May 16th

The middle of May is when we can usually expect to see the first Spotted Flycatchers returning to Norfolk from their African wintering grounds and this morning one had appeared in a sheltered, sunny hedgerow behind Laurel Lodge at the top of our lane. It wasn't at all active and just sat looking content on its warm, sunny perch, perhaps digesting a belly full of juicy St. Mark's flies. These bumbling, black insects have been quite abundant this Spring although they must surely be coming to the end of the short adult phase of their life cycle. No longer such a common breeding bird here I paused to watch the Flycatcher with background music provided by a nearby male Garden Warbler.