Anne's Journal

 Friday March 28 Another short trip out, this time with the intention of taking some photos of commoner birds. Maybe Selbrigg would be worth another visit. Since the woman who used to feed the birds here regularly no longer does so, it's a bit of a lottery. We always put food out with variable results. It was past mid morning when we arrived - not the optimum time . Pretty quickly the first birds arrived. First a Robin, then a Great Tit, followed by a Nuthatch and a Coal Tit. It was a very short flurry which was soon over.  Morston is always a favourite place. There's something about mud, water, marsh, aged wood and boats which we both find irresistible. Bathed in sunshine today too. The tide was well out, leaving a mere trickle in the creeks - which meant no seal trips and people. Redshank corner (at the far end of the car park),  had at least eight birds bathing and preening. Stopping to view a lovely Greenshank feeding at the water's edge,    Pam saw a Spoonb...

Thursday March 27 Spring  migrants have been trickling in during this last few days of sun and warmth. We've managed to connect with two species - and I've lucked on a winter remainer. After another poor night's sleep,  we gave the first session of this year's moth-ing at Natural Surroundings, a miss and made a late morning drive to Morston. Our luck was in today. After touring the boat parking area, we settled to watch a large area. We'd seen a few birds in flight ,but not well enough to identify. Seeing a birder stroll around the other side of the boats, we followed. Many pairs of eyes help. A group of four birders, which included Greg and Val, were standing near to where  a small bird in flight had been seen. As we sat there chatting, Pam noticed the female type Black Redstart appear from behind a boat to perch on a rusty axle. It then flew on to a tyre. As Greg was leaning against the car, Pam couldn't move so that I could photograph the bird, apart from thr...

 Friday March 21 Apart from the weekend, there are not many days available to us for a longer birding session. Since our gardener's operation, Friday is one of them. We drove to Hunstanton, only stopping at Sculthorpe Mill for a quick recce. Chiffchaffs are in voice in many places after the last week's warm weather. Not much else there today. I can't resist the Fulmars sitting on their ledges on Hunstanton Cliffs. No pairs this time. They are such gentle looking, understated birds. I was hoping for one in flight but none did so.    Some of the feral Pigeons here look like their Rock Dove ancestors. Many people now call them Rock Doves -recent scientific research has found that only the birds on North Uist can be claimed as a pure strain. As the birds on Benbecula and South Uist, closely linked by road, have been deemed to be impure, I fail to understand how this has happened. They are as close as Sheringham and Cromer.   We didn't add anything to the year list today,...

 Wednesday March 19 No Garganey at Buckenham, maybe we'd be lucky at Hickling. At least two had been reported yesterday - on Brendon's Marsh. The only viewpoint for us is from the track down to Whiteslea Lodge. There is a big enough area to park the car  below the steep slope to the top of the bank, from which there are views across Brendan's Marsh. It looked like Brendan's Lake when I reached the top. A lot of water with shallow reedy islands, plenty of places where these elusive little ducks can sleep and hide. I spent an hour scanning  carefully, backwards and forwards, finding plenty of Shoveller, Teal, Gadwall, one or two Wigeon, Curlew, Redshank, Avocets and Coot. We did hear the musical bugling of Cranes, but none flew for us. Reluctantly, we gave up. Imagine how we felt later when news came through of two Garganey, a Little Ringed Plover, and five Little Gulls had been seen from the 'platform' - a small raised viewing area for two people built when the S...

 Monday March 17 We haven't been to Buckenham since early January.  It's ideal for a half day excursion from home, despite it often being rather disappointing due to the lack of birds and the distance of those present from the tracks. It's a large flat expanse across to the chimneys of Cantley Beet Factory, usually hard at work in the background. Today we had men at work too. I'd hardly finished saying, 'there used to be Mistle Thrushes here' ,as we drove along the entrance road, when two birds, well separated, came into view.     The highlight on the way to the Fishermen's car park was a Merlin , perched on a gatepost and then, dropping low and flying away, never to be seen again. Amazingly, Canada Geese were our first of the year, not many, paired off and well apart. A flock of restless Lapwings, reacted to the workmen. Bigger flocks of whistling Wigeon, swam the creeks and grazed the fresh grass. A white blob in front of the beet factory turned out to be...

