Back at the Red-foot

On Wednesday 2nd September, in the early afternoonn, I went back to see the fine juvenile Red- footed Falcon that was now being tempted down from the fence with birders buying crickets from Pets at Home, releasing them in the grass and the Falcon frequently flew down to feast on them. We were warned when it was about to fly down as this bird would bob its head up and down, then shuffle about ansd then launch itself into the grass to catch the crickets and then eat them before returning to the fence perch. It was flying to within 2 feet of us. Clearly there are ethical issues for supplementary feeding of birds, an argument may be made if the bird is exhausted and under weight but ultimately the welfare of the bird must always come first and being this tame can cause obvious issues.

Incredibly confiding Red- foot at Lowestoft

On Tuesday 1st September, incredibly on social media a bird resembling a RF Falcon had been photographed perched on the roof of Lake Lothing pub, we were alerted by Jake G. and Rob Wil went down and confirmed it was still there. I left work very promptly at 5pm, ran to get my gear which Jenny had kindly pout in the hall for me and running back to Fallowfields where I had parked the car I drove down to the area just north of the Gull- wing bridge and parked in Rotterdam Road. I then walked back to the pub and joined the throng of birders looking at the fine juvenile Red- footed Falcon perched on the right hand ledge of the Lake Lothing pub's roof. It then flew flew down to a fence just south of the pub, where it then promptly flew back to the roof. Later on, it flew back to the fence and from here it made several hunting sorties down to the ground to catch grasshoppers and devour them. Periodically it would fly back up to the roof. We were literally watching this incredible Falcon down to just a few feet away, it was incredibly confiding! (even more confiding than the ones at Carlton Marshes last year! Walking back past the garden of no. 81, Rotterdam road, where I had parked, I saw a Hummingbird Hawk Moth fly in and nectar from the Fuchsia flowers! I later heard that Rene's daugher had photographed the bird, a few days earlier over the BH, so it had been present here for at least a few days! People seen included Paul and Jane F, Jake G, Rob Hol, John W, Chris D & Chris A, Howard V, Phil D, Derek M & his wife etc. Parking up, at home incredibly I heard the call of a Tree Pipit flying over! (a new record for the garden)!

Wangford and Westleton

On Monday 31st August, a look around Wangford Quarry and I saw the Hornets again in the dead tree at the extreme NE corner of the quarry. At Westleton Heath, signs were up prohibiting acess to any paths south of the road, a firebreak of 15 metres seen the other side of the road and when i took some heathland shots, I walked past the closed car park and saw an immature Cuckoo flying east. Over the otherside a male Stonechat perched on top a bush.