Lots of good birds at Cley and Hickling

A great day out with Brian and Norman, starting in Bishop's before moving to the Centre Hides. On the way we saw a distant falcon fly south: we all thought it looked quite good for Red-footed... Avocet Hide produced a flock of ten or more Cattle Egrets, as well as a very confiding Little Ringed Plover. (A juvenile Sedge Warbler did a passable impersonation of an Aquatic Warbler!)  A large flock of Black-tailed Godwits contained an orange-tagged bird and a single Bar-tailed Godwit. After coffee we carried out a half hour sea watch at the Coastguards, being entertained by Little, Sandwich and Common Terns.

With threatening clouds closing in we headed inland to Hickling, where an obliging Swallowtail and numerous Hobbies were good to see. Other birds included Spoonbill and Great Egret. (We were trapped in Bittern Hide for half an hour by a very active thunder storm!)

Conjunction

At around 22.30 last night the clouds finally parted in the west to reveal Jupiter and Venus a finger's width apart: all four of Jupiter's Galilean moons were visible. Tonight - if it's clear - the two planets will appear even closer...

Strumpshaw: lots of Hobbies, but no RFF: a Lesser Emperor was some compensation!

Linda was out at her various apiaries this morning, so it was quite frustrating to see a Red-footed Falcon come up on the pager. Fortunately, she arrived back at around 1.30, so I scooted off and was walking up to Fen Hide at 2.00. I picked out a falcon spiraling up into the blue sky, but - apart from a 'feeling - couldn't give it a definite i/d. Over the next three hours I saw and photographed lots of Hobbies and found a Lesser Emperor dragonfly, but no sign of the RFF. Plenty of friendly birders: good to bump into Dot, Steve and Drew and others who knew me through the blog: I enjoyed sharing a Swallowtail (and other butterflies) with a delightful couple from Wales.

Daytime Hedgehog!

This little Hog turned up to eat suet and mealworms during a heavy downpour yesterday. It appears to be the female of the pair that roam the garden most nights - perhaps she (?) was trying to avoid the old man!

Sunset rainbow

Rainbows are always good to see: I have never lost the sense of wonderment they provoked in me as a child. Seeing one just before sunset was a new experience however: lots more red tones in the misty sky and an obvious difference in brightness between the inside and outside of the bow...

Getting closer!

In four days time Jupiter and Venus will be really close in the western sky after sunset: last night they were just a 'fist's width' apart: quite a sight! 

Montagu's Harrier at Horsey

Year bird number 200!

After an early lunch, Linda and I drove through the showers to Horsey, parking by the approach road to the Nelson Head. A brisk walk out to the dunes revealed a small group of hardcore locals with 'scopes, so we trudged south to join them. Things didn't look promising: dark clouds, peals of thunder and frequent light showers somewhat dampened our spirits. (It was great to chat with Mick Saunt: it's been a while!)

Eventually someone found the bird hunkered down in the scrubby grass: as soon as the sky cleared, however, this ultra-distinctive ring-tail took off and flew towards us. Since Linda and I were on a slight time budget, we headed back to the car: to our delight the Monties followed us, allowing much closer views. (While I was looking at the harrier's head, courtesy of a friendly birder's 'scope, a Quail flew through the field of view - seen by half a dozen others!)

Lunch in the country

Dear friends Sue and Peter invited Linda and me to lunch at the Gunton Arms in North Norfolk. We spent a pleasant hour or so walking around Felbrigg Hall gardens - they've been remodeled, apparently in anticipation of a warmer drier climate in years to come - and are absolutely stunning. (The ornamental pool was full of newts: Smooth Newts I imagine)

The Gunton Arms is a quirky, wood-paneled pub-restaurant on the edge of a large deer park: the menu is possibly best-suited for meat eaters, but pescatarians Sue, Linda and I found delicious fish items which we thoroughly enjoyed.