Little Cressingham (Watton Brook Valley) 11 September 2025 (0825-1115)

 A pleasant morning, however, the moderate to fresh SW wind had a cool feel to it, despite this it remained sunny throughout the morning.  

My visit this morning was on private land and my focus was on finding migrant species, this includes listening for calls which was a little difficult owing to the noise of the wind.  I had commanding views over this part of my patch from the top of a Bronze Age burial tumulus from where I sat for a while hoping for some visible migration, however, no birds were seen, but the views were spectacular.

Looking west from the Bronze Age tumulus 11 September 2025

Looking north from the Bronze Age tumulus 11 September 2025

The first migrant of the morning was a single Hobby drifting slowly east until lost to view.  I began my walk my slowly moving along Watton Brook whilst looking for movement (which was difficult due to the wind) and listening for alarm or agitated calls.  A few Stonechats were seen on posts, but then I heard a harsh "trrr" call followed by the subsong of a Reed Warbler, I could see some movement in the vegetation and eventually caught a partial sighting of a juvenile Reed Warbler between cover.

Migrant Reed Warbler (juvenile) in Watton Brook 11 September 2025

Continuing my walk along the valley I noticed the usual Stonechats on the fence, however, one similar sized bird was with them and I could see straight away that this bird had a bold supercillium, this was a Whinchat, a scarce but regular passage migrant on the patch.

Whinchat 11 September 2025

This Whinchat was notable different from the nearby Stonechats, even without optics the salient features of Whinchat was the obvious bold supercillium, and when seen head on it appeared a much paler bird, with optics I could see a slight pale peach blush to the breast.

Raptor species seen on this visit included 4 soaring Buzzards, one Red Kite on carrion, and a beautiful ♀ Kestrel which gave great views in direct sunlight on a post.

Given the wind strength, my final part of my visit was along the leeward side of woodland, here I heard a couple of Chiffchaffs, also present was two Blackcaps, including a ♂ bird seen eating elderberries.

East Wretham Heath 9 September 2025 (0650-1000)

 The morning of the 9th of September began cool with mist and some fog over low lying areas, it had a very autumnal feel to it.  

I drove the 10 miles between my home in Watton to the wonderful East Wretham Heath reserve, a stunningly beautiful and large heath where you could spend a whole day exploring a true Breckland landscape and habitat.

I arrived at Wretham Heath at sunrise with the vast open landscape and meres covered in a low lying fog, it looked incredibly beautiful.

The incredible East Wretham Heath at dawn on 8 September 2025.

Setting off over the heath from the car park I was met with about 25 Goldfinches in the Hawthorns, both Robin and Wren noted too.  I approached my regular viewing area over the heath and Langmere, the fog was still yet to burn off, however, it was so atmospheric. Despite the fog and mist I could hear calling Chiffchaffs and Coal Tits in the nearby Scots Pines.

The warming sun soon burnt off the fog and I was given a great opportunity to photograph some of the very fine Scots Pines and Birch trees.  The area of Scots Pine woodland is known as Waterloo Plantation, this beautiful mature woodland was planted in the early part of the 19 century in order to celebrate Wellingtons victory over Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo.

A beautiful Scots Pine on Wretham Heath

Scots Pine, Birch, and Hawthorn on Wretham Heath

As I was approaching the hide to overlook Langmere I heard a "Good Morning", it was Dawn Balmer, we entered the hide and immediately saw 7 Snipe on the muddy shore of Langmere as well as a single Common Sandpiper. A couple of Chiffchaffs were seen to the left of the hide searching for food amongst the willow leaves.  It was good to see Dawn again and have a catch up. 

One of the 7 Snipe at Langmere

Common Sandpiper at Langmere

Also seen around the muddy shores of Langmere was several Pied Wagtails and on the water common Duck species seen along with Little Grebe.

By the time I left the hide at Langmere the sun had certainly warmed things up and on my return walk I stopped at my regular viewing area which was now bathed in sunlight, it was whilst here that many flocks of Geese passed me to my right, or directly overhead, and settled on Langmere or the surrounding shore.  Some good totals of Geese seen with the highest number being Greylag Geese (100), also a high number of Egyptian Geese (72+) arrived and Canada Geese (64).  A single Meadow Pipit arrived, my first bird of the autumn.

Threxton 8 September 2025

With the wind continuing as a fresh SW, I decided to be very specific about my habitat choice on the morning of 8 September and headed to Threxton for a small area of woodland scrub which have over the years has held migrant Warblers and Flycatchers.  This small area of scrub comprises Elder, Hawthorn, and Bramble and is protected on the south and west side by tall, mature woodland habitat.

