Loop Between Cockley Cley And Westgate Street, Hilborough
Pair Of Skylarks Busily Bringing Food To Their Nest
This was just going to be a short trip via Swaffham to get some shopping. We left home at 2.35pm it was bright and breezy and the temperature was 21˚C. As we went through South Pickenham we saw a Large White Butterfly, Swallows and a Buzzard soaring high in the sky. We left Swaffham at 3.45pm and headed out to Cockley Cley, on the way we saw a Kestrel hovering just above a roadside verge on the outskirts of Swaffham, a Buzzard, Orange Tip and Small White Butterflies.
The Field With The Lapwings & 1st Pair Of Stone Curlews
We left Cockley Cley and decided to go to Gooderstone to see if we could get some better footage of the Lapwing and chicks we had seen yesterday. As we approached the fields where we had seen the Lapwing a Muntjac Deer lazily strolled across the road in front of us.
Brown Argus
We parked up by the field where we had seen the Lapwing and chicks but couldn’t see very much apart from some Pheasants, Crows, Partridges, and a Buzzard soaring in the distance. We heard a Cuckoo calling in the distance, which seemed to get closer at first but then moved away again.
Some dog walkers came up the road toward us and much to our surprise told us that they had just seen a Lapwing with 2 chicks cross the road and go into the next field. We moved down to the next field and we could see several Lapwings and several chicks but they were moving away from us and together with the heat haze, it was difficult to get any shots. Then right at the bottom of the field I noticed another bird moving along in an erratic fashion, it looked like a Stone Curlew in stature and was moving like one but it was going away from us so it was difficult to see for sure, but then I noticed another one and this one was coming up the field toward us. As it got closer we could see quite clearly that it was another Stone Curlew. It came right up to the roadside before turning and heading back down the field.
Skylark Beak Full Of Food
Yesterday we had noticed that there were two sticks in this field that looked as if they’d been placed as markers and we had assumed that they were marking Lapwing nests and that was the reason these fields had been unprepared for cropping. However, when we looked closely at the sticks today we could see that the first Stone Curlew we had seen had returned to this area and although it was moving around it was moving in a different manner as if it was shepherding chicks around. We didn’t actually see any chicks because the ground cover was quite thick around this area but we assumed that this was what this Stone Curlew was doing. The second Stone Curlew also returned to this area. We did get some photos of them but they can only be classed as record shots because of the poor quality of them caused by the distance and heat haze, they were far beyond the range of our bridge cameras. This was the third pair of Stone Curlews we have seen this Summer in three different locations in this area.
As we have stated before in this blog, we don’t consider ourselves photographers and we often look in awe at some of the photographs we see other birders take but we do enjoy making videos, however rough they are, of the wonderful encounters we have with our nature and to hopefully to share in what we see.
After seeing the Stone Curlews it was almost easy to dismiss the Brown Argus Butterfly that Jan had spotted on the other side of the road to where we were parked.
We moved on, after all this was just meant to be a short trip of a couple of hours. We then made our way back to the route we followed yesterday.
STOP PRESS: As I’m typing this at 5.20am on Wednesday 10th June I’ve just noticed 2 new Blackbird fledglings in the garden both with no tail feathers and tufts around the head.
Moving down to the crossroads at Everetts Farm we saw Orange Tip and Large White Butterflies, Chaffinch, Long Tailed Tits, Jay, Oystercatchers and Hares. We pulled into a ride in Coldharbour Wood where we have seen Goshawks in the past but today we saw a flock (collective noun: a volery – amongst many) of 15-20 Long Tailed Tits moving through the undergrowth and bushes. We could see that quite a few of them were fledglings so there was probably at least 2 families here.
We made one more stop before we got to the crossroads where we were greeted by the feral Cockerel that we often see here and a few young Hares moving away from the roadside into the crops, they looked quite amusing as they bounded through the crops. We then saw a Red Kite as it glided lazily past us.
As we approached the crossroads I caught sight of what I thought was a Buzzard and asked Jan to stop just as we turned into Westgate Street. On the telegraph pole sitting as proud as brass was not a Buzzard but another Red Kite. Was this the second of a pair of the other one we’d just seen? It stayed there and allowed us to photograph and video it. Fortunately no traffic came along as we had pulled up right on the junction (it is a very open junction of 2 minor roads with good visibility in all directions and while we were there only 1 other vehicle came along but carried straight on towards Mundford).
Carrying on our trip along Westgate Street we stopped at the location where we had seen the Skylarks and Barn Owl yesterday. This time we saw both Skylarks bring beaks full of insects to the nest which was obviously very close by. We also heard a Cuckoo that was quite close but we couldn’t see it and another Red Kite which was probably the first one we had seen. At this location we also saw more Hares, Mistle Thrush and several Stock Doves.
