May Bank Holiday Weekend

 Sunday May 3

Armed with our valid and hard-won, RSPB permit to drive to Snettisham Reserve, we did. It used to be simple. We drove in to the offices at Dersingham, waited a few minutes and were issued with a laminated  annual permit. This changed two years ago. We now have to call in at Titchwell. 

Eventually, I was sent an email with a permit attached which I then printed onto A4 size paper. Not easy to display in the car window if there's a breeze - opening a window or door. 

First visit to Titchwell this year, the person dealing with this matter was not present.

Second visit, a man would not understand Pam's request, then offered her a lifetime or an annual permit. Lifetime? That was new and a good option. Yes to that said Pam. We don't do them any more was the reply. We gave up and left.

I wrote an email to the reserve asking for a permit. No reply.

A week later, I wrote a second email. Back came a polite letter and the attached permit ready for printing ??? I'll stop there, the RSPB nearly lost two members.

We'd managed a good starter list of birds by the time we arrived at the reserve. Our first Swifts in North Walsham, and my first House Martins at Harpley Cottages. A pair of Grey Partridges in a field near Flitcham were also a year tick.

The nearest water line on the Wash held about 200 Knot, only two of them showing any summer red. Non breeders this year.

Scattered across the mud were a good number of breathtakingly handsome, summer plumaged Grey Plover.Their silver spangled backs and jet black aprons were there to be photographed - but much too far away.The number of screaming Black-headed Gulls covering the reserve pit made me wonder if there were any elsewhere. Until we arrived in non sunny Hunny where there were even more. We had another Whinchat too, in the Snettisham Beach car park scrub. No Turtle Doves for us.

Wells Nort Point Pools are usually covered in gulls. There were none on the deeper water south pool. The north pools had conditions more suitable for waders. Amongst the small group of Avocets were a Greenshank and a Wood Sandpiper. As we left, Pam gasped and then, eventually, described a smallish raptor she'd seen fly across in front of us. From her description, I can only assume that it was a Hobby. 

Home in time to see the second half of Man U / Liverpool which ended 3-2. Excellent. 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sculthorpe

Image
 Wednesday August 6 Butterfly Conservation, Norfolk Group had, for the first time ever, organised a moth trapping session at Sculthorpe Moor Nature Reserve. As we were unable to attend Thursday's usual meeting at Cley -Pam had an appointment to complete a Speed Awareness Course in Norwich - we decided to attend. David N met us in the car park, saying that he'd been asked by Paresh Shah - County moth recorder - whether we'd be attending. I'd  been expecting a morning where I was a part of the audience. Instead, I was recorder. I didn't mind at all. I've already been asked if I'll be at Foxley in September.  We were seated under a purple awning, supplied with a drink , and David opened the six traps which had been placed overnight in varying parts of the reserve. One of them was inside the Beaver enclosure. We'd very much like to see these animals but apparently it's too boggy for us. There are now two adults and six young. They've raised two young...
Read more

There and Back

Image
Sunday June 29 Pam as still not feeling herself after a couple of days stomach upset - she thinks it was the prawn lunch she had. Saturday was so very hot, the temperature reached the lower 30sC, that the prospect of an air conditioned car tipped the scales. We didn't set off until 10 a.m. and were home by 3 p.m. It was a much more reasonable temperature too, the sun hardly appeared. With only two short stops, at Sculthorpe Mill and Abbey Farm, we were soon at Snettisham. The first thing we noticed was the number of Egyptian Geese around, all with well grown young, they've had a very productive year here.   Scanning the vast expanse of puddled and creeked mud, I came across a stretch of what appeared to be roosting gulls. I worked my way throught them, finding that most of them were adult Mediterranean Gulls, Pam reckoned there were more than a hundred, the most I've ever seen together. Every bird was either asleep or busy preening.   I then noticed a few Sandwich Terns dot...
Read more

One Week Later

Image
 Sunday June 1 I believe that we'd have seen almost as many birds if we'd stayed at home and watched the garden. Although relatively warm, with sun most of the day, a strong wind is not conducive to birds. They stay hidden and don't sing as much - if at all. List ready, pen posed, I'd added two birds by the time we got to North Walsham, Carrion Crow and Wood Pigeon. It's sad that, for the first time since we have lived here, 1974, there are no Swifts around the White House. No Swallows in the village and no House Martins on our house, John's next door and the Hughes's across the road. The three weeks of no rain also meant no mud for nests. Did this deter them? We did see one Swift, and both the mentioned hirundine, during the day, but very few. We checked Strumpshaw Mill for Spotted Flycatchers, unsuccessfully. We don't know of anyone who has seen them this year, they do move their nesting sites around, some more viewable than others.  I've read that...
Read more