The Snake Bird

 Sep 4th Sheringham, Kelling, Salthouse & Cley

I've been dying to add more birds to my list and the lack of birding trips other than Strumpshaw has taken a toll on my total. The autumn migration was well underway and I met up with Tricia (my former Reception Hide partner) at Sheringham for a day of migrant hunting. Before she turned up, I did a spot of sea watching while waiting with my parents, seeing only a few sandwich terns, cormorants, a couple of gannets and great and lesser black-backed, herring and black-headed gulls.

Tricia eventually appeared and we made our way to our first stop at Kelling where a wryneck was spending a few days at the water meadows. A lot of people were already gathered down there, prompting that the bird was still around. They were overlooking a large patch of brambles and it wasn't long until I could see it sitting on a branch. Annoyingly, my camera was having a hard time focusing on it and the wryneck was constantly moving about. It was moving its neck in strange twisting movements like that of a snake, which gives the bird its alternative name of snake-bird. The wryneck then went to a slightly more distant branch before eventually plunging deep into the brambles. While waiting for a while for it to reappear, there were at least 10 whinchat on the fencing behind us to keep us satisfied.

Wryneck & Greenshank (Sep 4th),
Kingfisher (Sep 5th), Bittern,
Chinese Water Deer & Chiffchaff (Sep 12th)

The wryneck was not coming out, so we moved on to Gamborough Hill at Salthouse hoping for pied flycatchers. We failed to find any, but we did get close views of a wheatear and many meadow pipits and skylarks.

After a lunch break at Cley's visitor centre, we then joined the group of sea watchers by the shelter on the beach. Scanning the waves, I didn't find any skuas that were seen minutes before we arrived, but we did find something much bigger. An osprey!! Not only that, we also had a hobby and a peregrine have a bit of a dogfight. We ended up seeing more birds of prey than seabirds!

Lastly, we stopped by the hides at the reserve itself and there were many godwits, lapwings, a snipe, 2 greenshanks, 2 curlew sandpipers and a peregrine spooking them up at one point. We returned to Sheringham and met up with my parents who had spent the day there together. It was a good day with 3 new additions to my list with 166 British birds (209 overall).

Sep 5th Strumpshaw Fen

On the way to Strumpshaw this morning, I was fortunate to bump into Liz Dack, a regular to the reserve, and together we visited Tower Hide before my shift began. There were plenty of ducks to be seen there including 4-5 wigeon, teal, shovelers and gadwall and also a snipe right in front of the hide, a marsh harrier, many greylags and a brief kingfisher.

Ivy Bee (Sep 12th), Knot (Sep 18th)
Yellow-staining Mushroom, Common Shrew
Buzzard & Song Thrush (Sep 26th)

I then left Liz to it and made a very brief visit to Fen Hide. As soon as I entered the hide, another kingfisher appeared and perched on the wooden beam in front of me. Then, after leaving the hide, 5 or so bearded tits flew by me just outside.

At Reception Hide, I saw a little grebe, a couple of herons, swallows, a family of chiffchaffs and a blackcap to the side of the building, a quick flash of a stoat, gadwall, teal, shovelers, 3 mute swans and some migrant hawkers.

Sep 12th Strumpshaw Fen

A few days before this shift (Sep 8th), Her Majesty the Queen passed away aged 96. The country was in mourning and you could tell as there were very few visitors at Strumpshaw this week. It felt rather quiet.

I went to Fen Hide and had a bittern standing at the very edge of the reedbed to the left of the pool. There was also a Chinese water deer and marsh harriers and, over the meadow trail, a snipe flying.

Willow warblers and chiffchaffs were everywhere singing, including in the scrub to the left of the Reception Hide. Meanwhile, an otter appeared hunting in the broad and I found several ivy bees on the ivy outside.

Sep 18th Minsmere

As the Queen's funeral was about to happen on Monday (19th), all businesses and other places were to close for the day. This included Strumpshaw. So to make up for it, Mum and I went to visit Minsmere. I was hoping to see some new and exciting birds for my list there. However, I was disappointed. The place was rather dead. The view of the scrape from the East Hide was dried completely with barely anything on it. In the end, I only managed to find a few stonechats, a knot, a few avocets, the odd godwit, lapwing, marsh harrier, a kestrel and heard some bearded tits and that was as good as it got. One of the most disappointing visits to Minsmere I've ever had.

Sep 26th Strumpshaw Fen

After a whole week unable to go anywhere other than to work, I was feeling rather fed up. Thankfully, it was Monday again and I could go back to Strumpshaw. Unfortunately, it was a rainy and chilly day, though with some sunny spells.

I had a quick search for fungi, finding some yellow-staining mushrooms by the toilet block. I then continued my search at the basecamp area, where I once found some coral fungi. However, instead of finding anything, I ended up nearly getting flattened by a squirrel that fell out of a tree and landed right in front of me with a loud thump as it tried to escape me as I walked by. Scared the hell out of me!

At Fen Hide, there was very little about. At least not outside. Inside the hide was a different story. As I scanned for any signs of life outside, a high pitched squeak caught my attention. I looked down and there was a shrew scurrying around the floor by the benches. It was quite small and was moving towards me before finding its way out again through a small gap in the hide. I then went to the sluices, only seeing a fleeing muntjac and it started to rain again.

From Reception Hide, there were swarms of swallows and house martins swirling around the reserve in the rain. They attracted the attention of a hobby. I also saw a kingfisher, a flock of about 15 bearded tits, a brief flight of a snipe, a heron, a cormorant, about 3 marsh harriers and a buzzard.

The Drought

 Aug 1st Strumpshaw Fen

Walking up to Tower Hide, I noticed a change in the reserve's landscape. Pools of water was forming in areas that were completely dried up a week ago. It seems the sluice gates were open or something as it still hadn't rained and Norfolk was about to be declared a drought zone. I followed a juvenile green woodpecker to the hide and the view outside looked a little more lively in terms of the amount of wildlife you could see. The birds have returned in the form of ducks and waders. 

Ruff (Aug 1st), Greenshank (Aug 8th) & Dinosaur Isle Museum (Aug 17th)

I was hoping to see the wood sandpiper that was reported, but I could not see it anywhere. However, there were around 4-5 ruff, a pair of lapwing having a scrap and a kingfisher flashing by. I also saw a Chinese water deer and heard bearded tits pinging in the reedbeds nearby.

There were plenty of ducks outside Reception Hide, but it was less so compared to the week before. A bittern made a quick flight from reedbed to reedbed at the far side of the broad, bearded tits made brief cameos, the odd marsh harrier and buzzard soared above them all and that was about it. Swallowtails were being reported still near Tower Hide as the morning went on, but I didn't go back to see.

Aug 8th Strumpshaw Fen

Visiting Tower Hide this time around rewarded me with a little ringed plover, ruff, lapwing, gadwall and my 161st British bird (205th overall) of 2022 (equalling my record from last year); a greenshank. I don't think I've seen one at Strumpshaw before, so I was quite pleased. I also saw a Chinese water deer with a fawn, a green woodpecker and, on the way over, 9 herons with a little egret, 2 cormorants and common terns all together at the Accidental Broad.

There wasn't a lot to see at the Reception Hide other than a hobby, a few ducks, swans, coots, a cormorant and a sunbathing heron. My Aunt Barbara surprised me with a visit and we ended up going back to Tower Hide. It was a lot quieter than during the earlier visit in the morning, but we did see 2 common gulls amongst a large group of black-headed gulls chilling on the dried mud, bearded tits on the ground on the far side along the reedbed edge, a little ringed plover and, on the way back, 2 willow emerald damselflies and a reed warbler. 

