A Day in The Brecks

9th September 2017

Although we walked up to the Mere Hide at Lakenheath, all the action was on the veranda at the visitor centre. The feeders were attracting a constant stream of birds and the neighbouring trees and bushes allowed several opportunities for shots in more natural surroundings. Reed Buntings are never far away.

Today a Chiffchaff was an unexpected bonus as it fed in the bushes, presumably following the tit flock, and to provide variation a Kingfisher paid a fleeting visit to the pool, although sadly on the furthest post.

But the stars of the show here today were the 2-3 Marsh Tits that made frequent visits to the bird table, but also posed on the nearby bushes. What a great start to the day!!

Now on to Cavenham Heath to see what the Stone Curlews were up to and possibly find some Wood Larks. All seemingly very quiet at first apart from a lone Kestrel that was quartering the heath on the curlew side of the road.

I scanned the traditional distant ridge for any stonies but worryingly draw a total blank. But then a wider search revealed a small group further down the heath and hopefully a little closer than normal. I eventually managed to count 17 birds as they gradually emerged from the tussocks amd managed to get my best shots so far, not only due to them being closer, but also the total lack of heat haze. Superb!!

Now off to look for Wood Larks and immediately came across a family party of Stonechats. This juvenile only stayed around for one shot and then flew off with the rest of the group, so now for the larks.

Over the last couple of years I have found that at this time of year small family groups of Wood Larks can be a bit tricky to track down but once you have found them, with a lot of patience, it is possible to get quite close and these photos were taken at a range of just 8 yards.

Well, what a super day!!