May 2024

May 2024 will be remembered for being one of the wettest May's on record.  Locally, on the patch, many low lying areas were under significant amounts of water and both rivers and ditches ran much higher than normal. 

4 May

First thing in the morning I heard the great pleasure of walking a friends beautiful dog around Merton Common, on this walk I counted 5 Whitethroat territories, all of which were singing ♂♂.

Later in the day I visited a flooded meadow at Bodney where 5 Little Egrets were present. One Little Egret was watched wading in shallow water and using a foot to stir up the mud in its search for invertebrates.

A single Kingfisher was briefly seen flying at speed along Watton Brook.

On the way back to Watton a single Little Egret was seen flying west over the town.  Later in the afternoon a calling Cuckoo was heard in the Merton area.

8 May

Birding today was confined to the garden due to the effects of Covid

My first Hobby of the year was seen directly above the garden where it soared for a short while. Other raptor species seen included a female Sparrowhawk which passed through the garden low and at speed. 3+ Buzzards were seen from the garden and in the garden both Wood Pigeon and Collared Dove had nests in our hedgerow.

10 May

A very productive day on the patch with evidence of passage waders at Bodney and of breeding behaviour and successes in the Bodney and Little Cressingham areas.

Little Cressingham/Bodney (Hopton Bridge W to flooded meadow at Bodney)

A fantastic start to this visit with a pair of Whitethroats, 3 Grey Wagtails, a stunning ♂ Blackcap, singing Mistle Thrush and Chaffinch, and a ♂ Great Tit in the tall Poplars, all within minutes of my arrival.

Whitethroat (one of a pair) Little Cressingham 10 May

With low lying areas remaining under significant amounts of water, I decided to visit a flooded meadow at Bodney where I located 3 Redshanks, all three birds were wading in shallow water and probing to feed.  A nicely proportioned bird, these Redshanks are medium-sized waders with a medium length straight bill which is red at the base with the distal half being black.  A brown bird with a bright white eye ring and dark lores.  The underparts are white with neat arrowhead like markings.  The legs are red.  In flight the trailing inner wing (secondaries) have a broad white bar.

Other wader species present included singing Snipe, a pair of Curlew, Lapwing (including a young chick), and a single Oystercatcher.

Wildfowl present included Mute Swan, a pair of Shoveler, Gadwall, and a pair of Mallard with ducklings.

Little Egret at Bodney 10 May

A single Little Egret overflew the flooded meadow.  The picture here shows a beautiful pure white bird with a black dagger-like bill and black legs with yellow feet.  In the ditch below the Egret a single Reed Bunting held territory in suitable breeding habitat.

Grey Wagtail at Little Cressingham 10 May

In the Watton Brook valley at Little Cressingham at least 3 Grey Wagtails (2 juveniles) were present. I am sure you will agree how striking the Grey Wagtail is.

14 May

An early morning visit to Little Cressingham saw a female Goshawk soaring above woodland for a few minutes before descending rapidly into trees.  Goshawks are encountered on frequent visits to the patch, these species is the definition of power.

Also noted on this visit was 3 Little Egrets which flew east until lost to view, and along a tree-lined track a Lesser Whitethroat was singing.

22 May

The morning was very wet with persistent heavy rain, this cleared to an afternoon of frequent heavy showers and with highly variable light, thick black cloud was driven along in the wind and short spells of bright sunlight produced the variable light.

Little Cressingham 22 May. An afternoon of highly contrasting lights. 

Despite the at times poor conditions (and getting very wet) I was treated to the fantastic display-flight of a Snipe.  This bird chose to display under very dark cloud and rain and when a shaft of light caught it, well, it was stunning.  This Snipe performed circular flights directly above me and in shallow dives I could clearly hear the vibrating winnowing sound, this sound is produced by the outer tail feathers being held at an angle from the rest of the tail, the passing air causes the beautiful vibrating sound.  Once the circular display was completed the Snipe dropped rapidly to the ground, it was then I briefly heard the "chipper chipper" song.  A very memorable sighting and sadly, becoming rarer. I remember a farmer once telling me that the vibrating sound is likened to the bleating of lambs.  In the 19th century, Ornithologists thought this vibrating sound was the bird calling. 

28 May

A very pleasant early morning visit to Bodney where I walked an area of vast arable habitat with commanding views over exposed open country.

The most obvious species both seen and heard was Skylark with many performing song-flight, an encouraging observation saw a couple of Skylarks carrying food for young which were hidden somewhere within a young wheat crop.

 

Skylark at Bodney carrying food for young 28 May

Also seen on this visit was a single Woodlark performing its song-flight high overhead.  This is such a sweet song which comprises beautiful prolonged notes as "lululululululu".  The Woodlark is a Breckland speciality and is a target species for visiting birders.  

A single male Cuckoo was calling distantly but then located visually as it moved through treetops with some urgency.

A small patch of Bramble scrub looked good for a Sylvia species, moments later, a male Whitethroat was singing.  Two male Blackcaps were singing as was a single Song Thrush.  A male Stock Dove sang its rather monotonous "Ooah Ooah Ooah Ooah" song.