Aug 14th Portsmouth

I spent a week holiday with the whole family to Portsmouth. This was to be a non-birding holiday, one that was pretty much all sightseeing and tourist attractions. However, while we spent our first real day of exploring and chilling by the sea, I did do a spot of sea watching while the others were either finding food, sunbathing or swimming by the shore. Though I really didn't see that much other than gulls, I did see a gannet with a bit of seaweed in its bill and at one point sat on the sea not too far away from where my brother, Dad and my 6-year-old niece Ava were swimming.

Aug 17th Sandown

A wet morning as we set off to the Isle of Wight for the day via hovercraft. The weather eventually cleared and we took a bus from Ryde to Sandown and visited the Dinosaur Isle Museum. Though not a big museum, it had plenty of fossils mostly found from the island. I thought it was interesting as it took you back in time gradually down a corridor through displays of fossils with the odd model to a main hall containing many dinosaurs and some impressive fossils. There was a lot of reading and while I was taking my time and enjoying myself, the rest of the family were either preoccupied in entertaining my 1-year-old niece, Willow (who was more interested in moving on) or were bored and weren't that interested as I was. Oh well. Still worth a visit if you are a dinosaur fan.

Aug 22nd Strumpshaw Fen & Cley

There was a lot happening back at Strumpshaw while I was away. Ospreys were seen passing through and I really wanted to see one on my return. Sadly, it didn't happen. No ospreys to be seen. 

However, I discovered something different about the reserve that surprised me. While making my way to Tower Hide, I noticed that the place looked much fuller of water than when I left for Portsmouth. From the hide itself, the mud and the waders were gone and were replaced with water and many ducks. It was as if a drought was never declared. An amazing transformation. 

Willow Emerald Damselfly, Kingfisher,
Small Red-eyed Damselflies, Little Stint 
& Cattle Egret (Aug 22nd) & Chinese Water Deer (Aug 29th)

While at the Tower Hide, I was hoping to spot some garganey, but the early morning light made it hard to spot and identify them amongst the many silhouettes of teal, mallards, gadwall and shovelers. Though I failed to find a garganey, I did hear something that took me by surprise. The croaks of a raven was not something I was expecting to hear at Strumpshaw, but it sounded very close, though I was unable to locate it. One was seen a couple of days before, so it is possible that this was the same bird.

During my shift, I saw a kingfisher on the measuring post, some small red-eyed damselflies at the pond adjacent to the Reception Hide, herons, marsh harriers, bearded tits, swallows and house martins, a kestrel and also some willow emerald damselflies earlier on during the walk back for my shift.

My parents then picked me up and took me to Cley for the afternoon. Mum and I visited the hides, with the central one being very full of people. Why? Well, there was plenty to see. There was a spoonbill, snipe, lots of gulls, godwits, lapwings, a juvenile little ringed plover, ruff, a marsh harrier that was sitting at the back behind a short cover of reeds and two new species for my list, a little stint and a green sandpiper. We then had a cattle egret with the reserve's cattle grazing in the fields before Mum switched out with Dad and we walked to the beach via East Bank. Here we saw another spoonbill, redshanks, curlews, sandwich terns, a turnstone and many geese and godwits.

Aug 29th Strumpshaw Fen

Another week went by and another osprey was seen at Strumpshaw over the weekend. Of course, it didn't show itself for me on the day I was around. Typical! I did, on the other hand, I did get to see a kingfisher at Tower Hide and at Reception Hide, a swarm of swallows and house martins, a snipe and a Chinese water deer at Tower Hide, a muntjac deer, a great white egret at Reception, the odd marsh harrier, kestrel and bearded tit and many eclipsed-phased ducks. Still no garganeys though.

And that was the end of what was a very quiet month for me. I just couldn't get much opportunity to travel around other than to Strumpshaw to add to my bird list, which is now at 163 for my British list and 207 for my overall list. Not only has there been an actual drought in most of England, these past two months have really been a bird drought for me as well. I'm hoping to bounce back next month. My goal is to end the year on 200 British species. I hope I can do it. I've never done it before. As someone who doesn't drive, it is getting hard to organise a trip with someone and I've been feeling fed up on missing out on everything just lately. With the autumn migration already in motion, there is no better time to boost the numbers.

Heatwave

 July 4th Strumpshaw Fen

Coming into July, I was in agony as I was suffering with a muscle strain in my hip for a week and I was struggling to walk. I spent the weekend leading up to the first Strumpshaw shift of the month just resting. It didn't improve as I made my way to the reserve. However, I managed to not only get there just fine, but I also reached the pumphouse side of the Fen to watch the barn owls. 

I was in luck as the barn owls were showing really well this morning. One of the adults was out hunting over the meadows and every now and then would bring back the food to the young that I could see poking their heads from the owl box. I watched the owl for quite some time. It was such a beautiful sight and in broad daylight. I was happy to finally add a barn owl to my lists, taking me to 159 British birds and 203 overall.

Barn Owl & Large Scissor-Bee (July 4th),
Swallowtail Caterpillar & Little Tern (July 9th),
Swallowtail (July 11th), Silver-washed Fritillary
& White Admiral (July 18th) & Garganey (July 25th)

After a walk around the meadow trail looking for marsh helleborines but failing, I walked back to Reception Hide, finding a silver-washed fritillary on the brambles. The pain in my hip was starting to get to me by the time I got to the hide. I attempted to rest it as much as I could, but there was a lot of distractions. This included a bittern (which made 3 appearances, including a preening session in the reeds at the far side of the broad), a brief swallowtail flyby, a sparrowhawk sitting within the cherry tree outside the Reception Hide, bearded tits, large scissor-bees in the nectar garden, scarce chasers, common terns and a swallowtail caterpillar feeding on the hogweed plant (of all things) in front of the Reception Hide.

Later that day, I went to see a new osteopath to look at my hip and after leaving I felt the pain dissipate to the point I could walk again. After another session later that week, it had more or less faded away completely!

July 9th Winterton & Strumpshaw Fen

My parents and I popped over to Winterton to visit the colony of little terns that the RSPB are guarding and roped off. They have been very successful with about 300+ there and many of their young had now fledged and gathered on the beach beyond the ropes. It was a short visit and it provided me with a very easy tick that took me to 160 British birds and 204 overall.

We then returned to the car and made our way to Strumpshaw as we were attending the first annual volunteers BBQ in 3 years. It was nice to see everyone again and after eating enough burgers, we had a group walk around the reserve and saw a spotted flycatcher, a barn owl and a willow emerald damselfly.

July 11th Strumpshaw Fen

My hip was feeling so much better than it was before, but now I was having trouble traveling to Strumpshaw. I was waiting for the earliest bus into the city, as normal, however it never showed up and I had missed my train. So I had to get a taxi to the station and get a much later train than I wanted. This meant I had less time to go for my walk before my shift. When I arrived, I only had 30 minutes to search for marsh helleborines with no luck.

From Reception Hide, bearded tits were hopping down the reeds to drink and giving the odd flight to the reedy islands and a bittern poked his head out from the reedbed behind these islands. Near the end of my shift, a swallowtail was attracted to the buddleia around the corner from the hide, while the caterpillar was still on the hogweed in front of it.

July 18th Strumpshaw Fen

A heatwave had hit the UK with temperatures reaching nearly 40°C! I had to catch a taxi again, but managed to catch my train just in time to get to the reserve before the heat really kicked in and became unbearable. I wanted to try my luck with the marsh helleborines in the meadow trail again, but unfortunately it was closed off and mowed down. So I ended up in Fen Hide instead, seeing 2 lapwings, bearded tits, a bittern, marsh harrier fledglings, reed and sedge warblers and a little egret. I also had a great white egret from Reception Hide before hand when I arrived.

