Breckland Birder

Breckland Birder
Red Deer in Breckland, Norfolk Photo by Paul Newport

Tuesday 14 April 2015

River Yare Valley at Barford, Norfolk

During my work break this afternoon I decided to check suitable habitat for summer migrants.  Starting at Barford Church, I walked along the Barnham Broom road and then took the footpath north which descends down to the River Yare valley.  The narrow path is tree-lined with a golf-course to the immediate west, whilst towards the low point of the path in the valley, a small area of very damp woodland carr habitat with scrubby understorey would hold most interest.  In the valley itself, the countryside is relatively open with wet, grass/rushy plain with a few pockets of reeds.
It was evident that as I approached the valley, the carr habitat held several singing Warblers, and indeed, I heard at least 3 Willow Warblers in song, at least 3 Blackcaps singing, and a number of Chiffchaffs also.

Jackdaw at Barford, Norfolk 14/04/15

The warm sunny conditions was surely to benefit Raptor species, the first was a single Red Kite being mobbed by a Crow species, later, a very high Red Kite drifted west.  Up to 4 Buzzards were seen and a single male Kestrel hunted over the plain.
A single male Swallow flew leisurely west along the valley was singing its beautiful twitter as it went.
My arrival back at the village saw ever-present Jackdaws around the church whilst a few other birds fed in a nearby paddock.
Back to work at 1500hrs following this pleasant walk.

2 comments:

  1. Nice Jackdaw picture....
    love the bird...
    it is what got me started some 60 years ago...
    a pet jackdaw that had escaped ended up in our garden...
    and until the owner came for it, it was in our garden shed...
    when he came to fetch it, he placed it on my shoulder...
    for around five minutes I was eye to steel blue eye with a magnificent...
    and to me at that age, very large bird.
    Yes, it left its mark and I've been hooked on birds ever since!!

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  2. Tim, thank you for the comments on the Jackdaw. I love your encounter with a Jackdaw and how that made its mark on you.
    Sadly, an overlooked bird, probably due to its abundance, however, the greys and blacks in this bird are lovely to see as is that lovely eye. I also love to watch Jackdaws for their comic value as well, they always raise a smile or a laugh with their antics.
    Paul

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