Norfolk Birding

I always go to Norfolk a few times every year, including once each year in June to July, with the main target often being Nightjar. This year I was making the same trip to the same places, but seeing different birds.

I arrived in Norwich on Friday night to stay with my aunt who lives there. It was too dark to do anything, but I ate and prepared for the following day. 

Next day, we headed out to our first stop at Buxton Heath, a place we would be visiting later that day too. My target here was quickly achieved - Silver-Studded Blue butterfly. At first, there were only a few flying, but after a few minutes, there were dozens flying around, some more impressive looking than others.

SSB

SSB

To add some confusion, there were also Common Blues mixing with the Silver Studds, but I soon became familiar with the differences. The final butterfly at the site was a White Admiral that settled for a short period on brambles in the car park. 

Next stop was Cley, where we had the scope fixed then headed out to the hides. The first one I visited gave me good views of Little-Ringed Plover, Black-Tailed Godwit and Ruff. A Green Sandpiper then showed well, so I headed to the next hide to view it more clearly.

Green Sandpiper

As soon as I opened the windows to the hide however, 3 birds flew in and landed just metres away on one of the islands. It was immediately clear that they were Spoonbills! I didn't expect views like this of them; my best ever. The flock contained 2 adults and a juvenile. 

Spoonbill

We then headed to Choseley, but there were hardly any birds here at all. I've visited this place over 10 times now and haven't seen a Corn Bunting once, which is strange because it's supposed to be a good site for them. 

Then to Titchwell, where there is always something to see, and today was no exception. I started off at the first hide where it wasn't long before I found the flock of Little Gulls that had been around for a while. These are very interesting birds, and ones that I have only started to look at properly recently. 

Little Gull

We then spoke to one of the volunteers, who recommended a good spot to look for the Spotted Redshanks. I took his advice and had clear, but distant, views of at least three in full summer plumage. Other interesting birds included summer plumaged Knot, a Ruff that landed in front of one of the hides, a lot of Mediterranean Gulls and an interesting butterfly - an Essex Skipper, posing conveniently so I could see its antennae. 

Essex Skipper

It was then my plan to try to find a Turtle Dove, something I've never seen before. However, I realised that I didn't know a single reliable site nearby. I asked one of the volunteers who recommended a site, which was helpful, so we headed that way.

On the way I saw a Red Kite circling a nearby field.

Unfortunately, Turtle Doves were either not present or refused to show themselves at the site. A shame, but later in the year could provide another opportunity. 

As we drove back I noticed a raptor flying high over the road. Usually these 'large road raptors' are one of three species in Norfolk - Red Kite, Marsh Harrier or Buzzard. I took one glance at it to see it clearly wasn't a Buzzard or Red Kite, so in my head, that meant it was a Marsh Harrier, supported by the black wing tips. But as we drove straight under it, I could see much longer wings which were flapping loosely, and a grey colour to the whole of the wings. I had about a second to view it, but the plumage filled me with excitement. I thought it had to be a Montagu's Harrier.

I made my aunt drive back up and down the same road about four times, but the raptor didn't reappear. I don't have much confidence in my sighting however, because the habitat seemed strange and I only viewed it for a second, so it could have been anything that has been misidentified by me. 

Our final stop was at Buxton Heath again, this time in the evening. It was warm, so I hoped it would be good for Nightjars. We headed out on to the path, (where I picked up the wings of a dead Silver-Studded Blue) and searched for the Nightjars. It wasn't long before I heard the first burst of churring, with more birds soon joining in. A few seconds later, a Nightjar flew high up in front of me. A success! But views had been short and quite distant, so I moved forwards to acquire some  better views. 

This turned out to be a very good move - I heard a Nightjar call then flutter past me where I could have touched it if I had stuck my arm out (I didn't!). It didn't move straight on, though. It continued to circle me, only a couple of metres away all the time, often invisible as it flew low over the heath, but showing very well when it fluttered over the path, displaying its white tail corners and wing patches. It called constantly as it circled, and I enjoyed amazing views for a whole 5 minutes before it flew off. No doubt the best views I have had of this species, and the highlight of the weekend.

Unfortunately, the next morning was uneventful, with an unsuccessful trip to look for Honey Buzzard at Swanton Novers, and another visit to Buxton Heath in daylight, with hardly any birds seen at all.

It was then time to head home, after what had been an amazing weekend.

A Weekend of Butterflies

In late June, birding opportunities are limited locally, so I travelled to search for some butterflies. I only became interested late last summer, so I don't know too much about locations of them or how to find them.

It was lucky that I noticed that there was a guided walk to look for butterflies at a site not too far away - run bu the Upper Thames branch of Butterfly Conservation. 

On Saturday we headed up to Holtspur Bottom reserve to join the guided walk. The first butterfly was a Small Tortoiseshell, followed by Meadow Browns, Ringlets and Marbled Whites.

A Common Blue was seen briefly, and a Large Skipper also showed.

One of the leaders caught a Skipper butterfly in the net, and showed it to everyone briefly before letting it go to minimise disturbance. It was an Essex Skipper, separated from Small Skipper by the black undersides to the antennae. This was a new butterfly for me. 

Essex Skipper

Next we searched through the meadows, where another group leader found one of the target butterflies - the Small Blue! They were even smaller than I expected, and it was often hard to track them as they flew through the grassland. I eventually got prolonged views of one settled on its food plant (Kidney Vetch?). A very brief Dark Green Fritillary flew through, which was apparently an unusual record for the site. However, it was the worst views I have had of any butterfly, and I will be going out to get some better views soon at another site.

Small Blue

Another highlight of the day was the other wildlife, and the knowledge of the guides. When I joined the walk I planned to look for nothing but butterflies, and would avoid everything else because it wasn't interesting. But I soon became very interested in the various moths, beetles and bees of the area. 

Unfortunately, I haven't managed to remember the names of all the things I saw, but I do remember an interesting moth - Mother Shipton, a Thick-Thighed Flower Beetle and some sort of solitary bee. It has encouraged me to learn more about these animals. 

On Sunday, I went out by myself to my nearby woodland. The first new Butterfly I saw was a White Admiral, with quite a few flying around. However, I was struggling for anything else. I tried looking in the treetops for Purple Hairstreak, but couldn't find one. But just as I was walking back, a butterfly flew across the floor beside me and landed nearby. Looking at the underside, I could see it was clearly a Purple Hairstreak - great to see my first one on the floor. 

Purple Hairstreak

Other butterflies seen that day were Ringlet, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, Small Skipper, Small Tortoiseshell, Red Admiral, Speckled Wood and Comma.

A Garden Warbler was also singing, which I thought was quite late for this species.