I've been finding it harder and harder to write these monthly roundups. In large part this is because what I really most enjoy about patch birding is not the occasional rarity that I might be lucky enough to find, but the activities and movements of the more 'common' species on the patch, the arrivals and departures of the winter and summer visitors and the birds passing through on their way to or from their breeding grounds, the first Wheatear of the year, the last Redwing, the Stonechat and Linnet broods, the annual spring appearance of Avocets on the distant pool in the north of the patch.
But these days for patch birders on the east Norfolk coast a retrospective look back at the month just gone by almost inevitably invokes disappointment in comparison with the hopes we all had at the start of the month. For lifelong birders, May used to be a highlight of the year, with fresh spring migrants pouring in, breeding birds setting up territories, the dawn chorus, and for me most magical of all: the arrival of the Swifts which, as Ted Hughes put it, 'means the globe's still working'.
But the tragic truth is that the globe's struggling, more and more each year and each month. The Mays of our youth will never come back, and today we are reduced to simply bearing witness to the ever decreasing numbers of birds in ever more impoverished habitats, and scrabbling around to glean our birding pleasures from more and more infrequent sightings of once common migrants. The truth is, with a handful of exceptions, there are no common migrants any more, and watching the few pairs of Swallows or Willow Warblers that remain on the patch is a pleasure completely suffused with huge sadness at the losses such species have sustained, and their inevitable continuing decline. Finding something on the patch like a Spotted Flycatcher or a Yellow Wagtail is now one of the highlights of my birding week, rather than a welcome but expected occurrence. And after witnessing the awful die-off of auks last winter, as I write it now seems like avian flu is here, with carcasses of Gannets washing up on the beach.
The other day someone I follow on Twitter encapsulated how I increasingly feel in a series of tweets which I've put together below:
Sorry to sound like an eeyore but recently I've been struggling to derive much pleasure from local birding, as I feel like I'm witnessing extinction/biodiversity collapse in real time. I can literally see the gradual disappearance of, say, Marsh Tit, Yellow Wag, Yellowhammer. Meanwhile, the likes of Wood Warbler, Willow Tit, Turtle Dove, probably LSW, have already disappeared, This grim reality is hard to ignore when out birding. It's also the reason I find the "yay, aren't birds brilliant" vibe of "nature twitter" and the "nice one mate, Eleanora's on my fucking list" vibe of twitching twitter so jarring: they feel like inconsequential scraps of pleasure amidst a biosphere going to shit. Tbh I think this is only hitting me now as I've led a rather itinerant existence as an adult (living, variously, in Fife, London, Essex, Leeds and now Cov), and only now have I been doing regular local birding long enough to properly notice real time biodiversity collapse. I can't help feeling that folks who have been local patching for longer than I have must have either greater emotional resilience than I possess, or some serious capacity for compartmentalisation.And I remain more convinced than ever that the nature conservation sector is wholly inadequate to the task of combatting biodiversity loss: it is risk averse and apolitical at a time when - as I argue here: - we need angry radicalism.
@JDeanbirding
I'm now not sure my emotional resilience is strong enough to continue documenting this decline month by month, so it's possible that this monthly roundup could be my last. However, who knows? Maybe I'll find some positivity down the back of the sofa and be able to continue. It hasn't all been bad this last month - the good numbers of Ring Ouzels continued into May, and our pioneering, if slightly dubious, approach to extreme long-range birding of the Horsey area with telescopes from Bramble Gap continued to produce some unusual records for our Winterton year lists! So I'm definitely not yet saying never again with the roundups, but if this is the last one, you can always look at the tweets on the right (desktop version of the blog - dunno where they are on the mobile version) if you want to flick back and see what's been seen here lately.
The month began with a bang for our regular visiting birder Stuart W, who saw a Red-rumped Swallow go south at Bramble Gap on the morning of the 1st. Ring Ouzels were still around, with several in the paddocks, and Chris, another of our regular visitors, heard the first Cuckoo of the year from the Commissioners area on the same day. The Cattle Egrets remained amongst the newly arrived cows in the fields inland from Bramble Gap, and the first Hobbies of the year returned to the Mill Farm area, and a Reed Warbler was singing near the Coot Pool.
Our newly appointed warden for the North Dunes National Nature Reserve, David B, reported hearing a Grasshopper Warbler in the Warren over several days at the start of the month, but despite many attempts none of the rest of us managed to hear it (but then our average collective age puts us at a distinct disadvantage in this respect!).
On the 2nd Chris was scanning the lovely flock of summer plumage Golden Plovers which had been hanging around in the newly ploughed maize patch along the Holmes Road when into his scope view popped one of the star birds of the month - a Shorelark, which, although always very distant in the field, remained for long enough for most of us to see it. Photos were difficult, and Maynard's digiscoped image is about as good as it gets I'm afraid!
Maynard continued to demonstrate his photography skills with this shot of an ultra-rare-these-days Grey Partridge which he found near the old maize patch on the hedge footpath between the concrete track and the Holmes Road.