By the start of my shift, it got hotter and hotter. I spent as much time as I could in the hide where it was slightly cooler with a few back and forth short visits to the buddleia bush around the corner where silver-washed fritillaries and white admirals were finding the sweet nectar hard to resist. From the Reception Hide itself, I had sightings of little egrets, herons, bearded tits, a sparrowhawk and a brief swallowtail flyby. There was no sign of the caterpillar though. It likely pupated somewhere hidden.

July 21st Mousehold Heath

For the first time in about 3 years I went to Mousehold for a moth evening. It was a great turn out and though I wasn't there for more than an hour and a half, I was able to see some moths as they gradually turned up into the moth trap. Here's some of the highlights...

Bronze-winged Underwing, Dun-bar,
Willow Ermine, Rosy Tabby,
Parapoynx stratiotata & Peppered Moth

July 25th Strumpshaw Fen

The worse of the heatwave had passed. Norfolk had seen some wildfires, but thankfully, Strumpshaw was not hit by any. Instead, the reserve had mostly dried up. I visited Tower Hide, following a green woodpecker from Sandy Wall to the sluices along the way, and it looked dead and empty of water and life except for a couple of little egrets. Fen Hide was no better as it was reduced to a puddle and plants were beginning to sprout out where the water was.

Reception Hide was the place to be as the broad still had plenty of water (one of the few places on the reserve that did) and many ducks. The mixture of mallards, gadwall and shovelers (all looking not their best due to moulting) provided the action as not only was there a juvenile garganey amongst them, but also an otter and a cub or two forcing them to move to the opposite end of the broad. The otter was actively hunting for a majority of the morning and the cub(s) occasionally was play fighting and I could hear it/them making some playful noises. Also seen that day were; bearded tits, marsh harriers, several herons and little egrets, a family of swans, a cormorant, swallow and a sparrowhawk.

It has not been a great month for me and my bird lists. I was hindered by a hip injury, the extreme heat (I opted out from going outside in it), family activities and dino and mammoth hunting (there are many sculptures of t-rexes and mammoths around the city and county for the summer I wanted to see) that I only managed to see two new birds in the end. My total for July is 160 (British list), just one shy of my record from last year.

Rainbow Birds

 June 6th Strumpshaw Fen

A really horrible day at Strumpshaw as it rained heavily for most of the morning and barely anyone showed up. However, I did see an otter with a cub, marsh harriers, herons, a great white egret and a kingfisher and I heard bearded tits and a grasshopper warbler. We also had a scientist entertain us by collecting a water sample from the broad.

June 10th Buxton Heath

My former Reception Hide colleague Tricia and I had a little catch up session by visiting Buxton Heath for nightjars. It was a perfect night for it. But before dusk started to set in, we had a little walk around the site. Yellowhammers and linnets were seen singing on the tops of trees and wires, while moths were already on the wing. We even had a silver-studded blue land by our feet, a tiny butterfly that has tiny silvery dots within some black spots on the underwing that look like studs which give the insect its name.

Nightjar (June 10th) Spoonbill,
Red-crested Pochard, Brown Hare &
Silver-Y (June 12th) & Swallowtail (June 15th)

We then waited for it to get dark enough for the nightjars to stir. After a while, we began to hear them. One even did a mid-flight wing clap. Tricia then had a glimpse of one in a small woodland, but I missed it. Thankfully, I saw one myself in the open with the moonlight making it bright enough to see it clearly for a brief second. There was possibly 2-4 of these eerie-sounding birds churring on the heath and seemed to surround us in different directions. A night with nightjars, especially on a night like we had, is always a magical experience and one I recommend very highly if you have never done it before.

June 12th Titchwell

When I arrived to Titchwell today with Dad, there were two things on my agenda. First a spotted sandpiper, which had been seen for the last few days and I wanted to see it. The other, was to buy a digi-scope attachment that allows me to take photos with my phone on my scope and holds it in place. Unfortunately, nothing went to plan. 

The sandpiper, which had been there just a day before our visit, decided that today of all days to leave and, as for my new toy, it was good to start with, but after awhile, it became nothing but a frustration as it was very fiddly to keep taking it off and putting it back on every time I wanted to use it. I just couldn't get the camera part of my phone to align with the lens of the scope. I was hoping in buying this thing it would help me photograph sea birds while sea watching, but in the end I had no choice but to get my money back. A real shame.

It felt like a wasted trip and I was very disappointed and angry with myself. However, I did somehow get 3 new species to my lists, making it 155 for my British bird list and my overall year list (which includes Spanish birds from my holiday to Spain last month) total to 200! These three species were: bar-tailed godwits, sandwich terns and a red-crested pochard. The pochard was probably the stand out highlight out of the three with a stunning male at the pool by Patsy's Reedbed. 

Other highlights of the day included 3 spoonbills by the shore at the the beach and another at the final pool on the way there, marsh harriers, avocets and their chicks, a hobby, linnets, oystercatchers, sedge warblers, a cuckoo and a bittern that landed in the small East Pond as we sat on a bench overlooking it. The bittern then launched out again as we made our way around the pond. We then had a quick visit to Choseley Barns, but other than a hare, swallows, yellowhammers, a red kite and a flock of goldfinches, there was nothing new to add to my list.

June 13th Strumpshaw Fen

It was a decent day. It was sunny for the most part, but also a bit cloudy and slightly breezy yet good enough to be a brilliant day for insects. There was a bit of a dragonfly fest with many scarce chasers, black-tailed skimmers, banded demoiselles, red-eyed damselflies, but no Norfolk hawkers. Swallowtails occasionally were showing up at the nectar garden, while meadow browns, large skippers, red admirals and many small tortoiseshells were also about.

My highlight though was finding many ichneumon wasps (Ephialtes manifestator) crawling all over the bee login the nectar garden. They were finding holes occupied with bee nests and un-sheathing their really long ovipositors into these holes to lay their eggs onto the bee larvae inside. It was just so amazing to watch.

Also seen; marsh harriers coming close to the Reception Hide, a hobby, swallows and house martins and a bittern (which at one point was mobbed by the hobby).

June 18th Trimingham

North Norfolk has hit the headlines recently as a colony of 7 bee-eaters were found in a quarry near Trimingham. This was big news as it is the first time this colourful species have attempted to nest in the county.

Ichneumon Wasp (Ephialtes manifestator) (June 13th), Bee-eater (June 18th)
Scarce Chaser, Silver-washed Fritillary
& Otter (June 20th) & Curlew Sandpiper (June 26th) 

My Aunt Barbara asked me if I wanted to go see them with her. This was a rare outing with my aunt and though it was a dull grey, drizzly day, it was far cooler than the heatwave from the day before. I also feared that the make-shift RSPB platform and car park would be ridiculously packed. Surprisingly, it wasn't. Though there was still a crowd, it wasn't exactly heaving with people.

As soon as we arrived and payed the £5 car park fee, we were instantly seeing them. They were spectacular, a splash of colour in the light rain. The crowd was glued to their every movement. There wasn't a moment a bee-eater wasn't in sight. They were sitting outside their nest holes in the sandy bank to my right or perching on the telegraph wires to my left. Occasionally they would bring back a bee to the wires and after a bit of juggling to get them into position, they then bashed the bee against it before swallowing. We were so captivated by them that an hour passed. It wasn't until the cold was getting to my aunt due to the cold wind that we decided to leave. 

