A pretty blustery WSW wind at the Observatory today and noticeably a bit cooler than yesterday. The Spoonbill was still showing well from the car park hide. There were 150 Common Scoter, 1 Fulmar, 39 Little Tern, 35 Sandwich Tern and 4 Common Tern on the sea. A few Swift, Sand Martin, House Martin and Swallow have been around today. The first Avocet chicks have appeared in the last couple of days and can be seen from the car park hide. Common Whitethroat continue to sing widely across the reserve, and probably the bird you can hear singing most at the moment on the reserve. This male in the Gorse on East Bank was posing quite nicely today.

Male Common Whitethroat

Another decent day for moths with 30 Cinnabar, 1 Common Marbled Carpet, 3 Sharp Angled Peacock, 2 Bramble Shoot Moth, 4 Flame Shoulder, 3 Small Elephant Hawk, 1 Scoparia sp., 2 Mottled Rustic, 2 Green Carpet, 1 Common Swift, 1 Privet Hawk Moth, 4 White Ermine, 1 Ringed China Mark, 1 Bordered White, 1 Coxcomb Prominent, 2 Common Wainscot, 1 Small Square Spot, 1 Treble Lines, 1 Silver-barred Moss Moth, 2 Large Elephant Hawk, 1 Meadow Grass Moth, 1 Dogs Tooth, 1 Brown Moss Moth, 2 Pine Nut Moth, 1 Willow Beauty, 2 Latticed Heath, 2 Lyme Grass, 2 Large Pale Masoner, 1 Common Pug, 2 Heart and Club, 1 Fern, 1 Shears, 1 Pallid Grey, 1 Common Groundling, 1 Pale-backed Detritus Moth and 1 Lime-speck Pug!

No shortage of Hawk Moths today! Nice to get both Small and Large Elephant Hawk to compare them.

Privet, Small & Large Elephant Hawk!

Quite a few Brown Argus on the wing today, along with Common Blue, Small Heath and Wall Brown. Our butterfly highlight of the day was a Painted Lady on the boardwalk to Redwell, my first one of the year. Lots and lots of Large Red Damselflies around the pond and we saw our first newt tadpole of the year. The Natterjack Toads were also being pretty noisy around the Obs in the afternoon which was lovely to hear.

Shannon Clifford – Assistant Warden

NORFOLK BIRD NEWS FROM RARE BIRD ALERT

Norfolk Garganey drk Hickling Broad NWT still 1/3ml ESE of visitor centre at Brendan’s Marsh from viewing platform +1s.Little Gull 52.7402,1.6006. Park at c52.7422,1.5949. Viewed from 52.7403,1.602

Norfolk no sign of male.Red-backed Shrike Old Hunstanton between east end of Hunstanton Golf Course +beach 7am-7.45am c52.9564,0.5073

Norfolk 3.Velvet Scoters y’day Titchwell RSPB on sea c52.9738,0.6055

Norfolk Marsh Warbler singing Weybourne still west of Beach Road in reedbed SW of beach car park at 5.25am +showing well c52.9473,1.1387. Park at 52.9485,1.1398

Norfolk Bee-eater flew west over West Runton at 5.50am c52.9412,1.2504