Horstead Mega (kind of)!!!

On Saturday, I planned on a quick walk around 'The Heath'. Upon reaching the pig field, which has been holding increasing amounts of Gulls each day, I had a quick scan. This revealed 5+ Lesser Black-backed Gull, 1 Great Black-backed Gull, 20+ Black-headed Gull, 1+ Herring Gull and best of all, a first confirmed record for Horstead and my first on the patch as well, a Yellow-legged Gull!

Yellow-legged Gull

You've heard of a goatsucker, but this gull looks to be a sowsucker. Anyway, bad jokes aside, a male Bullfinch called and showed briefly behind me before I headed back as it started to rain.

A Few Local Butterflies

On Sunday, I was inside catching up with homework, updating the blog etc. and I needed a break, so I agreed to a short family walk around 'The Heath', hopefully, to see a few butterflies. Just before our departure, I spotted a Comma which fluttered through the garden without stopping (a garden butterfly tick). Along Green Lane and Mill Road, Large Whites were everywhere, a few Meadow Brown fluttered around and a Comma wouldn't sit still.

Large White

As we walked past the pig fields and further along the track to the set-aside field, we saw a flock of around 20 Black-headed Gull (much more than the 2 two weeks ago), 2 Lesser Black-backed Gull, Meadow Brown, Ringlet, Comma (showing very well), Red Admiral (not seen by me) and even more Large White.

Comma

Ringlet

Upon reaching the set-aside field (a small section of a field left to be wild), we saw more Meadow Brown, Large White and Ringlet, my first patch Gatekeeper of the year, Essex Skipper (which was my target species for the day), Cinnabar moth caterpillar, two Red Soldier Beetle, Musk and Creeping Thistle (according to my mum who learnt about thistle on Saturday) and a dragonfly sp. we flushed that zoomed away and out of sight.

Essex Skipper

Cinnabar moth caterpillar

Red Soldier Beetle

The rest of the walk had a Painted Lady, more Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Large White and Ringlet and a Crab Spider.

Gatekeeper

Crab Spider

A Few Bits and Bobs From The Sailing Boat On Thursday

Sailing at Horning on Thursday evening provided some decent bird and dragonfly interest. Firstly, a Marsh Harrier flew in fields alongside the road between Coltishall and Hoveton which is a patch lifer (although I've had a probable over the house and I regularly see them just outside of the patch at Horning)! Next, on the way up to Hoveton Little Broad, a Grey Heron investigated someone's patio, a Reed Warbler sung from the reeds and a few Dragonflies zoomed around the entrance to the broad with at least one of them being a Broad-bodied Chaser. On the broad, a pair of Common Terns chased off another pair investigating the broad which is the most I have seen on the broad before (I often see 3 individuals though). Also, 2 Marsh Harrier flew over and the undoubted highlight was a flock of around 20 Godwit sp. which flew over (probably Black-tailed), which is the closest I have seen them to home. All in all, not a bad night, and there was some good wind for sailing too.

Even More Butterflies and Dragonflies!

I took a shortish break from my revision on Sunday to take a quick walk around my butterfly walk but not quite as far as on Friday. The first butterfly was a Red Admiral on Green Lane and this was swiftly followed by a wonderful Comma which is a patch first for me (after starting my butterfly list on Friday) on Mill Road. After that, I glimpsed a Meadow Brown on the margins of the pig field just before Heggatt Hall and then just past Heggatt Hall, I had a Green-veined White (thanks to James on BirdForum for the ID) as well. The footpath to 'my' patch of brambles had a pair of Cinnabar Moth, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell and a Silver Y (thanks to Lewis on BirdForum for the ID). Upon reaching 'my' brambles, I saw a second Comma, a Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Small Tortoiseshell, Painted Lady and Red Admiral. Overall on my small walk, I saw 7 species of butterfly with 6 of them on 'my' brambles. Not bad!

Red Admiral

Comma

Green-veined White

Meadow Brown

Painted Lady

Ringlet

Small Tortoiseshell

Cinnabar Moth

Silver Y

The only dragonflies were 2 Black-tailed Skimmers. I spent at least 10 minutes trying to spot one of the Black-tailed Skimmers settled to confirm the ID but it was easily worth it to see it perched on a twig in the sun.

Black-tailed Skimmer

Black-tailed Skimmer

Avian highlights were a Lesser Black-backed Gull, 2 Black-headed Gull and double figures of Stock Dove on the pig field as well as a Stock Dove singing near Heggatt Hall (again) and 2 Grey Herons flying high over the river valley. Also, the Rook and Jackdaws presumably nesting in the trees just past Heggatt Hall were creating a racket as per usual.

