Brecks Bitterns

 The hottest day of the year (so far!) saw Alan Shorrock, my brother David and I heading off to the Breckland area of East Anglia that straddles the border of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. Our hope was to catch up with some of the specialties that make this area their home and I'm glad to say we had some success. Distance and heat haze were always a factor today so I apologise in advance for the poor quality of some of the record pics.

Red Admiral and Small Copper

Our day began at Lynford Arboretum where we saw a selection of the commoner woodland species but not the hoped for Firecrest. If the birds were a little on the mundane side then at least a couple of butterflies provided a bit of interest. First Alan picked out a Red Admiral which was only my second of the year while a Small Copper that I found a little later was my first in 2021.

Distant Weeting Curlew

We moved on from here to Weeting Heath where our main target was the Stone Curlews for which this reserve is known. Initial efforts met with failure, only a few ordinary Curlews being noted, but luckily David's eagle eyes picked out a Stone Curlew on the opposite side of the road to the reserve. While I did attempt a record shot the results were very poor indeed and if you read this blog regularly you'll know how poor they were if  I haven't dared to post them. We had a good search for the Spotted Flycatchers that frequent the pines near the hides and while David had a fairly convincing look at one bird I had to accept defeat. Away from the birds we saw several Brimstones and a male Banded Demoiselle.

Marsh Harrier and Bittern

Lakenheath was our last destination today and we enjoyed an enjoyable if very hot walk around the site. Highlights were some excellent flight views of Bitterns which were my first sightings of the year though I have heard several booming males so far. Above the same reedbeds that the Bitterns were favouring we saw several Marsh Harriers while a healthy population of Cuckoos provided a soundtrack to our walk. At least ten Hobbies were hawking over the reserve while I managed a brief glimpse of a Bearded Tit. Several Avocets and Redshanks were present on the washland area but that was it as far as birds were concerned. Odes responded well in the hot weather and our total of six dragonfly species included my first Black-tailed Skimmers of the year and only my second Emperor records. Best damselflies were a few Variables while the only other wildlife at note was a Roe Deer.

Four-spotted and Scarce Chasers