Four year ticks in the Brecks!

Brian and I made an early start and were at Santon Downham before 07.30. A walk from the road to the new wooden bridge and back revealed very little: a couple of Great Spotted Woodies, a Little Egret and both Song and Mistle Thrushes. We crossed the road and, from the iron bridge, immediately saw two pairs of Mandarins. A short walk gave us excellent views of a species I failed to see last year! Near the car I picked out the silhouette of a Crossbill: a male, as it turned out.

A ten-minute drive found us at Mayday Farm, where, after a stroll along the gravel track, we settled down by the small, man-made pool. The cool breeze and lack of sunshine didn't bode well, but in the event we spent an amazing hour, with close views of Siskins, Redpolls, Goldcrests, Coal Tits and - best of all - Crossbills and a couple of Brambling! We finished the day just south of Norwich, adding Ring-necked Parakeet to the year list - photos tomorrow!

What a whopper!

Flower Bees fly so quickly - and erratically - that it's not easy to see or photograph the amazingly disproportionate proboscis of the tawny-coloured males...

Stunning crescent Moon

The skies were absolutely cloudless at sunset, allowing terrific views of the waxing crescent Moon and Venus again...

Unexpected aurora!

A glance from the office window at 22.00 revealed that an auroral display was in progress: I put a camera on a tripod and took some photos from my front garden (The final image reveals why I couldn't use the back garden - next door's uplighters!) No obvious rays, but beautiful colours.

Later during the night (around 01.30) I took a few more: despite quite dense mist, it was obvious that the display was even more intense.

Venus and the Moon

Just after sunset (around 18.30) a very thin crescent Moon was just above the super-bright planet Venus in the western sky: a spectacular sight: I could even photograph the conjunction from my back door!

First cut!

Three days of continuous sunshine meant that Linda and I could catch up with lots of garden jobs. Our clay-based soil takes ages to warm up and dry, but today I was able to mow the lawn and cut the edges. Lots of pruning - the pitcher plants, Eucalyptus and Buddleia all got a severe cut-back - and Linda restocked the herbaceous borders with biennials and perennials. Won't be long before we're enjoying a glass of something cold and fizzy on the patio!

A Redpoll day in the Brecks

It was a gloriously sunny day with barely a breath of wind, which Linda, Sue, Peter and I had chosen to spend in the Brecks. First stop (having endured the nightmare of the A11 roadworks!) was Mayday Farm. The very first bird we saw was a Woodlark, on phone wires by the parking area: the only one we encountered all day! In between the F-15s and F-35s we steadily added interesting birds to the list: a couple of Goshawks, numerous Buzzards and Kites and a Raven. Best of all, though, were the Redpolls, Siskins and Goldfinches that were visiting a little drinking pool by the main track. Nearby, the 'screen pool' wasn't so productive: just a couple of Yellowhammers.

After lunch at Brown's, we visited Weeting Heath: so sad to see this great little reserve being left unmanned, with no information board - or icecreams! No Stone Curlews, either...

Last stop was Cockley Cley, where just a few Hares and Linnets were about the best we saw: we wound the day up with tea and cakes in Swaffham!