Visit to an old patch (yet another one)

11 years after leaving the tiny Suffolk village of Blaxhall, I returned there this weekend to catch up with some friends, do some birding and show Steffi round my old haunts. The forecast wasnt promising, but as it turned out, apart from a drizzly Friday evening, we got lucky and enjoyed some dry, warm weather, with Sunday in particular turning out to be a proper mid-May scorcher. After our arrival, and setting up the tent and eating, and before heading out to the Ship Inn to meet up with my former neighbours, we took a brief soggy stroll up the common, my ex local patch. A singing male yellowhammer brightened the gloom, soon followed by a pair of woodlarks - a first for Steffi, and something I'd promised her that we would see (always a bad move with birds, but thankfully this time it all turned out well).

Saturday dawned dry and bright, and a full day at Minsmere and Dunwich was eagerly anticipated. We werent disappointed. Within minutes of arriving we picked up a preening stone curlew in the field next to the north wall, and the trip list continued to grow throughout the day. For Steffi, this included a lifer in the shape of (several) showy dartford warblers on the heath at Dunwich, and for us both, a 2CY caspian gull on the south scrape. Great views of hobby, bittern, cuckoo, water rail, marsh harrrier, lesser whitethroat and avocets were highlights amongst the expected reed and sedge warblers, common sandpipers, sandwich and common terns, green woodpecker etc and best of all was watching a pair of bearded tits going back and forth with beakfuls of food to a presumed nest site. We also had a nightingale singing in the scrub near the visitor centre but could not get a glimpse of the secretive songster.

 

 

That evening back at Blaxhall we tried the common again - previously a great site for nightjar, but all was quiet despite it being still and mild. Again, a singing nightingale kept us company without actually showing itself to us, and a pair of tawnys were making a right old racket.
On Sunday we awoke to blue skies and rising temperatures, so headed off to Lakenheath. Primary target, of course, was golden oriole, but reports of an adult male red footed falcon also had us keen to get there as early as possible. We pulled into the car park an hour before the visitor centre opened and trudged off down the track to the area where we had the orioles on our previous visit. No luck this time, so we took another path where we could see a small gathering of folk and within seconds had clapped our eyes on a gorgeous red footed falcon, sat 15 metres above us. Words cannot do justice to describe just how elegantly graceful and beautiful these falcons are - so heres some of Steffis pics.

 

After an hour of watching this beauty hunting with the numerous hobbies, we tried again for the oriole, and this time spent an age honing in on a singing male, which just flat out refused to show itself, much to our frustration. A fly by crane provided some form of compensation, as did the the very vocal and showy cuckoo. A lone, and probably confused, whooper swan amongst the mutes was an unexpected end to the day.
On the Monday, before heading home, we popped down to Landguard obs to say hello to Steffis former colleague from her Gib Point days, and had cracking views of a dozen little terns to round off the weekend nicely.