June 20th Strumpshaw Fen

Though it wasn't as unbearable as Friday 17th's heatwave, it was still pretty hot. I started the morning with a walk around the meadow trail with southern marsh orchids beginning to form a display. But, the meadow still seemed empty of flowers overall.

I then made my way to Tower Hide, seeing two great white egrets on the way. From the hide itself, a lot of moulting ducks and a pair of nesting common terns on eggs arguing with their black-headed gull neighbours. 

An otter and a hobby were the highlights at Reception Hide. Most of our visitors were more interested in circling the nectar garden waiting for a swallowtail and couldn't tear themselves away to see the otter. It is funny, as I was seeing the swallowtails flying over the broad more than by where they were, where the otter was hanging out.

After my shift, I went back to the meadow trail where many dragonflies were on the wing, including Norfolk hawkers. The brambles by the pond near the trail entrance provided great views of a silver-washed fritillary as well as many meadow browns, large skippers and ringlets.

Barn owls had been reported flying back and forth to the nest box at the far side of the meadows in broad daylight recently. I was willing to wait for them until they appeared for the rest of the day. However, I waited and waited and it was just getting hotter and hotter. There was no shade, so I was quite exposed to the sun. I waited until 6:30pm, before the heat was just too much for me and I decided to abandon my stakeout without a single owl in sight. They remain to elude my bird list this year.

June 26th Cley

A visit to Cley with Mum and it was a chance to get a few more birds to reach to 160 British species before the month ends. Pat's Pool provided me with a curlew sandpiper feeding in the centre of the dried up pool amongst the many lapwings and several redshanks, avocets, godwits and little egrets, while marsh harriers and swallows fly above. I then did a spot of sea watching and I was certain that I saw a flock of 4-5 little gulls, but the heat haze was making it hard to focus on them in more detail. There were also sandwich terns, cormorants and a seal. In the end my total fell short of by two.

June 27th Strumpshaw Fen

My final shift of the month and I joined Strumpshaw regular, Liz Dack, to the Tower Hide. There was a lot of eclipse-phased ducks, little egrets, a heron, a pair of great crested grebes feeding their large chicks with fish and the common tern pair attending to their eggs. I then had a little walk around the meadow trail where orchids were poking through everywhere in the tall grass, but I noticed that there wasn't much else. The trail was incredibly lacking of other flowers and seemed rather empty, which is kind of worrying to me.

At Reception Hide, it was a slow start to the shift. As the day went on though, visitor numbers began to grow and the swallowtails were showing, but only flying over the broad and while everyone wasn't looking. Bitterns were occasionally popping out of the reedbeds, a kingfisher made a couple of fly overs, the marsh harriers flew close to the hide a few times and there were more ducks not looking their best. Nothing new for my list, which means, by the end of June, my British list is at 158 and my personal year list is at 202.

My Spanish Pyrenees Adventure

Hola! From May 22nd to May 29th, I went on a week long trip to the Spanish Pyrenees as part of a group tour holiday package ran by Naturetrek. It was an adventure for me, full of ups and downs (quite literally in some cases). There were about 11 of us plus 2 guides, one of which owned the place we were staying and would also cook our meals with his wife. Here's all that happened and what we saw along the way... 

 Day 1

It was an early start as my parents drove me to Stanstead to catch my plane for Zaragoza. Once there, I met up with my group, got into one of our two mini buses and made our way to our base for the week, a small hotel in the picturesque town of Berdún. Along the way, I was adding new birds to my list starting with spotless starlings at the airport. Black and red kites were everywhere along the roadside, white storks were on their nests built on telegraph posts and, as fields became mountains, griffon vultures soared above.

At our base, we had a very late lunch. We were shown our rooms and I had a little amount of time to admire the garden and the view surrounding it. Nightingales were singing everywhere, including one by my bedroom window, but they were so well hidden in the undergrowth that I couldn't see them. Serins also jangled their songs from wires and branches, while house sparrows, swallows and house martins flew around us and on the buildings we were calling home for the week.

Once lunch was over and that we've settled in a bit, our guides took us to a beech forest area in Belagua. Here we found many orchids such as white helleborines, bird's-nest, lesser butterfly, green-winged and common spotted. There were also many interesting plants here too like green hellebore, purple toothwort and dragon's teeth and also butterflies including wood whites, speckled woods (which are orange here), and clouded yellows. I also encountered a large dor beetle.

On our way back, our guides suddenly grinded to a halt. There, sitting in the middle of a small field by the roadside was... A WILDCAT!!! It was a completely unexpected, out-of-the-blue highlight of all highlights of our holiday. It was only day one! It just sat there for a while, looking at us unfazed for several minutes. It then moved closer to us before eventually walking away into the nearest wooded area and vanishing from sight. Absolutely WOW!!!! 

There were a couple of other botanical highlights before we ended day one. First some greater butterwort (which traps and absorbs insects for their nutrients within the hairs along their leaves and stem) and then a spectacular lizard orchid in full flower while a thunderstorm suddenly rumbled in. The storm continued when we returned for the evening. This wasn't enough to prevent the nightingales from singing however. The one by my bedroom continued to belt out its loud, but beautiful song. These birds are known to sing throughout the night, which made me think if I was going to get any sleep at all.

Serin, Bee-eater, Griffon Vulture, Subalpine Warbler,
Woodchat Shrike, Lammergeier, Golden Oriole, Black Kite,
Crested Lark, Firecrest, Nightingale, Blue Rock Thrush,
Sardinian Warbler, Egyptian Vulture, Northern Wheatear, Hoopoe,
 Melodious Warbler, Citril Finch, Rock Sparrow, Corn Bunting
Rufous-tailed Rock Thrush, Water Pipit, Rock Bunting & Black Redstart

Day 2

I did get some sleep, but the nightingale did wake me up like some natural alarm clock. I tried to find one but was unsuccessful. I did have great views of serin and a pair of black redstart that was feeding their chicks in their nest built on top of a light fitting on the outside wall of one of our apartments.

Once breakfast was eaten, we spent the morning walking around Berdún and down a slope to the nearest river, the Rio Veral. There were plenty of wildlife very close to our base's doorstep. This included 11 new bird species to my list. Booted eagles, short-toed eagles, a bee-eater, a melodious warbler, rock sparrows, golden orioles, cirl buntings, Egyptian vultures, subalpine warblers and heard a western Orphean warbler and a western Bonelli's warbler, boosting the list to 168 and we also came across a spotted flycatcher and more griffon vultures, black kites and serins.

It was a good morning for plants, orchids and butterflies also with a variety of beautiful things like violet horned poppy, dodder, beautiful flax, an early spider orchid, a bee orchid, pyramidal orchids, a scarce swallowtail, clouded yellows, green-underside blues, Osiris blue, province charkhill blue, Panopti's blue, southern white admirals, knapweed fritillaries and many more. We spent so much time here that it was getting hotter and I was getting fairly tired with my clothes getting drenched in my own sweat. Spain was in a heatwave before we arrived, and though it wasn't as bad as it had been, I was beginning to feel the heat draining me.

We had lunch back at base, which helped gave me time to recover quite a bit to the point in which I was feeling myself again. But we were back out on the road again as soon as we had finished, heading to another nearby river, the Rio Aragón. We were keeping it very local today, but there was so much to see here still. The highlights for me had to be a colony of very colourful bee-eaters that were nesting together within a riverbank. We also heard a wryneck, came across some military orchids, sombre bee-orchids, an Adonis blue and added woodlark, yellow-legged gull and heard an Iberian green woodpecker to my list, taking it to a tally of 174 species.

