November-Patch highlights

  The month started out rather cold and the Broad was still full of Wildfowl and noticeably on the 1st my highest count of Pochards for some time with a count of 24. 

In fact Pochard numbers by the middle of the month were up to 67 (16th) and 62 by the end of month.  This high count of 67 was highest recorded count of the month of November and hopefully a sign of a good year for these I hope.

Staying with the ducks on the Broad , noticeable counts were :-

Gadwall-  24 on the 1st and up to 63 by the 28th. 

Tufted ducks- 92 on the 8th and up to 139 by the 24th.

Teal-6 on the 8th and 4 birds seen on the 24th & 28th . These ducks are always tricky to pick up as they enjoy resting/feeding along the broad edge and often go unseen so sure there's a lot more then I've recorded .

Shoveler count of 17 on the 1st was my only sighting of this species and was my highest November count . 


Gadwall

 

Now to a couple of highlights , starting with 2x Wigeon seen on the 6th and a single smart Drake seen on the 24th . Always one or 2 seen throughout the winter but always a joy to spot among the other ducks around . 


Drake Wigeon



Tufted and Pochard

 

Pair of Kingfishers were noted on the 1st and 8th of the month. 

Also a pair of Lapwing were seen on the 6th and s single Little Grebe on the 1st.

Now a good sign that the winter is now upon us is finding a Goosander and on the 24th late afternoon I found not 1 but 3 x Drakes on the broad . I was well chuffed as I had never self found these on the patch before (previous individual birds over years gone were picked up by local birders James & Justin) . It's always a bit more special when yeh "find yeh own" so these were nice to study. These birds cruised around the broad as if they owned it and seemed so much larger then I remembered once on the Broad water .

Goosander
 

 

Other highlights of note:- 

With  the days drawing in earlier I'm able to stay to dusk and this has helped me centre on the numbers of birds roosting at the reserve . 

At least 10 x Grey wagtails were noted dropping in at the Rivers edge among reeds on the 8th .

10 x Meadow pipits were counted on the 16th and more heard as I left but couldn't be sure of how many .

Water Rail numbers again were between 2 and a high of 5 on the 8th which made for a nice noisy backdrop as dusk set in . 

A couple of Siskins were heard on couple of occasions from over on the Whitlingham side of river and a nice flock of 22x Gold finch were noted on the 22nd also. 

The pair of Stonechats which were seen throughout the first half of the month and then after not seen but after speaking to James Emerson he reminded me of how they went missing occasionally last year so hopefully I'll pick em back up through out December . 



Female Stonechat



Male Stonechat

 

The Cetti's warbler numbers heard on every visit as expected and 4 birds heard regularly . 
 ALL IN A GREAT MONTH AT THE PATCH!
HAPPY BIRDING
 RICKY
 

Away from the Patch-Hawfinches,Water Pipit,Brambling & Some Seawatching..

TRIPS AWAY FROM THE PATCH......

The beginning of November I decided for a change of scenery and checked out  Cantley Beet factory.  It's been 3 years since I last visited here and with a recently reported Water pipit and some number of Green sandpipers being reported by local birder Justin I headed off after lunch .

After signing in I walked up along the riverbank and was greeted by firstly a strong smell  in the air, then secondly  a flock of Redwing overhead landing in the nearby trees. 

I scanned the "South lake "  and soon picked up 2 Green sandpipers which soon flew to only land and join another 3. In fact by the end of the circuit I had seen at least 6 x Green sandpipers . Redshank was soon picked up and then the first of 3 x Water Pipits .  

I enjoyed watching them as they looked for food in among the mud piles . Had a chance to digi scope 2 together which was nice & as I got on a 4 th bird they we're spooked and flushed, I'm sure this also was a Water pipit but couldn't be certain .  

 

Water pipits

 

 A Sparrowhawk flew low over and then a female Marsh Harrier Which flushed 5x C Snipe  and a few Curlew.   

Bearded tits were heard and seen pinging which is always a joy for me as a bird I've never had as yet on the patch .

I didn't spend to much time scanning the marshes but my attention was drawn to 2x Marsh Harriers on the floor.  I soon saw they were tagged on there wings.  I watched as they playfully hunting over the marsh and landing regularly . After messaging a local Ringer who informed me that they were tagged near Great Yarmouth and one hadn't been seen since last September where it was in Lowestoft.

 

Tagged Marsh harriers

 

 As I near completion of the lake I counted 6 x Shelducks and yet more Teal.  

I completed the walk I checked out the small pools and nothing other then some Teal and Mallards.

