Spring

The 1st of March is regarded as the start of the meteorological spring but others prefer to take the Spring Equinox as their starting point. I'm optimistic and  like to follow the Met Office on this. Once February has been and gone I think winter is over. If we get any snow it rarely persists, the sun is too strong and the days too long for the snow not to melt quickly. There's also the fact of the sun rising before me so I'm feeding the sheep before work in full daylight at last. This year Spring hasn't let me down and if anything has arrived early. Daffodils are bursting in to bloom, buds are swelling on the hedgerows and the rooks are busy carrying sticks to their growing nests. White blossom is already smothering the branches of the Blackthorns, there is a chorus of bird song on sunny mornings and flag irises are growing rapidly in the damp woodland. Spring is well underway.

Of course, winter often fights back. I went to Minsmere last Sunday afternoon where under a sullen grey sky, a strong cold southerly wind made the walk from North Bank down to the South Levels quite an effort. The birds too had a strong winter feel to them with hundreds of ducks including 3 Smew on the Scrape and few waders. I missed the Spoonbill that had visited earlier. The principal reason for my visit was to watch the Starling roost in the Minsmere reedbeds. Island Mere hide was standing room only but the Starlings put on a spectacular display of close formation flying, forming a whirling, rollercoaster amoeba that rolled and flashed across the reeds in the gathering gloomy dusk.

The spring and sunshine returned on Monday just in time for the working week. We dropped the water level on our scrape 2 weeks ago exposing a muddy margin. The Teal seem to prefer it this way and many have moved out of the Alder wood to dabble in the shallower water. Small parties of Lapwing have been moving through and yesterday I was delighted to see Lapwing displaying on the scrape marsh. Today 6 Lapwing were on this marsh and a low-flying Buzzard caused an instant aggressive response from one of the birds who continued his tumbling display flight for several minutes after the Buzzard had passed. The Marsh Harriers too have been showing signs of breeding behaviour. Reed Bunting numbers have been building up on the garden feeders as seems to happen each year as spring progresses, reaching a peak of 9, many in full summer plumage already. A stunning spring plumaged male Lesser Redpoll this morning was also a first for the niger seed feeder this year. Over it all, the classic soundtrack of spring and early summer here, the busy sound of the rooks in their rookery plays constantly. All we need now are some summer migrants.

February round up

Here in east Norfolk we seem to have escaped the worst of the severe weather that has been battering the country for the last 2 months. We had average rainfall in January and although February has been wetter the rainfall maps suggest only a little bit more than average. Consequently our marshes don't have much more standing water on them than in previous winters, a far cry from the Somerset Levels and Thames flood meadows. It has been windy but, apart from the neighbours rotten fence, there has been little damage too apart from part of an old Alder which came down in the last storm.

The mild weather continues to keep the patch fairly quiet and it feels rather like March, the winter birds gone (well actually they never really got here) and the spring birds yet to arrive. I've only managed to add 3 species this month to my Patchwork Challenge year-list. A Lesser Redpoll in the garden on the 8th was the first of the winter and for the first time in 17 years I've seen wintering Chiffchaff on the patch, two birds in fact. One of the Chiffchaffs was singing in the welcome sunshine we experienced last week. The lack of sustained cold can only be good for the local Barn Owls which were completely wiped out by last winters bitter weather. We had got used to regularly seeing up to 6 Barn Owls from the house so to see none last summer was very disheartening. One lone bird eventually moved in but I was delighted to see two together hunting over the marshes with a third bird more distantly earlier in the month. I hope its a good vole year.
The rooks have returned to their rookery to roost at night but apart from the odd bird carrying the occasional stick to an old nest, they have yet to start building in earnest. Meanwhile, small flocks of Lapwings have been moving through over the last few days, some stopping om the scrape marsh. On the advice of the RSPB, we turned down the pipe on the scrape to expose a little mud as Lapwings start prospecting for nest sites about now.
With the Patchwork list moving so slowly I've ventured further afield, firstly to Titchwell to catch up with some winter ducks, where Red-breasted Merganser, Goosander, Goldeneye and Common Scoter duly obliged and also get a fix of that wonderfully evocative sound of flocking Brent Geese. Today I persuaded my elder daughter to accompany me to Covehithe where I caught up with the female Long-tailed Duck that has spent the winter there. The sea was very stormy but I managed to find 3 Red-throated Divers bobbing wildly up and down giving now you see me, now you don't views.

