Western Conifer Seed Bug in our Watton garden 3 August 2025

During the afternoon of 3 August I saw a large bug on the floor of our conservatory, it was a species quite unfamiliar to me, I firstly thought it was a species of Longhorn Beetle.  From the tip of its abdomen to the end of its antenna it measured around 3/4 inch in length.  This beautiful bug is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, a North American species which was first recorded in Europe (Italy) in the late 1990's, it was first recorded in Britain in 2007.

The following are a couple of picture of the Western Conifer Seed Bug, firstly in our conservatory and then after I relocated it into the garden.

Western Conifer Seed Bug in our conservatory 3 August

Western Conifer Seed Bug 3 August 2025 (safely relocated)

East Wretham Heath 30 July 2025 (0725-1000)

Lakes, meres and muck heaps are habitats I like to visit at this time of year for signs of wader passage, with this in mind this morning I chose East Wretham Heath where the largest area of water known as Langmere is a reliable location for passage waders.

I arrived at the car park at 0725 and immediately recorded juvenile Coal Tits, singing Blackcap, one Whitethroat, juvenile Blue Tits, Chiffchaff, Chaffinches, and one Kestrel in the many old Hawthorns here. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth was feeding around a buddleia.  

I headed off for Langmere with passage waders in mind, Wood Sandpiper perhaps or Greenshank maybe? An initial overview of the water saw 200+ Lapwings around the fringes of the mere and a single Little Egret probing in the shallows.  Typically, many Little Grebes (20+) seen and heard on the water along with many Coot too.  A pair of Egyptian Geese were present with 3 half-grown young.

Having repositioned myself for better views of the mere I could see that the Lapwings were a mixture of both adult and juvenile birds.

A scan of the far fringes of the mere paid off with a single juvenile Greenshank found probing the wet muddy fringes of the mere as well as wading in the shallows in its search for invertebrate food.  After a long wait the Greenshank eventually made its way to the nearside fringes of the mere with occasional stops for preening.

Greenshank (juvenile) on Wretham Heath 30 July 2025

This beautiful Greenshank offered great views as it walked and ran the margins of the mere, occasionally, it was chased off by Lapwings, it was then that the white rump extending up the back was revealed.  Another notable feature of this bird is the slightly upturned bill, this is probably accentuated by the lower mandible curving up towards the tip.

Greenshank 30 July 2025.  Note the distinctive white wedge running up the birds rump and back.

  

Lapwing (juvenile) at Wretham 30 July 2025

Probably in excess of 220 Lapwings were present around the mere including juvenile birds (see above), this birds exhibits typical juvenile appearance which includes the short crest and the buff fringes to the dark wing feathers.  A very beautiful bird.
 

East Wretham Heath 12 July 2025 (0740-1045)

The day began overcast with a light mizzle but this was soon burnt off by the sun to give cloudless skies and a high temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius.

This was intended to be a short visit today to check for signs of wader passage, there was no evidence of this, however, it was to be a productive visit with 37 species recorded along with several species of butterflies and moths seen.

From the reserve car park I walked over the heath towards Waterloo Plantation.  I stopped at my usual spot to overview this wonderful heathland habitat along with partial views of Langmere.  I had my scope with me but this was useless at range due to the heat haze, nevertheless, this first static watch was to prove quite productive.  

East Wretham Heath 12 July 2025 (A very hot day)

The water level at Langmere was beginning to drop but the shore around the mere held good numbers of duck and geese, a few Lapwings, and probably in excess of 70 Coot whilst on the water was several Little Grebes and about 5 Tufted Duck.  About 40 Greylag Geese were present and a flock of 20+ Shelduck flew in, many being juveniles.  A single Little Egret dropped in but almost immediately flew off.   

Several small birds were frequenting the heath in front of me, most were juvenile Pied Wagtails, I then scanned a lone Hawthorn and found a very handsome male Redstart sitting in the bush, it then flew towards some Scots Pines, a stunning bird.

The most abundant Warbler seen on this visit was Chiffchaff with many juveniles seen in Sallows where they searched for invertebrate food, this included one making short flycatching sallies for tiny insects.  Also noted was a few Blackcaps and juvenile Blackbirds and on the far shore of Langmere a single Song Thrush was seen under a bush, its small size for a Thrush and warm brown upperparts being so distinctive. A few Hirundines were overhead, mostly Swallows but also a few House Martins.

Walking back over the heath I heard the highly distinctive but distant call of a Raven, once I got to a position uninterrupted by trees and bushes I scanned the sky over the heath and soon located 3 Ravens at height and at distance soaring high over the heath and engaged in chasing and tumbling behaviour, and of course frequently calling, a sound I love. 

