2nd-8th April 2012

Sunday 8th - around Shotesham today, new flowering species were Cow Parsley, Garlic Mustard, Field Penny-cress and Bluebell, with 8 Mallard ducklings and 4 Moorhen chicks on the pub pond. A cold day, but insects included Pied Shield-bug along Hollow Lane.

Pied Shield-bug Sehirus bicolor - Hollow Lane, Shotesham

Saturday 7th - bike ride in the afternoon with the boys from Shotesham to Hempnall to Woodton and back home. Highlight was a Red Kite, found by Tom, but although it seemed to be loitering, no sign of a second bird unfortunately. Also five Shelduck in flight near Woodton, and first Mallard duckling of year on Shotesham Pond. Overnight, just a single Common Quaker in the trap - a reflection of the cold northerly wind.

Friday 6th - Good Friday so day off. Wander around the village in the morning produced Barren Strawberry and Herb Bennett in flower, two small hoverflies which I keyed later to be male Platycheirus albimanus. A pair of Egyptian Geese were by St Mary's church. In the afternoon we walked around Whitlingham and notched up the first Sand Martins (very late!) and Swallows of the year, as well as another P. albimanus and a dead bumblebee that was either Bombus lucorum or B. terrestris, but I wasn't sure - not an easy pair.

Thursday 5th - Blackcap, Curlew and Oystercatcher at the Nunnery Lakes; first Cowslip of the year in flower along the Norwich southern bypass.

Monday 2nd - sunny enough for the first Speckled Wood of the year at the Nunnery, as well as Common Storksbill in flower, Common Wasp, Alder Fly sp. Also today, somewhere in the Brecks, a very cryptic Stone-curlew! We think there is just one in the photo, but maybe there are more...?

Stone-curlew - at least one!

26th March-1st April 2012

Sunday 1st - in the garden, Ivy-leaved Speedwell and Hairy Bittercress (four stamens) in flower, and bees including Bombus pascuorum, Tawny Mining Bee (I guess, looked spot on), the female of yesterday's Anthophora plumipes and two little ones which have been potted for taking to the solitary bee ID course I've just booked onto (and am excited about!) Also a beetle I think is probably Silpha atrata but also needs checking to be sure.


Saturday 31st - Daisy, Dog Violet and Garden Forget-me-not now in flower at home. A bee with rather groovy legs netted along the verge by our house, which I'm pretty sure is the male of Anthophora plumipes. Also a sawfly netted on the common - to be announced (one day, maybe...)

Male Anthophora plumipes I reckon, doing a head stand to show off its hairy legs to best effect

Friday 30th - Two Stone-curlews at a secret site in the Brecks, nice to see. At home, the Linnet flock on the common built up to 14 now, and Redwing still present. A less exciting moth-trap tally tonight but 42 moths including Pine Beauty. First Sexton Beetle of the year in there too.


Thursday 29th - Greater Stitchwort (Hollow Lane) and Cuckoo-flower (by Great Wood) now in flower around Shotesham, as well as two Chiffs. First Comma of the year in the garden.


Wednesday 28th - first Blackcap of the year singing by the river at work, and a Double-striped Pug inside the building. Went to the Norfolk Moth Group meeting in the evening - good talk by Jon and Jim on their conifer moth book; Early Thorn seen there around lighted windows, and a Little Owl calling as I left.


Tuesday 27th - Duncan and I walked around Poringland Woods and spotted the innocuous little flowers of Moschatel.


Monday 26th - Oystercatcher flew past my office window calling!

19th-25th March 2012

Sunday 25th - Dad and I popped out for the morning, starting at Cantley for a successful Glossy Ibis twitch - four birds, including a darvic ringed bird from Spain (no further info yet). These had been around the valley for a while, but soon afterwards relocated to Germany. We then went to Buckenham, where just a couple of Ruff were of note. A quick stop then at Strumpshaw produced my earliest ever (by four days!) singing Willow Warbler by the fen hide. No Bitterns or Beardies, but the white-winged Black-headed Gull for the third consecutive spring! In the afternoon we all walked around the Rockland/Claxton loop, with highlights a Water Rail peeking out of a clump of sedges by the hide, and a distant lump on a gate that could only have been one of the wintering Short-eared Owls (no scopes!) First Peacock butterfly of the year too.

Atmospheric Glossy pic, Cantley Marshes

Saturday 24th - kids skiing in the morning, and parents down for the weekend; walked around the village in the afternoon, with the first Dark-edged Bee-flies of the year in the garden, Red-tailed Bumble sp, a very dark Episyrphus balteatus (keyed out - apparently, early ones often are dark - never knew that) and a little moth potted from next door's hedge which turned out to be a pale example of Epermenia chaerophylella. Also Frog spawn in the stream, mid common, and Ground Ivy in flower now.

