Tuesday 23 October 2012

Amazing fall of thrushes!

I have not got time to write in length about yesterday mornings outing to Waxham but all I can say is wow!
After getting woken pre dawn by the baby I headed off to the coast where it was foggy with an easterly, always a winner. On exiting the car it was clear it would be a good morning with Brambling creaking from the churchyard and redwings passing invisibly overhead.
Although I did not find anything rare every footstep kicked thrushes off the deck, the trees were absolutely crawling with Redwings fieldfares and quite a good number of ring ouzels too. At one point just North of the pipe dump there were thrushes everywhere c800 redwings and c300 fieldfares on the grassy field with at least 2000 rw and 1000 ff in the dense bushes, what a sight, what a sound. You had to be out at the coast this morning to get what I'm talking about but it had a great feel to it, I wonder how many goodies are lurking within the bushes today, despite trying hard there were no Raddes or Duskys in the brambles, as far as I could see..!

Highlights
Thousands of Redwing and Fieldfare
8+ Ring Ouzel
1 probable brief call from a Lapland bunting
A distant call that was probably the invisible Richards pipit
1 Black redstart on roof of building opposite Shangri La
Super day back to work Tues to Thurs now, hope something is around on Friday.

Tuesday 2 October 2012

Back to work with a cracker

Having spent the past 2 weeks off work on paternity leave, I am now the very proud father of a little Toby, I returned to work yesterday.

It was largely uneventful but while waiting in front of the railway gates I looked at the floor and found the beast below. This was a very nice welcome back, my first Convolvulus Hawkmoth at Strumpshaw, an indication of some migration too.
what a cracker though!