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Had a trip over to Weeting Heath on Tuesday in the hope of catching up with the Stone Curlews. Viewing from the West Hide, 4 birds were on show (2 showing rather well sheltering from the wind along the fenceline) for about an hour or so mid-morning. The previous day (15/4), 6 birds had been counted by the wardens. The first birds only arrived back at Weeting this year on 9 April compared to a more usual arrival date of 14 March in 2012. Clearly the weather has impacted on arrival times as well as feeding as witnessed by the recent reports of birds found dead in some areas of the UK.
Other birds noted included 3 Lapwing, Green Woodpecker (H), Buzzard and Marsh Tit whilst a Stoat made a mad dash across the heath in front of the hide. Did not do the forest walk, but Woodlark had apparently been seen from the first clearing on the left.
From here, moved on to Thetford to try and find the confiding Otter/s frequenting the River Thet close to the town centre. After only a few minutes, the male Otter found me, and for the next 2 hours was watched along a section of the river between the town and Three Nuns Bridge. Clearly habituated with people (and dogs!) this animal showed ridiculously well, coming as close as 2ft whilst I was sat on the bank, and seeming very inquisitive (and totally unconcerned) by the (at times) significant audience it had attracted. It was seen ‘porpoising’ on several occasions, was witnessed eating several small fish and ended up struggling, but dealing with, a rather large eel. This didn’t quite seem right – observing a wild Otter should not be this easy, but nonetheless this was an incredible encounter with this fantastic animal.
Matthew
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