First bee-fly of the year, at home

Epermenia chaerophylella, Shotesham

Friday 23rd - went to one of my Stone-curlew sites in the morning but no joy; or at least, no joy on that species, but a fine singing Woodlark is always appreciated. Couple of Chiffs also singing in the woods. At work at lunchtime, Orange Underwing flitting around the tops of the birches by the lawn, and "proof of life" from a rumbling mole-hill! Big moth-trap catch overnight, with 140 moths of 9 species; a huge count of 105 Small Quakers were overshadowed however by my second ever adult Small Eggar! Just over a year since the first one too. What a cool moth.

Small Eggar on denim - cool or what?

Thursday 22nd - had to take the car to the garage, so popped in to Whitlingham on the way for a blatant Chiffchaff attempt, which was unsurprisingly successful!


Tuesday 20th - finally got a Brimstone at the Nunnery today - was feeling it was getting a bit late. Also Marsh Marigold in flower, with my first owl-midge of the year back home in the evening.


Monday 19th - Simon rushed into the office today in a generous attempt to help me get Red Kite on my window list, but to no avail - much appreciated though! Imagine my chuffedness though when (presumably) another floated over the A11 near Thickthorn on my way home that afternoon; always a thrill but my second A11 bird this year already - how many by the end of the year?

12th-18th March 2012

Sunday 18th - took Tom and his friend Nick to football in Holt, and then we went on to Cley afterwards for a bit. Nice selection of things, including an adult and 2-cy Spoonbill and the very welcome sight of my first Wheatears of the year - four males on the Eye Field. Officially spring now! My second earliest ever in fact. In the evening, I had a walk around the village in the dark and heard Barn and Tawny Owls and, most notably, the sound of Common Frog calling from the skeggy pond in Ambush Wood.


Saturday 17th - now 10 Linnets on the common, a notable increase. 30 moths in the garden trap that night, 100% Orthosia.


Thursday 15th - sadly, the second dead Badger this week, this time by the A11 east of Wymondham.

Wednesday 14th - a fine Green Woodpecker on the lawn whilst I was eating my breakfast - hard to photo because it was moving its head so fast in and out of the ground; this was the best of about 20 attempts (through the window of course).

Breakfast bird

Tuesday 13th - Sweet Violet in flower along Hollow Lane, and Danish Scurvy-grass in flower along the A11. In the evening, following reports from other moth-ers around the county of large catches of Small Quaker, I looked at a normal light by the school football pitch at Fram and indeed discovered it was (relatively) crawling with moths - 9 Small and 3 Common Quakers, and my third ever Tortricoides alternella (all in the last few weeks!)


Monday 12th - belated WeBS count at Whitlingham in the morning was relatively unremarkable, and no migrants yet. A Sparrowhawk was seen to catch a Pied Wag by the Little Broad. Highlight on the Great Broad was a calling Water Rail by the edge of the bay, but I couldn't get it to respond to playback. Carrion Crow already on a nest on the island (not a Cormorant nest as I initially hoped!)

5th-11 March 2012

Sunday 11th - brief walk on the upper common in the morning: a pair of Reed Buntings now, and 14 Barnacle Geese plus the usual Barnacle x Snow hybrid over to Shotesham House at 0905 (and seen flying off that evening at 1800). Then took Duncan to Roydon (nr Diss) for a Rugby tournament, where he saw a Brimstone and I didn't! However, I didn't manage my first Small Tort of the year, and a Hawthorn Shield Bug. Coltsfoot noted by the road as we drove back, and a dead Badger between Stratton and Tasburgh. In the afternoon, at least one Peregrine was perched up on Norwich cathedral.


Saturday 10th - A wander into Norwich included flowers appearing on Shepherd's Purse, Alexanders, Chickweed, Common Field Speedwell and Ivy-leaved Toadflax. In the evening, did my sixth and final Hen Harrier survey of the winter and at last, a ringtail Hen Harrier came through the fen at dusk (although went off to the south, presumably to roost a little while south of me). Usual Cetti's, Water Rails, Marsh Harriers, Chinese Water Deer etc, but also my first bat sp. of the year flew over as I walked back to the car.


Friday 9th - Just single Dotted Border and Common Quaker at the trap in the garden.


Thursday 8th - 3 Oystercatchers at the lakes, and Common Whitlow-grass in flower on the wall by the Nunnery.


Tuesday 6th - Little Egrets by the A47 at Attleborough and also feeding by Stoke Holy Cross mill on the way home.


