Hackford, Norfolk

For this afternoons break from work I decided to visit Low Road and Church Lane in Hackford.  The weather was miserable with rain and that horrible clingy heavy drizzle, however, the final day of January brought me my fifth Chiffchaff since the start of the year.  This bird remained mostly on Church Lane and frequently gave its familiar "hweet" call.
Whilst sitting in the car in heavy rain a Little Egret flew low over a field and settled alongside a hedge-lined ditch.  Initially on the field edge, The Little Egret then walked down into the ditch in search for food.
Overhead, a small flock of c20 Fieldfare and 2 Redwings passed over whilst in nearby hedges a pair of Great Tits, Coal Tit, Goldcrests, Long-tailed Tits (2), and a pair of Blackbirds were seen.

Hockham, Norfolk

The strong bright sunlight today gave some fantastic colours from the straw browns of the reed habitat with the varying light to dark woodland background.  The strong south-westerly wind kept most birds in the shelter of the woodland.  Most obvious birds on this visit was the wildfowl within the fen.

Hockham Fen 29/01/16.  A wonderful place to be in any weather.

Wildfowl on Hockham Fen featured as the most obvious species seen today, these comprised 150+ Teal, a common wintering species with at times very high numbers seen.  Today, the Teal were seen either within the marshy fen habitat, or flying when relocating to the nearby bank or another patch of water.

Canada and Greylag Geese on Hockham Fen 29/01/16

Larger wildfowl included about 30 Canada Geese and a pair of Greylag Geese, many of the Canada Geese appeared to be sleeping on the water.
A couple of Grey Herons were seen within marshy fen habitat as was a pair of Lapwings.
Only one raptor was seen today, a single Buzzard seen in very good light.  The brown upperparts and the mostly dark bordered pale under-wing with black 'hands' were seen in great detail in the strong sunlight.

Hockham Fen 29/01/16

Few passerine species were seen in the strong wing, however, a couple of singleton Siskins passed overhead calling.  The surrounding forest appeared to hold many Goldcrests and a few Marsh Tits.
We are now less than a month away from the first Adders emerging from their winter hibernation.  The first to emerge will be males with the first larger females emerging about a month later...really looking forward to this.

Thompson Water, Norfolk

It appears we are now heading for record breaking temperature highs for January, this afternoons walk to Thompson Water reflected those conditions with a high of 12 degrees.  Although quite bright, the wind strength was increasing during this visit with a moderate to fresh south-westerly.
Thompson Water is looking quite clear at the moment, however, the spread since 2001 of Water Soldier will see a completely different look by summer with the water being totally carpeted by this unwelcome plant.  I understand from notices around this site that the Norfolk Wildlife Trust will be looking at ways of removing Water Soldier.

Thompson Water 25/01/16

Gone are the days of really impressive numbers of waterfowl at Thompson Water when hundreds of Teal, Wigeon, Pochard, and Tufted Duck wintered here.  Very cold weather will see cold weather duck species moving in, most notably Goosander and Goldeneye.
No high numbers of birds seen today, probably the most numerous duck being Gadwall with some Teal concealed within surface weed.  Larger species seen included 12 Mute Swans and 12 Greylag Geese.
The damp woodland habitat along the west side of the water held a single Chiffchaff, lots of Marsh Tits, Coal, Great, and Blue Tits.  A Great Spotted Woodpecker overflew the water to alight in a dead tree from where it called.  A Cormorant passed overhead.
The walk back to the car produced a single Kestrel.

Irthlingborough, Northamptonshire

Pam and I set off from our home in Watton, Norfolk for Irthlingborough to visit our daughter and 3 grand-daughters. It was a good journey, we set off at 0700, arriving at 0840.  Alex, our daughter prepared breakfast, and all the girls planned to visit the town for a bit of shopping.  What could I do, I know, a birding trip to Irthlingborough Lakes and Meadows reserve along the Nene valley.
My walk this morning took me along the main path, the site of the former Nene valley railway, for about a mile or so before I returned along the same track.

Coot at Irthlingborough - seen on most lakes

Good numbers of Tufted Duck were seen with birds seen on all lakes, however, I only saw 2 Pochard. Mallard were common and Teal were both heard and seen.  I could see no sign of Sawbills on this visit.
Several pairs of Great Crested Grebes were seen with one pair having a half-hearted attempt at display.
A single Grey Heron was seen standing in shallows at the edge of some reeds.  Cormorants were quite numerous.
Large numbers of Black-headed Gulls were loafing as well as a huge adult Great Black-backed Gull.

Redpoll at Irthlingborough lakes 23/01/16

The only raptor species seen today
was a single Buzzard.  I am sure both Peregrine and Merlin will be wintering along the valley.
Passerine species were well represented by good numbers of Bullfinches which were seen and heard along the thick hedges along the course of the former rail-route.
Goldfinches moved along the tall weeds to feed along with at least a couple of Lesser Redpolls, the latter undoubtedly being a winter visitor to the area.
Just a single Cetti's Warbler gave its explosive song, however, the Lakes here at Irthlingborough holds many pairs.

1 Grey Heron, Cormorants, Great Crested Grebes, Moorhen, Coot, 1 Great Black-backed Gull (adult),
Black-headed Gulls, Mute Swan, Canada Geese, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pochard, Buzzard, Carrion Crow, Redwing, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Robin, 1 Cetti's Warbler, Goldcrest, Chaffinch, Bullfinch
Goldfinch, 2+ Redpoll.