Migrant Reed Warbler sharing Elder with Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs in woodland scrub habitat.

The small area of scrub habitat was sheltered from the wind and my search for migrants was narrowed down to a small Elder and Bramble patch.  Movement in the scrub eventually produced 3+ Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs, and a single Reed Warbler.  whilst resident species seen included Blue Tits, 2 Dunnock, and 2 Robins (one juvenile).

Migrant Chiffchaff in woodland scrub at Threxton 8 September

Also noted here at Threxton was 3 Red Kites, Kestrel, and a Sparrowhawk which passed through at ground level

2 September 2025 - The Watton Brook Valley at Saham.

 Most of my local birding occurs on a large farming estate, much of which lies within the army training area known as STANTA (Stanford Army Training Area), this unique area of the country includes true Breckland landscapes of heath, grassland, light sandy soils, meandering river valleys, and of course, big skies. This mornings birding was on a marsh and grazing meadows with ditches, a herbage filled Watton Brook, and a long unbroken hedgerow comprising a variety of bushes in heavy fruit.

I arrived at my destination just a mile from home and an initial scan of a long hedgerow with an adjoining game strip saw a flock of 70+ Linnets wandering these habitats and a check of a ditch produced a single Stonechat.  As I walked through a meadow, lots of cattle came up to me to have a check of this handsome stranger 😄, this would have been a good opportunity to see if the cattle had brought Yellow Wagtails with them, but none seen on this occasion.  A Hobby did overfly the marsh in a westerly heading.

Watton Brook at Saham. A great habitat in autumn for finding migrants.

A check of some Hawthorns and elder in the river valley produced just a single Whitethroat, however, a distant check of a broken hedgerow comprising much elder did see a very smart Lesser Whitethroat feeding upon berries.  A Chiffchaff was also present here as well as a mobile flock of Long-tailed and Blue Tits

My final part of this visit included the checking of a long hedgerow bearing much fruit and at least 3 Whitethroats were seen in Buckthorn.  Along the same hedgerow I detected movement, I soon found a migrant Sedge Warbler moving through thick cover, this bird remained hard to see although on one occasion I had a very brief glimpse of the very bold and striking creamy supercillium.  

Finally, a couple of Stonechats, one a juvenile, were seen in the hedgerow and nearby game strip.

 

A summary of highlights for August 2025

 August to November is arguably my best time of year for birding both on my Breckland patch and beyond, especially the North Norfolk Coast.  The following is a summary of local highlights on my patch and as you will see there was a good selection of migrants to report through the month.

Early in the month on the 2nd it was obvious that Swift numbers had dropped significantly.

A visit to Little Cressingham on the 4th saw a single overflying and calling Crossbill, a welcome record of a bird which has been scarce on the patch in recent years.  Also seen was a notable count of 50+ Stock Doves.

Late summer and autumn sees Houghton-on-the-Hill as one of favoured locations to visit for both resting migrants and visual migration and my first visit for this migration period on the 9th proved to be an excellent visit with a Pied Flycatcher in woodland around the churchyard.  Common migrants are well represented here and today I recorded 10+ Blackcaps, 10+ Whitethroats, Chiffchaffs, and 3 Lesser Whitethroats.  A single Raven passed over calling. 

A visit to a sewage treatments works on the nearby army training ground on the 10th produced one Reed Warbler, one Lesser Whitethroat, one Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, and 3 Blackcaps, all in a small area of Elder bushes where all species were seen to eat berries.

On the 12th I enjoyed a great field trip to Titchwell Marsh with my good friend Darren Cowles.  The first bird of the day was a calling male Tawny Owl in the car park area and although still dark we could see the calling Owl silhouetted in the trees. 

Highlights on the marsh included 40+ Ruff, 14 Spoonbills, an early morning westerly movement of Little Egrets, and a single Great White Egret on the marsh. A few single Sedge Warblers were in the reedbeds.

Dawn at Titchwell Marsh 12 August 2025 (Unedited picture)

It was my intention to check the overflow car park as our visit wound down, I was surprised to see that despite the numbers of cars in the normal car park, there were no birders checking the wonderful habitat for migrant Warblers.  A check of elder bushes in the overflow car park produced 6+ Blackcaps feeding upon berries, these were undoubtedly passage birds.

Blackcap in the overflow car park 12 August

A walk along the Watton Brook valley west of Hopton Bridge on the 13^th saw at least 12 Stonechats and at least 3 Whitethroats on fencing alongside the brook. A single Sedge Warbler in herbage in the brook was undoubtedly a migrant bird. Later in the garden a Green veined White butterfly was seen.

