April 26th

As it turned out, the first part of the morning was quite productive for me on the bird front. First off, a smart Fieldfare was in a field on the East Ruston side of the parish boundary, a bit of a straggler as the majority of Fieldfares will have left the UK now. I then drove south through Whimpwell Green, noting a 'blackbird' close to the edge of a barley field which appeared innocuous enough. However, my subconscious made me check the rear view mirror and brake, telling me that the birds wings looked rather too pale for a Blackbird. Reversing up, I found myself watching a female Ring Ouzel tugging an earthworm out of the ground which she quickly swallowed before flying up into a row of tall Leylandii. It was a brief view, but the pale edged wing feathers and dingy white breast band quickly confirmed the identity of this mountain and moorland breeding, summer visiting thrush. Numbers of Ring Ouzels breeding in the UK have been in decline, so her destination may have been further afield, in Scandinavia for example. A regular passage visitor to Norfolk, the species usually appears in reasonable numbers mostly along the coast and it seems that this year has not been an exception with several small groups and individuals reported.


At just after 8:00am I bundled Ossie into the car and we took the short drive up towards Rollesby Way, just south of the lighthouse. I like to bring him here as, more often than not, he can come off the lead straight away and have a good run along the wide, grassy track. Halfway along the track we bumped into Lucy the Labrador who was also out for her daily exercise and after ten minutes of chasing about I had a tired and rather muddy dog at my side. A Wheatear flew up and past us and whilst scanning a field boundary lush with fresh Alexanders a small bird, perched atop a stem, puzzled me briefly. I didn't have to wait too long to get a better view though, for it turned its head to reveal the blazing white stripe above the eye, dark face and peachy breast of a male Whinchat. I didn't have my 'scope to hand so had to make do with quite distant binocular views of this handsome bird as it fed by dropping down to the bare soil of a sugar beet field. A little further on, a flock of 14 Woodpigeons plus two Stock Doves flew purposefully north, a reminder that even birds we may think of as being resident are often concealing birds that have joined us for the Winter, and at some point get the urge to migrate back. Carrying on we passed through the Decca site, at which point I heard the unmistakable grating call of a Sandwich Tern. From the cliff edge I could see six of them perched on the sea defences, an equal number of the smaller Common Tern also present, both being firsts for the year here for me. Tracking back across the field and along Upton Way we turned towards the car and I stopped to scan the sugar beet field again. The dry earth was obviously to the liking of Wheatears, for nine were feeding here. Some of the males were large, bright 'Greenland' types, their breeding grounds still a long flight away across the North Atlantic. Almost back at the car I felt it worth checking another beet field and sure enough, there were more Wheatears. This time, seven were present, making a minimum count of 16 in quite a small area. I went home to clean Ossie up, happy in the knowledge that Spring was really finally here...

April 25th

Expecting a warm and sunny day I was surprised to see completely cloudy skies when I awoke this morning. I kicked myself for not getting up earlier, but following two weeks of 4am get ups, I was glad of the lie in! Following a few spots of light rain the sun broke through and it brightened for a while, although remaining somewhat hazy. With Ossie leading the way, we headed along the lane and it soon became apparent that there had been a small arrival of migrants, for the hedgerows and cover around the paddocks held more warblers than recently. The recent Willow Warbler was still singing and along the route I heard another and saw one more. Four Blackcaps were seen too and at least six Common Whitethroats, but the star was a Garden Warbler in a Willow near Briar Cottage. I was especially pleased to see this as I'd missed them in Spring last year, although this bird remained silent and soon flew into the more extensive cover behind Laurel Lodge. Another bonus came in the form of a female Redstart which proved rather elusive as it fed along a fenced hedgerow bordering the main paddock. I often find them tricky to catch up with in the Spring but this was the second in this area this year. A pair of Mistle Thrushes were away from their nest and feeding on the smaller paddock, loosely accompanied by a single Redwing which had no doubt stopped off on it's way north.

It seems that shortly after this I missed out on a Red Kite which had been seen over Mill Farm. Distracted by a phone call, I didn't stop to scan towards the coast where I normally do, and had this been the case then I would probably have seen it. Still, Red Kites are doing really well throughout much of the UK now and surely one will cross my path before the year end.

April 24th

There was no sign of yesterdays Swift when I returned from work around midday but it had been replaced by the first two House Martins of the year, one of which was checking out what repairs would be needed to last years old nests.

