Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary: New arrivals herald the start of spring, 21 March 2019

My first port of call today was Weybread GPs again where I hoped to photograph yesterdays Goldeneye. Just my luck that the bird was distant this morning and the light was awful! Nevertheless I did add a pair of Treecreepers, Common Buzzard and Redwing to the stuff I saw yesterday. The flock of Barnacle Geese were seen from the road on the other side of Ocean Pit and has grown to 18 individuals!

My main aim of the day was to see the adult Glossy Ibis on the marsh west of the harbour carpark at Walberswick. It duly obliged by being present on arrival but again it was never close. The same can't be said of a ridiculously showy Little Egret!

With not much else doing there I decided to head north to Lowestoft. An exploration of North Deans was a good idea with 5 Wheatears showing very nicely despite the pain in the arse dog walkers! The arrival of these dapper birds is always a highlight for me. A flock of c40 Linnets and a Chiffchaff were added before I retired to the Lighthouse Cafe for one of their famous breakfasts.

After that I needed to walk it off so worked the length of the bushes on the seaward side of the Birds Eye factory. There had been a bit of an arrival with 11 Chiffchaffs and 1 Blackcap counted.

Not being one to give up I called in to Weybread again on the way home and nailed the Goldeneye to some closer views and photographs at the 3rd time of asking! 3 Common Buzzards were circling (a site maximum) and a Chiffchaff singing.