24th- 25th April

Good numbers of migrants around locally both days with the overcast SWs and drizzle on 25th dropping stuff, particularly Wheatears, Blackcaps and Willow Warblers in all over. Highlights were Osprey, my first Merlin for two years and at least four Ring Ouzels round Hungry Hill.

The garden produced our first Holly Blue of the year and a Water Carpet in the trap last night, while all sorts of insects are being attracted to the flowering Alexanders, including hoverflies, German wasps, Harlequin Ladybirds and mining bees.

Mining Bee, German Wasp, "Syrphus" Hoverfly, Harlequin and another Mining Bee

The last few days

With mostly chilly temperatures and northerly winds little exciting has happened. Several commoner summer migrants have come in including a couple of early Swifts on 20th but numbers remain low locally. Moths have generally been the same but we had garden record numbers of Common Quaker (35) and Hebrew Character (15) on 20th/21st. Brindled Pug and Early Thorn have both appeared briefly but are about 2 weeks later than norm and the first white butterflies are on the wing with Holly Blues and Orange tips. More photography opportunities with bees and bugs in the garden though.

Bombus pascuorum and Brindled Pug

Bird migration picked up yesterday (23rd) with the change to SE winds, highlights being another Red Kite, several Yellow Wags and steady numbers of hirundines. The moth trap last night had our second Pale Pinion of the year, so they are obviously getting commoner up here.

14th/15th April

All quiet really so I took the opportunity to practice being a photographer locally.

Wood Anenomes, Forsythia and Alkanet, Overstrand

Cley on Thursday was quiet and freezing but probably worse for the two Swallows and three Wheatears which must have been pining for warmer climes.
Ominously, ash on the car this morning!

12th April

12th April


After a morning in I went to Kelling Heath after lunch, mostly to do some macro photography. I did however bump into a Dartford warbler chasing a Whitethroat and, while watching these, a Red Kite drifted over.  Nice start on a cool but sunny day.

Searching the gorse for photo opportunities eventually proved rewarding with Gorse Shieldbugs, an as yet unidentified spider, stacks of 7-spot Ladybirds and Buff-tailed Bumblebees gorging themselves on catkin pollen.

Gorse Shieldbugs, spider sp, Buff-tailed Bumble and 7-spot Ladybirds

9th-11th April

9th April


What a frustrating day! Trimingham was quiet, just one Swallow through plus the possibility of a Common Buzzard nest in nearby woods to keep an eye on. A trip to the farm shop was terminated on the news that Andy had two Red Kites over Hungry Hill, one of which (plus four Buzzards) I managed to see after a quick dash round to near the nursery. Then I probably saw a Common Crane flying right past the house but it was just a shape disappearing behind the neighbours! Some compensation in the garden afterwards with Brimstone and several Commas, Small Tortoiseshells and Peacocks moving through, plus finding that the Blue Tits were still around the nest box and the tadpoles were hatching.

10th April

Another fine day saw a crowd gathered on Incleborough Hill but after several hours with only very distant Sandwich Terns, Sparrowhawks and probably local Buzzards, attention wavered a bit and the micro life on the gorse became compelling. Unfortunately I had no camera to capture the array of shield bugs, spiders and other stuff but I will next time! Just as we were packing up however a Common Crane flew steadily south east, so not only did we see it but also most of the local birders as it flew over Northrepps.

11th April

For the first time this year we put the Actinic trap on in the garden as well as the MV with spectacular results, record numbers of Early Greys and Clouded Drabs. It probably helps that Great Tits haven’t found it and it also covers much the same area as the MV so intercepts moths drawn into the garden by the bright light. Spent all morning at the allotment with Willow Warbler, a couple of Blackcaps and several Chiffs as a reward as well as three or four Small Toroiseshells.

6th-8th April

6th April

A frustrating morning saw me on our nearby high point, raptor watching in what should have been ideal conditions, clear, breezy, warming southerlies. Nobody told the raptors though and it was a blank apart from a couple of resident Common Buzzards and Sparrowhawks, plus a migrant Sand Martin.  Even more frustrating was a falcon seen briefly which may have been a very early Hobby.

Moths are picking up nicely with record numbers for the garden 6th/7th of Clouded Drab (8), Small Quaker (10) and Common Quaker (32) plus our latest Dotted Border and earliest (by two weeks) Nut-tree Tussock. It’s a crazy spring!

8th

Cley was better than of late with a few Swallows and Sand Martins moving west in the beautiful breezy, sunny day, three Wheatears on the Eye Field, a few Sandwich Terns along the beach and plenty of Marsh Harrier activity. Water levels are high though, which may bode well for waders late spring. Both Peacock and Small Tortoiseshells were on the wing. The highlight of the day had to wait a day or two to be confirmed when a trip round a couple of websites confirmed the small finch that flew west past the centre after lunch was a Serin.  I thought it was, having seen a yellow rump and given its size but the short trilling flight call wasn't the mass of jingling I was used to from Portugal etc.
There was plenty of wasp activity round the ivy in the garden when I got home and fair numbers of moths in the trap, with another late Dotted Border and our first Red Chestnut, Engrailed and Twenty-plume moth of the year, plus our second Diurnea fagella – thanks to Jon Clifton for the i/d. No sign of the frog spawn hatching yet.

Diurnea fagella and Common Wasp

1st-5th April 2010

Following the excitements of late March, early April has been quiet both birding and with the moth trap. The latter picked up over the last two nights with milder, drier conditions producing our latest ever March Moth and decent numbers of Common Quakers. Migrant birds are still at a premium as yet with only Blackcap added to the year list so far. The sunny weather on Sunday 4th did bring out a couple of Small Tortoiseshells, the first butterflies I’ve seen for a while. Cley last Thursday 1st was quiet enough with the freezing strong westerlies that I spent some time photographing landscapes!

Cley Windmill