The first Little Tern was also seen at Bramble Gap on the 2nd, and Chris had a great record in the form of a Black-tailed Godwit, initially seen along the beach by his partner and later in flight by him too.
On the 3rd Barry saw a Cuckoo in the valley and two Whinchats on the Edward Road paddock, which, although often out of sight, remained for the rest of the day.
This interesting gull was on the sea close to the beach off the diamond sign on the same day. On balance I thought was not a Caspian, mainly due to the greater coverts, but I'd be interested in further opinion if it secures a retrospective patch year tick!
Whilst I was watching it a nice summer plumage Bar-tailed Godwit dropped in on the sand bar.
There was also a Mediterranean Gull on the sea - their numbers seem massively down this year!
On the morning of the 4th a pair of Hobbies were hunting in the valley and their team effort quickly led to the demise of a Meadow Pipit:
Barry found a
Yellow Wagtail in the Edward Road paddock which, again, remained for much of the day, although it took some of us several visits to manage to see it. When it did appear it it was usually out of range for decent photographs, as the evidence below shows! Some parts of north Norfolk were at this time recording double figure flocks of Yellow Wags, something which we have not seen here for some years - we just get ones and twos these days, plus a few more non-stopping flyovers.
On the 4th a Brent Goose flew north and a female Hen Harrier put in an appearance at Bramble Gap. It showed better in the North Dunes the next morning though:
On the 5th there was a large arrival of Little Terns - more than 100 were going both ways off Bramble Gap - the start of their wanderings while they are deciding whether to select here or beaches further south or north for their breeding efforts. Meanwhile there were two more Yellow Wagtails in the Chalet Park, a Garden Warbler along Low Road and a male Black Redstart in the valley, and David the warden once again heard the Grasshopper Warbler in the Warren.
On the 6th several more Garden Warblers were singing along the Holmes Road, and the first fledged Stonechats were noted.
On the 7th Tim had a Common Sandpiper on the beach briefly, and the first Swift of the year, the latest arrival date for some years, zooming north at Bramble Gap. The Common Sandpiper was later picked up by Mick a short distance south of the Gap. Sean, who failed to see one at all last year, was at a crucial stage in his marmalade making and couldn't get up to see it in time...
The saga of Patrick's Tawny Owls continued. After the seeming abandonment of the box and the Jackdaw intrusion, this adult was seen in the box all day on the 7th.
On the 8th Mick and Pat saw a pair of Garganey fly inland off the sea, and continuing the duck theme this Eider was seen walking about on the beach that evening.
That evening also saw the first lingering Swifts, with a pair over the village.
On the 9th Sean saw 4 Spoonbills in flight from Bramble Gap, and found this Short-eared Owl, obviously a member of the Winter influx which unfortunately didn't make it out alive.
On the 10th Sean saw the first Spotted Flycatcher of the year in the valley (photo of it below by Tim), as well as 2 Garden Warblers, and 3 Brent Geese sitting on the sea off the south beach.
Also of interest a Lesser Whitethroat seemed to have established a territory near the start of the North Dunes. Amazingly it wasn't until this date that any of us saw any Sandwich Terns on the patch, with the first few flying north on the 10th.
On the 11th Sean had a Tree Pipit feeding on the ground in the valley. It flew off calling but he didn't think it went far, and sure enough a little later when Pat and Barry had arrived it flew over our heads again. Yesterday's Spotted Flycatcher remained (or a different one had arrived) and a Sedge Warbler was singing on the bank. Mick saw two Canada Geese with the Greylags at Commissioners.
One of our regular hybrid Hoodies was enjoying the evening sunshine on the 11th, and a late walk up the beach finally enable Sean to lay to rest last year's year list bogey bird with this Common Sandpiper sporting itself on Groyne 53 and the nearby beach.
To celebrate his success he stayed out late and was rewarded with the year's first Nightjars churring, calling and wing clapping.
On the 12th another Sedge Warbler was singing in the valley and there were 7 or more Wheatears in the South Dunes too. Mick got the long-range Bittern in flight tick from Bramble Gap, and another Common Sandpiper on Groyne 45.
On the 13th Murray saw a Whinchat at the now single double pool, and he and Sean separately saw 3 Canada Geese flying north along the dune ridge, and a Shoveler flying south from Bramble Gap became Sean's 150th species on the patch for the year. Another Tree Pipit also flew north at Bramble Gap on the same day. That evening saw an incredible passage of mixed Hirundines go through the dunes, with a great cloud of several thousand Swallows and House Martins, plus smaller numbers of Sand Martins moving slowly north over the course of about 40 minutes. at one point they were literally everywhere you looked! Possibly the huge Saharan dust storms or other setbacks during the preceding weeks on their way north had held them all back in a massive group and they were finally arriving together.
On the 14th very early Pat had two Tree Pipits over at Bramble Gap, and later Tim saw a pair of Bullfinches along the Holmes Road (Sean and Mick had thought they had heard one there the previous day).
