Green Hairstreak, Nightingale & Hoopoe

On Sunday 27th April, a lovely sunny morning attracted a lovely Green Hairstreak onto the Hebe bush in the back garden and it spent most of the morning up to 11.30am on the Hebe, the Lavendar and other bushes on the west side of the garden, the side in sunlight. It spent a lot of time resting on leaves and occasionally flew and alighted on other perches either mid way or on the top of the bush. I was over joyed, this is the first garden record! A walk over the Lound Causeway, or the Blue Doors Loke (the new name and I've never seen any blue doors here, although with the amount of illegal fly tipping that is dumped by the entrance to Corton ORT and Corton OSW, you never know!) As I walked along the causeway, I heard 3 brief notes of a Nightingale's song, I tweeted it out immediately (only the second Nightingale I have ever found in Lowestoft, the one at Fisher Row way back in the 1980's was t'other!) and had to wait 10 minutes before I heard a full blast of the extremely melodic song. It was just past the Lake southern side and appeared to be just west of the path or walkway, although I couldn't see it. What I could see were around 30 Sand Martins buzzing around over the water where there were quite a flies buzzing around. I could heard Blackcaps and later on both female Blackcap (west side) and male Blackcap on the walkway and the east side were seen. As I walked across o the hide, I heard 4 Lesser Whitethroats. From the hide I could hear a Reed warbler singing and as I opened the hide flaps up a Reed Warbler perched right out in the open a third of the way up a reed close to the hide, it stayed here until I got the camera out and flew into the reeds! Walking back several Orange Tip butterflies, 10 males seen during the Lound visit in total. walking back to the causeway, I heard 2 Bullfinches by the hedgerow calling. I saw Rob Wil & Win back at the causeway/ BD Loke and we were treated to an even longer rendition of the Nightingale's song this time it had moved to north of the Lake, but try as we might we could't see it. From the Temple, I took the track, I heard another Bullfinch and then a distant Cuckoo calling coming from the field north of the track and an overflying House Martin my first of the year. Taking the top path, I heard another 3 Blackcaps, saw a singing Whitethroat, checked the Gorse for Green Hairstreaks didn't see any. Driving back, I saw Paul & Jane's car, so I decided to join them back at the Loke, the Nightingale was again singing its rich fluid song, from its original position just south of the Lake near the footpath, indeed I saw it hop out between the "V" of the main trunk and a thick branch extending to the left. I could see the chestnut hues on its head and upper parts on the top part of the body and pale whitish/ cream below. Dogs running down flushed before either Paul & Jane could see it. But 20 minutes later it moved to the eastern hedgerow beside the track just 10 yards south of here and we saw fly out and down south of the lane showing its rich chestnut tones and reddy chestnut tail before it flew back into the bush again. Driving past Oulton Broad Mutford Lock Bridge, I was delighted to see the immature Shag on the jetty standing up at the end point. At Kessingland, there were birders and photographers in all 4 corners of the Dunes field. The Hoopoe was feeding down the middle west path, until a dog walker flushed it and it flew into trees just south of the Caravan park, I returned to the car to retrieve my bins left in the boot and a female Blackbird posed beautifully for the camera down the lane in excellent light. Returning to the Hoopoe, it later flew to the path extending west of the field and we saw it here resting and feeding before it flew into the middle of the Dune field but was repeatedly flushed by a birdwatcher with a young family, he drove it to the marram grass dunes east of here before it eventually was seen feeding along the middle east path and then ran south along the path, where it raised its crest in impressive fashion (but it was in shadow here- although I have pics) and then flew a short way to continue feeding on a sunlit to path going east, we also saw a singing male Linnet perched on the top of a bramble bush, he posed for the camera nicely too! and up a marram dune. It was feeding here before it flew over to the north eastern area where it fed and then flew again and over the Marram Grass Dune and onto the beach before finally it flew over and across the caravan park.