As we kept getting distracted by everything we kept finding, the afternoon sun was taking a toll on me again. I was feeling really tired and light-headed. Our guides wanted us to walk around the other side of the river, however, other members of my group were worried about me and wanted me to head back to base with a few others that had also had enough. I reluctantly left with the group heading to the base, but not to miss out on anything, I gave my camera to someone and they got me a woodchat shrike for my bird photo collection (but will not count towards my list), some brown bluebells and a woodcock orchid, of which I also found back at base while I was waiting for them to return.

Bird's-nest Orchid, White Helleborine, Sword-leaved Helleborine, Champagne Orchid
Lizard Orchid, Early Spider Orchid, Lax-flowered Orchid, Lady Orchid
Military Orchid, Woodcock Orchid, Elder-flowered Orchid & Lady's Slipper Orchid

Day 3

I woke up on day 3 looking for nightingales around our base. I managed to find one, but the light was poor for a photo and it moved around a lot. I was so close in achieving one thing I wanted to do on this trip. My nightingale hunt continued. On the plus side, I did get a photo of a crested lark that was perched on top of the swing set in the hotel's garden.

This time, our guides took us to a couple of gorges in the Fargo Valley region. They were taking us to the foothills of the Pyrenees, a little higher in altitude than we've been so far. The weather was different, being overcast and slightly chilly. It was actually a relief for me after suffering yesterday, but it was a rubbish day for butterflies. There was even a bit of rain at one point. We stopped at a viewpoint and were greeted by many griffon vultures sitting on the cliffs waiting for a good thermal to appear on this cold, dull day.

They did eventually find one and took to the air circling over the valley. They were joined by Egyptian vultures, alpine swifts, common swifts and crag and house martins. Not only that, we had a rock bunting, a western Bonelli's warbler, a short-toed treecreeper, a firecrest and a blue rock thrush that leapt into the air to perform it's song flight displays.

Further up, we investigated an area of small hilly meadows, but didn't see too much other than another Bonelli's warbler, a black-veined white and a large tortoiseshell. We then had a picnic lunch at some picnic tables beside an abandoned outdoor swimming pool that is now a makeshift wildlife pond full of water plants and Iberian water frogs.

Next, we stopped at the lovely, little old town of Ansó for a coffee and toilet break. We found a café that initially was closed, but the owner noticed us and kindly reopened. Most of us went inside, but I joined the guides and drank at the tables outside. It was at this moment the bird I've been hoping to see the most on this trip appeared over the town. A lammergeier! Also known as a bearded vulture, this was a big orange-breasted bird with a slight moustache that gives the bird its alternative name. It caught us by surprise and had enough time to grab and fumble around with the camera for one dodgy photo. After it disappeared behind all the buildings, I needed to make my visit to the toilet. And it was at this moment the lammergeier decided to return! I missed it and as I had the camera with me, missed my shot.

Refreshed, we left Ansó and headed to our next location. However, our guides had other plans for this location and purposely drove passed it and beyond. They dropped us of a few miles down the road alongside a river. We were inside a gorge and the plan was for us to walk back up the road, following the river all the way back to our intended destination, a meadow. It was a long walk, but the cool weather helped a lot and the hope of spotting a dipper got me going. We never found one, but I did see plenty of vultures, crag martins, a brief glimpse of a short-toed treecreeper, spotted flycatchers and a grey wagtail.

The plant hunters of the group were happy finding some endemics including Pyrenean saxifrage and ramonda, a very tiny purple flower that they made me risk my life to peek around a rock on the sharp edge of the gorge to look at it! When we finally reached the meadow, there was nothing there! Nothing at all! A waste of time, but a fun walk anyway.

Wildcat, Praying Mantis, Pinnacles of Riglas
Berdún, Alpine Marmot, Castle of Loarre, Chamois
Wall Lizard, Hecho Valley, Egyptian Locust & The Pyrenees

Day 4

It all started pretty well and fairly early on day 4. I woke up to go on my own little walk before breakfast. One other member of the group decided to get up to join me at 6am, in which it was still dark with nightingales singing from almost every bush. I wanted to revisit the Rio Veral again to try and get some photos of some of the birds that I was unable to the other day. This time, I was able to photograph a subalpine warbler and a black kite eating a bird on the wing.

 We went as far as a bridge, but while I was distracted by a few birds on a rocky outcrop, my walk partner somehow managed to get right under a golden oriole while my back was turned. By the time I reached to the spot he was standing, the bird of course flew off. If I was not distracted, I would have gotten a shot of it! We also heard a turtle dove, a cuckoo and saw corn buntings, black redstarts, linnets and short-toed eagles.

On the main agenda, we were heading to the Hecho Valley to climb a steep rocky slope to try and see a wallcreeper at its nest. We were pretty much hiking up a mountain with a 50/50 chance of seeing a small but colourful rock-loving nuthatch that prefers to live at the highest peaks. Before we made the ascent, however, I added a few more birds to my list close to the car park; citril finches, crossbills and a red-backed shrike. The plants were good too with Pyrenean trumpet gentian, sword-leaved helleborine, ciliate rock-jasmine and a one-flowered wintergreen.

The climb up to the wallcreeper ledge was hard for me. The path was narrow and very uneven. For someone who lives in a county which is very flat, this was becoming a challenge to far and I was really struggling. It was also very cold, not the place to be wearing shorts. Good job I packed a pair of trousers with me. I found a spot further up to change away from the group. After a while, all that we could see was lammergeier, some chough, a distant herd of Pyrenean chamois and several griffon vultures. The wallcreeper was a bust! It was a waste of our time as patience waned and the cold was getting too much. I did not enjoy the journey down. My phobia of slipping down high places did not help at all here as I ungracefully navigated each dodgy foothold.

Back at the car park, we then drove on to a grassy spot for a picnic with a crested tit as company. But then, after lunch, I noticed something missing. My phone!! I could not find it anywhere! I last remember using it up the mountain taking photos of the scenery and plants. I must have lost it on the way down somewhere! Unfortunately, we weren't heading back to find it. My phone was lost forever!

Despite my loss, we moved on to some breathtaking viewpoints and a couple of monasteries (including San Juan de la Peña) with encounters of a mole, a scarce swallowtail and some champagne orchids along the way. However, my heart was not really in it. I was feeling rather depressed after losing my phone. Without it, I had no sense of time as I used it as my clock and as my alarm to get up in the mornings. I was unable to keep in touch with my parents directly either. I had to use my guide's phone. I could only remember their house number, but all I could get was their answer machine. I got really angry, really upset and was in quite a bad place mentally.

Southern White Admiral, Knapweed Fritillary, Clouded Apollo, Camberwell Beauty,
Pearly Heath, Black-veined White, Hummingbird Hawkmoth, Passenger Moth
Scarce Swallowtail, Duke Of Burgundy, Oak Hawkmoth & Bordered Straw 

Day 5

I had a terrible night. My mind was eating at me the whole night. Not only that, my stomach was playing up and I had to rush to the toilet to avoid soiling the bed and I was also fighting the stupid bedsheets the entire night. With no phone, I had to ask someone to wake me up for an optional morning walk at 6:45am.

I joined half of the group that also decided to go to this little place a short ride down the road. There were nightingales everywhere (but I was unable to see a single one), turtle doves, corn buntings, a woodchat shrike, woodlarks and a melodious warbler and some lax-flowered orchids. A nice start of the day that cheered me up just a little.

After breakfast, before boarding our buses for our latest outing, I finally achieved something I always wanted to get while out here at long, long last. A photo of a nightingale! One was singing in full view at our base long enough for me to get my shot. With all that had happened and the fact I got this photo after half the week failing, I became so unusually emotional that I teared up! At last, something to feel happy about.