Monday 5th - a rather unexpected splendid lunchtime highlight. An Arctic Redpoll had been trapped by the BTO team at the weekend, at one of the "secret sites" in the forest; someone's garden who doesn't want a stack of twitchers there. Anyway, the bird was still around this morning so they let us go up for an exclusive lunchtime twitch. It took a while for it to appear (the slow build-up of finches not helped by a lightning strike by a fine male Sparrowhawk) but eventually the redpolls started coming in. Dawn's sharp eyes spotted a likely candidate high in the trees and as we followed it down to the feeders it was indeed the bird, a fine frosty fellow in amongst at least 50 Lessers (didn't notice any obvious Mealy). Most enjoyable, and thanks to the home owner! Also 20+ fine Brambling here too.

27th February - 4th March 2012

Sunday 4th - We did our long-planned all-day sponsored litter-pick today, raising money for Tom's trip to Yellowstone. Tom and I started at about 7 a.m. at Winterton, covering the south dunes for a couple of hours before breaking for a seriously large "breakfast baguette" at the cafe, an excellent fusion of English and French cuisine (mostly English to be fair). We then carried on north to Horsey, meeting Trudy and Duncan here for lunch, before the final push north to Waxham. From 10 a.m. onwards it rained, and indeed was quite miserable towards the end. But a shedload of rubbish was collected. Because of the rain, it wasn't quite such a wildlife-fest, but we did flush a Jack Snipe from by the Natterjack pools, and then later three Short-eared Owls were disturbed from the dunes by Waxham Sands holiday camp. The only other noteworthy thing was the large amount of lichen on (especially) Winterton Dunes, photo below. I don't know exactly what it is, but a bit of googling suggests it might be "Reindeer Lichen" = Cladonia rangiferina or similar. Lots of it anyway!

Maybe Reindeer Lichen? Winterton Dunes

Saturday 3rd - spent a bit of time on Shotesham Common in the morning, with notable sightings being five Linnets, Reed Bunting, 2 Lesser Redpolls, Lesser Celandine in flower, Candle-snuff Fungus, Wavy Bitter-cress (6 stamens) and c50 small fish in the stream. Then took the kids skiing, followed by another trip into the Yare valley where we failed to find the American Wigeon again but did jam into the Great White Egret at last, which flew over and landed betwen Bawburgh and Marlingford. In the evening, the trap again produced Tortricodes alternella.

World's worst photo of Great White Egret, near Bawburgh

Thursday 1st - my first lunchtime walk to the Nunnery Lakes for a while. Nice to see a pair of displaying Curlews at last (although they'd been back for 1-2 weeks) and a pair of Oystercatchers, whilst a male Stonechat was a notable find. New flowers for the year were Groundsel, Daisy and Creeping Buttercup.

Of most interest was a fairly non-descript micro-moth that I saw a few of, including one I got very close views of on an oak bud along Shadwell track. It seemed somewhat familiar but I couldn't place it immediately, and had neither camera nor pot with me. I did do a sketch in my notebook though, but this didn't help me put a name to it subsequently. Logic suggests it was most likely Diurnea fagella but it didn't really look like that. Moral of the story - ALWAYS carry a pot!

Wednesday 29th - work trip to London allowed the year-ticking of Diplodocus, Blue Whale and Ring-necked Parakeet.

Tuesday 28th - a quick hunt in the Yare valley for the Great White Egret was to no avail (except for a momentarily hopeful Little Egret by the A47)

Monday 27th - Linnet on the common from the house, another sign of approaching spring

20th-26th February 2012

Sunday 26th - some signs of spring around the village, with Bombus sp., Acleris sp., Honey Bees active around the hive (and one at aconite in the garden), Common Field Speedwell and Red Dead-nettle in flower. Also of note, a male Reed Bunting had returned to the mid common, first of the spring. Ran the moth-trap overnight, with the highlight of seven moths being a long-overdue tick in the shape of the micro Tortricoides alternella. This is a very common early spring woodland moth; inexplicable why I've never recorded it before really.

Saturday 25th - walk around the village, Yellowhammer in song now.

Wednesday 22nd - another lunchtime bash at Lynford, with at least 10 Common Crossbills (one female metal-ringed) today. Also a fine count of 18 Hawfinches at the paddocks - there have been even higher numbers recently also, a good year for them here. No sign of the main prize yet again though.

Tuesday 21st - popped over to Lynford Arb. again for lunchtime, again failing on the 2BXB but 2+ Common Crossbills again. Lee Gregory and I compared the persistant "excitement" calls of a male with all the different vocal types from the "Sound Approach" recordings (on my phone) and it sounded spot-on to both of us as being "Phantom Crossbill"; I have no idea how reliable this technique is (but it's certainly a cool name!)

Monday 20th - after a report (with associated gripping photo) of a male Two-barred Crossbill at Lynford Arboretum, I got there early for a pre-work bash, meeting Nick and Dave on site. No luck with the 2BXB unfortunately, but at least a pair of Common Crossbills showed well.