31st May - cloudy am, sunny spells pm, 22C, light easterly breeze

Misterton; a look here, hoping for Spotted Flycatcher - not found though.  Green and great-spotted wooodpeckers, Nuthatch collecting food,  Several Blackcaps,  a Chiffchaff and Goldcrest singing, Tre creeper calling nearby.  A pair of Grey Wagtails on the lake out flow dam.  Plus other usual residents.

Willey; something different - this slug was making it’s way slowly across the grass - will try and identify.

30th May - early light rain, then cloudy and drizzle evening, 18C, very light easterly.

Willey; 4 Raven in the field Ash to the west, possibly a family first thing.  Late morning a Kestrel flew on to the Church tower, a female, then a Great-spotted Woodpecker flew over.  A high bird flew over quickly, high and direct, possible a Hobby.  Late afternoon a female Green Woodpecker was looking for food on the garage roof.

Shawell Lagoons; a look here in the evening was worth it, a Sanderling and 5 Ringed Plover were present on the shore.  On the other lagoon a Mallard pair with 9 ducklings, a single Great-crested Grebe, 13 Tufted Duck and 6 Mute Swans.

29th May - cloudy am, breezy, improving a nd warning, 19C, humidty rising, then cloud, dull and misty with breezy NE

Willey; about 0900h a Red Kite spent some time overhead before moving off.
We have seen a Red-legged Partridge several times fly on to the garden wall then in to the 'wild area', possibly it has a nest here?  Late afternoon a couple of Swift flew over eastward.

Stanford reservoir; a look here in the evening, the weather was pretty dull and breezy so I was not expecting too much activity.  50+ Swift were very actively feeding over the reservoir, with a few House Martins present too.  3 Gadwall drakes were seen, about 20 Mallard were about with 2 females with ducklings. Only 2 Common tern, but they were undertaking display flights so maybe they will nest on a new raft. Garden Warbler and Blackcap were singing, also Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, one Willow Warbler was carrying food.

28th May - mist cloudy morning, sunny spells pm, 23C light breeze NE

Willey; Lesser Whitethroat still singing to the east near bridle way/A5.

Brandon Marsh; visited here this afternoon, highlights included 4 Hobby hunting together, taking insects in mid-air.

A Mute Swan pair with a cygnet, Teal pair, Gadwall, Tufted Duck and Mallards. 6 Ringed Plover, 12 Little ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Redshank, 12 Common Terns. Lesser-black Backed Gulls, 1 Common Gull, 1 Black headed Gull on a nest.  Plenty of Garden Warblers, Blackcap, 1 Lesser Whitethroat singing, Willow Warbler and Chiffchaff, 5 Cetti's Warbler were heard. A Jay, green and Great spotted Woodpeckers.  Buzzard over and Kestrel nearby.  Swallow and Sand Martins.  Greenfinch. Linnet, Goldfinch and Chaffinch.

Muntjac, Brimstone, Orange tip and Red Admiral.

27th May - cloud clearing, sunny, 25C, humid, thunderstorm building late afternoon with heavy rain.

Weather; southern Britain is in a spell of thunderstorms, yesterday south England had what was described as the ‘mother of all thunderstorms’, with over 50000 lightening strikes and rain.

Willey; late afternoon thunder was rumbling to the south, it then stopped, but became very dark by 1800h.  We then had a thunderstorm for about 2 hours, with  over an hour of heavy rain, sometimes torrential.

It seems we have a couple more days when thunderstorms are likely.

Lamport, Northants; while visiting a vintage rally here it was good to see 15+ Swift ‘screaming’ over head and 12+ House Martins busy building nests.

26th May - cloud/mist clearing by mid-day, then sunny, 22C, breezy NE

Cotesbach Landfill; this morning there was a small passage of Dunlin and Ringed Plover through the pools, Carl reported several before I got there.  3 Shelduck were present, a Red Kite and Buzzard too.

Theddingworth, I had a look at a site after lunch that can have Grass Snake when sunny and warm soaking up the rays, not today though.

Stanford Reservoir; a walk here produced the usual birds, nothing new in.  7 Common Terns were present, due to the strong breeze instead of sitting on the raft sides they were sitting on the top tower railing.  Several common butterflies, including this Red Admiral, were on the wing.

25th May - rain until late morning, then misty, drizzle/spots rain, 15C, light easterly

Middleton Lakes ;a White-rumped Sandpiper had ben found here this morning, as close I made a visit after lunch, not to be - it had flown.  Other waders included a Greenshank, 2 Sanderling, 5 Avocet, 2 Ringed Plover, a Little ringed Plover and Lapwing.  A female Wigeon, Shoveler,  Gadwall, Tufted and Mallard were the ducks seen.  A Cuckoo and Green Woodpecker were calling.  Plenty of Swift, also House and Sand Martins plus several Swallows.  The expected Warblers, Gulls and Common Terns and other residents were seen too.

24th May - cloudy am, sunny pm, breezy NE, 22C

Willey; I'm sure at least one pair of Goldfinch has a nest in the church Horse Chestnut tree as they are visiting it regulatory and the male is singing all the while.

Stanford reservoir; a text came through late afternoon that there may be White-winged Black terns in, however I could not make it for a while.  Chris was able to get there and confirm they were actually Black Terns, 7 of them.  When I got there they were still present and it was great to watch so many of these elegant Terns flying together.  Possibly the largest number of these Terns we have ever had here, in fact there was a small movement through the Midlands today with others being found elsewhere.

Surprisingly, when I arrived I first checked the dam, which was good as there was a Greenshank feeding there.  Quite a few Swifts were also feeding overhead.  During a walk along the side I also found a Small Copper butterfly, first here this year.

