Wednesday 29 February 2012

Local news and Weekend in Suffolk

I've been a bit busy trying to sort out a job (which may be coming to fruition, with people I've worked with in the past!! and they still want to work with me again!!) and as the header says I was in Suffolk for the weekend so the poor old patch has been a bit neglected!! I do have a couple of bits of news from other sources, a MERLIN was seen yesterday at the castle and the LESSER SPOTTED WOODPECKERS were seen well. On the moth front a RED CHESTNUT was the highlight of three more nights trapping recently, it was found this morning.
The weekend was great, catching up with friends is always a treat and we did a couple of mammoth walks not totally birding walks but I struggle to do anything but look for birds while I'm out and about!! So there weren't many birding highlights but a flock of 31 TWITE were certainly a nice surprise on the estuary near Walberswick, a bird I've not seen for many years. That walk produced a couple of COMMON BUZZARDS, 1 MARSH HARRIER, a few SISKINS, PINTAIL, LITTLE EGRET and a couple of GREY HERONS in really great shape. Our second walk across North Warren RSPB and out to Hoskings hide on the river Alde was another long one and produced 100's of WHITE FRONTED GEESE, 2/3 MARSH HARRIERS, PINTAIL, WIGEON, AVOCET, BAR and BLACK TAILED GODWITS, CURLEW, CHIFFCHAFF and too many other species to name. A Sunday afternoon watching Liverpool win the Cup convincingly was well deserved!! Below is a selection of birds seen at the weekend.

Grey Heron

Greylag Geese

Twite (honestly!)


Little Egret

Green Woodpecker

Curlew

23 comments:

Marianne said...

Sounds like a great weekend. Hope you get the new job sorted out! Nice photos, Grey Heron #2 is particularly striking. I haven't seen Twites since the last time I was in Scotland!

Kelly said...

...I always love seeing your green woodpeckers. Their coloring is so unique to me. Probably common to you, but really cool to us over the pond!

Mike H said...

Some great shots from your journey Alan and good news on the job front.Hope all goes well. Not quite certain about Liverpools convincing win ? Was it a different version up there then!!! lol

Rohrerbot said...

Nice camera shots....especially of the first Heron!!! What if we didn't have to work? What if we could just bird and hike all day long?:) That would be fun!

Mary said...

Arrr... what a great weekend Alan! Very pleased you managed a break. Pics are becoming more and more amazing! Would love to see even one Twite! :) Job possibility sounds v positive - must admit we miss you being just down the road! :/

Tammy said...

Great photos Alan! That Green Woodpecker looks like a very interesting species. The in flight Greylag Geese photo is outstanding. Good luck on the job.

Brian King said...

Love the heron and egret! Your goose flight shot is beautiful!

Greenie said...

Alan ,
Good luck with the job .
Just a thought , have you considered being a stand up comedian , after your football comment .
Well done with the Twite , I believe you .

Millhouse Photography said...

Hi Alan

All the best on the job front mate - hope that works out.

Cracking heron and Egret shots.

Unknown said...

WOWWWW Alan!! muy buenas las fotos que nos muestras. La garza y la garceta son geniales.
Saludos!!

ShySongbird said...

It sounds like you had a very enjoyable weekend, Alan.

I do hope things work out with the possible job opportunity and that things become much more settled for you very soon.

Lovely photos, I particularly like the second one of the Heron, one of my favourite birds, and also the Little Egret displaying its big yellow foot :-)

Martyn Wilson said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Martyn Wilson said...

Nice photos Alan, and Twite are always worth seing. Great account

Warren Baker said...

Good luck with the jod Alan.

Enjoyed your photo's today, especially the flying Geese ;-0

Alan Pavey said...

Hi Marianne, thank you, the Twtie were a nice bonus.

Hi Kelly, thank you, they are very striking, a non birdwatching friend of mine thought he had seen a Parrot the first time he saw one!!

Hi Mike, thanks, maybe convincing was a slight exaggeration :-)

Hi Rohrerbot, thanks, the hiking and birdng idea is very appealing to say the least.

Hi Mary, thank you, I hope you are both well, hope we can catch up soon, once I sort myself out :-)

Hi Steve, thanks.

Hi Tammy, thank you, the Green Woodpecker is a great species.

Hi Brian, thank you.

Hi Greenie, thanks, not many pick up on my hidden comedic talent, I hide it so well ;-)

Hi Christian, thanks, it's all looking good jobwise, the light was good for the heron and egret, which helped.

Hi Ramon, thank you, Saludos!!

Hi ShySongbird, thank you, it was a lovely weekend.

Hi Martyn, thanks, the Twite were really lucky find :-)

Hi Warren, thank you, on both fronts :-)

Helma said...

Hello Allen,

I read that j are looking for a job and I hope you have one very soon.

What a beautiful blog of these birds. You Blue Heron is super and the flying geese are really great! The Frater I had to find, but there are quite a few with you. The little egret and wWulpen are very nice, but the outlier groense Woodpecker! That I have never seen.

Greetings, Helma

Steve Tomlinson said...

Great pictures Alan well done, I hope you also enjoyed the Liverpool game I certainly did.

J said...

Excellent selection of pictures, Alan. Must admit, I was hoping for a Cardiff win (I've watched them occasionally, but don't tell anyone as I live in Swansea!).

Magia da Inês said...

Linda série de fotos... a primeira ave é deslumbrante.
Bom fim de semana!
Beijinhos.
Brasil.
♥ •˚。
°° 。♥。
●/ ♥•˚。˚
/❤
/ \ 。˚。♥

FAB said...

Super selection from your weekend trip Alan. I'm still waiting to see a Lesser on my patch this year.

Hope the job search turns out well for you. Cheers .. FAB

Rachel J said...

Oooh Suffolk lucky you. Good luck on the job front, keep us posted.

John eos shooter said...

Great pictures on this blog Alan.

Greets from Holland

Alan Pavey said...

Hi Helma, thank you, it was a nice weekend with some good light at times.

Hi Steve, thanks, I did enjoy the game, i did shout at the tv a few times though!!

Hi Jeremy, thanks, you're brave to admit that!! Cardiff did do well and Millers miss after his great turn could have been it!

Hi Ines, thank you :-)

Hi Frank, thank you, hope you get a Lesser soon.

Hi Rach, it's always nice up there, I hope the job sorts itself out soon too, seems to be dragging on a bit now!

Hi John, thank you and thank you for visiting my blog!! :-)