This short trip which was supposed to been a maximum of 2-3 hours had now exceeded 6 so we decided to head for home having one last stop by Hilborough House. When we stopped and looked into the field (which had not been prepared for a crop, I saw a bird that was hunched up and my first thought was that it was a Buzzard but the closer I looked I could see quite clearly it wasn’t a Buzzard at all, it was another Stone Curlew! We moved the car so we could get a better view, we were still on the road but we could see that it was a Stone Curlew and I guess the reason it was hunched up was because the wind had quite a cold feel to it and the temperature had now dropped by several degrees. We continued to scan the area and not far away from the first bird was a second and this one appeared to be on a nest. Well, not so much a nest as it appeared to be sitting as if it was on eggs among some vegetation in the field. We couldn’t believe it, our second pair of Stone Curlews in an afternoon and our fourth pair this Summer but then just to add icing to the cake Jan spotted a Grey Partridge coming along the road and disappear into the field beside us (we’d seen a pair of Grey Partridge in this location earlier on in the year).
Wild Foxgloves & Nature's Art
That was it, what a short trip, only about 7 hours! It was a very productive 7 hours, though.
The Sun Goes Down Over A Wood Pigeon & Our Back Garden
What we saw:
22 Hares
Orange Tip
Butterfly**
* = Too many to count
Keep your
eyes peeled and good spotting.
Pair Of Skylarks Busily Bringing Food To Their Nest
This was just going to be a short trip via Swaffham to get some shopping. We left home at 2.35pm it was bright and breezy and the temperature was 21˚C. As we went through South Pickenham we saw a Large White Butterfly, Swallows and a Buzzard soaring high in the sky. We left Swaffham at 3.45pm and headed out to Cockley Cley, on the way we saw a Kestrel hovering just above a roadside verge on the outskirts of Swaffham, a Buzzard, Orange Tip and Small White Butterflies.
The Field With The Lapwings & 1st Pair Of Stone Curlews
Brown Argus
Some dog walkers came up the road toward us and much to our surprise told us that they had just seen a Lapwing with 2 chicks cross the road and go into the next field. We moved down to the next field and we could see several Lapwings and several chicks but they were moving away from us and together with the heat haze, it was difficult to get any shots. Then right at the bottom of the field I noticed another bird moving along in an erratic fashion, it looked like a Stone Curlew in stature and was moving like one but it was going away from us so it was difficult to see for sure, but then I noticed another one and this one was coming up the field toward us. As it got closer we could see quite clearly that it was another Stone Curlew. It came right up to the roadside before turning and heading back down the field.
Skylark Beak Full Of Food
Yesterday we had noticed that there were two sticks in this field that looked as if they’d been placed as markers and we had assumed that they were marking Lapwing nests and that was the reason these fields had been unprepared for cropping. However, when we looked closely at the sticks today we could see that the first Stone Curlew we had seen had returned to this area and although it was moving around it was moving in a different manner as if it was shepherding chicks around. We didn’t actually see any chicks because the ground cover was quite thick around this area but we assumed that this was what this Stone Curlew was doing. The second Stone Curlew also returned to this area. We did get some photos of them but they can only be classed as record shots because of the poor quality of them caused by the distance and heat haze, they were far beyond the range of our bridge cameras. This was the third pair of Stone Curlews we have seen this Summer in three different locations in this area.
As we have stated before in this blog, we don’t consider ourselves photographers and we often look in awe at some of the photographs we see other birders take but we do enjoy making videos, however rough they are, of the wonderful encounters we have with our nature and to hopefully to share in what we see.
STOP PRESS: As I’m typing this at 5.20am on Wednesday 10th June I’ve just noticed 2 new Blackbird fledglings in the garden both with no tail feathers and tufts around the head.
We made one more stop before we got to the crossroads where we were greeted by the feral Cockerel that we often see here and a few young Hares moving away from the roadside into the crops, they looked quite amusing as they bounded through the crops. We then saw a Red Kite as it glided lazily past us.
Carrying on our trip along Westgate Street we stopped at the location where we had seen the Skylarks and Barn Owl yesterday. This time we saw both Skylarks bring beaks full of insects to the nest which was obviously very close by. We also heard a Cuckoo that was quite close but we couldn’t see it and another Red Kite which was probably the first one we had seen. At this location we also saw more Hares, Mistle Thrush and several Stock Doves.
This short trip which was supposed to been a maximum of 2-3 hours had now exceeded 6 so we decided to head for home having one last stop by Hilborough House. When we stopped and looked into the field (which had not been prepared for a crop, I saw a bird that was hunched up and my first thought was that it was a Buzzard but the closer I looked I could see quite clearly it wasn’t a Buzzard at all, it was another Stone Curlew! We moved the car so we could get a better view, we were still on the road but we could see that it was a Stone Curlew and I guess the reason it was hunched up was because the wind had quite a cold feel to it and the temperature had now dropped by several degrees. We continued to scan the area and not far away from the first bird was a second and this one appeared to be on a nest. Well, not so much a nest as it appeared to be sitting as if it was on eggs among some vegetation in the field. We couldn’t believe it, our second pair of Stone Curlews in an afternoon and our fourth pair this Summer but then just to add icing to the cake Jan spotted a Grey Partridge coming along the road and disappear into the field beside us (we’d seen a pair of Grey Partridge in this location earlier on in the year).
Wild Foxgloves & Nature's Art
That was it, what a short trip, only about 7 hours! It was a very productive 7 hours, though.
The Sun Goes Down Over A Wood Pigeon & Our Back Garden
What we saw:
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