14th April

A couple of days in Norfolk gave me the chance to get out and see what damage the storm had done at Cley’s NNT Reserve and was it recovering. There were lots of Avocets (164) according to someone who counts the waders regularly at this site. The only other waders that I saw, and I didn’t get to Arnolds Marsh where more shoreline waders tend to turn up, were; 4 Little-ringed Plovers, 1 Ruff, 12 Oystercatchers, 32 Black-tailed Godwits, 6 Curlew, 1 Snipe, 12 Redshank and 14 Lawings.

Migrants were very thin on the ground, 6 Sedge Warblers, 18 Swallows, 22 Sand Martins and 6 House Martins, due to bad phone reception I missed the chance to go and see a Red-rumped Swallow that was present late one afternoon and again for an hour or so the following morning.

I took a few snaps of some of the easier subjects.       The first five high fliers might be tricky to those of you that are fairly new to birding. The answers will be at the end.

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Nothing is to large for an Avocet to have a go at.

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This gull is not a welcome visitor

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Not the usual walker to be found on the East Bank

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1) Marsh Harrier, 2&3)Common Buzzard, 4)Little-ringed Plover, 5)Bearded Tit

Comments

birdman_euston said…
One of those 'I stand corrected' moments: You were right about that Red-legged Partridge not being wild, Tony. I saw it this morning in the same place as last year, on the top level of Hanover Green, area 4. Dogwalkers have been reporting it for several weeks around Charlbert St Bridge a43, even ambling across it on one occasion.

9+ Great Crested Grebes today: the first pair off Bandstand Is a7 are down to one chick, but the second pair under the willow now have 2+ chicks, the third pair area building a nest at the NE tip of Heron Is a8, and the fourth are still looking for a suitable nest site. (Also one or two lone 'floaters' are on the lake.) One of the four pairs of Little Grebes may have moved on.

Three singing Willow Warblers around the NE arm of the lake were the only migrants noted today, although I heard a brief snatch of what sounded like a Garden Warbler in the same area.

(That strange high-pitched song I texted about last week, I now think was an anxious Wren in cover near its nest. )
birdman_euston said…
Correction, the 1st pair of GC Grebes still have two young - yesterday the 2nd must have been with the other parent.

Today (15 Apr) Dave had 2 House Martins and 1 Yellow Wagtail N over lake c8am, then Hobby N over Park 12:20. During Hill skywatch 12:40-13:40 I had 3 Swallows N 13:15 and 1 Sand Martin N 13:35.
Thanks for the updates, where is your Ring Ouzel sighting, I thought you may have jammed in at the weekend when birds were on the move in the UK.
birdman_euston said…
Thanks to the arrival dates on the BTO website I knew I should keep my eyes peeled for one from the beginning of the month, but no joy. To compensate, I've already got Yellow-legged Gull, Sand Martin and Rook for my Park year-list, all of which I missed here last year - though I wasn't listing then. (But I'd give up even an Ouzel for a spring male Pied Fly - that's my new 'holy grail' after Dave found a Wood W'bler for me last August.)