The birthday weekend came and went in a flash but here are the condensed highlights.
Saturday June 28th - Lakenheath Fen, Suffolk
Immediately on arrival we had the bonus of examining the catch from the previous nights moth trap. Nothing major but nice to see Elephant, Small Elephant, Poplar, Eyed and Privet Hawk moth all together. We picked up a few birds as we started made our way to the plantation including Green Sandpiper, and Reed and Sedge Warblers. We had short bursts of Golden Oriole and just missed seeing a male that another group had seen. We then split up and I had (very) brief of one female. Andy, Rob and Dave went on ahead and had very good views of another male. Hobbies were very noticeable on the reserve and we probably encountered 4 or 5 different birds. Marsh Harrier were also seemingly common. Tiddy heard a brief burst of Bearded Tit but the star of the day came when Chris spotted a pair of Common Crane. Half the group managed to get onto them (thankfully me included) before they dropped into the fen out of sight. Garganey were apparently present on the river but they eluded us.
Saturday June 28th – Weeting Heath, Norfolk
It’s years since I’ve been here. East Hide was the first stop but no Stone Curlew. Plenty of Stoat though, Stock Doves, Linnet and a flyover group of Crossbills all added to the tally. West Hide however did provide us with a couple of SC’s but they were fairly distant and partly hidden. The visitor centre staff pointed us in the direction of a reliable Woodlark site just up the road and reliable it was, with the best ever views that I have had of this species including one recently fledged young bird. Tree Pipit were also present and a few of the group had a sighting of Roe Deer.
Saturday night was a top night, plenty of good food, beer and wine. Back to the pub we were staying in for Tiddy to give us lessons on how to play the didgeridoo until the small hours (please don’t ask why he brought a didg on a birding weekend but the locals were entertained).
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