3 Ravens seen high and distantly over Wretham Heath 12 July 2025

On my return walk over the heath my attention turned to butterflies and moths, sadly, however, some very small moth species went unidentified.  Moth species I could identify included a Six Spot Burnet and two Hummingbird Hawk Moths.  Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Peacock, and Comma butterflies were seen.

Six Spot Burnett on Wretham Heath 12 July 2025

Hummingbird Hawk Moth (two seen) on East Wretham Heath 12 July 2025

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 12 July 2025 on East Wretham Heath

Bodney and Little Cressingham 4 July 2025

 June and July are often said to be the quiet months of the year for birding, I say this depends upon what you are looking for.  With regard to migration, these two months may be considered quiet, however, July can be exciting with wader passage underway.  Songbirds are still feeding young in the nest or seeing to the needs of juvenile birds which have dispersed from the natal area.

Aside from birds, June and July is a great time for finding and watching insect species.  Butterfly species in our garden have been represented by Red Admirals, Peacocks, and Large White, but I have not seen Painted Lady yet.

We have had Hummingbird Hawk Moth visiting our buddleia, what a stunning species this is, the appearance, behaviour, and sound, all resembling a Hummingbird, and in fact, I wonder if those not familiar with this moth may indeed say they have seen a Hummingbird.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth in our garden 3 July.

4 July

This morning I was focussed on finding successful breeding evidence by our summer visitors, and I am pleased to say that I found Whitethroats, including juvenile birds, at three localities.  Having found these birds I actually spent much of this visit watching these wonderful migrant breeders.

I was watching habitats which comprised wide roadside verges with lines of young Scots Pines and ground covering scrub. Wide field margins of various wildflowers, weeds and grasses, would hold invertebrate prey.

Approaching a locality where Whitethroats were I could see some movement between cover followed by the distinctive "tschurrr" alarm of an adult Whitethroat, an alarm warning its young of my presence. I was lucky enough to see a number of juvenile Whitethroats including one showing well and allowing me to see a specific feature which ages the bird, most notably the dark eye which differs entirely from the adults eye which has an orange-brown iris and black pupil.   

Other species seen this morning showing evidence of successful breeding included Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Great Tit, and Coal Tit. 

Whitethroat (juvenile) Little Cressingham 4 July 2025.  Note the dark eye.

A number of Butterfly species were seen including Peacock, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, and Small Skipper.

Small Skipper at Bodney 4 July

Gatekeeper at Little Cressingham 4 July

Little Cressingham 28 June 2025.

 For a period of about an hour and a half on the morning of 28 June 2025, I decided upon visiting a short length of hedgerow near 'The Arms' which has long been known as a preferred habitat for Warbler species, most notably those of the Sylvia genus.

It was evident that Sylvia Warblers were present, although I could not locate Lesser Whitethroat on this occasion, however, it was good to report that Blackcap, Whitethroat, and Garden Warblers were those species representing this specific genus. 

From my arrival I could hear the alarm call of Whitethroat, a nasally "tschair" call along with a rapidly repeated "tet-tet-tet-tet-tet", these calls were accompanied by movement in some low ground covering bushes, mostly Hawthorn, the number of birds indicated successful breeding.  Further along the hedge was two more Whitethroat sites including one where the bird once again gave the "tschair" warning call, on this occasion an adult Whitethroat was seen very briefly carrying a caterpillar for feeding to its young.

Whitethroat (with food for its young) at Little Cressingham 28 June 2025

Two male Blackcaps were located in song, one of which gave an alarm call, a tongue-clicking "tack" , also, a pair of Garden Warblers were seen and heard in typical breeding habitat, the male was singing and the female alarm-called.

The only bird movement seen on this visit was a single overhead Lapwing heading south. 
  

Nightjars at Hockham, Norfolk 26 June 2025

On the evening of 26 June, myself, along with friends Darren Cowles, Sarah Lister, Bob Fleming, and Cathy and Nick Halfacre, visited a forest clearing to listen and watch Nightjars.  We arrived at our destination at 2020 and had just over an hour before sunset (2124) to watch for other birds and wildlife before the main event.  The evening was very warm following a hot day and the light was good.

With sufficient daylight remaining there was still plenty of opportunity to watch and listen to daytime species.  Upon our arrival Blackcap and Song Thrush were singing and within the clearing a Tree Pipit sang intermittently. A Whitethroat was seen in low ground covering scrub from where it gave alarm calls to warn its youngsters of our presence.  Several Yellowhammers were seen conspicuously sitting in treetops, at least two of these birds were males.  

