Wryneck and bank holiday offerings.

Its been so hot after my days working outside I really needed to sit and recover in the shade so had a couple of days in the garden after work instead of marching around the patch. Med Gulls fly catching are always great.
A Cooler evening had me back on the patch, on the NSW fields a surprise was a Juv Kittiwake. 8 Med Gulls too as they were ploughing the field.
Back at the OSW a nice Whinchat. Soon after I moved further round the OSW only to a brilliant looking WRYNECK Bingo!!!

Back on the beach a Common sand.
I had the Friday off to make a long weekend. The Wryneck was still there a Common Whitethroat seemed new in and 6 Buzzards moved North. A Hobby was still in the area. A Green Sandpiper was a nice flyover bird to get.

Saturday I was up at the crack of dawn, the Wryneck was still in the OSW compound but that was it. Amazingly quiet everywhere else, I covered the hole patch including Radar lodge.
Took a couple of pics of a showy Migrant Hawker.

In the afternoon Rach n I had a trip out to Strumpshaw Fen where a nice Glossy ibis was showing, Also 3 Garganey.

Ive brought a new camera the Panasonic GX8 to digiscope with and I have to say how impressed I am with it so far.
Little Egret.

Back on the track a nice Dark Bush Cricket.

A bit more practice Feral Pigeon

Sunday was Wryneck day again showing the crowds this great bird. A Knot and a Ringed Plover flew inland  whilst watching the Wryneck. 4 Swift were out to sea as were a few Med gulls otherwise nothing special. Back on the patch just after the massive rainstorm where I was hoping for a big fall of migrants, nothing but 8 Common Sandpipers together roosting.

Monday was a great day. Slogged the patch first thing and showed more people the Wryneck which was still present and at times showed fairly well.
After the patch Rach n I headed for minsmere for a lovely lunch and then onto the small pond where we managed views of a young Water Vole. From North wall the Pantaloon Bees were being predated by the Bee Wolfs.

We missed a Glow worm but 3 Stone Curlews were giving good scope views.

The main reason for visiting was the Wasp Spiders that were on the East bank in the dunes and wow what a creature. We managed to find 2 Females and a male.

Onto the Wader trail a nice Green Bush Cricket, huge creatures also a nice Clouded yellow was my first of the year.

Waders were superb with 6 Curlew Sands, 3 Sanderling, a few Spotted Redshanks with the Ruff and a few Green Sands and Greenshanks. 2 Nice Garganey also.

We moved onto West hide where 6 Little Stint were in show along with 4 Green Sandpiper, 3 Wood Sandpiper and I took some more Little Egret shots.

A yellow Wagtail was on site too.

It was a nice but busy weekend which as ever doesn't last long enough.

Local

Its been a mixed week, very very hard work at the same time. during the week the Wheatears have started to migrate through with 2 on Corton Prom. A cracking Adult Yellow legged Gull flew south and it was amazing to watch a female Sparrowhawk sitting above the Sandmartin nests waiting for the young to fly out. Didn't get the opportunity to see it do that though.

More Wheatears were at COSW on another day and then at CNSW ponds a Willow Warbler and a Reed Warbler was all I could find. Over at Furse Wood the Hobby was still in the area and actually the most bird species were seen here. Buzzard, Sparrowhawk with young, a nice tit flock with Goldcrest and Treecreeper.

Friday was a good evening on the patch, a whinchat was on the COSW fence and eventually 3 cracking individuals. Another or same Wheatear and best of a all a Juvenile Cuckoo flew south over my head. Over in the Dis railtrack a Pied fly finished off a great evening.

Yesterday was rubbish with just the Hobby but this time over the cosw. No migrants otherwise.

Today started rubbish and only saved by a Seawatch. This morning and then again this afternoon, i checked all the bush's, probably 6 hours worth to find nothing, nothing at all!!! I did practice digiscoping on this Migrant Hawker Dragonfly.

So I sat on the cliff at cosw and was surrounded by 4 Wheatears, first migrants of the day.

The Seawatch went well and patch tick Curlew Sandpiper with 18 Dunlin lots of Commic Terns, Common Terns and a Single Sandwich Tern. Then 3 brilliant looking juvenile Black Terns in a flock of 30+ Commics. James had a Marsh Harrier whilst he was watching from only meters away but I some how completely missed it.
Other birds were a Swift going North, Gannets, a Redhsank, a Turnstone and 3 Oystercatchers.
So the Seawatching saved the day.

Local stuff

Well ive not updated for a while but then ive not seen much and even done much proper birding.
last weekend id only done patch work and with just a Willow Warbler to show for it. Well it was a year tick anyway.

 

However an Adult Hobby has been giving a few good ariel battles with the Sand Martins. The most exciting bird for a few minutes was a pale morph Saker Falcon (type) but on closer inspection it had Jessies on... Doh.

 

I did do a couple of seawatchers but it was all pretty quiet. Things on the move were Commic Terns, Sandwich Terns, Oystercatchers, 3 Knot, 9 Dunlin and a load of Gannets.

 

Onto this weekend and no birding done until tonight, had too much to sort out.  I did manage to get out to North Denes where I found this nice Juv Caspian Gull whilst hoping for a Black tern but only 3 Common terns on show.

 

 

Whilst watching the Gull a single Sanderling and 7 Turnstone walked very close to me and I didn't realise till late but did take a couple of shots.

 

 

So not bad for just an hours birding.

 

This Herring Gull was a stunner.