Anne's Journal

 Wednesday November 29 Yesterday afternoon, having had a sun damage item removed from my face at Cromer Hospital, we drove to Sea Palling. A field to the west of Causeway Butchers held  a group of swans. This is the usual resting place of 'wild' swans fleeing a cold spell on the continent. It's hardly risen above 1C today. Hoping to take photographs, we drove on for two minutes, turning at Cook's farm shop. Hardly believable. The field was empty. No more than five minutes after we'd previously passed. To-day, we had another go. A reasonable group of swans were in the expected field, always towards the back where they are undisturbed by passing traffic. A very wet, puddled field too. Despite looking into the setting sun, I took some photos. There were twenty six swans in all, 12 Mute, 12 Whooper and two Bewicks, in two mixed groups. Only this week have the Bewick swans returned to Slimbridge, the latest they have ever done so.

  Sunday November 26 Recently, I read an article which started with, ' Make the most of sunlit days' , with the thoughts of November and short winter days to come. Sunday was dark, grey overcast, very cold - 1C when we set off - with little wind. Thank goodness for the latter. A someone turn the lights on day. Birding always lightens my spirits, never mind the weather.  The back lane to Abbey farm is often productive. The drawback is that it is a long single track lane with no lay-bys. This year, the first section of meadow, beloved of Curlew, Stock Doves and Partridges, also has a triangle of seed crop. It looks like a mixture of Quinoa and sunflowers to us with other stuff we can't name.  A flock of at least a hundred finches were using the hedgerow to perch before flying down to feed. There was a constant to-ing and fro-ing of birds. Not still in the trees for long and then, landing down in the seed crop, was a bit of an ID nightmare. All we could identify with certain...

 Friday November 17 Gardening done for the day, the sun was out. We went to Ludham. Ludham Marshes and the St Benet's Abbey area was a firm favourite. Somewhere where birds were always a possibility, with lovely marsh scenery and a sense of wildness as a bonus. For the last couple of years the number of people using the small public  area has increased tremendously, fuelled by the dissemination of information on WhatsApp groups. I belong to several of these groups myself and thoroughly enjoy the benefits. I do not enjoy their massive footprint on my favourite places. Selfish or what? The approach to St Benet's small car park is along a less than well kept concrete, single-track lane. Yesterday, every possible parking place was in use. Gateways, wider grass verges etc. Their occupants, armed with an impressive array of optical equipment were grouped along the edges. Passing the last farmyard, the concrete gives way to a rutted, muddy water-pooled track, leading to the small car...

  Thursday November 16 It was one of those occasions when I asked myself ,' Why am I out in this'. It started raining as we left, gradually increasing in wind-hurled volume, smacking onto the windscreen. Huge puddles gathering roadside, soggy brown leaves clogging pavements where a young mother struggled with her pushchair. Influenced by the desire to make the most of any birding days available before December 4, we drove on westward. Pam has been offered a cancellation date for her hip revision. two weeks earlier than first mooted. She accepted gladly. Shortly after Docking, the rain eased, then stopped. Still a very low and dark grey overcast, but dry for the rest of the afternoon.   Apart from the expanse of creek filled mud, the first thing Pam noticed at Snettisham was the long line of massed Golden Plover. Very distant and a counting challenge. I knew that it was one of - if not THE - largest flocks I'd ever seen, as I scoped the perfectly still huddle. For no appar...

 Monday November 13 Running short of bird food, we set off for Van Der in Melton Constable. Their food is very competitively priced and is of the quality and origin we look for. Friends who live nearby kindly get it for us usually, now and then Pam likes to see what they've got in the shop. It may have something to do with passing the Wild Bean cafe / M and S shop in Aylsham. There have been Waxwings near the Wiveton Bell for the last few days. It was past 2 by the time we set off, after a morning of rain and chores. Maybe it was worth a detour via Wiveton. It was. As we drew up at the Bell's side entrance, we could see birds in the heavily berry-laden tree in the side entrance to the back garden.I lifted my bins, saw at least three Waxwings - fleetingly. The blustery wind caused the branches to wave madly.  Almost immediately, they flew away around the side of the building. We waited over 20 minutes, hoping they'd come back, before a lorry parked up a side lane decided it...

Sunday November 12 Most of the morning was taken up by a lengthy phone call from Sara in Australia. We've missed each other for the last three weeks, usually owing to me being out when she calls. Sunday morning is often one of the few free times available to me for birding. It was early afternoon before we set off for Happisburgh. Between Lessingham and Ingham Corner, Pam spotted a large white bird, very distant at the far end of a wet meadow. A Great Egret. We arrived in Winterton, parking near the church,  at 2.10 - I looked at my watch to see how long we would have to wait. Not long. Five minutes later, soon after the first other birders had arrived, one of them lifted his camera lens skywards. Yes, the Pallid Swift was racing towards the car, too high for my bare eyes but soon captured in my bins. I had good views through the large sunroof and then lengthier ones over the housing estate nearby. It occasionally flew towards the sea out of view, but was still entertaining its sma...

 Sunday November 5th What happened to 'Penny for the Guy?'. Not that I regret its passing. The American sourced celebration of Halloween has left remains of grinning, hollow-eyed, orange pumpkins on walls and fences. A particular display in North Walsham was worthy of a photograph, artistry at work.  Maybe Selbrigg would be worth a visit today. It was. Someone had left the birds some seed. The hollow topped gatepost has gone, as has the sloping gate post prop beloved of Nuthatches. In the few minutes that we lingered, Blue, Great, and Coal Tits appeared for a snatch and fly breakfast, soon followed by a Nuthatch. The pond was overflowing, its unusually muddy brown colour a tribute to recent heavy rain. This is the source of the river Glaveney, the start of its ten mile journey to the sea at Blakeney. Will that be silt filled too? With a brisk wind and in low, blinding, sunshine, we arrived at Snettisham exactly on high tide time. Hardly believable as the shore was distant. The...

 Thursday November 3 After a much needed visit to the hairdresser for a trim, we drove on to Bacton car park, which is beachside. I was hoping for leftovers from the recent storm. The sea was flat calm with excellent visibility. That did not augur well. In the half hour available Before the light went, we saw several Gannets, both adults and this year's young, a Red-throated Diver, Great Black-backed Gulls and a flotilla of Black-headed and Herring Gulls bobbing about in the middle distance. The highlight was a single Little Auk skimming the water in its direct flight north. There are still small skeins of Brent Geese coming in for the winter.

 Tuesday October 31 The weather forecast didn't look too bad, I was eager to get out and about looking for birds. We set off in thick mist, yet the sun was beginning to shine through. As we drove inland, the sun did make it in a watery wintery sort of way, exposing the multitude of newly fallen russet leaves which carpeted the roads and footpaths. Unfortunately, their bright autumnal colours soon amass into a soggy mess. The leaf colour change has happened very quickly over the last few days of cold and rain. As we neared Sculthorpe, the sky darkened and heavy rain set in. We took the link road to the coast and Brancaster Ovary Staithe, via Burnham Market. Still raining hard, we drove in to the staithe to find two large lowloaders with their integral crane hauling two very large boats out of the water. A receding high tide had left a very muddy, rutted, through way, dodging between the trucks. Plenty of parking room once that was negotiated, only one other car there.  There we...