Overflying birds included 3 Cranes silently passing over treetops and were silhouetted against the sky, a single Grey Heron over, and one Hobby seen passing overhead in a leisurely flight.  A single Cockchafer was seen.

At around 30 minutes following sunset, the strange mechanical sound of a churring Nightjar was heard intermittently, however, it wasn't too long before the fantastic song of this enigmatic species was heard almost continuously.  On one occasion a male Nightjar was seen very well as it flew around the top of a tall Birch in the clearing before alighting in the tree from where it began churring, the close proximity of the bird allowed us to fully appreciate this strange song as it was delivered in two distinct rising and falling pitches.  Having sung in the Birch for some time the Nightjar flew off emitting a strange whirring call along with the sound of a clear wing clap.  We were also lucky enough to see the silhouetted view of a second Nightjar passing by our group in a very silent, buoyant flight, and appearing very mysterious and fully befitting the folklore and legend which is associated with this stunning creature.   

I have often taken people out over the years to watch birds and often the experience has not lived up to what I hoped for, but on this visit to see Nightjars it was pleasing to see how excited our wonderful group was to see this enigmatic bird.

Kelling Heath 18 June 2025 (with Darren Cowles)

 At 0600 on the 18 June I picked up my very good friend, Darren Cowles, for a visit to the beautiful Kelling Heath on the North Norfolk Coast.  This was to be another hot day, the latest of a hot spell with further high temperatures expected in the days to come.  Our journey took us through a number of Norfolk towns and villages including Dereham, North Elmham, Guist, Briningham, Thornage, and Holt.  The beautiful village of Thornage sits in the River Glaven valley and a while to  the long descent to the valley followed by the climb towards Holt offers fantastic views of  the very rolling landscape and as I have said before in previous posts, Norfolk is certainly not flat as some outsiders claim.

We arrived at Kelling Heath at around 0700 when it was already warm.  It has been several years since I last visited this location and it took a while to get my bearings, if only I had researched maps beforehand because it was my intention to show Darren Dartford Warblers, for this species we need open heathland, however, I led Darren on a grand mystery tour of woodland habitat before reaching perfect Dartford Warbler country, we had a good ol' larf though. 

Kelling Heath 18 July 2025. Superb habitat for Stonechats, Linnets, and Woodlark, but no Dartford Warblers today.

Anyway, we set off following our first coffee of the morning through patches of heathland, Gorse scrub, and mixed woodland, and the first birds heard were Chiffchaffs and Garden Warbler, and in an area of Birch and scrub a Turtle Dove was singing.  As we walked along a path Darren saw some birds at distance on the path, these were Linnets, a common bird of heathland and Gorse. A Yellowhammer was heard singing in this area.  The heathland here also held a number of Stonechats, these included adults and juvenile birds in typical open country habitat where they chose raised perches to watch from.  We  also located a pair of Stonechats in typical breeding habitat, the male was alarm calling and the female was carrying food for young.

Stonechat (female). One of a pair in breeding habitat 

Stonechat (Male). This bird was alarm calling, he was paired with the above female.

As we walked through the heathland I was hoping to find Adders, we did not see any, but a young birder we met later did find one.  Darren did locate a Common Lizard which was nice.  Darren found some Common Blue butterflies, these stunning insects put on a great show.  Overhead, a couple of Buzzards were the only raptors seen at Kelling.

A stunning Common Blue Butterfly which Darren located on the heath.

With heat building Darren and myself headed back to the car for some refreshments, it was while we had this break that Darren had a wonderful display of Bees and other winged insects in a lovely Bramble patch.  Following our break we headed out to nearby heathland habitat to have a final search for Dartford Warblers, once again, no luck, however, some great birds were seen to make up for this including Linnets (one male with very bright crimson breast), more Stonechats watching from elevated perches, and finally, a pair of Woodlarks seen with one bird carrying food for young.  It was at this point that the young birder visiting from London approached me, I told him I was watching Woodlarks at which he became quite excited as he had never seen this species before, a very rewarding observation for both of us.

Woodlark on Kelling Heath (One of a pair seen)

Following a great visit to Kelling Heath, we set of at about 1145 and headed back home to Watton, whilst driving through Holt we heard parties of Swifts screaming above the town and between buildings, the epitome of an English summer day.

Finally, I wish to thank Darren for joining me this morning, it was a very rewarding day for both of us. Thank you Darren.