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Sat in the garden early morning and caught sight of a very large moth on the garden trellis. Immediate id from my lack of knowledge was that it was a HAWK MOTH and so it seems. It was there from before 08:00 hrs and still there at dusk when it left. I have never seen a moth dedicate before, but this one did with fluid running down the post. Every time you touched it, it done its business, odd, but in my case significant.

Bird wise just a single SWALLOW heading South again and none others seen across Norfolk to Norwich and back.  

                                            Convolvulus Hawk-moth, (Agrius convolvuli)

 

About

The last few days have been about with family so restricted as to birding.

Stocksby:  The best here was a flock of fifty SWALLOW wire sitting a nd getting ready to go. The flock was very much ready to go. I did have a single one as well over the house this morning.

Along Acle Strait I had four CURLEW and five KESTREL.

Also five COMMON BUZZARD along the coast with a very close immature GANNET at Walcott and also a very close RED THROATED DIVER sitting on the water..

Today at Ness several GANNET flying South some young and some adult birds. Picked up on a single SOOTY SHEAR which was flying South as well and distinctly soo ty. The other bird of note were three RED THROAQTED DIVER heading North

Carlton Marsh.

Walk through and along wall back, started dull but hot on return.

On arrival SWALLOWS flying around first scrape with 10 birds in all. HOUSE SPARROWS on feeder and   2  YELLOWHAMMER on wires next to railway line. At scrape a single RUFF and 106 LAPWING. Several KESTREL about which numbered six. With two LITTLE EGERET, but the best was the sound of two BEARDED TIT pinking in reeds at the wall, also along the track a very courageous CETT'S WARBLER who put an unusually good show. CHIFFCHAFF was at 5 with all birds viewable. Just one COMMON BUZZARD calling and moving towards the West. BLUE TIT, LONG TAILED TIT, GREAT TIT. MEADOW PIPIT, PIED WAG, TEAL, GADWALL, MUTE SWAN, MALLARD, STARLING, CROW, and an odd JACKDAW that must have been separated from its clan as it was incessantly calling.
Home:  Flyover this evening saw 9 PIED WAGTAIL heading West and a single HERON on its way South calling as it went.
Cuccumber Lane, Beccles.  200 HOUSE MARTIN searching for food.

                                COMMA BUT and COMMON DARTER, Love is in the air?

Corton, Lowestoft.

Sunday Net Posts:          Spent a short while here and watched 3 WHEATEAR and  2 MEADOW PIPIT as well CARRION CROW and left.

Silo:  PERI sitting half way up on South side and LITTLE EGERET to West of Asda.

Monday Home: Early morning saw three SAND MARTIN flying North.

Corton Old Sewer Works:  At entrance a COMMON WHITETHROAT and 5 CHIFFCHAFF as well as MEADOW PIPIT over and GOLDFINCH about eight GREENFINCH and a single CHAFFINCH.

Corton New Logging Mill:  The best bird was a flyover GOLDEN PLOVER which called and flew East. A calling GREEN WOODPECKER and several MED GULLS in field and on roof of mill. GOLDFINCH 7 and BLUE TIT and GREAT TIT. A COMMON BUZZARD over Park Hill Hotel.

Sparrows Nest, Lowestoft.

A good start at the Ness when the zoom lens on the scope gave up. In real terms fell apart with not a screw tight in the whole thing. Good job I am practical as the whole thing dismantled and fixed in 30 minuets. Also all fittings fixed with nail varnish so no undoing any more. Why don't they do this as this was usual in the past. To easy I reckon. 

 

Net Posts:  Several MEADOW PIPIT flying about with three WHEATEAR one was good enough for a pic. Also about 3 CARRION CROW.

 

 

 

Sparrows Nest:  Several BLUE TIT and GREAT TIT in flocks on the bottom path with a few GOLDCREST about as well. Things improved at the top with ROBINS everywhere and a few incoming BLACKBIRD. Best bird here was at the top of the steps a PIED FLYCATCHER put on a quick show but soon flitted when I reached for the camera. I also had a single COAL TIT amongst all the others. 

Today was a wash out.

After a short while the hot spell ended and now the sound of autumn is here. Spent sometime sitting in the garden with just two PIED WAG over and three MEADOW PIPIT. One bird over was an obvious warbler but who knows what. The HOUSE SPARROWS kept me company especially when I fed them some live meal worms. Harry still comes in but infrequently as dose his progeny who is as load as ever when he thinks about food. I have also a young STARLING that has found out where the H.S. food is and also had a GREAT TIT and a BLUE TIT on the feeder today.

Minnesmere, Suffolk.

Spent several hours in the heat, with the hottest day of the year with temperatures in one place at 34 degrees, that is hot. Greeted at reception by birding colleague and a catch up.

 

Best bird of the day for me was a LITTLE STINT which was associating with a RUFF and an adult DUNLIN. These birds were really in close proximity in real terms in within wing distance of each other. This was really good for comparison but being so far away you will have put up with a sketch.