A visit to Houghton-on-the-Hill on the 14^th began with a walk around the churchyard at St. Mary’s where a single Lesser Whitethroat emerged from thick Ivy where it had probably roosted. Many Blackcaps and Whitethroats were in the hedgerow corridor east of the church. Back at the church a juvenile Goshawk soared low overhead. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth was feeding in Buddleia.

Juvenile Goshawk at Houghton 14 August 2025

A visit to Bodney on the 18^th produced one Yellow Wagtail in an Elder, a single Wheatear along the boundary ditch separating Bodney Slip from the wet meadow east of the STW, 100+ Swallows, one Chiffchaff, and at least 4 Stonechats. Late morning saw a ♀ Sparrowhawk low and fast through the garden.

A check of the skies on the 19^th saw no Swifts, clearly some will be about, however, the majority of birds have now departed.

A late afternoon visit to Seamere Marsh on the 20^th produced a movement of 40+ House Martins which included a single Swift. On the marsh a ♀ Marsh Harrier was seen flying into thick willow woodland possibly to roost.

A very productive and rewarding day on the 23^rd in the Watton Brook Valley west at Little Cressingham with many Stonechats seen, one Whitethroat, Chiffchaffs, a calling Raven, visible migration with an overhead Yellow Wagtail, many Blackcaps in Bodney Slip where also 4 Spotted Flycatchers were found with one individual being a leucistic bird.

A leucistic Spotted Flycatcher at Little Cressingham 23 August (One of 4 birds seen together)

A morning visit on the 24^th to a marsh and meadows in Watton Brook valley produced at least 4 Whitethroats and a single migrant Lesser Whitethroat. Sizeable Finch flocks seen with 70+ Linnets and 100+ Goldfinches noted. At least 5 Stonechats were seen.

Lesser Whitethroat 24 August 2025 (Such stunning Warblers)

An early evening visit to Seamere Marsh on the 25^th was fairly quiet with the highlight being a single Swift over Seamere with a number of House Martins.

On the morning of the 26^th I was working in Wymondham where very high overhead two Sparrowhawks were seen soaring.

I visited the Watton Brook valley at Bodney on the 27^th arriving pre-sunrise and remaining until about 0930. This was a very good visit with a ♀ Blackcap in an elder eating berries and 4+ Chiffchaffs present. Cattle were grazing the grassland alongside Watton Brook, I suspected Wagtails to be present and when checked, 4+ Yellow Wagtails were feeding around the cattle. Also present was 3 Stonechats on fencing and posts in the valley.

On the 28^th I visited Hockham Heath and was rewarded with 30+ Crossbills wandering the treetops, also, a very notable 30+ Chiffchaffs seen in the Hawthorn scrub where 6+ Blackcaps also seen. Three Spotted Flycatchers (singles) seen around the site with one in the very top of a tall Poplar, a recently arrived migrant perhaps. One Little Egret was seen and at least one Raven passed over the Cranberry Rough area calling. A walk through Rule’s Belt produced calling Marsh Tit.

A single Swift was seen over Hethersett on the 30^th. Later on Old Runway Lane at Deopham one Yellow Wagtail was found whilst scoping a muck heap, also present was 12+ Pied Wagtails around muck heaps.

Little Cressingham and Bodney 23 August 2025 (A morning of visible migration and an odd looking Spotted Flycatcher)

What a beautiful cool dawn with an autumnal feel to it.  I visited the Watton Brook valley to check for migrant birds and hopefully for evidence of visible migration.  My visit began with a calling Raven (unseen), however, the remarkable call is very distinctive.  Before proceeding I set up the scope in order to check what was ahead of me in the valley, as expected a number of Stonechats (eventually 10+ seen) were in the valley along with the odd Yellowhammer and Goldfinches. In a distant patch of bramble I could see Whitethroat and Chiffchaff where also 50+ Linnets wandered the area. One particular Linnet was scoped, this was a male bird with beautiful crimson breast markings.  A single restless Chiffchaff was flying up and down the valley before heading off south.

I could hear a Yellow Wagtail, this stunning bird alighted in the top of a tall Oak where calling continued for a few seconds, it then flew off south and I watched it until lost to view.....safe journey. 

Having been in open landscapes I decided next to walk the boundary of a mostly Scots Pine and Larch woodland where the peripheral understorey is rich in berry bearing bushes, especially Elder. A low fence around the boundary of the woodland held 4 Spotted Flycatchers, of these, a male bird was present and juvenile, but the main surprise was seeing that one of the Spotted Flycatchers was a leucistic individual with an all-white head, white underparts, and white in the wings.  All of the Spotted Flycatchers were engaged in typical fast sweeping flights to the ground where invertebrate prey was taken.

