Sunspots!

 Just a couple of small sunspots today: I wonder if they were associated with last night's aurora?

End of an era....

Apart from a final gig in Lowestoft in April (to which I'm already committed) I've decided to retire from my band Synergy and hang up my guitars, sunglasses and fedora for good. The reasons for this decision are partly old age, partly personal differences, but chiefly the fact that pubs and other venues would rather pay peanuts to book karaoke or solo singers with backing tracks than hire experienced musicians. I've been playing in public for sixty years, so it will be a wrench packing it in, but there's a limit to how many evenings you can perform for three hours and get home at 2.00am, all for less money than I receive for a one hour lecture!

The photos below are of three of my bands: Crude Oil (1968) Serious Risk (1986) and Synergy, 2025.
It's been fun: thanks to all who've supported me over the years...

Unusual times, unusual aircraft...

While Brian, Norman and I were walking towards the East Bank at Cley on Tuesday, four apparent Hercules transport aircraft crossed the reserve from the direction of Mildenhall. It's not unusual to see a USAF C-130 in Norfolk skies (although for some reason the RAF scrapped theirs some years back) These aircraft were obviously different, though: their bulbous noses and somewhat sinister colour scheme revealed them to be the Special Forces variant, the MC-130J, apparently from the 352nd Special Operations Wing... There is speculation that they might possibly be involved in some form of interdiction in the Straits of Hormuz.

Spoonbill at Cley: the video!

Year ticks for the 'Summer Wine Crew' - but not the ones you think!

A long session divided between Cley and Holkham Park provided some much-needed exercise and a couple of year ticks. Bishop's Hide gave us fleeting glimpses of a Water Pipit (photo by Brian) and the usual large mixed flock of Avocets and Godwits, while East Bank was fairly unproductive. 

New for the year, we enjoyed watching Spoonbills at both locations, nesting at Holkham and feeding close by on Pat's at Cley. Arguably our 'best' bird was the adult drake Ferruginous Duck on the Hall lake at Holkham - we had to wait half an hour for it to wake up! Returning to Cley we saw a couple of good-looking Ruff and a very distant Little Ringed Plover.

Tiggywinkles!

Now the evenings are warming up, several Hedgehogs have been showing up on our garden trailcams (as well as various mice and voles!)

Still the GOAT!

Get in Lewis: a wonderful drive! If only the pit team had managed the virtual safety car a bit better, who knows? A double podium for Ferrari was on the cards! (In case anyone isn't 'down wiv the kidz' GOAT = greatest of all time!)

A great night at the music quiz!

A full house at last night's annual quiz resulted in a lively and enjoyable evening. Despite making the questions more challenging than in previous years the scores were incredible, several teams getting just a couple of wrong answers. Many quizzers commented that our use of electronic scoreboard, printed question / answer sheets and a proper PA system made the evening 'special'. (Not to mention the two live guitar rounds!)

Thanks to the efforts of Linda, Sue, Peter, Peter and Gwendoline a respectable amount was raised towards the upkeep of Hemblington All Saints Church.

Moonset and sunspots

The waning gibbous Moon lit up the whole sky last night, making Jupiter the only planet visible. Meanwhile, the Sun has half a dozen small sunspot groups on show.

Hairy-footed Flower Bee

The first of the year! These adorable little creatures have the loudest buzz of any insect that visits our garden. This is a tawny-coloured male (The females are black) You can easily see how the species got its name!

The 'Worm' Moon!

For a change, the sky was clear all night, so I was able to photograph the full Moon as it rose in the east and set in the west this morning. (The setting Sun revealed a few sunspots: there was a lot of haze as I took the photo, so it's not desperately clear!)

Half a day on the North Coast: three year ticks!

A bright - but chilly - morning at Cley and Kelling Heath gave us great views of some large flocks of waders: 100+ Golden Plover, Avocets and Black-tailed Godwits as well as good numbers of Dunlin and Ruff. At least five Marsh Harriers continually flushed the lot, but they resettled until a tractor came along and sent them all off to the North Scrape. The walk back to the VC for coffee gave us decent views of a male Stonechat and - apparently unusual - a Moorhen.

Kelling Heath was unexpectedly crowded with birders, but we managed to glimpse at least six Dartford Warblers, as well as more Stonechats and a few Linnets. Just as we were leaving I managed a few quick shots of a male Dartford, only one of which showed its head! Also on the Heath was this incredible fungus...