We had a busy morning this morning off site checking the Barn Owl boxes we monitor around the Holme area. We had two boxes occupied, one with two chicks that were too young to ring, but we ringed the adult male from the box. This is the first time this group of boxes had been occupied since 2022. We’ll go back in a few weeks time to check on them again!

We had another box with three good sized healthy chicks so we ringed these – over the last 3 years this has been our most successful box with three chicks each year. It’s very valuable data as all of this data gets entered onto the BTO database as a nest record so it goes toward the bigger picture of how Barn Owl are doing across the country. Big thank you to Gary and Bee for their help today checking the boxes!

Barn Owl chicks

There were 40 Curlew over the grazing marsh. On the Broadwater/carpark hides we had 30 Lapwing, 8 Redshank and 2 Spoonbill.

It was a really busy moth trap today so I’ve included our list below. We had a really exciting new moth for the reserve with a Tufted Oak Knot-horn, a scarce migrant only new to Norfolk in 2022! It is similar to Beautiful Oak Knot-horn but it has a characteristic ridge of reddish raised scales next to a white crossbar.

Moth list 

Shannon & Bee

NORFOLK BIRD NEWS FROM RAREBIRD ALERT

Norfolk Lesser Emperor Dragonfly Norwich on River Wensum off Fye Bridge c52.6329,1.2972

Norfolk Velvet Scoter between Burnham Overy Staithe on sea just off Gun Hill at 1.06pm c52.9777,0.7518

Norfolk 2.Black-winged Stilts Titchwell RSPB still 12.56pm in east compartment of Freshmarsh c52.9678,0.6111. Park at c52.9629,0.6063

Norfolk Glossy Ibis Cley NWT still 11.26am on Pat’s Pool from Teal Hide c52.9575,1.0556 Viewed from c52.9577,1.0546 Park at c52.9544,1.0567

Norfolk Common Crane ad Rawhall still at Old Beetley at School Road Flash at 10.30am 52.7307,0.9083: Viewed from 52.7303,0.9102

Norfolk Quail singing male Felbrigg Hall NT south of St Margaret’s Church in Barley Field at 10.21am c52.9008,1.2621

Norfolk RED-FOOTED FALCON flew over Potter Heigham towards Hickling at 9.15am c52.7203,1.5758

Norfolk 2.Black-winged Stilts Titchwell RSPB still 9.09am in east compartment of Freshmarsh c52.9678,0.6111. Park at c52.9629,0.6063

Norfolk 2.Black-winged Stilts Titchwell RSPB in east compartment at 7.56am c52.9678,0.6111. Park at c52.9629,0.6063

Norfolk Glossy Ibis Cley NWT still flew east to drain north of Popes Pool at 7.36am c52.9579,1.0688

Norfolk Night Heron ad flew NE over Swanton Morley GPs at 6.11am c52.7138,0.9872