I didn't count the number of Teal here but there was bloody alot !  Final counts of note were -

Green Sandpiper x 6

Redshank x 1

Curlew x 7

C Snipe x 5

Shelduck x 6

Bearded tits x 2

Water pipit x 3

Marsh Harriers x 3 (2 tagged)

 

  Next was my visits to High Ash Farm.
This is a place I usually try visit 4/5 times a year during summer and autumn. Usually with attention spent looking for Owls but this time I was looking for views of Brambling in yellowhammer (the later a certainty ) 

Brambling

 

 

 It wasn't long before I picked up a good sized flock of finches.  Mainly Gold finch ,chaffinches and some Linnet , But the birds I wanted today were in among the teasels...... Brambling!  Actually there were 9 in total as they all flew up on to the trees.  After a while I saw 2x Yellowhammers join them and before long had 6/7 spread out across the field edge calling.  I nipped back the next day for another butchers and was treated to better,closer views and got couple of nice pictures  (Digi scoped as usual ).  Always enjoy coming here and was impressed by the large pre roost gathering of Starlings too 

 Now to Sheringham on the 13th....
   I joined Matthew shore for some Sea watching.   Arrived just before 7am as sun was rising , and quickly got set up in the shelter.  A good steady flow of birds, Gannets , scoter and guillemots mainly until our first Little Auk of the day quickly followed by a second ! 

Sheringham shelter, early morning

 

Common Scoter



GT Northern Diver

 

 

 The Little Auk was seen flying super close in along the shore line and watched as it headed past us west .In total we had 5 x Little Auks over the morning and was really the target bird of the day.
 Was nice also to watch a Short eared owl coming in off the sea and too seeing 2x GT Northern Divers past! Throw in a Bonxie and a Long Tailed Duck and this turned out to be a  good seawatch.
 A good total was had by lunch time after 5 hours of seawatching.
 5x Little Auks
2x Gt Northern Diver
1x Black Necked Diver
1x Long Tailed Duck
1x GT Skua
1x Short Eared Owl
1x Eider
8x Goldeneye
3x Mergansers
150x Common Scoter
and a nice Snow Bunting among others.
 Now at  Felbrigg on the 15th .......

  After hearing there was 4 x Hawfinches seen at Felbrigg over the weekend I waited till I was working in Alysham and managed to fit in a visit on lunch break. As I sat in van tucking into me lunch I spotted what looked like a large headed finch drop into the small tree in front of me and quickly swapped me Ham Roll for my binoculars and there it was , sitting proud , a stunning Hawfinch! 

 

Hawfinch

 

 After a few minutes it flew off towards the Hall itself where they were reported to be showing near the Orangery  at the back . I made my way round and watched 2x Hawfinches fly off from the large trees and circle overhead. Lovely to see there white wing bars and to see that short tail & large head against the skyline .Also was nice to see other birders connect with the birds and to meet Simon ( local birder to the area ) and discuss this autumns Hawfinch evasion ! A great lunch break indeed and was soon back to work and feeling chuffed with the views I got.
 Now to my most recent sighting. While at work on the 23rd at Welsford road in Norwich I had 2x Hawfinches fly NW overhead. A cracking sight for any birder, especially while at work!

Happy birding

Ricky 

 

 

October sightings at the Patch.....

  So autumn arrives and too the birds, with returning wildfowl along with some bird species gathering to roost and of course migrating birds.

 Starting with the broad and of note was the return of these 3 species of duck:

Shovelers on the 13th (2 birds) which increased to 9 birds on the 30th. 

Pochard - 2 birds seen on the 19th and increasing to 17 birds on the 30th.

Wigeon- single bird seen on the 26th , not always an easy bird to get here but usually one or two birds lingering if patient enough to search through the resting gadwall and Tufted ducks .

Also of note was the  Tufted duck counts- total of  32 on the 3rd ,91 on the 19th and a high of 133 on the 27th!!

Pochard

Little Egret

A Little egret was present on the 11th and too a Little Grebe on the 27th . The later often seen on river but not on broad until winter so a nice sight .

 Gulls were as usual seen regularly loathing around on the Shingle beach or on water itself .Usually Black Headed gulls but on the n the 27th a notable count of 47x Herring gulls was of note.

 Onto the marsh flood and a notable highlight was a  Jack Snipe on the waters edge bobbing on the 11th . After I found one in spring in the same area I'm now hoping for more sightings of this smartly marked bird. 

