Thompson Common

Having spent the week working in Suffolk, followed by two days doing first aid in London, I found myself at a loose end for the weekend. Fortunately, the lovely Sarah Harris was free for the weekend so I was able to spend Saturday night with her, in Watton, right in the middle of the Norfolk Brecklands.

We did not do so much birding, but did spend the best part of Saturday afternoon exploring her patch of Thompson Common. The birding was good for such a warm afternoon, with Cuckoo and a flyover Hobby being the highlights, but with a nice compliment of common species as well.

The real highlight however were the Odonata on offer. At Thompson Water, the main lake on the site, we found ample Red-eyed Damselflies, as well as a single Norfolk Hawker. But then at the other end of the site we found one of my remaining outstanding British Odonata species; Scarce Emerald Damselfly.

I was completely oblivious to their presence here, until a helpful noticeboard pointed them out. With this prompt, we started searching the small ponds on the site and soon for three female and a single male emerald damselfly species. Obviously though, this species pair is tricky, so good photos needed to be taken, and when we got back we were able to confirm that the individuals we had seen were indeed the rarer species, a new species for me. 

-Scarce Emerald Damselfly

-Red-eyed Damselfly

Species List:
Thompson Common: Mute Swan, Gadwall, Mallard, Common Pheasant, Stock Dove, Common Wood Pigeon, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Common Moorhen, Eurasian Coot, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Red Kite, Common Buzzard, Tawny Owl, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Eurasian Hobby, Eurasian Jay, Eurasian Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Coal Tit, Marsh Tit, Eurasian Blue Tit, Great Tit, Eurasian Skylark, Common Reed Warbler, Barn Swallow, Common Chiffchaff, Cetti's Warbler, Long-tailed Tit, Eurasian Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Goldcrest, Eurasian Nuthatch, Eurasian Wren, Mistle Thrush, Song Thrush, Common Blackbird, European Robin, Pied Wagtail, Common Chaffinch, Yellowhammer, Common Reed Bunting,