With winter fizzling out, it's very much roll on spring now.

East Norfolk in the sun!

It was a weekend of extreme rarity in 2014, wall-to-wall sunshine and no rain! After releasing the ewes and lambs into a field from the confines of their shed to enjoy the space for some proper lamby gambolling I headed off to catch up with some of the local scarcities. First stop was Great Yarmouth to join the myriad dogs and their owners walking the North Denes, in my case on the hunt for the 2 Shorelarks. Along with 2 other birders we searched the dunes between the Imperial Hotel and the Coffee Shack and eventually one of the other birders located them back where we started opposite the Imperial Hotel. When I saw them in November they were on the beach, but this time they were up close to the promenade feeding in the dunes themselves.
 After having my fill of the Shore Larks I moved up the coast to Horsey Mere. Here the 2 redhead Smew were being watched as I arrived so I was able to see these straight away but the birds were distant. I had a brief view of 2 Cranes in flight at the back of the Mere. I walked further along the muddy footpath hoping I might get a better view of the mere but as it became obvious that it was impossible to get any closer to the Smew I turned back. Suddenly the evocative, wild trumpeting of a crane came from across the mere and 2 Cranes appeared flying straight towards me. The Cranes flew straight over me and landed in the grazing marsh only a couple of hundred yards from where I was standing. I had been hoping to see Cranes but these were some of the best views I've had in a long time.

Next stop was the rather dubiously named Cess Road at Martham. On arrival the 2 Glossy Ibis were immediately visible close to a fence with a small group of birders on the other side. It was obvious that my scope was unnecessary so I just took my bins and camera from the car. The birds were no more than 20 feet away feeding in the wet grass completely unconcerned by their human admirers allowing excellent photo opportunities.

My final destination was the Ludham/Catfield area hoping to see the flock of swans that winters in the area. As I drove up Market Road 23 swans took off from a distant field and flew over my car heading west. They looked like Bewicks from their compact shape and short necks but they disappeared into the distance and I couldn't relocate them.

I spent yesterday in my home area, doing a BTO Winter Thrushes survey walk in the morning. The day had started well with the cheerful chirruping of a singing male House Sparrow in the garden, a house first (the singing that is). The thrush survey was very quiet with only a handful of Blackbirds seen but as I continued my loop around the marsh Marsh Harrier after Marsh Harrier appeared until I had 5 birds in one binocular field of view. By lunchtime there were up to 6 in the air together over a fairly small area of marsh, a fantastic sight. Two were winged tagged, one being the previously mentioned CN but I've been unable to read the other bird's tags as she's yet to perch up in view. The scrape held its first Wigeon of the year but other winter birds remain hard to find.

We make the national press!

More excitement this week with a mention in The Guardian here . Many thanks to Stephen Moss.

