Juvenile Cuckoo still on North Denes slope

Early on Thursday 6 September morning before work I looked along the North Denes slope and the immature Cuckoo was still flying first right and then left along the North Denes slope disappearing into a Sycamore the last time I saw it was now 8.15am and I had to leave for work.

Long walk to the Winterton Toad pools

Having TOIL this afternoon Wednesday 4th September, I headed out to Horsey & parked at the Nelson's Head at Horsey and walked down the path to the end, a brief Wall Brown butterflywas seen on the path. Whilst at the end by the green hut, a smart Wheatear and 2 Whinchats seen on the fence line. walking down to the seal colony a load of Grey Seals c30 were seen lying on the beach with around 5 in the water. Around 40 Swallows seen resting on the path ahead and then they perched on the fence posts, dispersal of newly fledged birds and their parents plus around 15 House Martins seen too. I met Tim sitting by the North Pine wood and we made our way to ether to the Toad Pool where the female Common Hawker was buzzing aound and during the 2 hours I was here she was constantly oviposting by the boggy marsh and also on the path, just a foot away from me at times, showing exceptionally well but the the very bright sunlight made getting good pics extremely difficult. She is a bigger and fatter bodied Dragonfly compared with an adult male Migrant Hawker seen occasionally flying around too. I was grateful to Tim for pointing out the Southern Emerald damselfly with bi- colour brown/white ptrerstigma and white legs, it also had its wings at rest held across the body, whilst Common Emeralds seen on the same pool 2, tend to fold their wings back along the abdomen. Tim left and 2 other birders came and quickly found another 2nd Southern Emerald Damselfly just a foot north of the north most perimeter path along the pool first perched on grass and then a flower before eventually flying up to the bramble bush behind it. Those 2 gents left and I concentrated on the female Common Hawker who spent more time oviposting along the path and allowing close views. walking back the 3 mile walk, a strange buff (leucistic?) Swallow flew south along the field with 2 normal coloured Swallows, Tim had tipped me off about this bird and I was pleased to see it, just wanted the other pale buff bird, the Immature RC Starling than asn't sen all day, sadly. Back by the green hut, 2 Wheatears perched on the fence wires. It was a long 3 mile walk in the long sun and searing heat together with the optics I was carrying 2 cameras lenses, bins, telescope and tripod.

Convolvous Hawk Moth: Impressive beast!

I was delighted to get a phone call from one of my friends this evening (Sunday 1st September), stating they had a Convolvous Hawk Moth in the garden this evening. It had been passed third hand onto them from a neighbour over the road! Whilst driving over to see them I witnessed a brown female Sparrowhawk perched on top of a Wood Pigeon in the gutter on the left hand side of the busy A12 road almost directly opposite the Foxborrow pub! Arriving later at the garden they showed me to their greenhouse where it had been expertly put on a dead piece of log and I was able to obtain a few pictures of this marvellous beast. A subtle mixture of greys and a really impressive moth, along with Privet & Death's Head one of the largest moths we get in Britain. Albeit, this a rare migrant from Africa, rarely seen here. However, this is the 5th Convolvous Hawk Moth I have seen having first seen one at Gunton off the North Parade (very top of the North Denes slope many moons ago, with a further 3 on Scilly over the years and one in Peter C's garden at Winterton, always a treat to see, these grey beasts!) As I finished my photography, I looked up and saw a Cuckoo fly past heading east, it was a dark shape but almost definately another immature Cuckoo, which like buses you wait ages for one then 2 come along almost at once (or was it the same North Denes bird? could be!) A big thank you to my friends for the phone call and warm hospitality this evening.