On the 15th Pat had good views of 2 Spoonbills from Bramble Gap, and Maynard had a Whinchat and a Spotted Flycatcher in the North Dunes.
On the 16th Barry saw a male Redstart and a Pied Flycatcher in the South Dunes. Though elusive, the Pied Fly remained through the day and into the next, allowing most of us to catch up with it. On the same morning Sean saw two Spoonbills sitting in the field inland of Bramble Gap. They remained long enough for Tim to cycle up and tick them, then to cycle back and get the Pied Fly too! Photographs of the Spoonies were again limited to the worst kind of record shot, as you can see!
That morning Colin also heard an unusually melodious sounding Acro in the valley, but others of us were unable to locate it later on. Mick noticed a nice pair of Green Hairstreaks in courtship flight at the Oaks, and a Peregrine also flew low over the valley.
After work Pat saw a Yellow Wagtail fly over the Mill Farm track. They have been SO thin on the ground this year.
On the morning of the 17th Sean saw 3 Spotted Flycatchers in the valley. You can never have enough photos of this absolute birders' bird.
Colin found a (normallly singing) Reed Warbler at the oaks and rhe Pied Flycatcher remained on the bank too. The Eider was still hanging around close inshore.
That evening Sean flushed what seemed to be a big Pipit from the North Dunes, which flew quickly and strongly away. He managed to fire off a couple of photos before it disappeared over the dune ridge. It had really looked large and long tailed at the time and although it hadn't called he had immediately thought of Richard's Pipit. However, on reviewing the photos it was very clear that it was another Tree Pipit. It was amazing how big and rangy it had looked at the time - a salutary lesson in how hard it can be to judge size in a quick and unexpected view.
On the 18th there were still at least 2
Spotted Flycatchers and a
Reed Warbler in the valley. Colin, enjoying a coffee in his garden and playing around with the new Merlin bird sounds identifier, almost spat his beverage all over his phone when "Bee-eater" suddenly popped up on the app. He leapt up and frantically searched the skies and listened with his own ears, but alas it was not to be. Given that the app later also found a "Moustached Warbler" in the dunes, it seems we must take its claims with a huge amount of seasoning! That afternoon there were 6 Wheatears between the village and the car park, and that evening Pat noticed a pair of
Tufted Duck on Commissioner's Dyke. They remained on the dyke over the next few days, always extremely unobtrusive and difficult to see except in the evenings.
On the 19th Mick saw another Bittern from a great distance at Bramble Gap and, on hearing of the annual Caspian Tern which had just arrived, and was now fishing, over Martham Broad, set himself the task of getting it as a long-range tick from the patch. He cycled frantically to the gate north of Commissioner's where he figured he'd be closes to the Broad with the widest view, and started scanning. Amazingly he saw it, just as it was making its way north towards Horsey Mere! The best 'mission accomplished' tick of the year so far!!!
On the 20th Sean saw at least 7 Avocets in the distant pool from Bramble Gap. and 4 Spoonbills flew out to sea before decident to return and head inland towards Horsey Mere. A little later 3 of the Spoonbills, or perhaps 3 different ones, appeared in the field inland from the gap. Colin needed Spoonbill for his year list, as well as Avocet, and the rapidly drying pool quite possibly meant that today might be the only day to see them, so he negotiated ship to shore leave with Linda and came up, successfully adding both, although he had to sweat a bit with the Spoonies who had all walked out of site. Luckily they took off after about half an hour and showed well in flight.
Another Mediterranean Gull was on the south beach on the 20th, with the Eider still on the sand bar, alongside a Little Egret (we very rarely see them on the beach) and a Wheatear by the sheds.
A few Cuckoos were also being seen around the patch at this time.
On the 21st Sean and Pat were up early at Bramble Gap and were duly rewarded with a fine male Golden Oriole north at 6.40am, and a pair of Turtle Doves at 7.30! Once again, terrible record shots of the Oriole were all that we could manage in our panic!
Pat also had another nice yellow yeartick in the form of the Grey Wagtail which had reappeared along Low Road, and this time he managed a better record shot!
The rest of the month saw a smattering of the expected birds being seen - Avocets, Garden Warblers, Cranes, quite a lot of Red Kites, Hobbies, a few more Mediterranean Gulls, the odd Fulmar and another sighting of a Bullfinch, this time near the White House. The Eider remained too. More unexpected was a late Redwing in the valley on the 26th. On the insect front Sean had a Norfolk Hawker in the valley, an unusual occurrence, and on the 27th Pat scored big in his moth trap with this subtly beautiful and rare migrant Striped Hawkmoth.
Here it is later on preparing for takeoff after its release:
And that was May. Some nice highlights and a dearth of 'common' migrants. We (and our visitors) have collectively seen a total of 174 species on the patch so far. Sean is out ahead on the year list race with 154 but rapidly running out of steam with Pat closing in fast on 151, and the pack not far behind.
Sorry for the rant at the beginning; maybe June will be better and I'll regain the impetus to keep writing...
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