Jupiter and Venus

These two planets are a beautiful spectacle in the western sky just after sunset: even using just a 300mm lens, two of Jupiter's moons are plainly visible.

Dawn Moonrise

The last quarter waning Moon rose just before dawn this morning: a beautiful sight before the clouds began to roll over, with a delightful apricot tinge...

A 'swift' spot of gardening!

Since Linda was selling honey and wax-wraps at a local farmers' market, I was marooned at home. I decided to do a bit of garden maintenance: cleaning out pond pumps, watering tubs and weeding the lawn. Needless to say, a camera was nearby, and I was pleased to see - and photo - several groups of Swifts. Kestrels are not common over the Heath, so a soaring male was good to see, as was one of the local Red Kites.

We tend to choose unusual plants for the garden: one of my 'picks' was a Drimys. a hard-to-find species from South America. This specimen has not flowered since we planted it four years ago, so this spring's display was a surprise and delight!

Monthly survey at Hemblington Church (May 2026)

Just Linda, 'new' Susan and me today: beautiful, sunny morning with some decent birds. The Yellowhammer appeared after our 11.00am cut off, so isn't on the list!

Bee-eaters!

Linda had a hospital appointment this morning, so I was hoping she wouldn't have to endure the usual two hour wait: in the event she was home really quickly and we were soon off to Hempstead to look for the reported flock of thirteen Bee-eaters. Amazingly they were present when we arrived and there was a decent place to park!

We enjoyed watching these beautiful birds (albeit at about half a mile range) before driving the short distance to friend KT's house. It was without doubt the bees from the N&DBKA's nearby apiary that were providing lunch for the colourful visitors!

Bittern at Cley: a short video

I've often seen Bitterns in flight at Cley, but never had prolonged views like this!

Rare treat: Bittern at Cley

Norman, Brian and I visited Cley for a morning's chat and birding. No sign of the Wryneck, so we walked out to the Centre Hides: amazingly they were completely empty! Two Wood Sandpipers on South Pool and several Common Sands on Whitwell. A Great White stalked the edges of Simmonds..

Best of all, though, was the small, dark Bittern that suddenly emerged in front of Avocet Hide, allowing us our best-ever views of the species at Cley. I 'whatsapped' it straight away and we were soon joined by Julian and many others: our cue to leave!  (Interesting to see a huge flock of Dunlin on Pat's...)

After tea and scones at the VC, we took a quick look from Bishop's, before moving on to  Babcock Hide: just a few of the regular warblers and a single Wheatear. Back to the East Bank, where a short sea watch added Little Tern to the year list, while distant Yellow Wagtails were new for the other two. Last stop was a nearby heath, where we all enjoyed hearing a couple of Turtle Doves purring away.

Why can't they ever get it right?!

This afternoon I settled down to watch the excellent film 'Clear & Present Danger'. At four points we shared a character's binocular views of the action and, as seems almost always the case, this is what we saw:

You can't help but wonder if anyone in the cinema industry has ever looked through a pair of binoculars! If mine produced an image like this I'd chuck them away and buy a new pair!

An 04.00 rise for a double 'dip'!

Since Linda needed the car today, I crawled out of bed at 04.00 and drove through the dawn (and a beautiful moonset!) to Buckenham, in search of the pair of Black-winged Stilts that had been reported the previous evening. Needless to say, there was no sign of the Stilts, nor any Wood Sandpipers either: just the usual marsh and reedbed species. Lots of Cuckoos, though, both at Buckenham and Strumpshaw. Still a few Wigeon and plenty of Avocets at Buck: it was good to chat with 'blog reader' Mike from Norwich and Woodpecker specialist Keith... Not much else on offer at the Fen: no Barn Owls, but two booming Bitterns and a few Common Terns.

Flower Moon

Tonight's full Moon: the first of two this month...