Chasing birds on the North Coast

A pleasant morning out for Norman, Brian and me, starting with a sea watch at Cley. As usual, lots of auks, Gannets, Kittiwakes and Scoter, but nothing too exciting. Bishop's Hide was initially unpromising, but a Water Pipit and two Fieldfares were welcome.

News of a Waxwing at Holkham sent us westwards, but a long walk failed to add either the target bird or any Shorelarks: Little and Cattle Egrets were some consolation. The pager sent us back to Salthouse, where the full car park suggested we might be a little luckier: in the event we managed a flock of twenty or so Twite and four White-fronted Geese, but no Shorelarks here, either.

The VC at Cley was too crowded for coffee, as was Kelling Tea Rooms, so we called it a day...

Planetary conjunction!

Jupiter and Mars met up with the Moon and Regulus in the pre-dawn sky: a beautiful sight. On the Moon the large terraced crater Copernicus was particularly prominent: its central peaks were easy to pick out.

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!