Linda and I opened the Church quite early this morning and were rewarded with some terrific wildlife. She was keen to see the Little Owl and wasn't disappointed! A big surprise, though, was the Barn Owl that perched on a gravestone in the southern sector of the churchyard: it flew off towards Hemblington Hall, but we saw it several more times as we drove home. Several Blackcaps in the hedges, while the fields seemed full of Hares!
Whether it's the number of young birds in the garden (mostly Great & Blue Tits, Blackbirds and Starlings) this Sparrowhawk (pictured by friend Sue on our roof!) has been a daily visitor recently. Virtually every morning there's a pathetic little pile of feathers somewhere on the lawn.
Meanwhile, the local Kites and Buzzards have been enjoying the thermals: they are also virtually ever-present, as are our regular Hedgehogs. The short nights and drawn out sunsets means we see a lot more of them at the moment.
Along with several hundred others from various local groups, Sue and I were nominated as 'Community Champions' for our fund raising and environmental monitoring efforts at Hemblington Church. We were invited to take part in a procession in the Grand Ring at the Royal Norfolk Show, the upside of which was four free tickets and free parking!
I'd never visited the Show before, and found it thoroughly enjoyable: lots of great food and drink stalls, plants, farm animals and displays, including motorcycle stunts, parachutists and Thelwellesque ponies!
We finished the day with supper at the King's Head, Bawburgh: terrific food in an excellent restaurant.
While unlocking the Church this morning I took the precaution of taking my camera: I normally don't bother. I'm glad I did! Not only did yesterday's Little Owl pose for me in the poplars, but a Barn Owl drifted along the road in front of the car as I drove home. The photos were through the windscreen, but they give you the idea! Several Yellowhammers and Whitethroats too...
As you might expect at this time of year, birding is beginning to give way to insect photography. Today Brian, Norman and I drove down to the Brecks in an attempt to catch up with a few of the regions specialities that we've missed so far.
First stop was Lynford, where a walk around the Arboretum failed to deliver the hoped-for 'crests and Treecreepers. As the dog-walkers began to arrive, we moved a couple of miles to Santon Downham, parking by the railway and following the almost totally overgrown path round to the river. Lots of decent insects, most notably literally thousands of Banded Demoiselles. Butterflies included Ringlet, Large and Small Skipper, Meadow Brown and Small Heath, while Scarlet Tiger Moth was new to me! Brief glimpses of a Tree Pipit were conclusive, if rather unsatisfactory!
A difficult trudge to the riverbank revealed that the water could only be glimpsed occasionally, but we did find a pair of eclipse Mandarins as well as a female with three ducklings. (Duckling photo by Brian)
A short drive to Weeting Heath provided good views of adult and young Stone Curlews, as well as all the expected woodland birds, while our final stop at a large clearing near Grimes Graves added Woodlark to the daylist.