More marsh management

We ran out of heating oil this weekend. This time last year it would have been a disaster, this year it's a minor inconvenience. The continuing mild weather is great for the birds although not so good for birding with very few waterfowl locally apart from our usual wintering Teal flock. Its easy to believe spring is not far away despite it being only mid-January and the local flora and fauna are adding to that feeling.
In the garden Hazel catkins are in full bloom, Snowdrops have speared through the fallen leaves under the trees and are about to burst in to flower, and Daffodil spikes have appeared in the lawn. The Rooks were back in their rookery today, not just one of their brief early morning forays but a full days noisy checking out of their old nest sites. Cuckoo Pint is starting to erupt in the hedgerows, Winter Gnats were dancing and Song Thrush and Great Tits were blasting out their songs. There's still plenty of time for a cold snap but at this time of the year it can't possibly last too long.
Yesterday we had Mark Smart, the warden at RSPB Berney Marshes, visit to give us some advice on improving the marshes to encourage Lapwings to breed. We need more foot drains, not to drain the marshes but to provide some persistent damp areas for Lapwing chicks to feed. As we've got the ability to control the dyke levels in the internal dykes on our land we've got some ideal areas and the RSPB are happy to come back in August (its too wet for a tractor right now) and cut them for us. We have to pay but I'd rather pay the RSPB than a contractor and if the RSPB do it we know the drains will be cut to the correct size and in the right place.
My Patchwork Challenge list has had only 2 additions since last weekend, the afore-mentioned Song Thrush and a calling Wigeon in the dark yesterday evening, despite much effort outdoors. Marsh Harrier CN (see January 11ths post) re-appeared today after going missing for 2 weeks. She was calling  using the high-pitched sound I usually hear between breeding birds in the spring. Would any one know if this is a sign of potential breeding activity?

Otters!

Our trail camera hit gold with these 2 Otters paying a visit to our mink raft on a rainy night. It makes a change to the more usual videos of Water Voles, Moorhens and Mute Swans gliding back and forth.

Patch birding - time for Rough-legs at last

I woke to a crisp, frosty scene, the first of the year if not the winter, with a bright winter sun. It was ideal conditions to head out with my Jack Russell to the Haddiscoe New Cut, the north-eastern boundary of my patch, in pursuit of the Rough-legged Buzzards on the Island.
The Island was surprisingly quiet, no geese, no ducks apart from a few Mallard and no waders apart from a large distant flock of Lapwings. There was no sign of either Rough-leg although there were plenty of other raptors including a close smart Peregrine on a gate post gleaming in the sun and a very pale Common Buzzard a little further away. Hares were boxing as if it were spring, Chinese Water Deer seemed to be everywhere and Little Egrets flying along the distant River Yare and popping up in dykes vastly outnumbered Grey Herons. I ventured further along the Cut, stopping as I met a birder walking back towards me. He hadn't seen the Rough-legs either but as I scanned again in to the distance suddenly there they were, close together on a gate. I watched them for some time hoping they might come closer but the juvenile moved steadily further away eventually followed by the adult which dropped on to the ground out of sight. The zoom on my scope was definitely needed and it came in useful again when the other birder mentioned he had seen a covey of partridges which could be Greys on Thurlton Marshes behind us. At full zoom the rusty faces and dark brown horseshoe markings on their bellies were clearly visible on a total of 12 birds, the biggest flock I've seen in this area.
With feeding time approaching for the lambs, I turned for home but not before my dog disgraced herself. We've always put her on a lead near other dogs as she's very timid around dogs and tends to act aggressively when they approach. My behaviourist colleague suggested this was the worst thing to do as it suggests we're scared of the dogs too and makes her fear worse. As I walked back, a party with 2 medium sized dogs approached on a parallel path. I decided to leave her off the lead and hoped she would stay close by. Big mistake! As they got nearer her tail shot up and she rocketed off towards them ignoring my calls and launched straight in to the attack. The skirmish was brief, the other dog was bigger and a well aimed kick from the other dogs owner had her scuttling away with her tail between her legs. I'll be having words with my colleague tomorrow!
After lunch for the lambs and myself, I decided to ignore the temptation of Parrot Crossbills in Waveney Forest, stay on Patch and explore the arable marshes. My walk there gave me a year-tick Fieldfare but the marshes at first seemed deserted. Suddenly a flock of about 50 Skylarks ascended from the newly emergent cereal crop I was walking by, closely followed by a large flock of Linnets that bounded off in to the distance. The farmer here always leaves wide field margins and has a variety of crops in a smallish area including some winter stubble. The Grey Partridges were on his fields too.
A close Barn Owl hunting over a patch of waste ground on the way home was a nice finish to the day.