White Rumped Sandpiper and the weeks dubings

So what's been happening this last week. Well on Monday I found a brilliant looking Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar whilst weeding one of my properties at work.

Back in the garden a few commoner stuff, Blackbird and Great Tit.

Then Friday a cracking Migrant Hawker visited the garden and a Mottled Beauty visited the kitchen.

Migrant hawker

Mottled Beauty

 



A couple of Seawatchs and walks around the patch were very quiet except for 8 Common Tern and a Little Tern. 2 Bright Terns flew south direct flight with shallow wingbeats but at a great distance, just on jizz I would have said Roseate Terns but I really cant claim to be 100% at that distance. 7 Whimbrel flew south and 3 Common Scoter sat on sea. Best bird of the week however was a fly by Little Egret, patch tick.

Onto Saturday we decided to have a walk to Hickling broad and follow the weavers way to the hide where an Adult White Rumped Sandpiper had been found, it was a shorter walk than I thought but a really nice one. We could hear Cranes as soon as we left the car, this nice Ducky Sallow Moth was in the long grass.

The Heavens opened just before we reached the hide so we stood and shelted till it passed over. Unfortunately by the time we reached the hide the Sandpiper had disappeared. Whilst Stood waiting for the Sandpiper to return or come out into the open again we could hear Sedge, Reed and Grasshopper Warblers, Bearded Tits and Cranes. On the pool a great mixture of Waders, 3 Green Sandpiper, 1 Wood Sandpiper, LRP, Ringed plover, 40 Ruff, Dunlin and a Greenshank. 3 Little Gull were nice. Eventually the White Rumped Sandpiper appeared out on nowhere and gave reasonable scope views at 55 times zoom, hence the poor shot, its there I promise.

 



Closeby were my second large Caterpillars of the week, 2 Swallowtail Caterpillars. Returning to the car distant views of 4 Cranes.

Returned home via Breydon water, it always amazes me the amount of Avocets on show with 400+, same with Black tailed Godwits, 7 Whimbrel, and a few Bar tailed godwit. A Juv Med Gull was quiet nice but otherwise it was quiet.

Back to the Patch today, from the cliffs at the old sewage works 1 long staying Knot, 11 Turnstone and 3 Common Sandpiper.
Shep found this Adult Hedgehog and a Painted Lady Butterfly was a bonus, a Buzzard showed really well, otherwise still very quiet.

Another couple weeks and things will start happening hopefully although work will put pay to any day time birding, as Work meant I missed Breydon Waters Franklin gull on Friday, would have been a lifer... cant win em all.

Update.. just had a new dragonfly in the garden female Southern Hawker.
3 Species now, Southern Hawker, Brown Hawker and Migrant Hawker, well impressed..