It was going to be a less tiring day as we were heading to some tourist-y places. First was a stop at the Embalse de la Peña dam, where many house martins nested in the cliff crevices by the roadside. The odd crag martin was here too, but they were overshadowed by a male blue rock thrush with a beak-ful of worms on the dam wall. An absolute stunner that was clearly feeding young nearby.

The Pinnacles of Riglas was up next. These huge towers of rock are a very popular climbing destination. Thankfully, we weren't going interested in joining the thrill seekers that were already half way up them. The area around the pinnacles were really good for Sardinian warblers and after many failed attempts, I eventually got a photo of one, one of the best of the holiday in fact. Vultures, alpine swifts and choughs were high in the blue sky and there were some butterfly highlights including a blue-spot hairstreak. 

On the way to Agüero church, our picnic destination, our bus dodged an Iberian grass snake that slithered across the road. The church itself had an interesting history, but we couldn't go in it, so we ate our lunch next to it with rock sparrows and a short-toed treecreeper for company.

As the hot afternoon sun hit, our final stop of the day was at the Castle of Loarre. Here, we split up to do our own thing. Most of us were at the café, its air condition and cool drinks made it a perfect place to refuge from the heat outside, a few paid entry to the castle, while I and a few others had a walk around the grounds for wildlife. There was a raven flying above my head, corn buntings, stonechats, serins, clouded yellows and an Egyptian locust. Nothing too overly exciting, but it ended a day I really needed and I felt like I was far more happier than I was yesterday. Then news came that I was getting a replacement phone and I was able to talk to Mum finally when we returned to base for the evening.

Purple Toothwort, Greater Butterwort, Green Hellebore, Dragonmouth,
Violet-horned Poppy, Ramonda, Pyrenean Snakeshead, Pyrenean Daffodil,
Pyrenean Saxifrage, Pyrenean Trumpet Gentian, Brown Bluebell & Creeping Globularia

Day 6

We returned to rocky slopes and tiring amount of walking today. We were heading even higher in altitude into the Aisa Valley. It was a hot day, but up we were going, it was to be a little cooler. On the way, we came across a pair of Montagu's harriers beside the road and, while driving up and up and up to the car park, we were greeted by the sight of 6+ lady orchids in great condition.

A steep concreate path awaited us as we made our way up to the meadows of the valley itself. Once up there, it was a botanist's dream with many alpine plants on display. This included many orchids such as broad-leaved marsh, fragrant, early purple and two colour versions of elder-flowered orchid (yellow and purple). It was a colourful place full of gentians, buttercups and many other plants, covering a rainbow of colour as a stream cuts through between them. There were a variety of butterflies up here too, including dingy and grizzled skippers, Queen of Spain fritillaries, clouded yellows and a green hairstreak. 

Citril finches, lammergeiers, red billed choughs, a raven, a short-toed eagle, kestrels, red kites, rock buntings and a colony of house martins nesting in a cave provided me with the avian highlights, though I did manage to add alpine chough to my list as well. There were also many lizards and a few alpine marmots and chamois. 

With the long day of hiking around rough terrain and crossing the stream several times via stepping stones, we returned to base for our evening meal. After that, our guides took us to a spot where eagle owls often appear from their roosts to fly over the tops of a forest. Sadly, not this time. However, we did see nightjars and heard a midwife toad peeping in the dark. 

Day 7

Our final full day as a group and we began with a moth session. The guides had set up a moth trap overnight and there were so many moths and even a couple of praying mantis. There were moths everywhere, not just in the trap but on the surrounding walls too. The highlights include a oak hawkmoth, the passenger, a goat moth, a bordered straw and the shark to name just a few.

Once that was over, we travelled to the Spanish/French border. Our first stop was a special one as we parked beside a busy road in the Tena Valley region. A man with a pipe and hiking stick was on guard as he had been for a couple of decades or so. What was he guarding? One of only two locations in Spain to see lady's slipper orchids. This roadside spot was discovered about 50 years ago. They were so beautiful! I've always wanted to see one. It wasn't a very long visit, but it was a very satisfying one.

We then travelled to Portalet, a place that gave me a feeling of deja vu as it was to be another place of up and down rocky slopes just like yesterday. Thankfully, it wasn't quite as long and there was a bar nearby to retreat to. This was a place the guides knew that had alpine accentors. Unfortunately, not this time as those of the group fit enough to go up to a high spot that usually had them were nowhere to be seen. That section of the site was just too steep for me, so I didn't join them. However, I did see many wheatears, water pipits, black redstarts and a few alpine marmots. We had some good plants too, such as Pyrenean snakeshead and some alpine daffodils.

We didn't find the alpine accentors, but I was responsible in finding one bird better. I was scanning the rocks and I noticed something poking out of one. It was a rufous-tailed rock thrush! The bird was so inconspicuous that the group couldn't believe I even found it. I took a couple of photos, but they were a bit effected by the distance and heat haze that they were a bit blurry to really appreciate its bright colours.

Sallent a la Sarra was our destination for lunch and our final walk of the trip. We followed a river on both sides, making a loop back towards the car park. Butterflies were amazing here. There were so many of them and of many species, from skippers to blues to fritillaries and everything in between. My favourites were the magnificent Camberwell beauties, the small but colourful Duke of Burgundies and some clouded apollos. We also had a golden eagle soaring very high in the bright blue sky.

Day 8

We travelled back to Zaragoza for our plane home. It was kind of sad as we went by places we've visited before. Leaving the Pyrenees behind, I added two new birds to my list on the way to the airport; a hoopoe and a purple heron, both flying by or over the bus. It leaves me on 197 species, an additional 46 species. Though, I will have to kind of reset back to 151 species and try and make the same number for my British list. 

The plane was very delayed, which kind of soured things just a little bit on what was a fun yet tiring and emotional vacation. I've even got a new phone out of it and many great memories of things I've always wanted to see or never thought I'd see.

Unexpected Ticks

 May 1st Strumpshaw Fen

It is International Dawn Chorus Day and Dad and I were up before sunrise to experience it at Strumpshaw. I've done it twice here before and both times were magical, full of mist that gradually melted away in bright sunshine while bitterns boomed and barn owls hunt in the illuminated gloom. This time, however, wasn't quite as amazing as it was overcast, providing no grand sunrise, and the bitterns didn't really boom and there were no owls in sight.

With it being overcast, the darkness just slowly dimmed into daylight like using a dimmer light switch. And though it was lacking in bitterns, it was still an interesting dawn chorus with a slightly different cast of songsters than previously. We arrived at the reserve at 4:20am and the reedbeds were already alive with sedge, Cetti's and grasshopper warblers, cuckoos and greylags. The grasshopper warblers and cuckoos were definitely the stars of the show for this morning's chorus as I could hear them everywhere.

Grey Wagtail (May 1st), Wall Butterfly (May 2nd)
Ring Ouzel (May 9th), Black-winged Stilt (May 14th)

Walking around the reserve and as the morning progressed, more and more birds joined in. Blackcaps, willow warblers, chiffchaffs, shelducks, redshanks, marsh harriers, greenfinches, stock doves, song and mistle thrushes, whitethroats and even redwings were just some of the birds we heard from all over the reserve. While walking back from Tower Hide, a lesser whitethroat surprised us with a brief appearance by alerting us with a short and very quick song outburst. We also came across a stoat, the bluebells in full display, pochards, several black-head gulls and a great crested grebe building their nests at Tower Hide and, at Reception Hide, a female grey wagtail was the best way to end the walk on.

On the way home, though, disaster struck when the fan belt in my parent's car came off not too far away from home! It made this year's dawn chorus a memorable one for all the wrong reasons.

