Karl J
Friday 16th April 2004, 17:16
An absolutely corking morning out round my local area with a couple of friends.
It had started off reasonably well with 3 female Wheatear near the farmyard spoil heap, Yarmouth end of footpath and after meeting up and wandering about a bit we saw a blackbird sized bird with some white on it's neck area dart into a bush in front of the castle ruins, not a great view though ... and searching the bushes for a while for the skulking bird, we'd seen enough to conclude that it can only have been a Ring Ouzel, so made our way along the path by the reeds. At this point heard a call & looked up to see another 3 fly right above us, calling, and land in the bushes near the orig one. No doubt now !!! .... I've never even seen one before but 4 .... wow
This was shortly followed by 2 Water Rail, my prev experience of these is the same as the ouzels - never seen one .. til today ... and now 2
The nice sunshine brought out several common species and also the gnats .... and sure enough a patch year tick of a single Barn Swallow, with 2 more year firsts along the footpath back to town.... 2 Sedge Warblers singing near the pumphouse and a nearby Yellow Wagtail
Also noted were a nice flock of Linnets, 1 Little Egret, c7 Reed Bunting, some nicely coloured Black-tailed Godwits in their summer plum & 61 Avocet.
And 2 Red-legged Partridge .... nothing unusual for some areas maybe, but actually the first ones I've ever seen in the marshy fields around Breydon
It had started off reasonably well with 3 female Wheatear near the farmyard spoil heap, Yarmouth end of footpath and after meeting up and wandering about a bit we saw a blackbird sized bird with some white on it's neck area dart into a bush in front of the castle ruins, not a great view though ... and searching the bushes for a while for the skulking bird, we'd seen enough to conclude that it can only have been a Ring Ouzel, so made our way along the path by the reeds. At this point heard a call & looked up to see another 3 fly right above us, calling, and land in the bushes near the orig one. No doubt now !!! .... I've never even seen one before but 4 .... wow
This was shortly followed by 2 Water Rail, my prev experience of these is the same as the ouzels - never seen one .. til today ... and now 2
The nice sunshine brought out several common species and also the gnats .... and sure enough a patch year tick of a single Barn Swallow, with 2 more year firsts along the footpath back to town.... 2 Sedge Warblers singing near the pumphouse and a nearby Yellow Wagtail
Also noted were a nice flock of Linnets, 1 Little Egret, c7 Reed Bunting, some nicely coloured Black-tailed Godwits in their summer plum & 61 Avocet.
And 2 Red-legged Partridge .... nothing unusual for some areas maybe, but actually the first ones I've ever seen in the marshy fields around Breydon