Woodcock & Diver

An early morning foray at Fallowfields led to me flushing a Woodcock near the Parkhill hotel fence half way down, it flew south at 9.15am.

A close Oystercatcher stood on the wooden jetty in Hamilton Dock, whilst a Rock pipit flew over. At Ness Point 20 Turnstone were seen but not the hoped for Purple Sands.

Looking from Asda, looking west up the River Waveney I saw the excellent Black- throated Diver, it's rear flank patch was really distinctive. Initially, it was diving frequently but then it became more settled as it started preening. If you'd like to see a picture of a Black- throated Diver look above this blog entry as this is the bird pictured above, although I'm sure most who read would know this anyway! A Grey Wagtail flew over the river and settled on the roof of a commercial building. Whilst 2 Egyptian Geese flew down the river.

At Carlton Marshes, a female Marsh Harrier quartered the fields, 10 Herons stood above a frozen dyke area,  a Barn owl perched on a gate and then flew and started actively hunting being instantly successful on it's first swoop down into the field where it caught and fed from it's prey a vole caught in a field, a male Yellowhammer also perched at the apex of a tree, a Great Spotted Woodpecker drummed from a nearby tree.

Concluding a mixed day of fortunes on this, the first day of the year.