A leucistic Spotted Flycatcher at Little Cressingham 23 August 2025

A typically marked Spotted Flycatcher at Little Cressingham 23 August 2025

As well as watching the stunning Spotted Flycatchers, the woodland boundary also held 10+ Blackcaps, all of which were in Elders feeding upon berries.  One Elder bush held at least 5 Blackcaps.  Also noted was Chiffchaff, calling Treecreeper, Nuthatch, and Tit species including Coal Tit.

Titchwell Marsh 12 August 2025 (0440-1030) with Darren Cowles.

 At 0300 on Tuesday 12 August I was picked up by my dear friend Darren Cowles for visit to Titchwell Marsh on the beautiful North Norfolk Coast.  Our journey to Titchwell slightly longer than expected due to a couple of road closures on route.  Our detour had its benefits when we saw a beautiful Barn Owl fly over the road at Holme Hale. 

0440 We arrived at Titchwell in calm and warm conditions and despite a few light spits of rain the day eventually became very warm and sunny on the coast but later, inland, the temperature exceeded 30 degrees Celsius. The wind was a moderate easterly.

Birding essentially began straight away with a male Tawny Owl calling in trees in the car park area, the bird flew directly over us and into a Willow wood and then back again right above me.  I eventually located the Tawny Owl visually in some branches where it continued to call and despite the low light Darren and I had reasonably good views mostly of the silhouetted bird.  A Song Thrush was alarm calling, probably in response to the Owl.  As we made our way through the woodland Darren saw a second Tawny Owl fly in front of us, this was also a male bird with a not so well refined call, perhaps this was a juvenile bird.

Titchwell Marsh 12 August 2025. The stunning view which greeted us at dawn (unedited) 

Darren and myself ten set off along the path towards the beach, stopping off at the two hides to enjoy the views over the freshwater lagoons.  We were without doubt struck by the stunning sunrise which gave a pinkish hue in the sky which in turn reflected off the lagoon.

Gull on the freshwater lagoon made their presence known with a cacophony of calls whilst overhead several small flocks of Little Egrets headed west.  Common Terns are beautiful, delicate appearing, and very far travelled birds, these were numerous at Titchwell and often made flights off shore to gather fish for their young, a few which were seen on the freshwater lagoon.  A visit to Island hide gave us the opportunity to have close views of several Ruff and Black-tailed Godwits whilst at distance at the far side of the lagoon Darren saw 14 Spoonbills.  Without doubt, the noisiest birds were the three-figure numbers of Greylag Geese on the freshwater lagoon which let us know when they were departing inland.

Ruff feeding in the freshwater lagoon at dawn

 

Ruff on the freshwater lagoon showing one of the variations in plumages

Overlooking the marsh and lagoons from the path saw an interesting selection of birds including Ruff, Lapwing, Avocets, Dunlin, Ringed Plover, and of course, noisy Redshanks.  Wildfowl seen included Mallard, Gadwall, Shelduck, and Teal.  Turning to look over Thornham Marsh we saw two Chinese Water Deer.

Walking along the path towards Parrinder hide a couple of Meadow Pipits shuffled along on the ground ahead of us, this species breeds on Thornham Marsh, their numbers increase with winter visitors which arrive late summer and autumn.

Meadow Pipit at Titchwell 12 August 2025

A visit to Parrinder hide was productive, especially so with the rising sun more or less behind us. From here further sighting of Gulls and wader species were had and distantly, a single Great White Egret flew onto the marsh.  Passerine species in the hide area included two or three Reed Buntings and a single Sedge Warbler moving about in reeds.  A single Grey Heron walked stealthily on the muddy fringes of the lagoon.  A Greenshank was heard.

Having left Parrinder hide Darren and I walked north towards the beach, a small isolated stand of Elder and Bramble looked good for migrants, however, only a single Reed Bunting was seen.  A brief look over the beach and sea saw a few Sanderlings running along the shoreline.

Having checked the beach Darren and I walked south along the path in order to explore the fruit bearing bushes, reedbed willow scrub, and trees around the visitor centre, fen and meadow trail, and lastly, the overflow car park.  The willow scrub held a couple of singing Cetti's Warblers and deep within cover a Water Rail called.  We reached the beautiful viewing area overlooking a large area of water and reedbed, here, at least 4 Pochard, Coot, and Little Grebe were on the water.  Darren and I were sitting quietly overlooking the site when I said "Look, Bittern" at the edge of the reedbed, I was initially quite excited at this sighting, however, it soon transpired that my Bittern was an old bird table hidden in the reeds doing its best to fool me DOH!!!!

Making our way back to the visitor centre, we sat for a while watching the feeders and had great views of Blue, Great, and Coal Tits, as well as a couple of juvenile Moorhens and a very bold Muntjac.

