August

The month starts off where July finished, with Green Sandpipers and, maybe, Black-tailed Godwits being likely. Numbers of Lapwings and gulls continue to build and August is likely to see the annual peak in the number of Yellow-legged Gulls.

Swifts are often the first departing migrants to be noticed, with most breeding areas deserted by the end of the first week, though migrants will probably be seen throughout the month. A sighting of a Cuckoo in August would be unusual.

Please keep a record of the last dates on which you see our departing migrants, as these data help to build a picture of the effect on birds of recent changes to weather patterns and climate. We have already seen the effect of arrival times and breeding of birds in the county over recent years. Use of Birdtrack as a recording method, particularly complete lists, is ideal for data collection.

The middle week of August shows a peak for sightings of Pied Flycatcher, with a later peak in mid-September. These August birds are presumably from breeding areas in Britain. With a little good fortune, an exploration of hillside scrub in the south of the county may prove fruitful for this species and also for Redstart. Some Redstarts have stayed for a number of days at this time of year, with some multiple sightings of both adult and juvenile birds, maybe accompanied by Whinchat or migrant Spotted Flycatcher. These may be joined towards the end of the month by the first visitors from northern Europe, when an early Wryneck or perhaps another Red-backed Shrike (to follow the 2010 and 2024 records) would be an excellent find. Local birders would likely be mobilised very quickly for a first county record of an Icterine or a Greenish Warbler over the Bank Holiday weekend!

Three of the six White-winged Black Tern records for the county have been found in August, with Stewartby Lake the prime location. Black Tern and Little Gull are more likely finds, and Sandwich and Little Tern are possible in suitable weather conditions.

Later in the month is historically a good time for some of our scarcer waders such as Little Stint and Curlew Sandpiper, with occurrences no doubt associated with good numbers arriving in Norfolk.

Rarities include Purple Heron (2023), Little Bittern (2016) and Ortolan Bunting noted on nocturnal migration recordings in 2017, 2019 and 2022.

For a real quality county rarity, August does not present the greatest opportunity, but there are a few species that would prove popular. Surely near the top of the wish list, at least for the realistic birder, would be a North American wader (shore bird). A Least Sandpiper nearby at Tring in Hertfordshire in 2003 demonstrates the potential.