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.

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

30th March

After a pretty wet night I was surprised to find a pristine Pale Pinion in the moth trap.  This is a rare but increasing moth locally and one we've taken a couple of times previously.

Pale Pinion

A walk locally produced a few singing Chiffs but not much else in persistent drizzle.

21st January

Chestnut

Two more Chestnuts in the moth trap when I opened it this morning, keeping the year ticking over.

Not too much to report from Cley except a young male Peregrine in the afternoon over Simmonds, apparently targetting Avocets, numbers of which seem to be reducing!  One pale-bellied Brent still and its nice to see Bearded Tits and hear three Cettis Warblers, while Water Rails continue to show, with two in front of Daukes (no camera!) and two along the East bank.

Besides more "Birding for Beginners"walks, NWT are talking about two moth evenings this summer as well as running a trap regularly Wednesday nights for Thursday mornings.  We did a bit there last year but a more organised effort is bound to pay dividends as well as adding to what visitors get to see.