 Other birds of note were LITTLE GULL a juvenile bird in early plumage and two WHEATEAR on the beach. I also had 5 SAND MARTIN along beach and 4 SWALLOW. A single HOBBY, A COMMON BUZZARD and a pair of MARSH HARRIER. Just one GREY HERON and 2 LITTLE EGERET. I had reasonable views although flying of 5 BEARDED TIT. PIED WAG, SPOTTED RED 6, SNIPE 2, SHELLDUCK, MALLARD, SHOVELORE, TEAL, GADWALL, MORHEN, COOT, WOOD PIGEON, STOCK DOVE, COLLARD DOVE, HOUSE SPARROW, LINNET, GOLDFINCH, REED BUNTING, BLACKBIRD, STONECHAT, MEADOW PIPIT, GREY LAG GEESE, CANADA GEESE, CETTI'S WARBLER, HERRING GULL, LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL, GREAT BLACK BACKED GULL. COMMON WHITETHROAT, DUNOCK, WREN, ROBIN, BLACK HEADED GULL, CROW, JACKDAW, CHAFFINCH, GOLDCREST, BLUE TIT, GREAT TIT.

 

Home:   Had my first migrant ROBIN in today stayed for a few hours and went to the bird table. Also a very fleeting visit of a JAY which a rare bird for here.

Home

No birding but with this weather of bright and warm the best is still off.

These two are of interest the first one is obvious as a SOUTHERN HAWKER but as for the other take your best.

Birds are few and far between with just three PIED WAG over the house with a few LINNET over as well.

Gorlston on Sea.

Called in for an ice cream. Just a 99 but with lemon sherbet, what more can I say.

Gorleston: The south harbour held 5 TURNSTONE all adult and none rung. Also on beach and cliff 6 MED GULLS with just fly by CORMORANTS. BLACK HEADED GULL, HERRING GULL, GREAT BLACK BACKED GULL, HERRING GULL and a single COMMON GULL.

Lound Lakes:  On arrival 3 MOORHEN and 5 SWALLOW chasseing around top meadow.
Lound:             3 SWALLOW about village.

Tramps Alley, Gunton.

Fishing from the beach for 5 hours.

MED GULLS resting on the sea, but not feeding. The number bof birds I counted was 42 but there was more. These were interspersed with COMMON GULLS as well. Also 2 SWALLOW South and a flock of 20+ GOLDEN PLOVER flew South along beach line but at 100 feet. A few CORMORANT and six CARRION CROW.

In a clear sky with no aircraft about except one that had no trail is this what I think it is? which is an incoming piece of space debry. Last night saw 5 in an hour incoming. This was very high and moved very slowly and was about for 5 minuets, but stayed in the same format as it moved from the South West.

Home

Just a garden day today with a fly over PIED WAGTAIL and a COMMON WHITETHROAT on the buddleia, beside this just BLUE TIT, HOUSE SPARROW, MAGPIE, CARRION CROW, JACKDAW, HERRING GULL and LESSER BLACK BACKED GULL. But the real interest was the HERRING GULL with colour ring again. First for the garden in a colour ringed bird. This bird rung by the Thames group I expect. This is the second one in the last few weeks.

Ness Point

Dull day to start and now bright and hot.
Home:   While out in the garden first thing a GREY WAGTAIL flew East to West calling as flew through.
Ness:     TURNSTONE very noisy while sitting on rocks at high tide with the resident OYSTERCATCHER feeding on high tide. I also had three SANDWHICH TERN all flying North as was any flocks of CORMORANT which flew through with up to 20 birds in one flock. The good view was the 16 BRENT GEESE flying South which was for me a first for the Autumn. It seems however a day for ducks with two flocks of MALLARD 13 and 16 respectively. I also had a flock of 14 TEAL which flew South between the continental buoys. What was more disconcerting was a flock of duck which I can only assume were goldeneye as they were well North of me and came in and headed North. The very white and black in a sense gives it away with the massive white wing pattern. Around 20 birds in this flock. I also had another which was impossible to id but assumed to be dunlin flying again South.
Gulliver:  Found a single bird on dead thistle and proved to be a WHINCHAT.

 

In reflection a view of birds in the dark seems impossible but if you are in doubt the following is worth a consideration and no sighting should ever be discounted as not solvable. So tonight with discussion at club the following was considered.

It was 23:30 hours on a clear night which was still a fortnight ago this evening. I was lying on my recliner in the garden when I saw above me a flock of white birds flying East to West at about 300 feet. 20 birds in all and silent in flight. The conclusion was that this was a flock of SPOONBILL as they fly at night and in a single line or into a V formation. They also waved in flight from side to side which is also diagnostic. They were silent but the reality is that spoonbill have been seen in Suffolk at the same time with a flock on the Auld of this number. The thing which I did not know was that spoonbill fly and feed at night. So this was a flock of birds coming in from the continent after breeding.

Gunton Wood and Gunton Cliff

This was in birding terms dull for me with only 5 calling CHIFFCHAF and a calling GREEN WOODPECKER. Literally nothing else to say really for 2 hours out. A bad call should have stuck with Ness Point.