Anne's Journal

 Friday May 1 I had a routine blood test at midday which prevented a whole day's birding. As soon as the test was over, we set off for north Norfolk, staying in the Cley area. Midday on a hot early summer day, is not good for bird activity. We saw very little at first, heard a lot more, but gradually accumulated a reasonable list for the first of the month. I can't remember a wholly cloudless day in Norfolk in the past. That's what we had today, with thr temperature rising to 23C. Where have the North Norfolk Nightingale's gone? Just being on Salthouse heath at the right time was bound to find at least one on territory. We even had one in a Hawthorn at the bottom of our garden one year.  We added two year birds, a male Bullfinch and a Whinchat.  The Whinchat was at the end of Salthouse Beach Road. I managed a couple of poor snatched photos through the gap between the side mirror and the car body before pedestrians frightened it away. One of them was John Furze who warn...

 Monday April 27 Alerted by a friend, we drove to south west Norfolk, armed with a map and a rather sketchy verbal account based on three bushes. We were not confident. Added to this, we didn't arrive until midday. It was a lovely warm and sunny spring day, the temperature rising to 20C. The area was completely unknown to both of us. After a drive through and several map consultations, we parked offroad near a bridge over a dyke. As soon as we stopped, I heard Whitethroat and a Garden Warbler , the latter a year tick. I put Merlin on and it heard a Nightingale as well as the birds mentioned and several other commoner species. The sound seemed to be coming from the opposite side of the road. We drove out and then in again to another good offroad area overlooking the dyke, the bridge and 'three bushes'. Were they THE three bushes? Yes they were. A Nightingale burst into full song soon after we'd stopped, somewhere in the dykeside bushes near the bridge. I ate my lunch wit...

Tuesday April 21 Although we drove to Natural Surroundings this morning, I didn't go down to the chalet for moth trap opening. Pam deemed the path down from the metal gate to be too dodgy for me to walk safely. Pam went down and then brought the morning catch up for me to see.Richard had kept them on an egg box for me. Thank you Richard. For varying reasons, only Mike and Richard attended this morning - and there were few moths, an easterly wind meant a cold night. Best was a pristine Least Black Arches. At home, we had two Oak Tree Pugs, a Dark Swordgrass and our second Muslin Moth last night.  We have made several short birding trips since I last wrote. Cley Beach Road  Whimbrel, Yellow Wagtail , Golden Plover, Wheatear. We called again today and had 6 Whimbrel, easily viewable, but too distant and contra jour for good photos. Sedge Warbler along the road and a Whitethroat near East Bank.  Barton Broad A little bird food sprinkled on the back of a bench brought several ...

 Sunday April 12 Another lovely morning - especially if one is cocooned in a car, away from the brisk wind. Holme was the destination, our best chance of seeing migrant warblers from the car. As we drove through the reserve gate, a pair of Stonechats flitted away. Good start. The volunteer at the kiosk asked us if we intended using the cafe. He then went on about being two helpers short and there only being a very limited offering of eats. No problem for us, we came for the birds. Sitting in the NOA car park, we saw a few Swallows fly through  and a first for this year, two  Sand Martins . We could hear Avocets calling from the Broadwater but nothing else. Having eaten our Morrisons steak pie lunch, we drove slowly back,stopping where a birder was scoping the dunes. Two Wheatears and a female Redstart is what he had seen. We watched for ten minutes without seeing any movement at all , apart from birders walking off the boardwalk and through the bushes. An anxious warden c...

 Sunday April 5 Barton Broad is a good place to look for early hirundine, Willow Warbler and Terns. The official car park is a long way from the Broad, but there is a small Blue Badge only car park. We had intended walking to the viewing platform at the end of the boardwalk, the latter meanders its way through wet Alder Carr for about 400 metres. The platform is always exposed to any wind there is. Today, it was very windy, our phones said 'feels like 1C' and it started to rain. We stayed in the car park, seeing and hearing Marsh and Coal, Blue and Great Tit. Wrens shouted from deep cover, Robins and Chiffchaff from nearby. Then.... two parents and their two boys, all on nice bicycles, rode in. Then, another dad with a young girl who needed support on her little bike. The boys started it off, the adults soon joined in, using the small dirt floored car park as a velodrome, whizzing round us, doing brake turns and emergency stops, , ever faster. Disgraceful disregard of other peo...

 Wednesday April 1  My Downs brother played the same trick on my mother every year.  'Mam mae defaid yn yr ardd'. Mam, there are sheep in the garden. Without fail, she would exclaim to high heaven and rush to the front door. Either she was a very good actress or had a poor memory. The former I think. For the first time ever, I didn't even try today. I can usually fool Pam. I was too busy trying to see birds. We were out for eight and a half hours - and very tired when we got home. I just had to sit down, Pam had chores to do. We'd lessened the prep for an evening meal by stopping at Thorpe Market chippy, I don't know how they do it, but the food is never greasy. We did well on the journey west, seeing over thirty birds by the time we got to Abbey Farm. Will we ever see Little Owl there again? The highlight was six Red Kites lifting from trees along the back lane, circling upwards above us. Always silhouettes unfortunately. Snettisham was even more devoid of birds th...