Author's posts
May 06 2016
Thornham 6th May 2016
Thornham 6th May 2016
After our stop over at Horsey Mere, we stopped of at NWT Cley Marshes for a cup of tea and then ploughed on to Thornham where we were due to stay for a week. It was quite late by the time we got there so we cleaned up and then went out for a meal. The first thing we heard as we were leaving the cottage was a Cuckoo calling.
May 06 2016
Horsey Mere 6th May 2016
Horsey Mere 6th May 2016
Today we had to move from our cottage rental in Halesworth to out next cottage in Thornham, near RSPB Titchwell. This turned out to be quite a long drive because, although the distance isn’t great, it takes a long time on the small roads that we prefer to drive on. We broke the journey up with a visit to Horsey Mere where we had previously taken a boat trip courtesy of Ross’s Boat Trips. Our previous experience with Ross was so good that we had to make a return journey.
May 05 2016
Covehithe 5th May 2016
Covehithe 5th May 2016
Thursday was not a “birding day” for us as we had arranged to meet friends for a walk to the coast at Covehithe and then a spot of lunch at Southwold. Even then, though, we still managed to see plenty of birds and even added a few “year ticks” to our species list. These included some unexpected birds.
May 04 2016
Weeting Heath NWT 4th May 2016
Weeting Heath NWT 4th May 2016
Weeting Heath is known as one of the most – if not the most – reliable places to see Stone Curlew and they did have them on site and even had a live video feed of one on a nest. Unfortunately the nest was over the hill from the West Hide and in a dip so it was impossible to see this bird from the hide. We were told that there were I’ve other birds also on the site after arriving quite recently; unfortunately these birds were not to be seen either. In all the time we were there not a single person saw one although, apparently, several had been seen earlier in the day.
May 03 2016
RSPB Minsmere 3rd May 2016
RSPB Minsmere 3rd May 2016
The 3rd was reserved solely for a visit to RSPB Minsmere which we had been to a couple of years before but then we didn’t have a full day free so we were a little bit limited in what we could do. This time we took two of the major trails on the site which gave us lots of species of birds and a few “year ticks”
May 02 2016
Lakenheath Fen 2nd May 2016
Lakenheath Fen 2nd May 2016
We drove from Wicken Fen to Lakenheath Fen as part of our Peterborough to Halesworth journey. The afternoon had started to look a bit gloomy but we felt we had a fair chance of getting to the first hide and back before the rain fell. It was a bit of a rushed walk out there but we did manage to get Whitethroat and Dunnock. We started to hear a Cuckoo and this was a feature of our visit to Lakenheath Fen as we continued to hear what must have been several Cuckoos.
May 02 2016
Wicken Fen 2nd May 2016
Wicken Fen 2nd May 2016
Having recently finished rereading a book based on a long – term study of Cuckoos at Wicken Fen, Cuckoos : Cheating By Nature by Nick Davies, I was interested to see this – the oldest – National Trust site. Unfortunately it was a bank holiday and the reserve was heaving with people and their children and dogs. On the plus side, as soon as we got to the cafe I heard my first Cuckoo of the year. We continued to hear Cuckoos as we went round the reserve but didn’t manage to see any.
Apr 30 2016
Summary : April 2016
Summary April 2016
Species this month = 88
New Species added to 2016 Year List in April = 15
Sand Martins and House Martins at Moore on the 5th, Brent Goose, Common Eider and Wheatear at Riverbank Road on the 8th and Black-necked Grebe at Woolston Eyes also on the 8th. Our first Swallow at Ellesmere on the 10th April, Cetti’s Warbler and Water Pipit (Life Tick) and Little Ringed Plover at Burton Mere Wetlands on the 12th April, Willow Warbler and Blackcap at Wigan Flashes on 18th April, Sedge Warbler at Burton Mere Wetlands on 22nd April. Reed Warbler (heard) and Marsh Tit (seen) at Leighton Moss on the 26th April
New UK Life List Birds In April = 1
Water Pipit at Burton Mere Wetlands on 12th
Running Total for the 2016 UK So Far = 124
Apr 26 2016
Leighton Moss RSPB : 26th April 2016
Leighton Moss RSPB : 26th April 2016
The last birding group day of the month (and our last until we are back from holiday in Norfork etc.) was to Leighton Moss. The day started badly with three different traffic jams that meant that our joutrney there took two hours. When we got there, it was surprisingly quiet at all the hides and there were only a couple of things to liven up our day.