The lure of this beautiful little chat was too powerful to ignore, so, after Linda and I had opened our presents and enjoyed a special breakfast, we headed north through the empty lanes to Sheringham. Within five minutes we were enjoying super views at close range: we didn't move - the bird came to us! Nice to bump into old acquaintance and super-birder Rob Holmes...
I have mentioned this a few years back, but with this year being the official centenary of W-t-P, I thought it was worth recalling: the first book Linda and I had published was a photographic catalogue of all the Disney Winnie-the-Pooh plush toys. At the time we were the largest 'secondary market' sellers of these delightful collectables, selling them online from our website 'Tigger Trading' and at fairs all over the UK, from Exeter to Newcastle! We ran info sites for collectors which received millions of 'hits' from all over the world. It was great while it lasted and was our way into online commerce, from Tigger Trading to the Space Station, the Flightline and finally Spacerocks UK and Linda's Gems.
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Norman and I only had the morning free, so we met early and headed north to Cley. First stop was Bishop's Hide: on opening the shutter we were delighted to find a male Kingfisher right in front of the hide! Although it flew off, it soon returned, catching numerous small fish over the next hour or so. The delightful James McCallum arrived and quickly located a Jack Snipe, huddled down in the cut reeds: he eventually got both of us 'on' to the cryptic little wader for a couple of absolute record shots!
A walk along the East Bank was followed by coffee, before driving south east to Barton. A search of the Broad failed to produce anything more exciting than a few Goldeneye, so we decided to call it a day: a Bullfinch piped from the woodland but failed to show itself....
A rare sighting of Bigfoot / Sasquatch in East Norfolk today.... He doesn't seem that pleased to have ben spotted!
At this time of year, when Greg Lake's beautiful anthem 'I believe in Father Christmas' is played on the radio several times a day, I'm always reminded of the CD that the school choir run by Classroom Assistant (and latterly teacher!) Sue and I recorded in aid of the Children's Society. Greg generously waived all royalties, so we were able to donate a decent amount to the charity. Recording, mastering and editing were carried out by musician friends Chris & Jann Gray in their 'Shades of Gray' studio, which has since relocated to Scotland. The following year we produced an equally successful Summer CD!
You can listen to the Christmas song
Yet another faint comet: quite easy to locate using a camera, however, since it's currently just above the bright star Denebola (the 'a*se' of Leo, the Lion!) Several unusual flashing satellites this morning: I assume they are upper stages of launch rockets tumbling end over end.
It's become a tradition that Linda, Sue, Peter and I enjoy a pre-Christmas evening out: often this has been a visit to a light show at a stately home such as Sandringham, Felbrigg or Blickling, but has recently included a trip on a steam train followed by dinner in a pub!
Last night we took a ride from Aylsham to Hoveton and back on the narrow gauge Bure Valley Railway, preceded by a delightful meal at the Black Boys, Aylsham. (The only disappointment was the incredibly loud Gen Z-ers and their four infants who took turns shouting at each other and crying throughout the meal...)
A great way to 'step into Christmas': many thanks Sue for organising the event!
Join SYNERGY for a spot of New Year's Eve rock & blues! (Auld Lang Syne guaranteed!)
A few years ago Greenfinches were pretty thin on the ground: they seemed to have been suffering from some dreadful infection that 'glued' their feathers together. I'm pleased to report that there has been a dramatic upturn in these attractive birds' number (in our area, at least) It is not uncommon to look from my office window and see a flock of thirty or more in our Sycamore and Ginkgo trees, often accompanied by a similar number of Goldfinches. I'm sure the huge amount of quality seed that Linda puts out every day has a lot to do with this!
A truly beautiful sunrise this morning: the 'red sky in the morning' adage doesn't seem to have held true, though, because the sky has ben cloudless and blue all day so far... Finally our berry-rich cotoneaster tree has been visited by a Redwing - just a solitary bird, which is surprising.
On December 10th the Moon occulted (passed in front of) the bright star Regulus, leading star of the constellation Leo. Unfortunately, this occurred during the daytime, but I did manage a photo just before dawn that shows the beautiful blue-white colour of Regulus.
Since I needed to pick up some smoked fish from the excellent Smokehouse at Brancaster Staithe, Brian and I started at Titchwell, walking out to the sea to look for divers and grebes. There were lots of waders: Sanderling, Knot, Grey Plover, Turnstone and so on. Eventually we found a couple of Great Northern Divers, as well as a Slavonian Grebe and a Black-throated Diver - too far out for useable photos. Several Red-breasted Mergansers scooted by offshore. On the way back to the carpark we added Water Rail to the tally, as well as (probably!) the reported Siberian Chiffchaff. (Excellent top photo by Brian!)
The move to Cley for coffee wasn't particularly productive, so we carried on to Ludham Airfield where we eventually located two Bewick's Swans among a herd of Whoopers.
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