May 2nd Strumpshaw Fen

It was a bank holiday Monday and I wasn't sure about bus times and with the car out of commission, so I decided to walk from home to Norwich train station. I ended up doing a LOT of walking today. Walking to Tower Hide and back was a bit of an overkill. However, I did see a cuckoo, marsh harriers, pochards, wigeon, shovelers, gadwall and redshanks, so wasn't all bad. And on the way back to Reception Hide, I had a wall brown butterfly fly around me on the Sandy Wall.

At Reception Hide, I saw my first hobby of the year, a kingfisher, a grey wagtail (that was the star of the show), swallows, bearded tits, ducklings and cygnets, a pied wagtail and many black-headed gulls.

After my shift, I was offered a lift back to Brundall station by Strumpshaw regular and friend, Liz Dack. We had a quick detour as we stopped at an area of trees where little owls were known to frequent. We managed to hear one and then a very brief glimpse as it flew into one of the very leafed trees. Still counted for me and it took me to 143 bird species this year.

May 9th Strumpshaw Fen & Buckenham

A group of hares chasing a female in a field greeted me as I made my way to Strumpshaw for another week. It was a great start and it got even better when I added a garden warbler to my year list. It was providing some good views as it sang in an almost leafless tree along the river as I was heading to Tower Hide. Sadly, I couldn't get any photos as I was having trouble locating it with my camera.

The sky was full of hobbies, but I still couldn't find any swifts yet. It wasn't until a day or two later when I saw these aerial screechers on the way to work. On the nectar garden log, red mason bees and various other bees and wasp species that target their nests were very busy. Butterflies were everywhere, including orange-tips, holly blues, speckled woods, peacocks and brimstones and there were even a few dragonflies and damselflies on the wing too. The bluebells were in full display still in the wood, but despite being reported, I couldn't find the spotted flycatchers that were apparently in the area. I also heard a grasshopper warbler, seen the odd bearded tit, swallows, marsh harriers, herons, sedge, willow and reed warblers and blackcaps.

Before heading home, my Reception Hide partner for the day, Barry, took me to a sandy, rabbit hole ridden pit in a paddock not far from the Buckenham Marshes car park to see a male ring ouzel that had suddenly been reported. It didn't take long to spot it hopping around at the top of the pit providing the best views I've ever had. You could see the white breast patch very clearly. Finally! I could finally tick one off my list at long last! I even got a few photos for my bucket list challenge.

May 14th Hickling Broad

Hickling was becoming a hive of activity recently with all kinds of things showing up. This included black-winged stilts and swallowtails. It was the perfect excuse for an outing there with my parents and seek them out.

Brendan's Marsh was the place to be. The place where the stilts and many other interesting waders were being seen at. Arriving to this part of the reserve, we instantly got a male stilt and very close views too. It's black and white body appears to bounce around on its long, gangly red legs that create its characteristic movements as it searched for food amongst the short submerged grass. I ended up seeing possibly another 1-3 others throughout the morning, which made me wonder if these scarce birds would breed here this year.

We explored these pools for the rest of the morning and I added a yellow wagtail and a wood sandpiper to my list. There were many ringed and little ringed plovers, a few dunlin, redshanks, a spotted redshank, common sandpipers, the odd godwit and plenty of goslings. Unfortunately, I couldn't find the ring ouzel, Temminck's stint or even the bittern that were also around while I was there.

After lunch, we went for a walk to the hides and to search for swallowtails that had recently emerged. It started well with a kingfisher at Cadbury Hide. But, it was along the path towards the Observatory Hide where things got exciting. Not one, not two, but 4-5 swallowtails ended up flying around us here (though not all at once). Disappointingly, not a single one landed to pose for a photo.

We also saw many hobbies, a few common terns, some low flying marsh harriers, dragonflies and butterflies everywhere, heard cranes bugling, a bittern booming, bearded tits pinging, a cuckoo calling from somewhere and we ended the trip getting passed some Konic ponies that were blocking our way.

May 15th Norwich

A black redstart had been reported at Anglia Square on the day I was out at Hickling. Thinking that it could still be there, I left my flat and walked down reasonably early in the morning while the traffic was fairly quiet and there weren't too many people were around. Before I even reached the car park, I could hear it singing from some distance away. And as I arrived at the car park, there it was, singing from the roof top. Climbing up the stairs to the next level, where the abandoned cinema is, I managed to get better views. This was to be my 150th bird and what a funny and ironic location to get it, above the place I work at!

Kingfisher & Konic Ponies (May 14th)
Black Redstart (May 15th), Scarce Chaser (May 16th)
Swallowtail & Ichneumon Wasp (May 30th) 

May 16th Strumpshaw Fen

I had a list of things to look for before my latest shift was over. First up, searching for spotted flycatchers in the woods. I got to the den building area and found a pair fairly quickly. A few yards later, and another pair by the bluebells. Two pairs not far from each other, I couldn't had asked for anything better. They posed on branches as they normally do, but as soon as I tried to get a photo, they moved to the next branch. Not getting a photo was my only regret to what was a great encounter to my 151st bird.

Next up, I sat by the meadow gate pond and had a couple of glimpses of a water vole. I hadn't seen a water vole at Strumpshaw for years. It was very surprising as there's still a mink problem at the reserve, but with so many water vole sightings recently, it is very reassuring.

When I got back to the Reception Hide, it suddenly got a bit stormy as a thunderstorm appeared. Thankfully, it was only a couple of rumbles and a short, sudden shower that didn't lead to much. However, it may had been enough to delay the swallowtails at Strumpshaw as none were seen. 

So no swallowtails, but I did get a scarce chaser dragonfly, which was an immature male as it was orange with a black line down the abdomen. Also seen was a kingfisher, hobbies, swallows, common terns, muntjac deer, red mason bees and ruby-tailed wasps, though I missed out on a pair of cranes flying over the reserve while I was helping someone answering a bird question.

May 22nd - 29th The Spanish Pyrenees

This is an adventure that I will talk about next time. Look forward to it.

May 30th Strumpshaw Fen

After a week in Spain, I arrived to Strumpshaw and noticed a few changes that happened while I was away. The booth attached to the Reception Hide was gone! The hide was open to the public after over 2 years since it was forced to close due to Covid-19 restrictions. Inside, I noticed that my drawing that I did to celebrate my first 10 years as a volunteer and for the reserve's 45th anniversary was hung on the wall behind the desk. 

Another change was that the meadow trail was open. There wasn't much around at the moment, but I did hear a grasshopper warbler nearby. Meanwhile, at the Fen Hide, I watched a female marsh harrier collect nesting material from right in front of the hide. I also heard cuckoos, bearded tits and Cetti's warblers.

At Reception Hide, it was a great morning for swallowtail butterflies. At least 2-3 were flying around the surrounding area of the hide. Of course, as of previous years before the lockdowns, many people were seeking for them and were having a good time watching them pose for them as they drink the nectar from the irises and other flowers nearby. I also saw a hobby, swallows, house martins, swifts, some kind of ichneumon wasp and a heron.

Bursting To Life

 April 2nd Whitlingham Broad

My first trip out in April and it was a dull one. There was not much out of the ordinary and not a single swallow in sight. The broad was mostly dominated with black-headed gulls and a few tufted ducks and great crested grebes and a couple of blackcaps. Not a visit to remember.

April 3rd Morston to Stiffkey, Cley & Salthouse

I had a surprise invitation to go out with my former Reception Hide partner, Tricia. She was going to check on her boat in Morston and wondered if I wanted to go with her and and spend the day birding along the North Norfolk coast. Of course, I accepted.