Blackcap at Titchwell (overflow car park) 12 August 2025

Darren and I finally decided to explore the overflow car park for migrant birds, the wealth of habitat here lends itself to passage visitors wanting to feed for migration. Our waiting paid off when looking into tangled habitat including Elder, here at least 6 Blackcaps were seen, a mixture of male and female birds which fed upon Elderberries (including the above female Blackcap in Elder), also Tit species, Treecreeper, one Collared Dove, Chaffinch, and Dunnock seen in this area.

This was a fantastic visit to Titchwell Marsh with my dear friend Darren Cowles, and I thank you Darren for taking me to this wonderful location.   
 
  

Houghton-on-the-Hill 9 August 2025

 August through to November is my favourite time of the year for birding. In late summer the first departing summer migrants are on the move, and as August progresses migration picks up apace and then we enter September, the most pivotal month for bird migration with masses of departing summer migrants meeting the first incoming winter visitors from Scandinavia and Northern Europe.

9 August

I made my way to Houghton-on-the-Hill early morning, this is my favoured destination in late summer and autumn, its elevation allows for good visual migration as well as undoubtedly acting as a focal marker for migrating birds, its prominent hedgerows, natural spring, and possibly man-made features such as the ancient St Mary's Church have probably been used by migrating birds for millennia.

Whilst walking the hedgerows here I noted how heavy the Elderberry crop is this year, this soft fruit is very much favoured by migrating Warblers.

This was first visit to Houghton for this late summers/autumn migration and it was productive, my estimated counts were as follows:-

15+ Chiffchaff

10+ Blackcap

10+ Whitethroat

3 Lesser Whitethroat

1 Pied Flycatcher

Chiffchaffs were the first birds heard on this visit with lots of  "seeo" and "see" calls heard with some seen feeding upon Elderberries.

Several Whitethroats were both seen and heard, most of which were juvenile birds, and again, seen taking Elderberries.

Many Blackcaps were both seen and heard, of these, one was certainly a juvenile male, also adult males and at least 4 females seen with scoped views showing these as pristine birds.  Elderberries were eaten.

Blackcap (Juvenile)

At least 3 Lesser Whitethroats were seen in hedgerow habitats, for me these are incredibly smart looking birds in late summer/autumn, one such Lesser Whitethroat was scoped feeding upon Elderberries, this immaculate looking bird was very conspicuous with its dark grey head and strongly contrasting white throat and underparts.

Whilst watching these Warblers a distant Raven was calling, eventually, this bird passed low overhead in a southerly direction.

Approaching the church a flash of white passed before me, the bird alighted in a tree for a few seconds but long enough to see this was an exquisite Pied Flycatcher. 

Common species seen included 50+ Linnet, Song thrush, one Bullfinch, Goldfinch, and at least 2 singing Stock Doves.

Western Conifer Seed Bug in our Watton garden 3 August 2025

During the afternoon of 3 August I saw a large bug on the floor of our conservatory, it was a species quite unfamiliar to me, I firstly thought it was a species of Longhorn Beetle.  From the tip of its abdomen to the end of its antenna it measured around 3/4 inch in length.  This beautiful bug is a Western Conifer Seed Bug, a North American species which was first recorded in Europe (Italy) in the late 1990's, it was first recorded in Britain in 2007.

The following are a couple of picture of the Western Conifer Seed Bug, firstly in our conservatory and then after I relocated it into the garden.

Western Conifer Seed Bug in our conservatory 3 August

Western Conifer Seed Bug 3 August 2025 (safely relocated)

East Wretham Heath 30 July 2025 (0725-1000)

Lakes, meres and muck heaps are habitats I like to visit at this time of year for signs of wader passage, with this in mind this morning I chose East Wretham Heath where the largest area of water known as Langmere is a reliable location for passage waders.

I arrived at the car park at 0725 and immediately recorded juvenile Coal Tits, singing Blackcap, one Whitethroat, juvenile Blue Tits, Chiffchaff, Chaffinches, and one Kestrel in the many old Hawthorns here. A Hummingbird Hawk Moth was feeding around a buddleia.  

I headed off for Langmere with passage waders in mind, Wood Sandpiper perhaps or Greenshank maybe? An initial overview of the water saw 200+ Lapwings around the fringes of the mere and a single Little Egret probing in the shallows.  Typically, many Little Grebes (20+) seen and heard on the water along with many Coot too.  A pair of Egyptian Geese were present with 3 half-grown young.

Having repositioned myself for better views of the mere I could see that the Lapwings were a mixture of both adult and juvenile birds.