Water Rail numbers were up from 3 to 4 birds on the 30th and a total of 4 x Common Snipe on the same date .

Common Snipe

 Now probably my 2 highlights of the autumn /winter .

Firstly the return of the pair of Stonechats, firstly seen  on the 27th (of note a single reported bird seen on the 15th) , this I assume is the pair that choose to winter here last year so I hope to be seeing these for the next through months !

Male and Female Stonechat

 Now to my other highlight which was on the 30 th . Chippy had mentioned that he had seen a couple of Grey wagtails over bungalow lane near dusk and along with a message Justin lansdell of where he suggested the roost was ,i set my self up in position as the light dropped.  Soon enough single birds came in and a small group of 4 birds . Total count of 11 Grey Wagtails roosted but possibly 13 (2 birds seen late which came from nearby roost area) . Great to see and have them roost at the patch .

Also of note at roost is the Meadow pipits. Always a good number here in winter and I counted at least 29 birds come into roost before dusk.

A quick mention to the Redwings which have been hitting the coast and trickling in across land ,with small flocks going head on most visits towards the end of the month. Also of mention  too is the Siskin which ive  heard and seen a few times but spending most time over in Whitlingham .

And to end this Round up off i'll end with a nice sighting on the 27th, of my favorite British bird , the Bullfinch. I had 3 individuals making there way through the bushes on the broad edge and always a a pleasure to see!

 So all in all October has been a great time to be at the patch !

Happy birding 

Ricky

North /East Norfolk coast.....

  So I met up with Matthew shore at the north Norfolk coast on 6th October and started off meeting him up on the "Little eye". A new spot for me & I quickly see why he enjoys it so much.  Great view point and nice location.  The winds were north west so not the best but not the worse at all so I scanned away . Matt had started early and already had a Sooty Shearwater and Bonxies among lots of Auks. I enjoyed the steady flow of Guilemonts along with Red throated Divers,Gannets and flocks of Wigeon and Teal.  Also a rather tired looking Turnstone sat resting on the shingle . 





Turnstone

 

 

 

 

We decided to check out Gramborough Hill for a bit but it was completely quiet of any birds other then some Stonechats.  

We decided to decide where to head next while we are lunch. Seeing there was a Red necked Phalarope at Kelling Quags, we decided to head straight there.  As we approached we scanned the south of the water . Couple of Common snipe and a smart Greenshank before I picked up a couple of Dunlin and a Curlew sandpiper. My first CS of the year and a nice bird indeed.  We continued round and was greeted with superb, close views of the Red necked Phalarope ! We enjoyed Superb views and too the 4 birders 

who were also there.  

Red Necked Phalarope

 

Red necked phalarope video :-

https://youtu.be/tDo4fDyEQz0

After half hour we scanned away and was soon on 2x Spotted Redshanks- a smart adult along with a Juvenile .

With me needing to be back in Norwich for 5.30pm I decided to pop into Cley on route home with matt.   Glad I did as the Little stints were putting on a nice show ! At least 20+ were counted .  Also 5x Juv Ruff (2 Ruff seen earlier at Kelling) bookended a nice day up on the North Norfolk coast.  Great to catch up with Matt and enjoy a new place too in "Little Eye".

Happy birding

Ricky 

East Coast to find some Migrants...

So as September drew to an end  I decided to nip off work at lunch and go to Waxham.
Ive not visited here for couple of years and wanted to be somewhere alone and find  for myself  some passing migrants. The day previously had been good as regards birds moving through along coasts( although still no East winds)
Alone I was, as I only got to see one other birder (Ben Lewis) and a Photographer, not even a dog walker!
 Parked up at money lane and walked down and was soon watching 2x Spotted Flycatchers.I enjoyed them doing what they do best...catching what little there was and producing that typical call of theres.



Spotted Flycatcher

 As I made my way South I picked up my first Redstart of the day ,a nice bird perched up .As I watched it dropping to the floor and returning to the perch I saw a Whinchat fly up along the fence line just further along...., things were looking good.



Whinchat

As I walked on I quickly picked a pair of Stonechats, and then a juvenile Stonechat. I always love to see these birds ,although not as "good a bird" as the whinchat and Redstart previously seen( as regards number of sightings/rarer)  they are just all round smart and full of character in my opinion .


Juvenile Stonechat



Stonechat-adult

As I approached the pipe dump I saw Ben and we spoke about what we had seen. He had been out longer then me with some good birds seen and I then mentioned I hadn't had a Wheatear yet ,only for him to say there were 5 just further up!  I made my way around the pipe dump and counted at least 7 x Wheatears.


