No Heating

 Sunday November 10

The best moth of the month was the rather battered Gem we trapped on Thursday night.

 


A first for the garden, we'd already seen our first at Sandwich Bay Raserve, and more at our moth-ers meetings. There seems to have been an influx, Neil Bowman at Eccles had 18 in his traps one night this week.

Our heating system decided to die on Thursday evening - within a few hours of the plumber finishing his annual check-up. We needed a new control panel. By the time he'd arrived again, ordered the part and it arriving, it was early on Monday the 11th before it was working again. Although it was 11C, it was cold in the house and we didn't want the portable electric heater on all that time. We went out in the car with its comfortable heated seats.

It was Pam's turn to decide on our stops, the first one was Hunstanton lighthouse car park. If we park on the grass up against the fence/hedge, we can see the sea below. Having left in hazy autumnal sunshine, it was now overcast, a sea mist limiting visibility. The first birds I saw were a flock of forty Fulmar sat on the sea below the cliff with three Great Crested Grebes amongst them. That's the most Fulmars I've ever seen together. They gradually flew off. Further scoping exposed a small flotilla of Common Scoter floating at the edge of the mist. Further inshore, a Red-necked Grebe appeared. It stayed long enough for Pam to get out and see it - too close for viewing from the driver's seat.

We read later that there was Black-necked Grebe and a Black-throated Diver  viewable from the lighthouse, if we'd been able to walk that far. 

The track out to Holme is still in good condition after its re-surfacing. Magpies and three Cattle Egrets feeding amongst the sheep flock were the only birds we saw. How quickly have Cattle Egrets become a normal sighting rather than a rarity to twitch.These didn't hang around for a photo, they quickly flew away and out of sight. An until now,  hidden Grey Heron, followed them

I do not enjoy the curtailed daylight hours at this time of year, by early afternoon on a dull day, the light is already fading. A short stop at Brancaster Staithe where the water was well in, showed a couple of Black-tailed Godwits feeding on the creek bank near the jetty. As I clicked the shutter, one took off


I don't know where all the Pink-feet have gone. There were none at Holkham nor at Wells North Point . Both places were lacking in any birds, apart from Wigeon and Greylag.

An enjoyable outing in warmth and comfort, enhanced by Man U winning again, beating Leicester 3-0. The new manager takes over today.


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