After the quick boat check, we walked from Morston harbour to Stiffkey Fen, where a dusky warbler was about. It was a long walk, but produced plenty of things along the way. This included a large flock of probably 100+ linnets, a red kite, 2 buzzards, 2 kestrels, 2 stonechats, many brent geese, shelducks, redshanks, curlews, black-tailed godwits, knot, golden plovers, a grey plover and marsh harriers.

Eventually, we reached this path along the edge of the fen where the warbler was supposed to be. Not far down the path beside a ditch, I heard a strange 'tsck' call and glimpsed the potential bird in question. I then noticed a group of twitchers further up in a clearing. Turned out we had found the warbler and they were looking in the wrong place. We took them to where we heard it last and it wasn't long until we came across it again.

Dusky Warbler, Avocet & Wheatear (April 3rd) & Garganey (April 11th)

We had a few more glimpses until Tricia decided to leave me to fetch the car back at Morston so that she could return to pick me up and have lunch. While I waited, the warbler was showing itself a lot more, including one very brief moment being on a branch in the open right in front of me. Annoyingly, it was impossible for me to photograph as it was constantly on the move and obscured by foliage.

A dusky warbler was basically a chiffchaff but browner with a pale supercilium and is from Serbia and Asia. It made itself easier to locate when it made its call which is short and sharp, but could easily be misheard as it was very subtle at times. This was my first ever dusky warbler and though I had decent views, I could not get a single photo. A tick to my list, but not a tick to my photo bucket list challenge.

Next up was a visit to Cley, where we saw another red kite, avocets, ruff, oystercatchers, ringed plovers, curlews, godwits, shelducks, wigeon, a little egret and a turnstone. Then we made a quick stop at Salthouse marshes before heading home and saw a handsome male wheatear to end the day on.

April 4th Strumpshaw Fen

After a very sunny and beautiful day out with Tricia, the next day at Strumpshaw couldn't had been any more different. It was a bit drizzly and grey. Thankfully, it did brighten up by the afternoon. During my walk, I had a snipe fly over and that was about it. While at Reception Hide, there was a bittern fly by, a sparrowhawk, marsh harriers and bearded tits.

April 9th Whitlingham Broad

Another uneventful walk around Whitlingham. Again, mostly black-headed gulls and a few tufted ducks and still no swallows.

April 10th Norwich

While making my way to Carrow Road to watch what became a rare Premier League win against Burnley, I walked along river hoping to see a grey wagtail. I was successful! I found one singing on a fence post behind the Playhouse theatre. It took me to 122 birds for 2022!

April 11th Strumpshaw Fen

A sunny morning and a good one that saw my list boost up by three. First to be added was a willow warbler and then a sedge warbler during my walk. Then, at Reception Hide, I finally got my first swallow!

On my pre-shift walk, I visited Tower Hide, seeing just black-headed gulls, a few tufted ducks, a pair of pochards and shelducks. Then, on the way back, a pair of garganey by the bench overlooking the Accidental Broad near the sluices. I also saw redshanks, marsh harriers and an early nomad bee (Nomada leucophthalma). There was a brief visit to Buckenham, but nothing much other than lapwings, greylags, a few Chinese water deer, little egrets and a flock of linnets.

April 18th Strumpshaw Fen

An overcast Easter Monday, but a very good day over all. I had a quick walk to the sluices and back and saw a pair of bearded tits, a marsh harrier carrying nesting material, my first whitethroat of the year and heard a green woodpecker and a couple of grasshopper warblers reeling.

Back at Reception, a cuckoo was calling from a tall silver birch and later moved to other trees and shrubs in view from the hide. Common terns have also returned from migration, as were reed warblers, which joined the other 6 warbler species that I could hear from the Reception (sedge, willow, Cetti's, chiffchaff, blackcap and grasshopper). I also saw swallows, coots with 8 chicks, a shelduck and red mason bees. My list was now at 130 bird species!

My parents showed up for lunch and an afternoon walk through the woods, pass the pumphouse, along the river, a quick visit to Fen Hide and back for an ice cream at Reception Hide. We had an encounter with a mole pushing up soil (though we didn't see the mole itself), a vole, marsh harriers flying low over our heads, hearing a grasshopper warbler by Fen Hide and ending the walk with an otter in front of the Reception Hide.

April 24th Thornham, Titchwell & Choseley Barns

It was my turn to organise a trip out with Tricia and we went to the North Norfolk coast in the hope of finding a ring ouzel or two as well as anything else we can find. We began at a field outside Thornham where three dotterel had been reported. After a short walk down a country track sandwiched between hedges and farmland and passing many people on a sponsored walk wearing yellow Norwich shirts, we came across a group of twitchers who quickly pointed them out these colourful plovers to us. 

Early Nomad Bee (Nomada leucophthalma) (April 11), Red Mason Bee (April 18th),
Dotterel, Little Ringed Plover
& Temminck's Stint (April 24th) & Raven (April 30th) 

The views were really effected by heat haze, but they were charming birds with one stunning male and two females. These birds were only stopping here momentarily before they head north to breed on the mountains of Scotland, in which it is the male that does all the brooding. We spent about an hour to admire them and I tried to get some good photos, but sadly the heat haze was just awful and I had to settle with what I've got. While fighting my camera and the haze, two ring ouzels flew over. I missed them, but Tricia saw them. However, she wasn't satisfied as they were like two distant black dots. We had to settle with a female wheatear instead. The search continues!

Our next and main destination was Titchwell. It wasn't ring ouzels we wanted to see here but a Temminck's stint. This was a very tiny wader and one I haven't seen before. It took some time and a short trip to the beach until we finally managed to get the best and closest views of it from the Parinder Hide. Even then, my camera was battling to focus properly. The stint itself wasn't the most exciting to look at, just a small brown and white wader, but the way it moved was pretty interesting as it swayed its head from side to side as it searched for food.

Not only did I add dotterel and Temminck's stint to my list, I also added spoonbill, spotted redshank (a very dark and distant one), house martins and common sandpipers. On top of that were little ringed and common ringed plovers, avocets, ruffs, turnstones, sanderlings, oystercatchers, red kites, marsh harriers, greylags with goslings, common terns, linnets, swallows, pochards, a great white egret and a large red damselfly.

Our final stop was at Choseley Barns. This is usually a good place to see corn buntings, but we didn't see any this time around. But we did get lucky in finding two grey partridges and flocks of yellowhammers. And as we drove towards Docking, a hare ran in front of Tricia's car before darting into a hedgerow. My list was now only 2 away from 140!

April 25th Strumpshaw Fen

Similar to last Monday, but not quite as good. However, I did hear 2 grasshopper warblers, had a kingfisher briefly perch in front of Reception Hide, finally added a sand martin to my list and saw a cuckoo, a great crested grebe, a juvenile great black-backed gull, marsh harriers, a very pale buzzard and many, many black-headed gulls. 

April 30th North Norfolk

I was given a tip off that ravens were nesting at a site in North Norfolk. Ravens are a rare sight in Norfolk, so to have a pair nest here is quite something special. It wasn't hard to locate the nest (which I will keep hush hush for now) and one bird was sitting on it, while the second provided all of my attention as it sat in full view in a tree nearby. It sat there preening the entire time my mum and I were there and it kept calling every now and then. I couldn't ask for any better of a view and took many photos of it. A great bird to make as my 140th species for my 2022 bird list!

High above the raven, we watched 2 red kites and 2 buzzards circle over us. There was another red kite by the lake and was trying to catch one of the many ducklings on the water. There were many ducklings and goslings (of greylag and barnacle geese), oystercatchers, tufted ducks, swallows and a pair of shelducks also seen today.