Getting closer!

Jupiter (on the left) and Venus just before dawn this morning

The night sky in August

Here're the main points of today's 10.20am broadcast with the delightful Jules Button on 'Suffolk Sound' 

Venus and Jupiter

The two brightest objects in the sky (after the Sun and Moon, of course!) are drawing together in the dawn sky - they'll be really close on the 12th!

North Coast circuit

Not really fancying a two hour drive / walk to see a distant LBJ in Suffolk, Brian, Norman and I decided to start at Titchwell, visiting Cley and Hickling on the way home.

We knew there wasn't much about, but nevertheless enjoyed connecting with Spoonbills, Snipe and LRPs at Titchwell, while Bishop's at Cley provided distant views of Greenshank, Wood Sandpiper and Cattle Egret. Swallowtails are being seen at Hickling again - but not by us! Our best 'find' was a male Kingfisher that briefly posed on the railings by the 'mound' at Brendan's Marsh.

Imperial Hotel

Great fun at a combined anniversary / birthday bash last night: 'Baby Boomers' certainly know how to have a good time! (Although we could've done without having to lug our gear up a flight of stairs!)

Another dose of Meds! And another church list tick!

The local farmer having manured the barley stubble by the churchyard, large numbers of gulls have appeared to feed on the associated invertebrates. To our delight, Linda and I discovered that a fair percentage of these are Mediterranean Gulls, followed by Common Gulls, Lesser Black-backs and - in the distinct minority - Black-headed Gulls. Today they were joined by a solitary Yellow-legged Gull - new for the church list!

Nature in the raw...

There are lots of Brown Hares in the fields around Hemblington Church this year: there are also plenty of Buzzards in the skies above it. Sometimes the two come together...

A new bird for Hemblington Church!

While Linda and I were unlocking All Saints this morning,  I noticed a large flock of gulls were feeding in a stubble field just beyond the eastern boundary. To my amazement I discovered that many of these were Mediterranean Gulls, with a few Commons thrown in! There were at least thirty of these delightful 'white wingers', the majority of which were immatures.

Tank update

Our nano reef tank is still flourishing: discs and polyps seem to do best, although weekly 20% water changes are essential. I love the way most of the inhabitants fluoresce under actinic light...