Norfolk Nature Notes, 24 - 28/9/18

As the less than imaginative title may have hinted I've just got back from a four night stay in Wells-next the sea in Norfolk where I spent a largely non nature spotting break with my wife. Despite this I did manage a few hours of spotting and was able to find a few interesting things to look at.

Purple Sandpiper with Turnstone.

This autumn's weather has not been kind to Norfolk or indeed the east coast in general and the westerly winds that have kept this area largely free of interesting birds continued for most of my stay. A series of early morning walks failed to find anything of note though good numbers of Pink-footed Geese appear to have arrived and their calls were a feature of my strolls. The 25th saw us take a trip to Sheringham where I found an early Purple Sandpiper resting on rocks with a small group of Turnstones, this is a regular spot for them but I didn't expect to see one this early in the autumn.

Small Copper, Wall Brown, Common Blue and Comma.

Only one other bird of note was seen but at least it too was a goody. A walk through the pines at Holkham NNR produced a sighting of a Rough-legged Buzzard hunting over the fields and the woodland. Initially I assumed that it was a Common Buzzard when I first picked it up but the very pale underside with contrasting carpal patches made me look a little closer. A white tale with a dark sub-terminal band gave me pause for thought while its habit of hovering constantly while hunting clinched the I.D for me. Although I've seen a fair few Rough-legs this was a fair bit earlier than most. Speaking to another birder that had glimpsed the bird through the trees he said that this was around about the time when a few passage birds appeared in Norfolk.

Willow Emeralds.

Butterflies seemed to enjoy the warm weather and there were a fair few Small Coppers around Holkham NNR though the twenty plus seen were overshadowed by a half dozen or so Wall Browns. Two Common Blues appeared to be in very good condition and were a bit of a surprise as I thought that their season was over. Nothing else of interest apart from a Comma at Sheringham.

Black-headed Gull and Little Egret.

A stop at Roydon Common on the way out failed to produce any sightings of Black Darter dragonflies but dipping on this species in Norfolk is becoming something of a habit for me. I had far more success with Willow Emeralds seeing them at two sites. The first location was near the Pinewoods caravan park at Wells where at least ten individuals and a mating pair were seen. The other site was at Sculthorpe Moor which seems to have a very healthy population and many were noted here. The opportunity to study good numbers of them may help me in my search for them in Northamptonshire.

Wells sunrise.

Little else of note was recorded though a Muntjac showed well at Holkham.