake were a real treat.

York Uni Great Crested Grebes

Saturday 18th April
I took no 1 son for short walk down the West Bank path at Titchwell, from Parrinder Hide we saw Little Ringed Plover and Yellow Wagtail and elsewhere we heard Cetti's and Sedge Warblers. A kindly old lady offered to lend my 5 year old her bird book so that he could find out what the Black and White bird was only to be told he knew that it was an Avocet.

Titchwell Avocet

Monday 21st
A walk with the kids around Wharton's Belt at Courtyard Farm was great for lots of early Spring Butterflies including some wonderfully fresh looking Speckled Woods and Peacocks and more Green Hairstreaks than I can ever remember seeing here, in the short time I had with them I saw at least six insects quite easily.

Green Hairstreak

Wednesday 23rd April

A walk with no2 son along the top of the Dunes at Holme NWT this morning was wonderful with seen and / or heard: Cuckoo, Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Chiff Chaff, Sedge Warbler, Grasshopper Warbler, Whimbrel, Sandwich tern and 8 Wheatears.

At last some Butterflies



Painted Lady, Hunstanton Sensory Park, June 2013

Its felt like a long  time since there were lots of butterflies about, last summer was a cold wash out and this summer was late to arrive. So a double whammy for butterfly watching of depressed butterfly numbers after a few bad years and then a longer than normal wait in what could be an OK year.

I've not had a chance to venture very far in search of butterflies this year, lunchtime walks in the week and countryside strolls with the family at weekends have been my window into this butterfly summer.

Back in June whilst recuperating from a bad back my regular walk around Hunstanton [part of walking myself back to fitness] was enlivened by passing through the rather wonderful Sensory Garden. Here I saw a single Painted Lady and a couple of Red Admirals.

In Norwich lunchtime walks around the Rosary Cemetery have been poor for butterflies but a single Large Skipper was a Cemetery tick for me and last week the place was humming with bees and a couple of Comma's were hanging around a little sun trap I always check for butterflies.

Ringlet, Courtyard Farm, Norfolk, July 2013

Ringlets and Meadow Brown's are now on the wing and the picture above was taken this morning at Courtyard Farm of a 'chilled' insect waiting to warm up.

White Admiral, Ken Hill Wood, Norfolk, July 2013

A personal favourite is the White Admiral and I am lucky to have a copy close to an office I work out of in Snettisham. These have started to emerge over the last week and I am looking forward to another week or two in their company.

Cemetery Tick and other stuff

Common Buzzard, Rosary Cemetery, Norwich

I had a very enjoyable and productive lunchtime walk around the Rosary Cemetery in Norwich with a work friend today.The fine weather from the weekend was still with us and the cemetery looked wonderfully green highlighting the wonderful glowing red leaves of the Copper Beaches. Chiff Chaff's and Blackcap's were both in song and my friend heard a brief snatch of Swallow song, quite a mega record here.

Overhead I saw my first two Swifts of the year always a great sign of the impending arrival of summer. But the best bird of this short walk was a Common Buzzard high overhead mobbed my a Carrion Crow. Neither of us had a pair of binoculars with us and we wondered for a while whether this might be a Honey Buzzard, but came to the conclusion it was a Common Buzzard, something borne out by the heavily enlarged image above taken on my TZ30 compact camera

Holly Blue, Rosary Cemetery, Norwich

It was also great to see a few butterflies on the wing including perhaps my favourite UK species the Orangetip.

Male Orangetip, Rosary Cemetery, Norwich

Spring creeping in?

Small Tortoiseshell, Titchwell Village, 7 April 2013

Although I've had the last week off I've really managed to see very little. This is down to two factors the weather and family commitments. However over the last day or two the sun has got out and we've had some great blue sky days.

Spring is slowly starting to assert itself and amongst other signs I've seen recently have been clumps of frog spawn both here in West Norfolk and in Norwich.

Yesterday I did a return journey from here in Hunstanton to Sandy in Bedfordshire and back, managed to spot out the corner of my eye whilst driving half a dozen buzzards, a couple of Little Egrets, a single Sparrowhawk and a few Kestrels.

Buzzards were also a feature of a drive I did this afternoon to get number two son to sleep, with one on the deck and another four thermalling in the air together. Great to see these medium sized Birds of Prey back in East Anglia.

The award though, for highlight of the day either has to go to the Red Kite that flew low over the A149 on the eastern edge of Thornham or the two Small Tortoiseshell's flitting around a sheltered sunny ditch in Titchwell village. These were only my second Butterflies of the spring, the first being a Comma in Norwich a few weeks ago on a rare mild day.