Red Kite in Irthlingborough
Back at my daughters home, I was watching Red Kite flying very low over residential gardens in search of scraps of food, a reminder of behaviour exhibited by this raptor centuries ago in the streets of London.

Hilborough, Norfolk

As the day came to a close the rain finally cleared although it remained generally cloudy.  It was nice to see the last vestiges of light at 1700 hours, the longer days are now more noticeable.
It was late afternoon when I visited the beautiful parkland and the surrounding Brecks at Hilborough.
I short visit through the parkland at Hilborough and then onto Cockley Cley Road was quite productive with the following being seen/heard:

3 Teal
Mallard
Shoveler (male)
4 Red Kites
4+ Buzzards
1 Barn Owl
Kestrel
1 Chiffchaff
Marsh Tit singing
Coal Tit

Having walked over the rolling parkland at Hilborough I made my way to the Cockley Cley Road for a short walk of some half-mile or so before turning back at dusk.
A small area of marshland adjacent to the Cockley Cley Road held 3 Teal, a male Shoveler, and a few Mallard.  The Teal were heard calling their lovely "kleep" call.
In the woodland to my right a Marsh Tit was heard in song and a single Red Kite passed low overhead.
Leaving the woodland for open countryside several raptors were seen over woodland, these comprised 3 Buzzards and 4 Red Kites.
Turning back towards the park, a Chiffchaff passed through roadside hedgerow trees close to marshland, calls were frequently heard.  This is my fourth record of wintering Chiffchaff since the start of the year.
A walk back to my start point saw a Barn Owl hunting within parkland close to a maize strip.

Hockham Fen, Norfolk

Hockham Fen never ceases to amaze me in every season and in whatever weather.  My visit this afternoon was in almost freezing conditions and although fairly quiet, the beauty of this small jewel within the vast Thetford Forest was appealing as ever.
The lack of wildfowl seen today was no doubt due to any still water within the fen being frozen.  When not frozen in winter it is my belief that this important site holds internationally important numbers of Teal.

Hockham Fen 18/01/16

On the fen today I saw 2 Grey Herons, 3 Canada Geese, and small numbers of winter Thrushes in the peripheral woodland, these comprised a few Redwings, Fieldfare, and a single Mistle Thrush.  A single Stock Dove stood on top of a tall, dead tree trunk, a known breeding site for the species.
A number of angry Carrion Crows indicated a a probable raptor species , however, I could not locate the possible intruder.  The intruder was possibly a Goshawk, a regular bird here.
Quiet, yes, however, a wonderful site to visit at any time.

The beauty of my job

For the past 21 months I have been working as a carer, a job which I love.  I meet some wonderful people with lovely life-stories to share.  I also travel to great locations within rural Norfolk, many of which I have never known of until my job took me there.
Today I visited many villages including Morley St Botolph, Deopham, Wymondham, Barnham Broom, and finally this evening ending at Hethersett.  My travels today around these wonderful locations brought the following highlights:

1 Barn Owl
4 Kestrels
1 Peregrine at Deopham
c.20 Golden Plovers
1 Woodcock

The day dawned dry with a moderate frost and the day remained dry with plenty of bright sunshine and a high of about 4 degrees celsius.
At dawn I was driving towards Wymondham when I caught glimpse of a Barn Owl hunting the grassy verges of High Oak Lane at Morley.
Having completed calls in Wymondham I was driving towards the lovely village of Morley when I saw 2 Kestrels on roadside wires/telegraph poles from where they watched the rough verges below.  Later that morning whilst driving towards Barnham Broom, a further 2 Kestrels were seen, again on roadside wires.

Deopham Green
For my break during the afternoon I parked up at the site of the former WW2 airfield.  Concrete hardstands and lengths of the former runway (now a connecting road between Deopham village and Little Ellingham) serve as a reminder of the former existence of this B17 Flying Fortress station.
This locality is one of a vast, open landscape of arable with some nice patches of Sallow and Bramble habitat.  I often like to watch this site as it is usually good for wintering raptors.
A few Pied Wagtails walked and ran along tracks made by farm vehicles in their search for food, also here was Carrion Crow, a few Skylarks, and a Dunnock which skulked within an isolated bush.
Whilst overviewing the large fields a raptor species passed overhead, this was a fine looking adult Peregrine Falcon, it initially flew away from me and then doubled back towards me offering great views of the Black hood, streaked underparts, stiff looking pointed wings and torpedo shaped body.  I then watched this beautiful bird climb away to the south-east.  The presence of this Peregrine is not entirely unexpected within this open habitat.  I know this species as a scarce but regular winter visitor to this part of Norfolk.
Also seen from the hardstand was a small flock of about 20 Golden Plover, their twisting and turning in flight alternating between flashes of white of their underparts to the dark of the upperparts.
Also noted was a single Buzzard passing over.

Hethersett
My calls today ended at Hethersett.  Parking up at dusk in the village produced a wonderful silhouetted view of a Woodcock flying silently against the darkening sky above a residential area.  The Woodcock is truly an enigma of the bird world, a wading bird which inhabits woodland, and whose numbers are swollen in the winter in the UK by continental migrants.  Was this Woodcock one such visitor I wonder?