9th June - In search of the Rosy pastor

Now that lockdown restrictions have eased I've been able to travel that little bit further for my flora and fauna fix. The 9th was a lovely sunny evening and when I heard news of a Rose-coloured starling at Cley I decided to go take a look.
   The Rose-coloured starling (Pastor roseus) also known as the Rosy pastor is a bird of Asia and far Eastern Europe.  Usually only a few make it to our shores every year. Every now and then however an irruption of this species occurs.

Breeding range of the Rose-coloured starling (from Collins Bird Guide)

Causes of these irruptions are not fully understood, but it is thought there is a likely link with population changes in the Locust, its main food source.
   Up to 75 birds have been recorded in the last week the length and breadth of Britain so keep your eyes peeled.

The star of the show (stock image)

Painting of Rosy pastors by H. Goodchild

We had lovely views of the Rosy pastor feeding on fat balls in one of the coast road gardens. After fully taking in its plumage features we decided to have a walk around Cley NWT reserve, heading down east bank then along the beach and along west bank where the car was parked.
   We saw three Marsh harriers, a male, a female and a juvenile, gliding effortlessly over the golden reed heads and surrounding grazing marshes causing panic amongst the breeding wader population. Several times we witnessed Avocets, Oystercatchers and Lapwings take to the sky to drive the Harriers away from fluffy chicks hiding in the vegetation.
   From the reed beds there was a constant chunter as masses of Sedge warblers were singing, along with the occasional explosion of the Cetti's warbler, and the gentle ping pings of Bearded reedlings. Along the shoreline we were treated to close views of both Sandwich and Little terns fishing close inshore.
   All in all a delightful evening.

The shoreline in the setting sun