 The number of small birds on site has been increasing rapidly over the last few weeks with the arrival of many Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Skylarks. This must all be enticing to birds of prey and indeed a Sparrowhawk has been regularly seen harrying the flocks along with up to 3 Kestrels. A particularly large 'dump' of small birds - including a 300+ strong flock of Linnets - seemed to occur on 12th with misty, damp conditions during the first part of the morning. I stationed myself on the track and, as I have done many times before, imagined a Hen Harrier skirting the back edge of the big field before hunting over the main pit weedy margins. The raucous cries and caws of Rooks and Carrion Crows startled me from my day-dreams and I put my binoculars to my eyes and...picked up a ringtail Hen Harrier, making its way along the back edge of the large field! It then began to hunt over the weedy area at the back of the main pit before dropping down into ground cover. I couldn't quite believe it! I took some very distant and somewhat shakey record shots and video to confirm that it was indeed a Hen Harrier and not a rarer form. Unfortunately the corvid ranks were not as delighted as I was and rallied to drive the poor harrier up high and away offsite heading southeast. I assumed that was the last we'd see of it but a message came in later on that the neighbouring farmer had seen it over his fields in the afternoon. Others re-located it in the rough fields adjacent to Cromer Hyde Farm that had previously hosted 4 Short-eared Owls. Unfortunately the mobbing continued and the harrier was last seen heading south just before sunset. The harrier takes the site year list to 130 and is the first record at the site since one on 24th October 2022.  A photo (cropped by me) that beautifully captures the moment taken by Louisa Veasey as the harrier left the site on Sunday evening. The same day also saw 3 Rock Pipits at the edge of the main pit. Two flew off high while one remained, being seen the next day too.  Two of the three Rock Pipits on site on 12th Oct With the continuing abundance of potential prey items at the site it was perhaps no surprise that the next day saw another bird of prey visit - a Merlin (#131 for the site year). Rather obligingly it perched up just 50 yards away on the new fence along the track. The video below records some of my best views of the species ever - likely to be a juvenile bird. The presence of so many flocks of small birds on site has brought an air of excitement to the recent visits, spiced up by the activities of these scarce raptors. With the first flocks of Redwings and Fieldfares arriving in the county this state of affairs will hopefully continue for the next few weeks. Autumn is in full swing but worthy of note also was a late Sand Martin on 6th October.
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 Stable periods of high pressure, easterly winds and very little rain have made for a slow passage this Spring. Glaringly absent from the roll-call are waders such as Black-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Curlew and Whimbrel. But Spring is not yet over and there have been some highlights over the last few weeks. Perhaps top of the bill was a female Marsh Harrier that spent a few hours early morning hunting over the middle pool on 26th April. It was constantly harassed by Carrion Crows and Red Kites but nevertheless spent some time on the ground. At one point it sat next to a Brown Hare and they just stared at each other! A short video clip of the hunting Marsh Harrier on 26th April April 21st saw a little bit of movement with the arrival of the first Common Sandpiper of the year and a high count of at least 6 Wheatears on site. The Common Sandpipers increased to 2 birds on 6th & 7th May but just one remains on 11th May. At least 3 Wheatear hung around but the last bird was seen on 6th May. Common Sandpiper & Wheatear In other wader news, Greenshank have been a feature so far this Spring with singles on 21st, 22nd & 28th April followed by 3 birds on 7th May and another single on 11th May. Unringed Green Sandpipers were also seen on 22nd, 27th & 28th April with a very late bird on 10th May. It is likely that these are passage birds rather than from the local overwintering population. Three Common Snipe were seen on 1st May and at least 2 remained on 7th May. Little Ringed Plovers seemed to have settled into pairs with at least 4 pairs on site and starting to sit on nests. Green Sandpiper & Greenshank April 22nd saw a Great Crested Grebe visit the site and the next day a late White Wagtail put in an appearance. Good numbers of Yellow Wagtails remain on site but most seem to have paired up and moved out to the fields, hopefully to breed. A pair of Meadow Pipits have also been displaying and favouring the weedy area so it's hoped they might breed too. A common species in the winter they are a scarce local breeder. The site's resident pair of Grey Partridge were seen on 23rd April and again on 11th May. Clockwise from top left: Great Crested Grebe, White Wagtail, Meadow Pipit & Yellow Wagtail Swifts arrived back on 26th April with at least 8 birds present. Thereafter they have once again become a regular feature of the skies with overcast weather bring a flock of over 100 in the past weeks. Sand Martins have established at least 12 holes in the quarry workings with at least 30 birds regularly on site. Hopefully their nests will be unaffected by quarry works.  Swifts flying in tandem post copulation! While many birds are still getting underway with breeding there have been some early successes with a female Mallard appearing with 7 ducklings (now sadly down to just 2) and a pair of Canada Geese with 6 new goslings. Hopefully they are the first of many fledglings with at least 7 pairs of Lapwing on site and the Mandarin Ducks vanished to the woods to hopefully return with offspring. With the new additions the site bird list stands at 114 species for the year. In non-bird news, Brown Hares continue to be abundant on site but less visible now the crops have grown and courtship is dying down. Painted Lady butterflies have been seen along the track a few times while a Small Copper butterfly was seen on 1st May.  A Small Copper Butterfly on 1st May |
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