Lowestoft Life - 5th-8th May 2025

It was a very busy two weeks on Lesvos and back in Lowestoft it felt like early March rather than May but I did make the effort on Bank Holiday Monday morning to pop over to Carlton Marshes just over a mile from my house to watch an entertaining flock of five Red-footed Falcons. I may have seen lots while away but the thought of an English top up was too good to miss. They looked as cold as I was.  A Grasshopper Warbler reeled from the Brambles and a Bittern boomed and the Marsh Harriers came close while Lesser Whitethroat and Cuckoo were both UK year ticks.

Red-footed Falcons

My body clock had got me up at 5.30 (7.30 Lesvos breakfast) but after standing around shivering for a while I opted to leave the birds and return for my own repast. A pop out up to Wroxham Barns afterwards provided five Spoonbills on the Breydon drive past and the requisition of a splendid spiced Muntjac, Blackcurrant and Port Pie from Pies, Puds and Tarts for dinner.  So pleased to find someone prepared to name their venison and to use the local non-natives.

The Red Arrows hurtled over town on their way south for the VE Day 80 celebrations and I just got out into the garden on time. Pity that there was no local heads up for this.  It was time to get the garden in shape once again although it only really needed the removal of Dandelion heads and so localised grass reduction.  Really pleased by how it has come on.

Red-footed Arrows 

And a much better one by Rob Holmes...

I headed back over to the Red-foots late afternoon and they all drifted into their roost tree while I was there.  Antony timed it just right too and we got wonderful views in far better light than my post dawn visit.  They appear to be an adult male, two 2cy male, ad female and 2cy female.  It was still cold though and their were no Hobbies around although my first Swifts of the year zoomed around us.  A Great Egret drifted over and two Spoonbills headed high and north.

Red-foots

Red-foot

Red-foot

Spoonbills

The cold continued throughout the week with a biting easterly wind and I made myself head down to Pakefield Beach on the 6^th but I only lasted 20 minutes as the rain started and I just could not keep warm.  Six Gannets, four Sandwich Terns and a Whimbrel were my scant rewards.

Antony had permission to carry out some summer survey work on the Somerleyton Estate and asked me to accompany him on a trial transect walk on the 7th. The chances of any insect life were slim in the biting wind but the local birdlife was still in song and we picked up both Whitethroats, bubbling Garden Warblers, Skylarks and Goldcrests.  Three species of Deer were found with Muntjac, four Reds and a beautifully spotty Fallow.

Fallow Deer

The potential of the site is huge and I made a few botanical observations to add to the picture. Some of the Birches were immense and there was a real mix of species.  One field seemed to have been left entirely for wild flowers but just how anything grows at all in the almost pure sand is anyone's guess.

Climbing Cordyalis Ceratocapnos claviculata 

Bluebell

Cow Parsley

Cudweed - not sure which one

Early Forget-me-not

Field Forget-me-not

Field Pansy

Hop Trefoil

Mossy Stonecrop - Crassula tillaea

Ox-eye Daisy

Hop

Yellow Archangel

Male Ferns carpeted the forest floor

Holly flowers and berries

Storksbill

Thyme-leaved Speedwell - Veronica serpyllifolia

Antony found a few Coleophora on the fresh birch leaves and a funky Long-horn Moth is now causing some consternation.  A Hairy Hawker was struggling to even fly and had no choice but to pose for pictures but I only found two Hoverflies, two Bumbles and three species of Ladybird.

Cream Spot Ladybird

Orange Ladybird

St mark's Fly

Hairy Hawker

Coleophora sp

Nematopogon swammerdamella or similar

Aphids

Yesterday dawned blue but the breeze was still sharp at times but that little bit of sun made all the difference to the day.  I was meeting friends down at Westleton Common but I was a little ahead of time and stopped at Hen Reedbeds for a short while.  I intended to walk towards Wangford Quarry but only got 50 yards from the car park as I found a sheltered warm spot that was alive with insects – at last.

Large Red and Azure Damselflies stayed below knee height and a Green Hairstreak dropped down on the path briefly while a host of flies were warming themselves up on the fresh green leaves.  If flies had smiles I am sure you would have seen them!  They were joined by Andreana haemorrhoa and a couple of shiny Adele reaumurella.

Adele reaumurella

Andreana haemorrhoa

Andreana haemorrhoa

Azure Damselfly

Azure Damselfly

Large Red Damselfly

Tachina fera

Tachina fera

St Mark's Fly

Parhelophilus sp

Myathropa florea

Lucilia sp

Lucilia sp

Eupeodes luniger

Epistrophe eligans

Empis tessellata

Bellardia sp

Red & Black Leafhopper

A Lesser Whitethroat rattled in the hedge and a Garden Warbler was boisterously bubbling from the Hawthorns while I could hear Woodlarks further towards the quarry.  Time was getting on so I moved on to Westleton Common to wait for the others and was pleased to hear the Nightingales and two more Garden Warblers upon arrival.  Common Blue, Orange Tip and a Variable Damselfly were literally around the car.

Variable Damselfly 

Bombylius major - precision flying - like a jet fighter re-fueling

The heady scent of Hawthorn filled the air

We soon set off and followed the Nightingale song down the wooded ramp.  Two were in full flow and I soon found one in the Birches.  It moved closer and then did the unthinkable and flew up onto the telephone wires where it spent five minutes in direct competition with the other male in the bramble clump just a few metres away.  It was a quality encounter.

Nightingale - incongruous but excellent

Pebble Hook-tip

A brood of Long-tailed Tits exploded out of a bush and one almost landed on me.  The parents were not amused at their carelessness.  On to Track 42 where Woodlarks were in good song.  Three pair were seen and one had scaly fledged young but the only Dartford Warbler was a male with food that bimbled across the path just in front. Yellowhammers wheezed and another Nightingale sung but there were no Tree Pipits.

Long-tailed Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Woodlark

Woodlark

With such early success we headed back north to Carlton Marshes as there was a desire to see the Red-footed Falcons. What followed was a spectacular experience that would rival any special moment elsewhere in Europe.  At one point there were 28 falcons in the air over Petos.  Most were Hobbies with a peak count of 21 and seven were Red-foots with two adult male, 2 2cy male and three female types although to be honest there could have been more. Most of the time they were fairly distant but at times a gaggle of them would swirl back towards the bank and cruise around us.   I had not seen one Hobby until now and the explosion of insect life was obviously feeding the hungry falcons and dozens of Swifts and Sand Martins.  It was magical.

Red-footed Falcon

Red-footed Falcon

Bitterns boomed and one flew high over the marsh but we could not find the Cranes or Purple Heron but there were several Great Egrets.  There were Dragons and Damsels here too with many teneral Variables and two gleaming orange Scarce Chasers.  Orange Tips, Green-veined Whites, Holly Blue, Red Admirals and a Wall Brown made it actually feel properly springlike at last.

Scarce Chaser

Cuckoo Flower

Greater Stitchwort

Wall Brown

Lunch and then off to Lowestoft town centre to show them the noisy, smelly Kittiwake wall before a visit to Ness Point reminded us how cool it still was.  Gannets headed north and surprisingly there were four each of Purple Sandpiper and Turnstone flying up and down the sea front.  It was a good way to end the day.

Kittiwakes

Wonder if they read the signs

Kittiwake deterrent spikes...