Visitors from West & the East

Minsmere a trip to West scrape revealed the fine Pectoral Sandpiper plus 1 wp Black- tailed Godit, 2 Ruff were seen at the back 'hugging' the edge of the east scrape. 2 Snipe on dead vegetation and 4 Common Sandpiper. At South scrape I saw 2 Spotted Redshank, 4 Greenshank and a flock of small waders included 20 Dunlin, 4 Ringed Plovers and a larger grey Knot. several 4 Lapwing also seen. A call from Jane and I was driving back to Kessingland Sluice, seeing Jane, Paul & Andrew at the Common, I went to the bramble bush with 2 elder bushes just poking out, 40 minutes no sign of the hoped for Wryneck, then suddenly it hopped up onto the elder bush and sat here for 4 mi nuts, Craig turned up and was photographing it too before it flew off its own volition across the river and by the 2 big bushes just west of the telegraph pole on Benace sluice dunes. Meanwhile we admired several 6 Linnets including 1 posey male and 2 Stonechat plus a distant Whinchat on the bramble. back home, tweets about Black Terns flying around the groynes at the end of Links road had me down there and again I saw Andrew & Pail & Jane and there was initially one immature Black Tern on the groyne before an adult winter plumage Black Tern flew in and settled onto the post behind it.

Speckled Bush Cricket on back door!

On Thursday 20th August at 10pm, I noticed an interesting insect on the back door. It is a Speckled Bush Cricket (?) Here is the pic of it for any entomologists to confirm or decry this identification. It was green with a thin brown line along the arch of the back and fine red speckling on it. It had a small rounded red area behind the head on the upper abdomen. It was about 2 inches long (body only). Please see accompanying pic. It moved around the door and finally dropped off at about 10.30pm. Earlier in the day at 8.30am, 4 charming Long- tailed Tits calling frequented the bushes just underneath the lounge window and just 1 double- glazed pane of glass separated me from these delightful birds. On Wednesday 19th August, no definitive sighting of the Purple Heron at Carlton Marshes seen, the Barn Owl as usual was hunting the far dykes and a Curlew flew north over the reserve.

Osprey at Blythburgh & Purple Heron again

I visited Blythburgh estuary on Saturday 15th August morning, I followed Pete M & friend out of the car park. They were viewing from the bridge, but it was a lot nicer to view further along the footpath where traffic noise was much diminished. 15 Curlew flew east. Pete M & his friend left. Within 10 minutes, between 10.40 & 10.50am, I saw the silhouette of a large raptor, the fine Osprey that hovered and then flew left and then right before disappearing behind trees it appeared to be heading towards the Hen reedbeds area. I also saw a small baby Common Vivaparous Lizard cross the path scuttling away just west of the path. At the Hen reed beds, I looked for the jetty all I saw was an open air hide overlooking a marsh area. retracing my steps I saw a Wood Mouse that sat nicely for a minute or so and another this time adult Vivaparous Lizard by the corrugated iron sheets. Early evening I visited Carlton marshes and after waiting a while overlooking Whitecast marsh, I was delighted at 6.40pm to see the immature Purple Heron flying high over fields nicely lit by the sun it flew back and into Whitecast marsh. Sadly too quick to get a picture though.

Purple Heron at last!

A tweet from Jane F at 5.45pm on Thursday 13th August, stating the Purple Heron had just flown onto the Scrape by carlton Maeshes car park had me driving westwards but gridlock at Oulton Broad meant a diversion via Prospect road, inevitably by the time I got there at 6.05pm the bird had flown but jane did direct us to where it had landed behind a domed bush on Whitecast marshes. I joined Ali R and another birder and looking along the northern most path, I suddenly saw the excellent very brown looking immature Purple Heron as it flew over the reed bed flying right/ east low over the reeds it appeared to drop into reeds behind a large bush right in with the tapering towers of the Oulton Broad Maltings (in the background). Ali and I walked east along the path and we eventually saw the immature Purple Heron fly up from a dyke in Ivy Farm Marsh and fly north over to Whitecast Marsh where it landed in a bush. Five minutes later it flew towards us and past us and then it flew down into the domed bush where it originally had disappeared too after it flew up from the scrape.

Purple Heron eludes this observer

A look over the Carlton Marshes Scrape initially revealed a fine Wood Sandpiper, 5 Ruff, a Dunlin and when joined by Ian he did well to spot a superb Little Stint next to the Dunlin that suddenly appeared from nowhere. Even better he found my lost Zeiss eyepiece nearby saving me a lot of trouble and expense in sending the bins back to the Zeiss factory- you don't expect things to fall off top of the range binoculars! No sign at all of the Purple Heron, although 5 Snipe flew south over the scrape. Also later 2 Barn Owls were hunting by the dykes. I walked back to the car park and scanning Whitecast marshes for 1/2 I saw a lady and gent peering intently onto the scrape with bins. The cycled back and the lady said the Purple Heron (& she was adamant it was definitely the Purple Heron & I believe her) had just flown back onto the Scrape 8.30pm. She said it was walking around in the water with 2 Grey Herons, I ran back and got there 5 minutes later at 8.50pm, I could only make out 2 definite Grey Herons, (I couldn't see any other Herons) I also saw 5 Egyptian Geese and ducks and waders in the gathering gloom but it was too dark to see anything else, this was extremely frustrating, when I had been there looking cover the Scrape until 8pm!

Lowestoft North Beach Terns

Sunday 9th August I met Danny on the north beach and we photographed several fishing terns not far off shore. An adult Common Tern fed an immature Common Tern perched on the end of the groyne. several 3 Cormorant and 5 Kittiwakes flew past too.

2 Banjo Bills on Breydon

Getting a timely tweet from John H on Saturday 8th August I went up to Breydon and walking out from Asda car park, I quickly located the 2 Spoonbills asleep on the northern shore of Breydon. They woke up several times indicating they were immature birds with black wing tips and pinky bills. On the lumps were at least 15 Mediterranean Gulls (mostly adult) and c450 Avocet roosting an incredible total.