Wheatear

I stayed there for a while and picked up yet another Whinchat, my 3rd of the day and then found another Redstart.



Redstart -wasn't quick enough on the iPhone!

Video below.........

https://youtu.be/mWL0KkBbKdQ



Redstart-That's better!

As i walked back I picked up the original Redstart I had earlier, along with a second bird now making it a total of 3 x Redstarts, the most ive ever had in one single day! As i walked back this time up along the bank I got yet more Stonechats and  another Wheatear among other bits.
  My totals for the day were-
3x Redstarts,4x Whinchats,2 x Spotted Flycatchers,6x Stonechats , 8 x Wheatears among others.
 A great afternoons birding and great place.
 Happy Birding,
 Ricky

White stork ....

 

So I couldn't resist any longer and got my self up to long Stratton to see the lingering White stork which has been feeding in the fields there.  After seeing recent sightings on social media  and speaking to Matthew Shore  in the morning I decided to pull up and scan the fields. 
 No sign of it so I drove round the other side and there it was, working its way round the fields edge close to road. 
 Great views and although I'm unsure as to its history /start in life I took it for what it was .... a White stork ,in a field , in South  Norfolk, and it looked great ! 



White Stork

Happy birding
Ricky

 

September- Patch Gold and Seawatching .....

 

 So 1st September was a day I'll always remember as it was the day I had my first Whinchat on the patch.  Only handfull of sightings for this species per year recorded this far up the Yare valley so one I've had on my list but knew it was gonna be a bit of luck to be there when it was passing through on its migration .I watched this Whinchat for a good hour as it fed , sitting among the tops of the vegetation , sometimes tricky to pick up if lost briefly . Put the news out and nice to hear a good number of other local birders connecting with it throughout the afternoon/evening and over the next day. Sadly it had gone come Sunday morning but most had had there moment with it and I hope it's not the last one I'll see here , although hopefully I'll not wait another 8 years to see one here though !This was my 119th Species for the patch.

 

Whinchat - 119th patch species

 Other things of note during September at the patch was again the slowly increase of wildfowl numbers and Lapwings too with the Highest count of Lapwings hitting 66 .  The Cormorants are occasionally seen here on the west shingle beach area(usually 2-3) but during this month numbers went from 3 birds to 15 on the 11th September. This was a patch high count for my self.
The Kingfisher was again seen on all but 1 occasion through September and 2 were seen on one day.   Kestrel, Sparrowhawk and Common Buzzards were seen on every visit and House Martins were seen flying over and sometimesstopping off  going over the broad , no doubt feeding up on migration!

Lapwings

Cormorants

 Also at the patch both species of the common Woodpeckers were actively calling and seen ,with one day producing sights of a pair of Green and Gt spotted on the same day.
The Cettis Warbler numbers calling was up from 3 to 5 which is more like the regular count for here. 

  Now away from the Patch .On the 15th during the heavy down pour  and not being able to work I thought of somewhere nearby with a Hide...I decided to pop into Buckenham Marshes on the off chance of something interesting.
I watched the Avocets feeding with a couple Little Egrets passing over and then heard calling Kingfisher from outside, I quickly opened the door to catch it flew over east. Then bird of the day , as i saw bird out of the corner of my eye, drop on to the ground from over the river bank. Once it appeared again I was able to see clearly it was a Wheatear. A nice bird on any day this time of year in and around the Yare Valley. I watched it as it quickly flew off across the marsh.



Wheatear

    Now to my visit to Winterton on the 13th for some Seawatching - 
  I decided it was that time of year that I got my self out to the coast for some seawatching. I did a few visits autumn last year and needed to polish up on the little I had learned. The stormy weather which was blowin strongly from the west may bring some good things moving but of course may not bring them close in to the east coast where I was . 
 I wasn't alone as there was another birder already set up and was quickly finding out what had been seen early doors. Barry and other birder had Good numbers of Manx Shearwaters and some 7x Long Tailed skuas among other bits so was positive about seeing something good myself. 

