The site of the former WW2 airfield at Deopham Green is for me a very special place. RAF Deopham Green was the home to the 452nd heavy bomb group which operated B17 bombers in WW2. The layout and general appearance of this site clearly shows evidence of a former airfield, this is an area of vast open spaces with hardstands, remains of runways, and several buildings scattered around reminding us of the extremely busy airfield this was. There is also a lovely memorial to the men of the 452nd bomb group who served here so heroically and bravely.
A few years ago I spent a couple of hours at the memorial site when some visitors arrived, these visitors were from the USA and our meeting was so special that we are now very good friends. I must mention them. David Moore (his father Joe served at Deopham as an air gunner on B17's), his lovely wife Sheila Jacobs Moore, their son Mike and his lovely wife Kimberly, and their daughter Haley and son-in-law Logan (currently serving in the USAF), and their son Dean (who has a brother now called Ronan). Our meeting was a very special time for me as I have a very great friendship with these wonderful people.
The site of the former airfield at Deopham is now farmland, it is a vast area of open landscapes, it can appear bleak on a cold and windy day (I love bleak), and it certainly does have an atmosphere, especially when ones mind wanders to the hectic, noisy place these was during the war years.
Birds recorded over the years have been very interesting. Yes, it appears a monocultural landscape, and there has sadly been some very sad habitat losses in recent years due to the greed of the new landowner, however, patches of habitat, some seasonal man made habitats like muck heaps have shown interest. With this habitat in mind, these muck heaps have attracted passage waders in late summer and autumn with Green Sandpipers, Common Sandpiper, and Snipe being seen here. These mounds of muck provide a good look out for passage Wheatear, and the nature of these muck heaps are such that they provide very good feeding as invertebrate species abound here.
In late summer and throughout the winter months, four figure counts of Golden Plover occur, when disturbed the very large wheeling flocks are very special to watch. Other large counts of birds include throughout the winter months, three figure counts of both Goldfinches and Linnets.
A few years ago in spring, I remember watching a huge flock of Fieldfare on their N/E passage back to Scandinavia, this was probably the largest flock of this species I have ever seen with numbers well into four figures. The open landscape helped in estimating the numbers of birds which filled the sky from horizon to horizon.
The huge expanse of uninterrupted views has always looked promising for our smallest raptor and indeed in September 2014 a Merlin passed low and fast over the crop. I have also recorded Raven here, until recently, a very rare bird in Norfolk.
On a sad note, a number of species have been lost from the former Deopham airfield due to the criminal destruction of some wonderful habitats by the new landowner. Notable species lost included breeding Lesser Whitethroats, Whitethroats, Blackcaps, Chiffchaffs, Blackbirds, and Song Thrushes. Needless to say I still remain very angry at this loss of vital habitat in the name of greed.
Stalland Common 27 to 29 September
Stalland Common is an area of the former Deopham airfield which I chose to visit during my work breaks from the 27 to 29 September, and indeed, it was a couple of mounds of muck I visited with the intention of finding passage wading birds and resting/feeding migrants. There was no evidence of passage wading birds during this period, however, I was very pleased to find a 1st winter Northern Wheatear, this stunning bird was seen here on all three dates and was busily feeding upon insect larva and insects in order to fuel up for their long passage to their wintering in Central Africa.
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear on Stalland Common |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear on Stalland Common |
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| 1st winter Northern Wheatear on Stalland Common |
A few Golden Plover were present on the vast fields, I expect their numbers to grow as autumn progresses into winter.
A single female Kestrel often hunted the area and Buzzard and Red Kite were also seen. Small numbers of Meadow Pipits were seen, most of these will probably have come from the uplands of Britain, again, I expect this species numbers to grow.
Finally, I intend to write up an account on the Northern Wheatear seen here during this period which will include notes on identification and behaviour.
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