Juvenile Cuckoo on North Denes slope

A tweet saying there was a juvenile Cuckoo on the North denes slope had me haring down to Links road car park and an initial look was unsuccessful, but I was fortunate enough to bump into Bill H and after haf an hour without success we said our goodbyes. This was a little premature as Bill called me back and said he though he had it flying low towards the group of sycamore on the bank just north of the Oval. Bill volunteered to go and have a look and five minutes I saw swoop out low like a brown and falcon, settle for a millisecond ina sycamore bush before flying up and settling in dead bush near the top. The juvenile Cuckoo, really was a fabulous bird, the first ever that I have seen, which is really surprising considering all the time I spent down on Fisher Row seeing many adults. It had abrown back, bib and cream breast and underparts. After 10 minutes sitting in his bush it then flew down and perched near the top of umbellifers near the bottom of the slope. One slight problem, a dog was approaching me but the quick intervention of Bill and the kind co-operation of the dog walker meant the dog was restrained and I was able to approach the Cuckoo albeit with just the handheld camera and lens and managed a few shots of it before a magpie flushed it and appeared to settle in a sycamore before it flew back a little way and disappared out of sight again. Also seen earlier were several Swallows c15, 4 House Martins and 1 Swift flying low over the North Denes my first in ages!

Migrants on the North Denes

At 9.55am this morning a Hornet was seen on the flowers for a couple of minutes on the front floer bed, first spotted and identified by Jenny, she'll be needing a pair of bins next, she can have my old Zeiss Dialyts! Walking along the North Denes this morning included an excellent Spotted Flycatcher that flew to the top a bush, surrounded by 2 female Whitethroats. saw Big Steve & Norman and was able to put them onto the bird. It then flew down and perched a few feet down from the top for some 20 minutes first being face on and then hopping to be back on. It eventually flew out and flew north a way, but on the return journey it was back on the bush perched at the very top. Further along by the Links road car park, a Lesser Whitethroat flew to a elderberry bush and was joined by another Whitethroat. An excellent Garden Warbler flew to a Buddlea bush and perched for about a minute before flying off. An excellent Clouded Yellow flew to a yellow plant and perched before flying again. At Ness Point the juvenile Red- backed Shrike perched in a Buddlea bush on the western boundary of the Turbine compound, spending alot of time perched on the left hand side of the big buddlea. In the garden early evening was a male Common Darter preched on the tip of a runner bean caneand a female/ immature Migrant Hawker.

Curlew Sandpipers at Cley

Having to go to Cleyspey on Friday 30th August (TOIL from work!), OFB & I popped into Cley early afternoon, always a delight to come here but sadly we had very limited time. From checking the hide at Pats Pool, we saw a load of waders including 30 Black- tailed Godwit, up to 9 Curlew Sandpipers, in more winter or immature plumages, 10 Dunlin, 7 Ruff and 2 Common Sandpipers. The Curlew Sandpipers were bigger than the Dunlin, "cleaner" with brown above and white below or a peach flush on the upper flanks and of course longer down curved bills and more elongated shape, very elegant waders. Around 5 Little Egret and a Wigeon seen also, but no sign of the hoped for Little Stints. In the gadren in the evening 2 female/ immature Migrant Hawkers and a female Common Darter.

Shrike duo at Lowestoft this evening

A wonderfully sunny evening on Thursday 29th August just after work had me out on the North Denes and the Red- backed Shrike was sat on the middle of the west side of the usual big bramble bush just north of the Oval. The Shrike sat there dozing for a while before gently waking up looking around, up and to the side and then it eventually woke up and flew to a different bramble branch and promptly caught an insect. A little later, the Shrike could be seen coughing up a pellet in its throat. Some dog walkers made the bird even more alert and it flew to the top of the bramble standing sentinel. At Ness point seeing Andrew E and the Rob Wil, there was no initial sign of the other Red- backed Shrike eventually looking from the sunlite western side, the Red- baked Shrike was seen eventually perched along a line of elderberry bushes and sycamore in the middle of the yard just west of some orange metalwork in the yard. The Shrike was very active catching at least 3 insects sometimes perched at the side, top and back of the bushes, showing on and off.