  Me and Graham (fairly local birder) were soon watching a distant Artic skua before watching our first Manx Shearweater, a Lifer for myself (no.285) . In fact over the 3 hours I stood scanning the waves  along with some friendly,helpful birders(Barry and Tommy among others ) I saw at least 10-12 Manx , 1x Bonxie, 5+ Artic Skuas (1 individual close in on water) 4x Red Throated Diver ,6x Common Scoter , 2x Med Gulls and 20+ Sandwhich Terns,1x Turnstone ,2x Oystercatchers and a single Grey Heron. 
 Finally as September closed in I got to head to the patch for one final visit on the 26th .  I was listening to a calling Cettis warbler when drawn to a small tree near the Mooring area, of a  call of a bird I didn't quite recall.  As  I stood there I heard the bird and then saw it briefly as it came to the top,it was what I believed to be a  Ring necked Parakeet.  I watched as it flew out and along river and dropped into the Conservation area at WhitlinghamCountry Park.  I checked the call which I recorded on the phone of this bird when back in van  against a couple of recorded calls off the internet and sure it is and not another Parakeet species. Another patch tick (no.120). I picked up a large Tit Flock as I left which contained Goldcrest and my first Marsh Tit of the year as I walked back to the bridge.
Along with West Ham finally getting some good results,picking up a couple of wins, this was a great month!

Happy Birding,
 Ricky

A lesson learnt -PGW 18th September 2017

Pallas grasshopper warbler Twitch-

So if you follow my blog you will know although I'm a dedicated patcher at Thorpe marsh/broad,Norwich But i will occasionally nip off to Twitch a good bird if local and I have the time. On Monday late afternoon I set off to Burnham ovary with where a Pallas grasshopper warbler had been found from local Norwich birder and seen at my patch occasionally , Stuart  white- fantastic find indeed !   The bird showed very well  in the evening to handful of people so when Monday came and the bird was being reportedly showing (as much as a Pallas grasshopper warbler does!) I decided head off to Burnham ovary.i quickly walked down and on arrival was greeted to  around 70 birders present and we made our way up to bank as a number of birders shouted "there it goes "!  The bird flew out from dyke and into the dyke edge ( some bramble and reed). We stood and watched as 4/5 birders walked the area near where it was , playing the calls on phones , trying to flush the bird out. 

After alot of this it did finally give up and fly out to the dyke which ran south of the bank wall.  It gave another view and quickly flew into reed edge.   For the next 20 minutes " a bird " kept coming out and flying back in and people pointing & shouting out " that's it".  In fact I saw and have read people that have since ticked the bird in flight . I hope it's not from the views I've described here as I had no idea what this bird could have been.  PGW? Dunnock ? Warbler SP,possibly ? I don't claim to be the best birder and in fact I would say average birder so I will not be ticking it on those views as I didn't pick up any of its ID features.  As the bird then began to get flushed again by "call luring  " and then flushing of people it flew across to other side of path into that dyke.  In all the madness of people trying to get views and keep up with bird people we now spread out from bank, path and now into the field that sits east of the path . From there some birders were getting good/ brief views.  I was stood next to a few friendly birders I knew and we discussed the views it had given up till then , agreeing they were poor at best and not tick able of course.  GThen the bird flew out of the " bush " ( this bush had Rose  hips on it and will be mentioned again shortly ) and back across the path over our heads and to the other dyke. We again saw it and believe some had very good flight views but my self could again not be sure of what I had.  The people from the bank and field were now all on the path and begun to get very full.   Then flushing began again by the same birders from earlier and it again flew and back over to the dyke on the east.   Now in all the excitement ( maybe madness is more fitting word) I followed around 30 people over the fence that lead into the field.  We begun to slowly walk the edge and spread out to try catch some movement .  After 10 minutes I picked the bird up working its way along the reeds and then into " that bush ".  I had 5 seconds with the bird ( I know that's all) but got the large tail shape ,body size and the streaky back but unfortunately nothing on the head.  Now there was around 30 birders watching this "bush" and then birder next to me  picked it up again briefly but that was it . 

It eventually reappeared back down where it originally showed before when we arrived and instead of chasing off after it I decided to stay put.  I chatted to local birders to the north Norfolk coast I knew  and  local Norwich birders of its views,etc.  Then it appeared again straight in front of me back on that same bush. It was for only few seconds but I saw enough to believe it was the same bird I had earlier , PGW .  

What happened next was where I felt angered.  Two birders on the other side of dyke jumped in and then  begun to start to shake the bush !  I shouted out "oi " as did others and a few others the other side told the lads to leave it and get out .  That was enough .

It was then clear to me it was trying to find somewhere to roost and this bush looked good ( I'm not expert on this species so could be wrong  ) so decided to leave at this point and left the field and decided to walk back.   

 Summary -

So after watching "that video" which has been published on social media from the drama of the following day and reading what has been written about the next days events I feel I needed to write this update to my blog.  

It's clear now that the fence I crossed had been cut and also that people on the field have damaged some of the habitat . 