23rd May - cloudy am, sunny pm before clouding over again, 20C, but breezy NE

Frolesworth Manor Lake; a look here as I was passing is often worth while. Today the Great-crested Grebe was sitting on the nest, not long before it should hatch now.  5 Mute Swans, a few Mallard and a Tufted Duck were on the lake. Overhead Swift, Houise Martin, Swallow and a couple of Sand Martin.
A Lesser Whitethroat was singing from the hedgerow, with a Blackcap nearby.  11+ Starlings were feeding on the horse paddock, collecting food and taking off to young.

Cotesbach landfill; a look here in the evening to see if I could find the juv Iceland Gull.  I did not but a Peregrine swooped at the Gulls and 4 Red Kite were seeking food.

22nd May - Norfolk - sunny but a fresh- breezy N/Ne wind, 18C

Hunstanton cliffs; a walk here before breakfast to see the Fulmar nesting, great to see them here still, especially after storms causing much erosion in recent times.
A few Turnstone, the usual Gulls were on the shore. Sandwich Tern and Gannet could be seen off shore.

Choseley barns; after an early breakfast off back here, this time the Corn Bunting, 2, were showing well on the telegraph wires.  Plenty of Hares in this area too.

Titchwell Marsh; the rest of the morning was spent at this Mecca, the wind was quite fresh off the sea which meant that things were keeping down, still I shall 57 species.  6 Little Gulls were in, sometimes feeding close to the path.  A small group of Bar-tailed Godwits were roosting, a single Little-ringed Plover was feeding, apart from the other usual wader, including plenty of Avocet, s the recent migrants appeared to have left over night. A single Cuckoo was calling and a female heard too.

The on shore wind was pretty stiff with little on the shore, a couple of Sanderling, the waves had plenty of 'white' horses.

Cley NWT;  There was a mixed flock of waders, Ringed Plover, Dunlin and 4 Ruff, a Little Stint was with the plover too.

Eldernell; very breezy on top of the bank making viewing a challenge and the birds low.  Redshank, Oystercatcher were calling and flying, a Black-tailed Godwit could be seen feeding. a solitary Crane was distant as were 3 Marsh Harriers. Meadow Pipit were singing and a single Yellow Wagtail flew past on to the washes.  All the usual duck were present, with plenty of Mute Swans, I thought there were possibly a couple of Whoopers but heat haze and distance made it difficult to be sure.

21st May- sunny, 24C, light easterly

Willey; a Lesser Whitethroat was singing in a hedge to the east along the bridle way.

Norfolk - headed off to Norfolk.
Choseley barns area (near Titchwell); first stop here especially for Corn Bunting and Grey Partridge, both getting very scarce around me and disappearing here too. I eventually found the latter, a pair in the pig field. Their competitors the Red-legged Partridge seemed everywhere.  No luck with the former, so a return visit needed tomorrow.  Other usual farmland birds, including a Red Kite and a Marsh Harrier.

Holme- next the sea; I explored the lane leading to the observatory and Redwell Marsh.  I heard my target species ‘purring’ in the bushes, the Turtle Dove.  The marsh was fairly quiet, although 27 Avocet were nice to see here.

Dersingham bog; the evening plan was to visit here to watch Nightjar. I arrived early to have a look for other species, the bog seemed remarked you lifeless, eventually a few birds were found.  Late evening a Barn Owl poked its head out of a nest box but did not venture out.
While waiting for the late evening Nightjar I met a birder who has come over from Moldova to see some of the birds here.  It’s sould like Moldova could be a place worth visiting too.

About 2115h the first Nightjar started to ‘chur’, more joined in and possibly more than 6 were ‘churring’ at the same time, some giving flight views.  A few Woodcock took to the air, Flying around, some 'roding'.

Nightjar habitat

20th May - sunny, 23C, light breeze easterly

Todays plans changed when news came of an adult  White-winged Black tern at Eyebrooke reservoir.  It was sitting on a buoy when I arrived, then flew and fed with the common Terns present.  The distance and heat haze made for poor digiscoping.
A couple of Hobby were hunting overhead too.

Then news came of a possible Baird's Sandpiper on lagoon 4 at Rutland Water, such a rare bird could not be missed.  The bird was still present when I arrived but quite distant and the heat haze was bad, so I could not confirm its identity.  Later other observers claimed it was a Sanderling and so may remain unidentified.
Other birds present on looking around included a Great Northern Diver from the Lapwing hide; a drake Garganey and a Turnstone on the lagoon in front of the visitor centre.

19th May - sunny, 20C, very light easterly.

Cotesbach Landfill; Carl text this morning to say he had found the Juv Iceland Gull again, so I popped and had a look, looks in good health. Never had one 1 here so late. Also, 5 Red Kites were flying over the landfill.

Brandon Marsh; had a look here this afternoon, really looking for some butterflies. As it happened didn’t see many, Brimstone, Comma, distant ‘whites’, though quite a few Banded Demoiselle Flying and some unidentifiable Dameselfly.

A couple of Little ringed Plover, Lapwings, at least 5 chicks, Oystercatcher with 3 chicks, a Redshank, c25 Gadwall, Tufted and Mallard Duck, one female with ducklings. The usual Warblers, including 3 Cetti’s.  One Nuthatch on the feeders and another near the river with food.  Green and Great-spotted Woodpeckers were heard.  A male Cuckoo was singing frequently and showing well, a female was often heard around the Reed beds ‘bubbling’.  A Hobby was hunting over head for insect prey, not bothering with the Sand Martins.  In all over 40 species were seeen.

Cinnabar moth