Stock Dove (and Jackdaw)

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Local Butterflies Galore and More!

A quick walk to High and Low Bridge (a bridge that goes over a silted up canal which is between Heggatt and Crostwick) on Friday provided little avian interest but plenty of butterflies and a few dragonflies too. By the time I reached Heggatt Hall, I had seen Painted Lady and Red Admiral. At Heggatt Hall, the Rooks in the treetops were deafening so I soon continued my walk briskly. The hedgerows and brambles beside the footpath towards High and Low Bridge were full of butterflies and I counted 6 species - Red Admiral, Painted Lady, Small Tortoiseshell, Meadow Brown, white butterfly sp. and Ringlet.

Painted Lady

Small Tortoiseshell

I also saw some wonderful dragonflies too - Norfolk Hawker (ID'ed thanks to JWN Andrewes on BForum) and Black-tailed Skimmer. 

Norfolk Hawker

Norfolk Hawker

Black-tailed Skimmer

A Dock Bug (I think) was beside the path.

Dock Bug

Avian highlights were young Chaffinch and Great Tit, a singing Stock Dove and a Blackbird desperately trying to cool down. There is now a very large mixed flock (probably 1000+) of corvids passing over my house every evening which ensures I can't get to sleep too early. I only captured a small amount of the flock in the video below.

Blackbird

This Is Why I Have A Patch (and a garden lifer)!

Saturday

Last weekend, a walk around the Mill, down the river to Mayton Bridge and then back along the roadside turned up some of my best patch birds ever!

Firstly, Horstead Mill sadly turned up no birds of note although I'm sure if I had the time to sit down, I would have seen something of note (lots of exam revision to do later in the day meant time was limited). Ambling down the riverside provided much more of interest with a pair of Egyptian Geese with 2 young, one red damselfly species (probably Large Red) and loads of Banded Demoiselle, a Scorpion Fly, two mean looking Pellucid Hoverflies, a Harlequin Ladybird larva, 3 species of butterfly, a Moorhen 10+ Reed Warbler (!) and a Sedge Warbler.

Egyptian Geese + Goslings

Scorpion Fly

Banded Demoiselle

Pellucid Hoverfly

Meadow Brown

Painted Lady

Red Admiral

Reed Warbler

Harlequin Ladybird larva

But that was not all, as I got quite near to Mayton Bridge, I noticed a baby bird on the Horstead side of the river. After watching it for a short while, it's parents appeared, a pair of Garden Warbler. This was not only the first proof of Garden Warbler breeding in Horstead, but also it was a Horstead and a patch lifer for me! Whilst watching these (although unsuccessful trying to photograph the adult birds), my main target of the day (after I was shown a video which accidentally recorded a Cetti's in Horstead in the background) burst into song - a Cetti's Warbler and it was on the Horstead side of the river! My second Horstead lifer of the day. This was then swiftly followed by a large Dragonfly sp. zooming past, a Reed Bunting, a family party of Whitethroat, a beautiful unidentified moth with two large patches of bright pink (sadly no photos though) and an unidentified moth sp. (photo attached). Could the latter moth be a Brown Silver-line?

Baby Garden Warbler

Moth sp. (Brown Silver-line?)

All that in a day on the patch, what more could I want! Being greedy though, I continued to hopefully find my next target species. Driving from Horstead to Aylsham recently, I had always noticed a large number of Martin sp. over quarry adjacent to the road which is just about in Horstead. Given the location, I had high hopes these could be Sand Martins breeding within the quarry. As it turns out, I was right, although it is not possible to look into the quarry from public rights of way. My third Horstead and my second patch lifer of the day! I may try and gain access in the future to at least locate and count the pairs of Sand Martins breeding (it must be 30+ pairs judging by the numbers overhead) but given the fact it's a working quarry (as far as I know), my chances are probably quite slim. On the final stretch of road back home, I heard an Oystercatcher and saw a pair of Red-legged Partridge and a Sparrowhawk. Not bad at all for a 3 or 4 hour walk around Horstead! I think the phrase some would use is "if Carlsberg did patch birding".

Whilst sitting out in the garden in the evening, I saw a family of Grey Wagtail inc. 1 juvenile, a Small Purple & Gold (a moth), a Painted Lady and a few common garden birds (mostly pointed out by our 'expert' visitor).

Small Purple & Gold

Grey Wagtail

Sunday

On a short walk around 'The Heath', I saw a few butterflies (inc. Speckled Wood and Meadow Brown amongst others), a family of Coal Tit, a family of Blue Tit and as always, a few Stock Dove on the pig field.

Speckled Wood

Coal Tit