Youngsters

A walk along the Peddars Way at Great Cressingham this morning produced my first observation of fledged Long-tailed Tits.  A flock comprising 10+ birds was watched moving through a hedge, the youngsters being most vocal as they begged to be fed.  The male of the pair was seen carrying food for his offspring, the female, the bird with no tail feathers due to incubating and other nest duties, looked tiny.
The Long-tailed Tit is in fact closely related to the Babblers of Africa and Asia, it is not a true Tit species.

Long-tailed Tit (juvenile) Peddars Way 18th May

Also seen was several Whitethroats holding territory by singing and performing their conspicuous song/display flight.  I predicted that one section of the Peddars Way would hold Lesser Whitethroat, and indeed a singing male was found in traditional habitat which has been utilised for years by this beautiful Sylvia Warbler.
As expected, both Goldfinches and Linnets were present in typical breeding habitat.

Starling (juvenile) 18th May

Starling (juvenile) 18th May

The first fledgling Starlings of the year appeared in my garden on 11th May, it is amazing how far they have come in a week with the youngsters almost reaching adult size.  Young Starlings are very noisy birds as they follow their parents around constantly begging for food, a consolation for the ever-busy parents is that young Starlings are very quick learners.
Also noted from the garden today was Siskin (I have seen 4 together recently indicating breeding), Goldfinches, the occasional displaying Greenfinch, a passing Sparrowhawk (male), and a couple of Buzzards high overhead.

Grey Wagtail

Grey Wagtails have bred successfully on the patch.  On the 9th May, I located a male Grey Wagtail, he had his bill full of food and was repeating an anxiety call to warn his family.  The female was also present, however, the young were not seen, they would have been concealed in waterside cover.
The males anxiety call was a "tzik tzik suweee", which was repeated.
I have always thought the name 'Grey' as a description is something of a misnomer, given its glorious plumages, especially the yellow and black contrasts.

Grey Wagtail (male) 9th May

The summer-plumaged Grey Wagtail is a stunning bird.  This picture shows the grey head with bold white Supercillium and sub-moustachial stripe, it has a solid black chin and bib which contrasts strongly with the beautiful yellow breast and vent.  The tail is long.  Flight is very bounding.

Swifts

My first Swifts of the year were seen at Wymondham, Norfolk, on 23rd April, these were 3 birds high over the town in a Northerly heading, an early date.
Swifts have been seen with some regularity over Watton since the first few days of May.  From the garden I often see around 8 birds engaged in chasing and mating behaviour.

Swift over Watton 6th May 2020

Swift over Watton 6th May 2020

Swift over Watton 6th May 2020

I have always been in awe of these supremely aerial birds, how they feed, sleep, mate, and even gather nesting material on the wing.  Did you know that nesting material gathered on the wing is cemented in the nest using the birds saliva?
A true long-distant migrant, the Swift covers some 14,000 miles annually on its travels between Britain, Africa, and return journey.  The only time the Swift lands is when it enters the nest, if grounded, the legs are not strong enough to launch it back into flight, the bird can become vulnerable to predators, unless it is given a helping hand from us.
In order to sleep, Swifts have the ability to shut down half its brain, a remarkable feat.
Swifts can be long lived, the oldest recorded bird was over 17 years old, however, it is likely that others live longer.

Hobby

This afternoon I saw my first Hobby of the year from my garden.  I expect this species has already arrived somewhere on the patch during April.