Anne's Journal

 Sundy October 12 With two mornings moth-ing a week, two days of gardeners helping out, and various other appointments, the weekend is often the only time when a whole day's birding is possible. Sunday is quieter than Saturday, both on the roads and the coast. Much of the day appeared through a thick sea fret. The sun broke through at midday, but didn't shine  for long. The fret did enhance the cobwebs festooned on the bushes along the bank at Snettisham.   Not the most artistic of creations. Too many dropped stitches and inconsistent pattern-following!  Droopy underpants came to mind.  Each web is a marvel produced by a hungry spider, only obvious to us by the fret adhering to the gossamer threads. We saw hundreds of ducks today, Wigeon, Mallard and Teal are back in force. Geese less so. Only one Brent, a field full of Pinkfeet behind North Point Pools and 40 Canada Geese at Snettisham.  A hiighloght was a flock of at least nine Mistle Thrushes. A fie...

 Sunday October 5 Hurricane May passed through on Saturday. Today was still very windy indeed, until mid afternoon when it gradually abated. Whilst accepting that most birds prefer to keep low in the wind, we were still disappointed by their paucity. We ended with the measly total of 48 hard worked for month birds.  That sounds as thiough we had a bad day. On the contrary, it was lovely to be out in the countryside in bright sunshine, a cloudless sky for most of the morning. Sweet Chestnuts are shedding their prickly cases onto the road, Hawthorn is a mass of red berries, Bullaces, Crab Apples and Sloes promise food for birds and animals. Birch trees are the first to lose their leaves, other trees are beginning to turn into the russets of autumn. Horse Chestnuts are amongst the forerunners. Our LiquidAmber is starting to do so too. Snettisham bank was a roaring, car shaking, sand blasting experience. Couple that with a sea at its nadir.(OK Sue?). We didn't stay long, adding Cu...

 Sunday September 28 How did the years go by so quickly? My daughter, Sara was fifty nine today. We celebrated by going out birding, what better? Friend Pauline, who recently accompanied us on one of our birding from the car days, said that we went looking for birds rather than looking for one in particular. I think that sums it up well. When we were fit and able, we did both of course, but month listing as well as year listing and age has brought about an increase in the general approach. Driven by necessity but really rewarding.  The lack of Blackbirds has been noted, we can spend a day out and see none. This week we had one bird in the garden with feathers missing from its head. The single bird we saw at Snettisham looked the same. Is this a sign of the disease affecting southern birds? The sea at Snettisham could have been further out, it was well on its way. A mass of Knot and Bar-tailed Godwits crowded the shoreline. a phalanx of Oystercatchers, including one albino bird...

 Saturday September 20 The Norfolk branch of the Butterfly Conservation organised a moth-ing session at Foxley Woods, which is a Norfolk Wildlife Reserve. It's Norfolk's largest remaining ancient woodland, good for  both moths and butterflies. Our last session here, earlier in the year was disappointing, as the weather was not conducive,.This is the latest date that a trapping session has taken place here.  Yesterday, the temperature had risen to 25C in parts of Norfolk, so hopes were high. Six traps had been spread around the reserve overnight by the ever willing Mike Glasson. David Norgate did the trap opening. His identification of the smaller moths was aided by Andy Wallis and Andrew Kershaw so that David could carry on with the main catch. Green Brindled Crescents, Brindled Green, Black Rustic, were very welcome.As was the single Clifden Nonpareil. The latter is known to be present but it's the first time one has been trapped. A Deep Brown Dart was brought in from th...

  Sunday September 14 Having talked about it as a possiblity over the last couple of weeks, today it happened. We drove to the Great Cressingham area in search of pig fields. Their position changes from time to time, don't know if it's annual. Moving all those pig houses must be a mammoth task. We found three very extensive areas quite closely covered with igloo like domes. Each one a shelter for a family. Piglets of varying size sped about, rootling the soil with their square snouts as diligently as the adults - but less efficiently.  Viewing from the car is difficult, through five barred gates or small gaps in thick hedgerows, usually through the top of tall weeds. After an hour and a half of diligent scoping, eyes watering and intention flagging, a small gap in the hedge allowed Pam to call 'got one'. Two Stone Curlews were squatting on the stony ground produced by the pigs' snouts, ideally camouflaged, occasionally opening a round yellow eye. Traditionally, the...

 Monday September 1 Driving past Holt, I had two bird species on my day list. Wood Pigeon and Kestrel. Pam saw ten in the garden  whilst eating her breakfast. We met Pauline at Morrions car park in Fakenham, somewhere where she could leave her car for the day and was convenient to both her and us.Harpley Cottages are dependable for Swallow and House Martin, Sculthorpe Mill  gave us the only Robins of the day. A lane of newly released, scurrying Red-legged Partridges and a couple of Pheasants at Valley Farm Lane. Nothing else of note until we had survived the potholes and unmade cement/ gravel/ dirt road through the chalet park to Snettisham RSPB. Seeing that the tide was way out, Pam checked the tide timetable, we were only an hour or so away from hight tide. But, they are neap tides at the moment so don't cover the mud at all. Very distantly were the usual enormous masses of Oystercatchers, a few Grey Plover, Ringed Ploover, Curlew and Knot well spread across the brown l...