This morning Linda decided to check on her hives, fearing the worst after the recent freezing weather. In fact there were no signs of life in a couple, but another appeared to be managing. On the way home we stopped off at Ludham Airfield and were pleased to find a herd of thirty-four Whooper Swans which, on inspection, contained four Bewicks. Back home the cotoneaster has been discovered by a decent flock of Redwings - always a pleasure to see in the garden.
But sadly not the elusive Black-bellied Dipper! Amazingly, Moorhen was a new year bird, despite several trips out into the Broads. Linda and I shared our Dipper Dip with Norfolk birding royalty, in the form of Mark Golley, Lynette and Mick Saunt.
Last night's waning Moon was exceptionally 'crisp'! The 'Sea of Crises' (Mare Crisium) was particularly striking...
Brian picked me up just before dawn for an uneventful drive through the snowy countryside, arriving at a frosty Cley at around 8.30. Following a fruitless seawatch (just a seal pup in the surf) a visit to Bishop's Hide revealed that the whole reserve was frozen solid: no waders or waterfowl! We quickly decided to head west to Wells North Point Pools, where the Taiga Bean Goose was immediately viewable with a flock of Greylags. Next stop was Wells Harbour: we paid for a couple of hours parking and walked to the Lifeboat Slip. Almost immediately we were enjoying fabulous views of a Great Northern Diver and a Red-throated Diver, both at close range! A short walk towards the town added a distant Red-necked Grebe out in the channel.
We made the short hop to Lady Anne's Drive where I quickly located two Tundra Bean Geese: frustratingly I failed to find them with the camera!
Back to Cley for coffee before moving eastward to Sheringham. Despite a long search, we failed to locate the Eastern Black Redstart, but added an unexpected Snipe to the day's total - it was sheltering beneath a bench by the sunken garden!
Good gracious! There's a Buzzard perched in our sycamore tree! The locals aren't impressed!
Linda and I were wondering when some winter thrushes would find our cotoneaster tree: it's weighed down with lovely ripe berries, but until this morning it remained untouched. Then, at 9.30, a flock of twenty or so Fieldfares descended briefly to feed, before being spooked by something. In other news: a pair of Jackdaws are prospecting our owl box...
Following the day's snow, the night's freezing temperatures produced a stunningly clear sky at dawn: Jupiter and the one day waning Moon were incredibly bright... The last shot is through the garage door!
Today was the first proper snowfall since Snowie (the little snowman) first appeared! He's had a bit of a spruce up following these photos!
