Effort Rewarded

On Thursday 5th after a short stop at the allotment I called in to have a cuppa with mum. Agnes wanted a nap while there, so I had an hour to kill. I headed off to East Ruston an area in the past I have seen Osprey in the spring. I had no luck, with a pair of Buzzard and lone Kestrel the raptors on display. On the pools a few Teal and Tufted Duck remain and a Canada x Greylag goose was with the Greylag flock. Walking the small heath area I saw 2 Adder in the sun and a couple of lizards I could't quickly identify as they scuttled off.

After grabbing some food shopping on Friday morning Agnes and I had a short walk at Paston Cliffs. The Black Redstart from Wednesday was not around and migrants seemed thin on the ground, in fact two singing Chiffchaff were the only migrants. The resident Linnet, Yellowhammer and Skylark were however in full song and 2 Meadow Pipit were om the cliff face. Driving past Stow Windmill on the way home, 2 Swallow on the wires were the first on the patch this year.

On Saturday 7th I headed to Waxham in the search for a 'Spring Wheatear' and some migrants. Parking up behind the church a heavy shower passed through, so I started my search in light drizzle. Just East of Shangri-la a Tit flock held 4+ Chiffchaff and 1 Willow Warbler none of which were calling. A fellow birder highlighted a Firecrest further East which I soon located. It was then rather quiet until just before the Pipe Dump, except for regular small groups of Linnet flying East. A lone male Siskin in some scrub was unusual and briefly had me dreaming of a Serin. Flushing a Male Ring Ouzel it flew inland over the chicken sheds and pair Stonechat seemed to be on territory just East of the Pipe Dump.  Next I found the bird of the day a male Whinchat just beyond the Poplar Farm Gap, with the naked eye I thought Stonechat, but on raising my binoculars could not miss the striking supercilium. 2 House Martin were hawking over the flooded area of Pipe Dump and were new for the year. On wandering through the dune slacks 4 Roe Deer at close quarters were a bit of a surprise. 50+ Seals were by Polar Farm Gap and 4 additional Ring Ouzel (3 Female and 1 Male) flew from the dunes. A single Swallow flew North as I approached the car. During the morning 15+ Chiffchaff were seen most being silent, and 250+ Linnet has passed East mainly in small groups of 5-10, a further Swallow was near Sea Palling driving home.

Saturday afternoon I again found myself at Cley NWT, this time with the family meeting a friend for lunch. Agnes got very excited looking for birds from the old visitor center mound. Little was on the sighting board I hadn't seen earlier in the week, so we decided on a walk in the quieter surrounding of Kelling Heath. The walk was dominated by the call of Chiffchaff and Linnet enjoying the warming sun. I did hear a distant Dartford Warbler but on getting closer all had gone quiet, and with non-birding friend I couldn't spend long looking. We popped back to Cley village to get some smoked fish and nibbles, from here looking West I saw my first Sand Martin of the year.

During a quick stop at the allotment to collect some spring greens tops for the chickens later on Sunday, I was surprised to hear the unmistakable call of a Ring Ouzel in the neighbouring meadow, sadly though with limited viewing I couldn't see the bird.

The previous week is probably the most concerted effort I have made for Spring Migrants in many years, but with a few nuggets it was very rewarding and made me realise I should get out more even for a hour or so.