 Friday March 14 Not a long trip out. After a most enjoyable day yesterday, spent indoors with Pauline for our annual sharing of bird photos, it was good to have some fresh air. We started keeping year folders of birds seen during Covid, as an aim for house and local area bound days. All three of us enjoyed it and have continued to do so. Rather later than usual due to my fall and illness. We started at Cley, Salthouse, Iron Road, Coastguards, and then Glandford, seeing very little. Three Red Kites high against the towering Cumulus was the highlight.  Morston gave a few photo opportunities, despite the very low tide. A muddy Curlew in the creek,  Black-headed Gull in summer plumage on a post  and a Herring Gull just standing, looking.    It's good to see them in fresh summer plumage before the toils of the breeding season.

Sunday February 9 Where can we bird from the car? The choice is being slowly eroded. No parking signs, piles of hay bales, red and white ribbon, parking cones, are proliferating across north Norfolk.   A late morning start for our drive west, no hurried starts for us these days. A Norfolk Birds WhatsApp group message sent us on a small detour to Great Massingham. Several large ponds dominate the village, some of which have their origins as the fish ponds for an 11th century Augustinian Abbey. The village is characterised by the flint and cobble cottages which huddle around these ponds. The village’s origins are thought to go back to the 5th century, but today it is still a thriving community with a village shop and post office, and pub The Dabbling Duck. The village church, St Mary’s has represented the focal point of village life for hundreds of years. For example the porch, added around 1300, was used as a school room. Sir Robert Walpole, England’s first Prime Mini...

 Friday March 7 Not planned, after our disappointing previous visit, we took the side road to Selbrigg. The owners of the wood have replaced the wooden gate posts with metal and removed many of the trees and shrubs around the entrance. All very tidy but not conducive to feeding, nor photographing, wildlife. Pam spread some food about before returning to wait and see. It wasn't long before at least two Nuthatches appeared. First of all feeding from the gatepost, which I can only see through the windscreen. Eventually, they appeared on my side of the car, making grab and fly sorties onto the posts. One of them perched on a nearby tree trunk whilst waiting its turn. I missed that. Fortunately, it decided to do so once more, when I was ready.   Dunnock, Great Tit, Chaffinch, Robin and Wren also made an appearance. To our delight, a Treecreeper again appeared in the trees to the right of the gate. Two sightings in one month - maybe no more for the year. We decided to access the coa...

 Sunday March 2 Winter Aconites, Daffodils, Snowdrops, and Acacia Tree in full flower in the garden, blue sky and sun, Alexanders appearing in roadside verges, it looks like Spring. It is meteorological spring. Awaking to frosty lawns and a temperature of 1C says that we have a way to go yet. On such a day it is easy to eagerly anticipate the first Wheatears, my Spring harbinger. So many Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps now overwinter that it's increasingly difficult to separate the latter from migrants. We made our way west, picking up many of the passerines we missed yesterday and at the end of February. Song Thrush is always a treat. It's hard to recall their tameness and sheer numbers on the Isles of Scilly. Even longer ago, a garden bird using our path as an anvil.  The finch flock at Flitcham is decreasing, we managed one Brambling flitting along the hedgerow. Our garden visitor hasn't been for about a week.Still no Little Owl visible at Abbey Farm nor in West Newton. The fi...

 Saturday March 1  Dydd Gwyl Dewi - St David's Day Having decided to have a long day's birding tomorrow, it was gone mid-day when we left home. Exactly one mile up the road towards North Walsham (we measured it in the way back), Pam came to a sudden stop. A herd of about sixty Red Deer was strung in a long line along the far hedged hilltop. A rise elsewhere, a hill in Norfolk.   Another car drew in behind us and the herd moved off in a flowing canter. I took a few photos past Pam's head. A lovely sight.   Despite Selbrigg being devoid of birds, the one we saw was worth the visit. A Treecreeper made its way up a nearby tree. I tried a photo high through the appalling front screen, managing one, out of focus but identifiable.  We drove as far as Morston, then back along the coast to Cley. The only pleasing addition was a Snipe which flew across in front of us. Like the Treecreeper, we seldom see one as we don't walk the reserves and woodlands.