Dad and I got up at about 4am to go ringing at Tophill Low Nature reserve. On the way we were incredibly surprised to see a
Long-eared owl cross the road ahead of us and continue east towards the coast. Once at Tophill we put the nets up and waited. We could hear a
Cuckoo and a
Cetti's warbler and a couple of
Common terns flew overhead. After a little while of ringing we caught two slightly more unusual birds, two
Garden warblers. We only usually catch two or three of these a year.
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| Garden warbler |
We then went on to catch the first
Sedge warbler of the year and also saw a brown-morph
Cuckoo and a couple of
Reed warblers. We also caught a selection of commoner birds such as two
Coal tits.
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| Reed warbler |
 |
| Sedge warbler |
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| Coal tit |
After packing away we went to Watton ponds where there was a
Garganey. We then walked around the reserve. On South Marsh West there were 2
Garganey, 3
Little ringed plovers, 3
Dunlin, a
Ringed plover, a
Common sandpiper and an
Egyptian goose (probably the bird I saw on the 1st of April). Unfortunately we didn't manage to see the
Red-crested pochards and their two young.
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| Garganey |
 |
| Garganey |
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| Egyptian goose |
We then walked around the north end of the reserve. Over D 'res' (reservoir) there were thousands of
Swifts,
Swallows,
House martins and
Sand martins. Also on the wall of the reservoir there were 3
Common sandpipers and 5
Yellow wagtails. We heard a
Cetti's warbler in the scrub around D 'res.' Then, suddenly all of the
Hirundines (Swallows and
Martins) and
Swifts flew in one direction in panic, a
Hobby sped past. We walked around the reservoir wishing we would relocate it but it flew north. Then a little while later it happened again, this time there were two
Hobbies hunting high over the reservoir, a fantastic spectacle. A very productive day with a wide range of species!
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| Hobby |
 |
| Hobbies |
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| Swift |
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| Yellow wagtail |
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| Mixed Hirundines and Swifts |
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| Pied wagtail |
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| Willow warbler |