April 23rd

An evening wander along the lane this evening took me as far as the paddocks in the hope of an Ouzel but the closest I could manage were a pair of Blackbirds. The Willow Warbler was still present and seemed to have found his voice at last, although I suspect he'll move along at some point as the habitat isn't quite right for the species. Two male Blackcaps were also engaged in a sing off, an invisible territorial divide somewhere between them. The air was chilly by now and as Os and I approached home, a dark scything shape cut across in front of us which then became a stuttering flutter of ungainly overlong wings as it investigated the eaves of a neighbours house. It was a Swift, the first for me this year and perhaps one of the screaming horde of 17 or so we had here last summer, a feature that will hopefully be replayed in the coming weeks.

April 21st

I detoured via East Ruston again today, there wasn't enough time to hit the coast before the school run, so the superb habitat here was probably the best option. There was much the same on offer as yesterday, but the hastily buzzed chattering of a Sedge Warbler was audible today, the slight change in wind direction carrying it across the water from the reed and scrub to the north of the main road. Of three Common Buzzards that showed, two were probably a pair interacting high above, whilst the third had to fend off the attentions of a Carrion Crow.

April 20th

With a bit of time between finishing work and picking up from school, I decided to visit East Ruston to see if anything of interest was on the fen and surrounds there. Buzzards again featured during my drive home when two slowly flew across the road as I passed between Dilham and Honing before they thermalled skywards together. Despite a chill breeze, it was a beautiful afternoon and at the fen I opened the car door to the songs of Chiffchaffs, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers. A few Swallows were swooping over the body of water to the north of the road, adjacent to the common known as the Allotment. With them were two Sand Martins and all occasionally flew off to hawk a while over the wooded backdrop. From where I stood I heard a Cetti's Warbler blast out its short, loud song and soon after it was answered from across the water by another rival bird. The reedier fen to the south of the road contained two singing Reed Warblers, unseen in the Phragmites, and I was a little surprised that I was hearing these this year before the more hurried song of Sedge Warbler, which normally arrive slightly earlier than their unstreaked cousins. Birds of prey were enjoying the sunny skies here too and 4 Kestrels circled up as did another distant Buzzard. All too soon I had to leave, and from the school pickup the route home took us through Ingham, where a flock of 22 Stock Doves were noted feeding together on a newly drilled field.

Lack of time meant that I couldn't take Ossie over to the cliffs as I'd hoped, so instead we opted for a walk up the lane and around the paddocks. This turned out to be the right move, for along a hedge that runs along the edge of the meadows at Lower Farm, a flash of rufous as a bird flitted up alerted me to a Redstart, rather distant but still close enough to see his black face and bright white brow. Hopefully he'll be there again, but closer, tomorrow.

April 18th

With the wind yesterday finally moving away from the north I was expecting to see some bits and bobs this morning. I'd had a quick look towards the cliffs quite late last evening, two summer plumage Golden Plovers flying around the field by Upton Way being all that was of note. As it turned out, my expectations for the day were to some extent met. Ossie and I had hardly stepped out of the gate this morning when a Swallow slipped into view over the meadow opposite where it hawked flies in the company of a Sand Martin. A little further and a Blackcap gave a short burst of song from the thicket near College Farm, this and the Swallow being my first in Happisburgh this year, although I've recorded both species elsewhere for about two weeks now. Another Blackcap was singing behind Laurel Lodge where a Willow Warbler was avidly feeding and attempting to sing amongst the fresh green buds of a Sycamore. He appeared more concerned with food than advertising for a mate, so my guess is that he hadn't long arrived; he certainly wasn't present yesterday morning. Once home, I was in the garden when I heard another familiar song not heard since last summer. I walked around to the front of the house and there was the performer, a male Common Whitethroat, fresh in from his winter break somewhere probably south of the Sahara, back at home in Happisburgh. I spent most of the rest of the day at home and around the garden and on a couple of occasions when looking up, I twice caught sight of single Sparrowhawks and a female Marsh Harrier which was passing high and to the north-west.

With reference to the large flock of Common Buzzards on Friday, I had an e-mail yesterday from a friend informing me of two more large groups seen in east Norfolk on Saturday morning; nine over Winterton and 14 over Great Yarmouth. Were the latter the same group as mine, reorienting south for an easier Channel crossing perhaps? Another e-mail brought these two lovely photos of a Barn Owl taken at Lessingham recently. Many thanks Bob.

Barn Owl, Lessingham - © Bob Cobbold