Whimbrel passage

1005 Hethersett, Norfolk. A single calling Whimbrel seen overflying the village in a Northerly heading in typical conditions of low, thick cloud and drizzle.  A great record whilst at work.

Swifts

3 Swifts seen together high above Wymondham, Norfolk, this afternoon.  Quite an early date for this species.

Garden 0520

Prior to leaving for work this morning, a single Long-tailed Tit visited the garden, this dainty little bird flew to the lawn and collected small feathers for its nest.  These feathers belonged to a Starling which had fallen prey to a Sparrowhawk a few days ago.

Great Melton, Norfolk

Another warm and sunny day with a moderate easterly wind.  Not a cloud in the sky, wind speed dropping with warmer days ahead.
A morning exercise walk (work break) initially produced 5+ Greylag Geese, 2 Egyptian Geese, and a lone, very attractive Barnacle Goose.

Barnacle Goose at Great Melton 22nd April

A single male Whitethroat was found singing in typical breeding habitat of Bramble and Hawthorn scrub.  This fine looking specimen sang from a high sprig, but also occasionally skulked within bushes.

Whitethroat (singing male) Great Melton 22nd April

3+ Blackcaps were found including an agitated male alarm calling at my approach within damp woodland.  Chiffchaffs also present in song.
A single Buzzard, Grey Heron, a calling Green Woodpecker, a 'drumming' Great Spotted Woodpecker, and a singing Mistle Thrush all recorded.

First Whitethroat of year on patch

A beautiful bright day with a strong N/E wind.  No cloud, therefore, any passage migrants would have overflown at height.
An early morning walk from my home in Watton to the nearby village of Merton produced 7+ Blackcaps in song, a couple of Chiffchaffs, and a single Whitethroat in a roadside hedge which was very much a skulker uttering warning calls at me from within cover.  No song was given, I suspect this is a recent arrival.
A pair of Mistle Thrushes, several Blackbirds (including 3 singing males), and 3 singing Song Thrushes were all noted.
Back in my garden, good numbers of Starlings seen (all males) probed the lawn for Leatherjackets, the female birds would be tending to young in the nest.
One of my two pairs of Blackbirds were seen collecting slightly larger prey items from the lawn now, clearly indicating the young in the nest are growing nicely.

Starling (male) in garden 20th April

Starlings are wonderfully beautiful birds and are offer great opportunities to observe their quality behaviour.   Not only is their iridescent plumage stunning but the mimicry in the song has incredible range.  In my garden this year Starlings have mimicked Tawny Owl (female), Fieldfare, Blackbird, Buzzard, Curlew, Oystercatcher, and emergency vehicle sirens.

Starlings - Beautiful males in the garden today,

Only summer migrant seen from the garden today was a single male Swallow.

6th to 13th April (Garden, and Merton for daily exercise allowance during current lockdown)

The previous weeks weather has been warm to very warm at times with clear, sunny conditions, such weather means that most migrant birds will be passing over at height and out of sight.
An early morning walk to the village of Merton and back on 6th April produced at least 3 singing Blackcaps, also, my first Willow Warbler was heard in song along the Merton Road on the southern outskirts of Watton.
Frustratingly, the 8th April did present with a mystery Pipit species passing overhead N/E in a very purposeful heading, the flight was strong and direct, not weak and erratic like Meadow Pipit, I suspected Tree Pipit, a species I have encountered as a passage species locally both in Spring and Autumn.  The same day produced my first Swallow of the year heading S/E, however, this species probably arrived earlier somewhere on the patch.
In the garden, two pairs of Blackbirds are nesting, one pair was just visible feeding recently hatched young with small food items, the parents delicately fed their offspring deep in the nest cup.
Sparrowhawks have been seen almost daily with the female often seen performing her spectacular 'switchback' display, on one occasion she was seen directly above me pulling up into a vertical climb.

Sparrowhawk (female) displaying 9th April

Blackcaps have featured as a migrant through my, and adjoining gardens during this period, song has been heard, and purposeful movement through the gardens suggested passage birds as opposed to birds on territory.

Blackcap (male) a common breeding migrant

Dunnocks have been displaying their extraordinary sex life behaviour in the garden, and Long-tailed Tit and Blue Tit pairs were frequent visitors to my hedge.
Starlings have featured daily with males mostly being seen.  The sunny days have certainly shown off the stunning iridescent plumage of these overlooked birds.  Starlings are frequent visitors to the lawn now as they probe the lawn for the larvae of Crane Fly (Daddy Long Legs), these grubs are known as 'Leatherjackets', an invertebrate which potentially damage lawns as they feed upon grass roots.  If you watch Starlings probe, they stab the lawn and then open the bill to widen the hole, once a grub is found the bill is shut and the juicy morsel withdrawn.

Starling (male) with Leatherjacket

House Sparrows are always present in good numbers, which is very pleasing, and during the this reporting period there has been plenty of courtship and mating behaviour observed.  I love to watch their chasing and squabbling behaviour, also, they bring great comic value too.

House Sparrow in the garden

Singing and displaying Greenfinches and a singing male Siskin have been seen most days, however, the most abundant Finch is the Goldfinch, or 'King Harry' as they are colloquially known as in Norfolk.
During this period of lockdown due to the Coronavirus, it is obviously frustrating not to get out onto the patch, however, it is important to show compliance with the Governmental instructions.