A scan of the far fringes of the mere paid off with a single juvenile Greenshank found probing the wet muddy fringes of the mere as well as wading in the shallows in its search for invertebrate food.  After a long wait the Greenshank eventually made its way to the nearside fringes of the mere with occasional stops for preening.

Greenshank (juvenile) on Wretham Heath 30 July 2025

This beautiful Greenshank offered great views as it walked and ran the margins of the mere, occasionally, it was chased off by Lapwings, it was then that the white rump extending up the back was revealed.  Another notable feature of this bird is the slightly upturned bill, this is probably accentuated by the lower mandible curving up towards the tip.

Greenshank 30 July 2025.  Note the distinctive white wedge running up the birds rump and back.

  

Lapwing (juvenile) at Wretham 30 July 2025

Probably in excess of 220 Lapwings were present around the mere including juvenile birds (see above), this birds exhibits typical juvenile appearance which includes the short crest and the buff fringes to the dark wing feathers.  A very beautiful bird.
 

East Wretham Heath 12 July 2025 (0740-1045)

The day began overcast with a light mizzle but this was soon burnt off by the sun to give cloudless skies and a high temperature of around 30 degrees Celsius.

This was intended to be a short visit today to check for signs of wader passage, there was no evidence of this, however, it was to be a productive visit with 37 species recorded along with several species of butterflies and moths seen.

From the reserve car park I walked over the heath towards Waterloo Plantation.  I stopped at my usual spot to overview this wonderful heathland habitat along with partial views of Langmere.  I had my scope with me but this was useless at range due to the heat haze, nevertheless, this first static watch was to prove quite productive.  

East Wretham Heath 12 July 2025 (A very hot day)

The water level at Langmere was beginning to drop but the shore around the mere held good numbers of duck and geese, a few Lapwings, and probably in excess of 70 Coot whilst on the water was several Little Grebes and about 5 Tufted Duck.  About 40 Greylag Geese were present and a flock of 20+ Shelduck flew in, many being juveniles.  A single Little Egret dropped in but almost immediately flew off.   

Several small birds were frequenting the heath in front of me, most were juvenile Pied Wagtails, I then scanned a lone Hawthorn and found a very handsome male Redstart sitting in the bush, it then flew towards some Scots Pines, a stunning bird.

The most abundant Warbler seen on this visit was Chiffchaff with many juveniles seen in Sallows where they searched for invertebrate food, this included one making short flycatching sallies for tiny insects.  Also noted was a few Blackcaps and juvenile Blackbirds and on the far shore of Langmere a single Song Thrush was seen under a bush, its small size for a Thrush and warm brown upperparts being so distinctive. A few Hirundines were overhead, mostly Swallows but also a few House Martins.

Walking back over the heath I heard the highly distinctive but distant call of a Raven, once I got to a position uninterrupted by trees and bushes I scanned the sky over the heath and soon located 3 Ravens at height and at distance soaring high over the heath and engaged in chasing and tumbling behaviour, and of course frequently calling, a sound I love. 

3 Ravens seen high and distantly over Wretham Heath 12 July 2025

On my return walk over the heath my attention turned to butterflies and moths, sadly, however, some very small moth species went unidentified.  Moth species I could identify included a Six Spot Burnet and two Hummingbird Hawk Moths.  Gatekeeper, Meadow Brown, Red Admiral, Peacock, and Comma butterflies were seen.

Six Spot Burnett on Wretham Heath 12 July 2025

Hummingbird Hawk Moth (two seen) on East Wretham Heath 12 July 2025

Hummingbird Hawk Moth 12 July 2025 on East Wretham Heath

Bodney and Little Cressingham 4 July 2025

 June and July are often said to be the quiet months of the year for birding, I say this depends upon what you are looking for.  With regard to migration, these two months may be considered quiet, however, July can be exciting with wader passage underway.  Songbirds are still feeding young in the nest or seeing to the needs of juvenile birds which have dispersed from the natal area.

Aside from birds, June and July is a great time for finding and watching insect species.  Butterfly species in our garden have been represented by Red Admirals, Peacocks, and Large White, but I have not seen Painted Lady yet.

We have had Hummingbird Hawk Moth visiting our buddleia, what a stunning species this is, the appearance, behaviour, and sound, all resembling a Hummingbird, and in fact, I wonder if those not familiar with this moth may indeed say they have seen a Hummingbird.

Hummingbird Hawk Moth in our garden 3 July.

4 July

This morning I was focussed on finding successful breeding evidence by our summer visitors, and I am pleased to say that I found Whitethroats, including juvenile birds, at three localities.  Having found these birds I actually spent much of this visit watching these wonderful migrant breeders.

