Introduction

The Gaywood Valley is situated on the edge of Kings Lynn in Norfolk and is only a recent discovery for myself. I have been birding for 25 years now and have never managed to find a suitable place that I can call my local patch. I have investigated many places that should be suitable, but have always found that they aren't good enough, either by lack of actual birds, or too difficult to get to to be able to bird regularly.

I have been lucky over the 25 years to have either volunteered or worked on some of the best birding sites in the country, but it's not the same as having your own 'personal' patch. I have always wanted somewhere to call 'my own' - a place where no one else regularly records the wildlife. A place to carry out transects for butterflies and bees, to explore the vegetation and actually use some of the books I have spent my hard earned cash on, but have never used. And to just generally get involved with as much survey work as I can manage.

I haven't worked in conservation for over ten years now and can't afford to keep taking the bus up to the north Norfolk coast. So I needed to find somewhere local, but knew of nowhere to go. I was on holiday early last year and, desperate to find some fieldwork I could do, found the BTO Atlas website and found that there was a free tetrad right on my doorstep. I didn't think I would find much there as it didn't look promising on my OS map, but went for it anyway. And boy, am I glad I did!

I first visited the tetrad on the very last weekend in May, setting off without much expectation of recording anything much other than the usual fare of house sparrows, starlings and blue tits, and maybe the odd blackcap and chiffchaff along the way. But what I had not expected to find there were birds that I thought I would have to go travel further afield for, such as willow warblers and whitethroats and, to my great astonishment, reed buntings and reed and sedge warblers. That was it, I was hooked and new I had found my long awaited Local Patch.

If I was astonished on my first visit, I was staggered on my second visit to add lesser whithethroat and a reeling grasshopper warbler. As far as I was concerned, I had found Nirvana! I have had some fantastic encounters since last May and many, what I have come to call, Gaywood Wow factors. So I have finally taken the plunge into blogging to share these experiences and maybe(?) enthuse someone else to get out there and find there own Patch and to serve as proof to never give up.