Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 8th May 2020

Date: 8th May 2020

Time: from 7:15 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, light wind, 11°C to 19°C

This was another early morning visit and it was already very warm.

It proved to be a very productive visit with 24 bird species, 3 mammal species and 2 butterfly species recorded, including 3 new records for the site for me.

The first new site record was a Kestrel which was perched up on the spire of St. Nicholas Church before being seen off by a Magpie.

The second new site record was a fly-over Cormorant.

The third new site record was Holly Blue and I saw 2 of these spring-flying bright blue (when the wings are open) butterflies. These butterflies always remind me of my Mum who sadly died in September 2018. The communal garden to the flats where she lived in Norwich always seemed to have Holly Blues in early May.

There were several other highlights from my visit.

Whilst I had already seen my first Swifts of the year from my flat, I saw my first for this site today. I initially saw 2 in their flickering flight high above St. Nicholas Church but a few minutes later I saw 3 in their typical rapid “screaming” flight much lower and again around the church.


Since I have been visiting this site, I have seen Swifts on an almost annual basis and it is likely that they used to nest in the church tower. However, a few years ago, there was a major refurbishment undertaken to the church tower. St. Nicholas Church was built in the 13th century. The chancel and south aisle were added in the 14th century. The timber roof is more than 500 years old whilst the oldest part is the nave which dates back over 800 years. Obviously as a Grade 1 listed building, its preservation and conservation are very important but since the refurbishment work was completed, I have seen very few Swifts each summer. Surely whoever was responsible for commissioning the work could have ensured continued access to the nest sites for our local Swifts. Evidently not.

The UK's Swifts are in trouble. It is estimated that their population has deceased by 57% between 1995 and 2017, primarily due to the application of pesticides and habitat destruction which has affected their insect food supply. The modernisation of many buildings has also resulted in the loss of roof nesting sites. More information can be found Swift Conservation.

In addition to the Swifts, I also saw 3 singing Chiffchaffs and heard 4 others, saw a singing Blackcap and heard 8 others and heard a calling Green Woodpecker. 

Apart from the Holly Blues, I saw a single Speckled Wood.

With regard to mammals, I saw 2 Red Foxes and 1 Reeves' Muntjac in the church graveyard and 2 Grey Squirrels …. plus a cat unsuccessfully staking a claim to be included on the mammal list 😀.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Swift

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Long-tailed Tit

Robin

Dunnock

Wren

Blackbird

Song Thrush

House Sparrow

Goldfinch

Starling

Kestrel

Green Woodpecker

Jay

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Collared Dove

Carrion Crow

Herring Gull

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Cormorant

Red Fox

Reeves' Muntjac

Grey Squirrel

Domestic cat 😀

Holly Blue

Speckled Wood

Here are some photos from my visit:

Photo: Kestrel

Photo: Reeves' Muntjac

Photo: Holly Blue

Photo: Holly Blue

Photo: Chiffchaff

Photo: Long-tailed Tit

Photo: Magpie

Photo: Jay

Photo: Jay

Photo: Woodpigeon

Photo: Woodpigeon

Photo: Collared Dove

Photo: you can glare and "miaow" all you like but you ain't getting on that mammal list 😀

Photo: Bluebells

Photo: Bluebells

Photo: Red Campion

Photo: Bluebells

Photo: Horse Chestnut

Site totals to date:
Birds = 44
Mammals = 4
Butterflies = 16
Dragonflies and damselflies = 3
Reptiles = 1
Amphibians = 0

💚🦆 🦉 🌼 🌳💚

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature