Another day, another beautiful pre-dawn start at the obs. Overcast and still, the perfect conditions. Nets were up and open before 06:00, and it was immediately clear that there wasn’t much moving today. A handful of birds in the first few rounds kept us ticking over before we shut up for an hour as a predicted rain shower moved through. The rain didn’t do much in the way of dropping birds in, and by 9am of the dozen birds we processed, the absolute standout was a beautiful juvenile Kingfisher. This is a bird that has proven elusive for both Ed and I during our ringing careers to date, and it was just the third one we had seen in the hand, combined! It also made up for missing the one at Walsey earlier this week.

Just as we were thinking it might be time for an early bath, hirundines started appearing over the Broad Water, hundreds of them. We caught 67 birds of them, with a very even split of 36 Swallows and 31 House Martins, Only 30 House Martin have been ringed across the years at the Obs, so we had doubled the total of House Martin ringed at the obs, EVER! We could have gone on but sadly the sun came out and the breeze picked up. In total, we estimated 150 Swallows and 450 House Martins were in the area during the early afternoon, creating an incredible swarm of foraging birds over the grazing marsh. Other totals for ringing were 3 Cetti’s Warbler, 6 Sedge Warbler, 6 Blue Tit, 1 Robin, 4 Whitethroat, 2 Reed Warbler, 1 Blackcap and 1 Dunnock.

Juvenile House Martin and Swallow

House Martin feet, they are very very fluffy!

Pretty much the only thing Ed will run for is a rare bird nearby, and today was one of those rare occasions where this happened. A regular visitor came by to show us a photo, of what they thought was possibly a Pectoral Sandpiper. A brief glance at the photo was all we needed, as looking back at us was a pristine juvenile Pec Sand, right outside our car park hide, so we sprinted down to the hide to have a look for it. Sadly, it was nowhere to be found, and despite an extensive search by others later in the day it wasn’t to be seen again. This is the first record for Holme for almost exactly six years, the last being on 21^st September 2020. Elsewhere, nice birds for the day included a Peregrine hunting the beach, 4 Bearded Tit from NWT hide 3, the Jay still around the core area of the obs, a Spotted Redshank alongside 6 Greenshank still and on the sea a single Manx Shearwater, 3 Arctic Skuas and an impressive 3800 Common Scoter.

It was a really nice moth trap today with a lot of diversity with 1 Rusty Dot Pearl, 1 Willow Beauty, 1 Oak Hook-tip, 55 Large Yellow Underwing, 3 Chevron Grass-moth, 3 Vine’s Rustic, 14 Small Mottled Willow, 34 Beet Moth, 33 Square Spot Rustic, 3 Turnip, 1 Delicate, 6 Rush Veneer, 2 Setaceous Hebrew Character, 1 Mint Moth, 2 Lesser Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing agg., 5 Broad-bordered Yellow Underwing, 1 Wax Moth, 2 Yellow Belle, 1 Flounced Rustic, 1 Centre-barred Sallow, 1 Light Emerald, 2 Pale Mottled Willow, 1 Shore Wainscot, 1 Brimstone, 1 Lunar Underwing, 1 Rosy Rustic, 1 White Point, 2 Saltmarsh Knot-horn, 1 Straw Dot, 1 Common Wainscot and the highlight a beautiful Sallow but the flavescens from which lacks the usual darker markings.

Sallow (f.flavescens)

Bee was ringing at Walsey catching 15 new birds of 6 species and 7 retraps of 4 species with 10 Long-tailed Tit, 2 Coal Tit, 2 Blackcap, 2 Cettis’ Warbler, 3 Blue Tit, 1 Great Tit, 1 Robin and 1 Dunnock.

Shannon

NORFOLK BIRD NEWS FROM RAREBIRD ALERT

Norfolk 2.Spotted Crakes Titchwell RSPB still 12.55pm at freshmarsh: 1.left of island in reeds by east-west bund, 1.from Parrinder Hide track c52.9681,0.6049. Park at c52.9629,0.6063

Norfolk Pec Sand Holme NOA from Car Park Hide this morning only c52.9733,0.5515

Norfolk BLACK-WINGED KITE ad Sea Palling still SW of The Marrams in hawthorn viewed from double metal gates at 10.14am NR12 0AL 52.7914,1.5854: Park at 52.7894,1.6013; Viewed from 52.7949,1.5893

Norfolk 2.Spotted Crakes Titchwell RSPB still at freshmarsh at 9.40am: 1.from Island Hide, 1.in NW corner from West Bank 52.9691,0.6053 Viewed from c52.9673,0.6048 Park at c52.9629,0.6063

Norfolk 3.Glossy Ibises Kelling Water Meadow again 9.54am c52.9499,1.1163: Viewed from 52.95,1.1159 NR25 7EF

Norfolk Wood Sand Setchey still at Setch Road Clay Pits c52.7055,0.4332

Norfolk Little Stint Snettisham on beach by sailing club 52.865,0.4457: Park at 52.874,0.447; Viewed from 52.8653,0.4464

Norfolk Spotted Crake Titchwell RSPB still at freshmarsh from Island Hide at 8.35am c52.9679,0.6046 Viewed from c52.9673,0.6048 Park at c52.9629,0.6063