Angel of the Woods and finally an ID Dragonfly for 2024

On Saturday 18 May, I travelled into deepest Suffolk and at the usual site I walked to a group of 4 Butterfly Orchids. A Blackcap was heard singing, too. I then travelled to the Hen Reedbeds, unusual to see all the corrugated iron sheets moved and nothing except Ants were seen underneath. I walked over to the Quarry, no sign of any Garden warbler but I did see in the bramble hedge with a couple of small Oak trees a fine female Broad- bodied Chaser, my first ID Dragonfly species this year! She posed well for the camera unlike a suspected male that flew off.

Orchids

On Thursday 16th May, a trip in East Anglia, first I saw 3 Man Orchids and then from there I travelled to look for a Military Orchid which I was able to see and admire.

Minsmere double

A trip to Minsmere on Saturday 11th May revealed little & I missed all my target birds. A trip on Sunday 12 May afternoon was better, I enetered the West hide again and again no sign of the TS, there was a Ringed Plover on an island to the left plus 30 Black- tailed Godwits, 3 Bar- tailed Godwits and an an island at the back right a 1st year Little Gull was sleeping, it did wake up stretch its wings and went staright back to sleep! Someone asked about the TS & slightly afterwards, I saw a diminutive wader, a fine Temminck's Stint, mousey grey brown with straw coloured legs fly away and over to the north- east section of the East Scrape. At the Island Mere, I waited on thw walkway outside I waited for 2 and a half hours and saw 2 separate Bitterns fly in at mid distance one in good light picked up to late to phoptop and the other one looking into the light, another 3 flights away from the nests.

Carlton walk but no photos

On Wednesday 7 May, late afternoon/ early evening, a 3 mile walk around Carlton Marshes failed to reveal any Grasshopper Warblers (But I did hear one reeling), never a showy species for me. 3 Swallows over the Whitecast track and a summer plumaged Great White Egret flew west over Share Marsh, a singing male Greenfinch in a bush by the path at the start of the Share Marsh track plus several Chiff- Chaffs, a Sedge Warbler actually showing quickly disappeared when a couple walked past me singing and a Roe Deer along the back track ended a somewhat disappointing visit with no photos taken.

7 Green- wings

On Bank Holiday Monday 6 May, in the afternoon, I went to check the Green- winged Orchids at the local meadow, I counted 7 Green- winged Orchids took some pictures and clearly the MacDonalds litter from the meadow and along the roadside too. Something I was always would occur with the recent Fast food outlet scandalously built next door. A look early evening for Rob's confiding Black Red resulted at the Net posts opp the Lighthouse cafe resulted in a dip as a "gentleman" was flying a model electric Spitfire over the netposts and would have flushed most birds, as it was I was surprised it didn't crash into a hunting and hovering Kestrel nearby.

A visit to Hen reedbeds & Wangford Quarry

On Sunday 5 May, in the afternoon, I rolled into Hen reedbeds car park and could immediately hear a Nightingale singing! From the reeds I could also hear a Bittern booming too. Not knowing exactly where to go I decided to head north- wesr from the carpark where there was path beyond it and a sign saying Wangford Quarry which was all very encouraging. A long rectangular walk had me reaching the north- east end where I met a group of birders and further along another birder who had just seen it. waiting almost 2 hours no sign, but Alison and eventually Chris A joined us and Carl B too. I was thinking of leaving but thought I'd stay as Carl was here and he usually gets both the bird and the luck. No sooner said that a pair of lady walkers asked us if they could take the footpath into the quarry and round where the Hoopoe had last been seen. Good thing I stayed, because as soon as they walked down and the took the path off to the right, the fantastic Hoopoe flew up and left over the pine trees at the back. It showed a languid undulating flight, with black and white buttefly like wings on a salmon orange body. It settled the farside of the quarry around 3000 metres to the south and was seen probing a bank of short grass, but the army of twitchers storming back caused it it to fly over the bank and down and out of sight. It was not seen again that night. As I walked back to the car park I could hear the wonderful melliflous song of a Nightingale, very close eminating from the north hedge of the car park, I even saw it briefly sat there singing the brown dapped plumage and russet brown tail seen before it flitted right, further glimpses were obtained but so pleasing to see a bird I didn't see at all last year. Later it sang from the south side of the car park, as I walked to the car a wonderful really close Barn Owl flew by and towards the quarry. Meanwhile a Biuttern could be heard booming from the reedbed. As I drove out, another Nightingale was heard the other side of the road. A great end to the vday.

Poorly Narcissus fly?

On Saturday 4 May in the garden, I rescued a Narcissus Fly, a type of hover fly which looks very bee-like. It was initiallyt on the back lawn of our garden and both our Cats, Whitby & Misty were verey intersted in it! I put it on a leaf in our central flowerbed. On Sunday 5 May I found it crawling up the side of the blue bin and I carefully put onto a Hebe bush and put a little sugar mixed with water on an adjacent leaf as I thought it was desperate for sime food sustenance. It wasn't that from the photo's the wings hadn't developed obviously newly emerged from the chrysalis and it needed some sunning for the wings to sprout and develop fully. It posed beautifully for pictures after an hour and 15 minutes it flew off fully recuperated, so pleasing to see. Having looked at the pictures, this was confirmed to be the case. Also seen in the garden were 2 Holly Blues.

Spring dippers again!

A very unproductive period recenlt seeing little at Corton OSW or Gunton ORT where I missed Redstart, Willow & Garden warbler (the last 2 I didn't see or hear in Suffolk last year), plus on Saturday 4 May afternoon at Buckenham, I missed by 10 minutes the AGP thatb flew off, Goldfinch seen by the puddle when i parked at the station and a Lapwing with 3 Lapwing chicks. Over the river a fine Short- eared owl flew over the fields and walking back a Red Kite seen too.