I was watching habitats which comprised wide roadside verges with lines of young Scots Pines and ground covering scrub. Wide field margins of various wildflowers, weeds and grasses, would hold invertebrate prey.

Approaching a locality where Whitethroats were I could see some movement between cover followed by the distinctive "tschurrr" alarm of an adult Whitethroat, an alarm warning its young of my presence. I was lucky enough to see a number of juvenile Whitethroats including one showing well and allowing me to see a specific feature which ages the bird, most notably the dark eye which differs entirely from the adults eye which has an orange-brown iris and black pupil.   

Other species seen this morning showing evidence of successful breeding included Chiffchaff, Blue Tit, Great Tit, and Coal Tit. 

Whitethroat (juvenile) Little Cressingham 4 July 2025.  Note the dark eye.

A number of Butterfly species were seen including Peacock, Red Admiral, Meadow Brown, Gatekeeper, and Small Skipper.

Small Skipper at Bodney 4 July

Gatekeeper at Little Cressingham 4 July

Little Cressingham 28 June 2025.

 For a period of about an hour and a half on the morning of 28 June 2025, I decided upon visiting a short length of hedgerow near 'The Arms' which has long been known as a preferred habitat for Warbler species, most notably those of the Sylvia genus.

It was evident that Sylvia Warblers were present, although I could not locate Lesser Whitethroat on this occasion, however, it was good to report that Blackcap, Whitethroat, and Garden Warblers were those species representing this specific genus. 

From my arrival I could hear the alarm call of Whitethroat, a nasally "tschair" call along with a rapidly repeated "tet-tet-tet-tet-tet", these calls were accompanied by movement in some low ground covering bushes, mostly Hawthorn, the number of birds indicated successful breeding.  Further along the hedge was two more Whitethroat sites including one where the bird once again gave the "tschair" warning call, on this occasion an adult Whitethroat was seen very briefly carrying a caterpillar for feeding to its young.

Whitethroat (with food for its young) at Little Cressingham 28 June 2025

Two male Blackcaps were located in song, one of which gave an alarm call, a tongue-clicking "tack" , also, a pair of Garden Warblers were seen and heard in typical breeding habitat, the male was singing and the female alarm-called.

The only bird movement seen on this visit was a single overhead Lapwing heading south. 
  

Nightjars at Hockham, Norfolk 26 June 2025

On the evening of 26 June, myself, along with friends Darren Cowles, Sarah Lister, Bob Fleming, and Cathy and Nick Halfacre, visited a forest clearing to listen and watch Nightjars.  We arrived at our destination at 2020 and had just over an hour before sunset (2124) to watch for other birds and wildlife before the main event.  The evening was very warm following a hot day and the light was good.

With sufficient daylight remaining there was still plenty of opportunity to watch and listen to daytime species.  Upon our arrival Blackcap and Song Thrush were singing and within the clearing a Tree Pipit sang intermittently. A Whitethroat was seen in low ground covering scrub from where it gave alarm calls to warn its youngsters of our presence.  Several Yellowhammers were seen conspicuously sitting in treetops, at least two of these birds were males.  

Overflying birds included 3 Cranes silently passing over treetops and were silhouetted against the sky, a single Grey Heron over, and one Hobby seen passing overhead in a leisurely flight.  A single Cockchafer was seen.

At around 30 minutes following sunset, the strange mechanical sound of a churring Nightjar was heard intermittently, however, it wasn't too long before the fantastic song of this enigmatic species was heard almost continuously.  On one occasion a male Nightjar was seen very well as it flew around the top of a tall Birch in the clearing before alighting in the tree from where it began churring, the close proximity of the bird allowed us to fully appreciate this strange song as it was delivered in two distinct rising and falling pitches.  Having sung in the Birch for some time the Nightjar flew off emitting a strange whirring call along with the sound of a clear wing clap.  We were also lucky enough to see the silhouetted view of a second Nightjar passing by our group in a very silent, buoyant flight, and appearing very mysterious and fully befitting the folklore and legend which is associated with this stunning creature.   

I have often taken people out over the years to watch birds and often the experience has not lived up to what I hoped for, but on this visit to see Nightjars it was pleasing to see how excited our wonderful group was to see this enigmatic bird.

Kelling Heath 18 June 2025 (with Darren Cowles)

 At 0600 on the 18 June I picked up my very good friend, Darren Cowles, for a visit to the beautiful Kelling Heath on the North Norfolk Coast.  This was to be another hot day, the latest of a hot spell with further high temperatures expected in the days to come.  Our journey took us through a number of Norfolk towns and villages including Dereham, North Elmham, Guist, Briningham, Thornage, and Holt.  The beautiful village of Thornage sits in the River Glaven valley and a while to  the long descent to the valley followed by the climb towards Holt offers fantastic views of  the very rolling landscape and as I have said before in previous posts, Norfolk is certainly not flat as some outsiders claim.

