Yesterday's beautiful conjunction between the Moon and Venus ended as they drifted apart: the Moon continues its trip along the ecliptic, visiting Uranus on the 5th, Jupiter on the 6th and Mars on the 9th.
Sunlight reflected from the Earth lit up the unilluminated regions of the Moon, creating the lovely effect in today's title.
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Birding chum Brian Tubby sent me a terrific photo of a Short-eared Owl he'd taken at a traditional spot at Halvergate: this was all the excuse Linda and I needed to pop down for an hour after lunch. We were quite surprised that there were no Cattle Egrets - just a solitary Little Egret - but I was pleased to add White-fronted Goose to the year list, lurking among the squillions of Pinkfeet! (I had hoped to reach 100 by the end of January - so near, yet so far!)
We did see a Shortie, but it was distant and flighty, so I've used Brian's amazing photo instead!
Friends Peter and Sue invited me to a lecture at UEA about the effects on global climate of two 'asteroidal' impacts around 35,000,000 years ago. The presenter was the delightful Prof. Bridget Wade from UCL, who succeeded in delivering a fairly obscure piece of research in a lively and interesting way. Amusingly, her conclusion was that there was no evidence of any sustained climate change following the Popigai and Chesapeake impacts! (Naturally, I couldn't resist making a contribution from a meteoritist's perspective!)
While we were away last weekend, Peter and Sue oversaw the annual RSPB bird count at the church. Unfortunately the weather was pretty bad and not many birds were seen. Today Linda and I were much luckier, both with the birds and weather! Green Woodpecker and Song Thrush might, I think, be new for the churchyard... Great to see the 'Friends of the Church' have, with the help of the farmer, erected a Barn Owl box.
On our way back from carrying out the monthly bird survey at Hemblington Church, Linda and I stopped at our local Little Owl site. We were delighted to see that he / she was enjoying the early morning sun: I stopped just long enough to take a few from inside the car so as not to overly disturb our delightful neighbour!
On Monday at 10.20 I'll be having my usual astronomy chat with Jules Button on Suffolk Sound radio: here's a summary of what I'll be talking about, as well as transit times for the International Space Station.
Tonight I'm giving a powerpoint presentation for the good people of the Norfolk & Norwich Naturalists Society: the topic is the dragonflies and damselflies of Norfolk: I'll be discussing the current resident species, how to identify them and when and where to see them, starting at 7.30
Ever since we all attended the Rendlesham Forest Incident conference in 2010, a group of enthusiasts occasionally visit the forest for day and nighttime explorations! This is more of a social event these days (with lunch on Orford Quay and dinner at the Wilford Bridge ) but in the past we have taken some truly inexplicable photos and videos (See my Chilling Tales website!)
This weekend Jane, Linda, Jason Paul and I met once again for a nostalgic return to the Forest, with a daytime walk via the infamous East Gate (interesting to note all the hangar doors have been removed) a frosty circular walk out to Capel Green and back in the dark, as well as a visit to Shingle Street. Unfortunately Jason's delightful son Thomas fell ill the day before and was unable to join us.. Still: next time, perhaps.
This weekend was a reunion for Linda, me and old friends Jason, Jane and Paul: see above for details! Having enjoyed our traditional lunch at Orford Quay, we carried on south to Shingle Street - a place with a fascinating if somewhat macabre history. After a short walk behind the Martello Towers we unexpectedly came across a pair of Short-eared Owls: whether they were displaying or collaboratively hunting, who knows? Lovely to see and Paul in particular was very excited!
Later, while exploring Rendlesham Forest in the dark, we surprised a Woodcock on the path, enjoying terrific close views as it flew off.
Whether it's the incipient end of the Pheasant shooting season (on January 31st) or the approaching storm, the garden has been full of pheasants today - at one stage six females and two males. Just after dawn this morning you could actually see what appeared to be the storm front heading this way: quite spectacular!
If you've never taken part in one of my music quizzes you probably have no idea how different they are from the traditional scout hut, paper and pencil events. For a start there are two rounds of live musical introductions to identify: then there are are projected images, dingbats, albums and artists and lots more. The quizzes are held at Heathlands, a welcoming, comfortable venue with drinks at club prices. Below are photos from previous years, plus a question sheet from last year to give you a taster of what you can expect: can you name the 'Bobs'? Tickets sell quickly, so get yours soon!
