Rendlesham Ramble!

Team Rendlesham - Linda, Jane, Jason, Paul and I - met in Suffolk for our annual night walk around the Rendlesham Forest UFO trail. Despite occasional mist patches, the night was crisp and clear, and the Milky Way and autumn constellations were beautifully bright and easily visible. (A few erratic meteors were a bonus, as were the Tawny Owls and foxes!) We used FLIR and night-vision optics, only turning on torches when essential...

Nothing out of the ordinary to report (although I did feel I glimpsed a greyish, misty figure cross the path) but a thoroughly enjoyable outing: lunch at Orford and dinner at the Wilford Bridge were excellent, as always, and we enjoyed a peaceful sleep and tasty full English at our hotel.

Linda and I stopped at Snape on the way home: I added a couple of uranium glasses to the collection, while Linda couldn't resist a delicate orange poppy for the garden. (Always good to stop and enjoy the impressive 'Yoxford Man' sculpture on the way home)

Jupiter, Mars and a beautiful waning Moon

Extremely clear skies revealed some terrific crater fields on the waning gibbous Moon. Nearby, Jupiter and Mars are close (and getting closer!) in the constellation Leo. The blue colour of Leo's brightest star Regulus is plainly visible, as is the fiery red of Mars. (The Moon's glare didn't quite obscure my favourite constellation, Orion)

The night sky and International Space Station passes in November

I'll be having my monthly chat with Jules Button on 'Suffolk Sound' at 3.20 on Friday afternoon: meanwhile, here are the highlights!

No-show at Buckenham...

Linda and I grabbed an early breakfast, before driving the short distance to Buckenham Marsh. Despite a good search through the flocks of Wigeon, Teal and Shovelers, we failed to locate last night's Grey Phalarope - a terrfic local find for Steve Smith. Only birds of interest were a female Garganey and a white Pheasant: plenty of Little Egrets, Marsh Harriers, Kites and Chinese Water Deer.

Good to bump into Martin, a fan of Linda's honey, and Jonathan, with whom I taught at Mundesley around 25 years ago!

Desert Wheatear at Cley

Despite the drizzle (and still feeling decidedly under the weather) we headed north to Cley, parking at the beach to search for the long-staying Desert Wheatear. Having failed to find this dapper little chat last week, we were delighted to discover it feeding on the pill box. We spent an hour watching this confiding individual: we stood still and let it come to us!

A large flock of Golden Plover on the Eye Field and a mixed wader flock on the beach were noteworthy, before we drove round to the VC and walked out to Bishop's. Almost the first bird we saw was a Water Pipit, which we quickly realised was associating with four others, a Meadow Pipit and a Snipe! (A 'frosty' Stonechat was interesting...)

After tea at the VC, we walked out to the sea along the East Bank: just a nice flock of Pintail on the Brackish Marsh, a few Razorbills and lots of juvenile Gannets: and so home!

Through the murk...

Always nice to see a pair of Great Spotted Woodpeckers in the garden, albeit through a rain-spattered window, dense foliage and persistent drizzle!

Full Moon

As always: the full Moon is a beautiful sight in the Autumn sky - until the clouds began to bubble up, the visibility was excellent. (You can plainly see that the rays from the young crater Tycho pass right around the Moon: what an impact that must have been!) Saturn is below and to the left...