We arrived at Kelling Heath at around 0700 when it was already warm.  It has been several years since I last visited this location and it took a while to get my bearings, if only I had researched maps beforehand because it was my intention to show Darren Dartford Warblers, for this species we need open heathland, however, I led Darren on a grand mystery tour of woodland habitat before reaching perfect Dartford Warbler country, we had a good ol' larf though. 

Kelling Heath 18 July 2025. Superb habitat for Stonechats, Linnets, and Woodlark, but no Dartford Warblers today.

Anyway, we set off following our first coffee of the morning through patches of heathland, Gorse scrub, and mixed woodland, and the first birds heard were Chiffchaffs and Garden Warbler, and in an area of Birch and scrub a Turtle Dove was singing.  As we walked along a path Darren saw some birds at distance on the path, these were Linnets, a common bird of heathland and Gorse. A Yellowhammer was heard singing in this area.  The heathland here also held a number of Stonechats, these included adults and juvenile birds in typical open country habitat where they chose raised perches to watch from.  We  also located a pair of Stonechats in typical breeding habitat, the male was alarm calling and the female was carrying food for young.

Stonechat (female). One of a pair in breeding habitat 

Stonechat (Male). This bird was alarm calling, he was paired with the above female.

As we walked through the heathland I was hoping to find Adders, we did not see any, but a young birder we met later did find one.  Darren did locate a Common Lizard which was nice.  Darren found some Common Blue butterflies, these stunning insects put on a great show.  Overhead, a couple of Buzzards were the only raptors seen at Kelling.

A stunning Common Blue Butterfly which Darren located on the heath.

With heat building Darren and myself headed back to the car for some refreshments, it was while we had this break that Darren had a wonderful display of Bees and other winged insects in a lovely Bramble patch.  Following our break we headed out to nearby heathland habitat to have a final search for Dartford Warblers, once again, no luck, however, some great birds were seen to make up for this including Linnets (one male with very bright crimson breast), more Stonechats watching from elevated perches, and finally, a pair of Woodlarks seen with one bird carrying food for young.  It was at this point that the young birder visiting from London approached me, I told him I was watching Woodlarks at which he became quite excited as he had never seen this species before, a very rewarding observation for both of us.

Woodlark on Kelling Heath (One of a pair seen)

Following a great visit to Kelling Heath, we set of at about 1145 and headed back home to Watton, whilst driving through Holt we heard parties of Swifts screaming above the town and between buildings, the epitome of an English summer day.

Finally, I wish to thank Darren for joining me this morning, it was a very rewarding day for both of us. Thank you Darren.

 

1 June 2025

 A later start for me on the 1st, however, this was to be a productive morning visiting a large forest clearing  near Hockham, Norfolk.  The habitat at the site visited is one of regeneration, a few years ago it was harvested of its Pine tree crop and has since been replanted with sapling Pines.  The habitat within the clearing is one of much Bramble and Birch scrub with isolated mature Birch trees within the clearing and as it stands at the current time this habitat should support the species seen today before the young Pines grow too large and those species seen will seek new suitable territories.  The growing Pine compartments will then see different bird species move in whilst those species requiring clearings to breed in will find new suitable sites within which to set up territories.  Pine compartments here in the Brecks are a rotational crop, therefore, the different stages of habitat growth will always be suitable for specialist species.

Forest clearing near Hockham Norfolk 1 June 2025. This site today held Blackcap, Garden Warblers, Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, one Tree Pipit, and two Cuckoos.

The location visited today has for some years been the summer home for Nightjars and even though I visited in daylight hours I was hoping to find one of these enigmatic birds roosting on a tree branch, however, none seen on this visit.

Tree Pipit (male) in forest clearing.

Today was all about breeding successes and the first evidence of this was watching juvenile Blackcaps in a small Holly being fed by parent birds.  The clearing is currently well suited for Sylvia Warblers and this visit produced 4 Garden Warbler territories, at one site a pair of Garden Warblers were watched at woodland edge habitat with ground cover, one bird was seen leaving the site with a faecal sac (proof of breeding).  At least 4 singing Whitethroats located along with a single Willow Warbler.  One Tree Pipit was singing and performing it conspicuous song-flight over its territory, this bird often sang in the Holly just left of centre in the above picture.  Two Cuckoos were present, a calling male (unseen) and a female, which was seen moving between trees in the clearing and giving its distinctive bubbling call. 

The only raptor species seen on this visit was a beautiful hunting male Kestrel and two Buzzards.