Anne's Journal

 Friday July 25 Pam got up soon after dawn  a few days ago, on her way to bringing on the moth traps. She looked out of her bedroom window to find a Tawny Owl looking back at her. It was sitting about ten metres away, swaying gently, on the telegraph wire which runs across the garden. That has been a month's highlight for her. My garden highlight was a yaffling Green Woodpecker. We often get the young feeding on ants in the lawn at this time of year. There have been some good moths around. We didn't see Giles' first for Norfolk Rest Harrow, unfortunately, but did see the Bedstraw Hawkmoth trapped by Roger Brownsword, and brought to NS by Mike H. An in the pot photo    Some of the moths trapped in our garden  Oak Eggar - big and beautiful    Yellow-legged Clearwing Two Micro moths Choreutis nemorana - Fig Leaf Skeletoniser Wingspan 16-20mm. This species is widespread in the Mediterranean and North Africa. The first for Britain was in 2014 when it...

 Wednesday July 16 After all the years of watching millions of Wood Pigeon, many when they nested in our birch tree, I had a new experience when sitting in the car ready for the off. Two fully grown Wood Pgeons were sat close together on top of the porch roof,  indulging in what we thought was courting behaviour. Longer inspection found it to be an adult feeding a very well grown, insatiable young, on the regurgitated 'pigeon milk'.  Much needed rain was falling as we drove to North Walsham, it did so for most of the morning, in the form of occasional, well spread, showers. Even after calling in at Sculthorpe Mill and Abbey Farm, the bird species seen did not enter double figures. As always, it was good to be out looking. As we drove out to Holme on a very good track (thank goodness), the sun came out. The number of butterflies increased, mostly Large White, the birds didn't. I don't think we have ever driven out to Holme without seeing Magpies before today. The gatekee...

 Wednesday July 2 After a long dry spell, rain at last. When we set out it was a light drizzle, this continued all morning - apart from when it became  a gusty, windblown soak at Snettisham. The only birds that didn't seem to mind were the Wood Pigeons, they were on the road and tree tops when everything else was taking shelter. Gradually we started to make additions to the day list. Where we first park to scope the Wash, there is a large clump of a grass species. Pam pointed out that it held something else. The stems were covered in Ladybirds. This coincided with one of the heaviest showers. When it cleared enough for me to open a window, many of them had been washed/blown away - the light was poor too.   There had been a high-ish  tide, 5.7 metres, the water's edge was still visible. The birds on the mud really were not, especially the large flock of Black-tailed Godwit, apart from a white rump or wing stripe flash when they preened. Every bird we could see was pre...