Good Friday birding in the Norfolk Broads

On Good Friday, 2nd April, a look at Rollesby broad in Norfolk, revealed 8 initial close Tufted Ducks whilst crossing the road to check Ormesby broad, nice to see 16 Goldeneye at the back, 4 males and 12 females. Plus a female Pochard, along the middle of the Broad. By some closer Tufted Duck barely 80 metres back (1 third of the way back) the 2 excellent Slavonian Grebes seen, coming into summer plumage with a faded version of their breeding plumage finery. John H turned up and I pointed out the Grebes to him. We also saw several Sand Martins and Swallows too, around 4 of each at least. A good start, going to Filby Broad, we failed to see the LT Duck, there were 12 Goldeneye and around 6 each of Swallows and Sand Martins. A walk along the track to Ormesby Little Broad, we saw a fine singing male Blackcap and Chiff- Chaff and at the end, a fine Great White Egret flew up from the close reeds to the left, it flew over the water and perched in a distant tree to the left.

A quartet of Chiff- Chaffs

On 31 March, a very pleasant cycle ride with Jenny from home to Normanston Park revealed 4 singing Chiff- Chaffs, one showed reasonably well.

Iceland Gull at last!

On 30th March, a tweet from James B stating that the Iceland was currently on groynes opposite the Netposts had me going to twitch the bird for the fifteenth time and it was fifteenth time (tried 10X North Beach, 5X at Gunton Church Field) lucky as James was still there when I arrived ten minutes later. The fine 1st winter Iceland Gull perched on the far groyne before flying down settling on the sea and swimming over and feeding on the seaweed around the groyne posts. It then flew back to the groyne again. James tweeted that a female Black redstart was by the compound (east of the Oval) and I walked down and saw it perched along the southern edge perimeter fence. Back at the Iceland Gull, it stayed put perched on the groynes until 5.37pm, when it flew inland along North Parade and over Lyndhurst road.

First for 9 years

A look around North Denes and the North Beach failed to reveal anything of interst late lunchtime as I was hoping to bump into the incredibly elusive Iceland (no such luck). Barely 2 hours later, it was back and I just missed it by again 2 minutes as it flew inland. I was informed by Rob H, as I walked back to the car, (parked in the car park at Swimming Pool road) but he spottred an incredible Fulmar circling low over the Oval in ever incresing circles before finally flying south, incredibly this was my first Suffolk Fulmar since 2012!

Quiet on the North Denes

On Saturday 27th March, having just had my second anti COVID-19 vaccination jab, courtesy of James Paget Hospital (very efficient job as usual), early morning, I looked around the North Denes at Lowestoft, nothing seen, saving for 6 Linnets by the bush middle of the Denes, 22 Linnets in the fenced off static carvan development site and a further 18 around the Netposts. Pity with the million or so spent on the North Denes park they couldn't have replaced the broken, rotting netposts a key part of Lowestoft's Herring fishing industy. A look mid afternoon for the iceland failed to reveal it (my fifth try for it) although 6 Purple Sandpipers seen on the rocks. At Gunton Church field, no sign of it there either (4th attempt).

First butterfly of the year

On Thursday 25th March at 12 noon at the start of my lunchbreak, I went to the SE corner of the James Paget Hospital, I was out looking for the WTE needless to say I didn't see it so 13th one missed in Lizard Land, but I did see a fine Peacock butterfly and settle at he back of a bus so I could ID it. A Sparrowhawk was circling over (No bins with me so I couldn't say whether male or female).

Ness Point avian double homicide & wader gathering

WARNING! Pictures published below are GRUESOME showing the after effects of a Peregrine double strike don't scroll down on this post if you are of a sensitive nature or disposition!!!, only published to show the devastating after effects of a Peregrine strike, YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! On Wednesday 24th March, a trip to Ness Point revealed initially 6 Purple Sandpipers feeding on the rocks by the compass, when a big group of Turnstones flew in, in 2 waves on the rocks, totally 66 Turnstones, the spooked the Purple Sandpipers and the 6 flew right and a further 5 flew in from the left, totalling 11 Purple Sandpipers in all. Out to sea, an immature Kittiwake flew onto the sea by the bouys and then flew south, a further 3 adult Kittiwakes flew south. Shortly, after I saw the first 6 Purple Sands, I then saw the rather gruesome sight of a beheaded male Pochard, its head ripped off its body and the decapitated head lying just 10 centimetres away. 10 metres to the right, the headless corpse of a Razorbill (the black upperparts and white "wing-clip" were diagnostic and telling them apart from the more chocolate brown- plumaged Guillemot) was lying there, sadly a double avian homicide scene! My initial thought was the culprit was surely a Peregrine. I can only assume both birds were caught flying out at sea nearby and brought to this spot to be despatched. Peregrines breed nearby and they have been seen very recently seen at Ness Point by both Andrew E and Rob Wil perched on the often inactive rotor blades of the large wind turbine, colloqually known as "Gulliver." This would give them an excellent aerial view of the whole area and the sea so they could easily spot potential prey flying past. I know there are people who study the diets of Peregrines so posting to add their scientific study. UPDATE: A male Pochard was seen by another birder resting on the defence rocks at Ness Point earlier in the day, so the Peregrine kill was probably midday or early afternoon.