Although I didn't do either I was on that field and therefore now realised I trespassed . 

I'm not proud of that in the slightest and of course am sorry for being a small part of this.   

I've rung the owners up and spoken to them to say as much .  Ive noticed no one from Tuesday has come forward and no one has admitted to going into this field , or involved with the horrible events that followed but I've felt I needed to say I was there . 

I will never enter /follow a crowd of people somewhere without stopping and thinking about what I'm doing , instead of thinking " I must see that bird ".  

I realise why I enjoy my patching so much when I look at the video recorded from Tuesday events where the Wardens of the Holkham  estate were verbally spoken to in such a rude and unpleasant way.   

I make it clear I did not cut any wire or bash/ flush or damage the area , that's not what I'm about and those who know me will know that but I do take responsibility of entering that field  and apologise.  

I was thinking to my self " this isn't right walking through dykes, flushing and tape luring " but at the same time I  did nothing - in fact after a while I found myself getting caught up in the moment as I said and followed the small crowd into the field which I clearly see now is wrong .

It would be sad indeed if from a result of this twitches kaos and madness that it could stop future twitches happening there . 

I've not made mention to any other names of who was with me , who I saw walking the dykes/reeds  / shaking the bush, because this isn't what my blog update is about.   Also the pictures I had Taken that day I've chosen to not use on the blog for same reasons . 

I'm not saying I won't still twitch a bird in Norfolk but I will from now on pay special care and consideration for the habitat and  landowners  and of course most importantly the "good of the Bird " its self .

A lesson learnt . 

Ricky 

Sent from my iPhone

August- Caspian Tern, Dragonflies and Butterflies

August-  

So I continued  the start of August as I ended July with lots of Butterflies and few moths ! 

I had my first Holly blues along with  Small copper and common blues, then after a days working in the sunshine watching plenty of Red admirals , Peacock and Comma one of my butterfly highlights with at least 2x Brown Angus ! While searching for these I had plenty of Small Blues and few Essex Skippers , so  the UK list is really in full flow.

  


Small copper

 


Comma and Peacock

 


Essex Skipper

 


Common Blue

 

Common Blue

 


Holly Blue

A interesting caterpillar was found at work ( pictured below). James informed me it was a Vapourer Moth caterpillar - very smart looking 

 

  Dragonflies were also seen with a trip to Buxton Heath on 16th august which gave me a new Species in Keeled Skimmer. Found these 2 at rest in boggy ground ( walking boots just survived!)  plenty of common darters.



Keeled Skimmer

 

    Back to the patch on the 12 th I had good number of Black tailed skimmers as well as plenty of Migrant Hawkers and on the River 2x Red eye damselflies! Super little things these. Although Small they are a beauty to see although I needed my scope as they were at rest on the Lilly's on the water ( thanks to James & Jim who had given me heads up of where I should find these ).

Red Eye Damselfy



Black Tailed Skimmer

Migrant Hawker

 

 Now onto Bird sightings for August.  I'll start with a super work tick on the 8 th august , I was surprised to watched a pair of Bearded tits calling overhead south Norwich. Heard and then saw them as I worked.  Closest I've ever had to the city and to my knowledge .
 

   Now to my Highlight of the month though was my trip to Rush hills scrape to see this brut of a bird.. a Caspian Tern! I arrived after knowing it had been there the day before and also at Breydon.  I decided to finish work earlier then usual and headed straight there. Surprised to find  i was only birder there on arrival but this meant I had the bird all to my self and what a bird it was.  He stuck out straight away as I watched him for around 20 minutes before he took off with all the other gulls and waders when a Marsh Harrier cruised low over. It was later reported at Breydon water so I timed it right ! This was my 284th British bird and probably one of my easiest yet .



Caspian Tern(British list, no.284

 

  At the Patch (Thorpe St Andrew broad/Station marshes) things we're starting to change 

Noticeably Lapwing numbers were up, top count of 53 end of the month. Also Tufted ducks were now back as too the Gadwall along with the Pair of Great Crested Grebes . Kingfisher was seen on every visit throughout the month and twice on this branch ( pictured) .



Kingfisher
 

 Always makes a visit here worth it to see this species of bird. Common buzzards were as usual overhead and the regular Kestrel. Cettis started to call as the end of August approached & single chiffchaff was singing  but other then that quiet.   Of note a Chinese Water deer was seen on most visits too.

 So there's my round up of my month , hope to update blog half way through September if I find time with building work finishing and kids back to school!

 Happy birding