RNP at Covehithe Broad/ puddle!

A tweet mid morning on Sunday 31st August of an RNP at Covehithe Broad had me eventually driving down and I parked up behind a long line of cars and I saw Paul & Jane F walking down to me, they had seen the bird distantly out to sea but we received another message to say it had flown back so we walked down to the Broad, which was fenced off. The bird, a fine immature/ 1st winter Red- necked Phalarope was eventually seen in the far south-east corner of the remain of water along the northern edge of the Broad and we had to look back south along the water to see it occasionally swim out from the corner where it resolutely remained albeit sheltering from the keen southerly wind. Just occasionally it would further out briefly and it was seen behind some purple flowers in the foreground at one point. I then flew over our heads, together with a Snipe that then flew inland the Phalarope carried on out to sea settling on the sea, we couldn't pick it up but it did fly back onto the Broad where it did swim out to a wooden stump and I managed just 2 half decent shots. Walking back to the car, a fine Hobby flew over the road and north.

Little at Corton but Caspian found in Link's Road car park

On Saturday 30th August, I looked around Corton seeing 2 Sand Martins flying over Corton cliffs, 5 Sandwich Terns on the groynes below but couldn't find the Caspian Gull seen by Stephen H but I did bump into Stephen at Corton Churchyard where it was good to catch up. As Stephen left a Lesser Whitethroat flew in to the north hedgerow. A tweet about a YLG in Link's Road car park had me hot footing it down there, I couldn't see the YLG but I saw another striking gull but it looked like an immature/ 1st winter Caspian Gull to me, I took a few pics in the fading light but a car drove past and flushed which was very annoying I as I would have liked to get more pics. Pouring through Olsen's Gulls later confirmed my initial ID.

Shrike at Easton Bavents

On Thursday 28th August Brian S. had found a RBS at Easton Bavents so straight after work, I drove there with ominous gun metal clouds assembling for a potentially stormy period over Lowestoft, but as I parked up at North Road, the sun dispersed all the clouds and I walked to the Bavents looking west from the sheep pens but couldn't initially see the Shrike but the sun was extremely bright shining directly from the direction I was looking into, so I trversed to the North side of the Bavents and took the path running west past a turnstyle and an area where I had previously seen an RBF, I rang Jane F. as she had seen the bird but I couldn't find the daed Elder, but as I spoke to Jane, I suddenly spotted what was almost certainly the bird perched in a bush directly looking south towards Southwold and it was a dead Elder! Scoping the bird it was a fine immature/ 1st winter Red- backed Shrike and it spend most of its time perched up just making 3 sorties during the period of observation, on one of it's sorties I walked back to the start of the Bavents and soon picked the bird up again in the bush. Too far away to photo for me. Later I tried Quay Lane/ Reydon Marshes for Whinchats but probably didn't look in the right areas as I didn't see any.

Barred Warbler finally poses (briefly) for the camera

On Wednesday 27th August, after my customary mid afternoon finish from work, I had to visit Viking Optical at Halesworth to retrieve my tripod. After that I drove to kessingland. It was sunny and I was hopeful for a successful trip to Kessingland Sluice Dunes, but as I walked from the 'Beach' car park after I walked the 1/4 mile to the beack it had clouded over and by the time I reached the Kessingland Sluice bushes dunes, the usual area the skies were leaden, it was quite windy too. I was on my own, which can bode well for photography. I saw a male Stonechat who was perched up by the usual Barred bramble bush. Jane F kindly updated me on exactly where she had seen it barely an hour earlier, so I walked 50 metres north along the back path and immediately I saw a pale bird on the elderberry bush gorging on the berries. It was the fantastic 1st calendar year Barred Warbler and I managed around 12 pics before it hopped back into the bush it must have show for all of 90 seconds! A Canada Goose then flew overhead and south. The skies were looking very dark and a possible rainstorm, so I headed back. As I walked along the dunes I saw 42 Pied Wagtails (half adults, half juveniles) all feeding on the dunes and 41 Linnets suddenly flew south too, overhead. Finally as I pulling on the drive back home, 7 fine House Martin flew low overhead around 60 foot up and flying west.

Elusive Barred

On Monday 25th August in the garden I was finally able to ID the Emerald as a Common Emerald Damselfly a first for the garden but typically it had disappeared when I retrived my camera. Mid afternoon, I headed to Kessingland fortunately I bumped into Maurice B and Ali R and then. Paul & Jane F & they showed me where to go, using the back path behind brambles and elder bushes and by the scrub just south of the sluice. There was no sign for 20 minutes but as soon as Matthew D. arrived the barred Warbler flew out of the bush and dived into a smaller bramble bush just south, it then flew into an apple tree before flying back into the large bramble and that was as good as it got. A large pale grety warbler with pale white below and pale grey above. The thickset body was obvious it was a Barred. especially as we saw the slimmer and darker backed Lesser Whitethroat which also flew out. A Blue Tit and Goldfinch also seen. I then drove to walberswick in the hope of seeing the elusive Ruddy Shjelduck. As I arrived just after 6 I parked by the green wand walked south, I saw a close Wheatear on th beach

Garden wildlife

On Sunday 24th August, in the garden in the afternoon, a Painted Lady flew up from just outside the back door and away. A fine male Southern Hawker briefly flew around before flying east. Finally a suspected Common Emerald Damselfly, a garden first, if the ID was nailed was briefly on a bush. On all these occasions I retrieved my camera but all had gone. A Speckled Bush Cricket showed well in the lilac bush though. On Monday 25th August in the morning, the Common Emerald Damselfly was confirmed in the first flowerbed but typically it was gone by the time I retrived the camera.

Minus one Wheatear at the Net Posts

On Saturday 23rd August in the late afternoon, I decided to visit the Lowestoft North Denes Net posts to look for Andrew's 5 Wheatears, when I arrived the sun was out and I saw at least 4 Wheatears mainly sticking to the middle area of the southern most fenced Net posts area, one appeared to be a juvenile bird which occsionally gave better views nearer the fences but I was continually thwarted by dog walkers walking past (of course they are perfecty entitled to do this) and flushing them before I could photograph them, when 3 flew to the northern fenced area, 2 were perched on the eastern fence and it was particularly galling when a dog walker with 2 dogs walked almost right up to them before they flew inevitably just ahead of me. I tried again to photo them but 2 separate teenagers obviously smoking cannabis walked past and disturbed them. The sun then clouded over and there were very dark grey leaden skies (why does this happen so often when I go out?) At least 2 birds flew north- east towards the childrens p[lay area. I then saw Rob H cycling along the seawall towards Ness Point I headed in that direction and saw Rob H but no further birds. When I walked back to the Net Posts in the northern section at least 2 birds were in the middle but a female Sparrowhawk flew in from the west like an exocet missile and landed where the Wheatears were, seconds later it flew carrying a bird (almost certainly an unfortunate Wheatear and flew into the bushes by Bird's Eye. I checked the area thoroughly and saw only one Wheatear crouching low on the ground (confirmingb that one had been taken).