Two ticks and two 'Gardes de Boeuf'

Linda had arranged to deliver some wax wraps to the Visitor Centre at Cley, so we stopped on the way at Weybourne to look for the reported Marsh Warbler. Fairly soon after we arrived we heard it calling briefly, followed by a couple of short flight views: a Grasshopper Warbler was much nearer and possibly showed itself once or twice.

After delivering the wraps (and enjoying tea and cakes) we drove along Beach Road to photograph a couple of Cattle Egrets doing just what they're supposed to do: a Spoonbill was on Pat's Pool...

The night sky in June

 It never truly gets dark in the UK in June: the solstice on the 20th leads to the longest day of the year. (Incidentally: contrary to what I've heard on TV, the radio and in classrooms, the seasons are produced by the tilt of the Earth's axis - in Summer, the north pole is tilted towards the Sun, in the Winter, it's tipped away) Despite this, several planets are still visible:

Jupiter will rise before the Sun at around 03.30 in the constellation of Taurus

Mars rises a little earlier at around 02.30. On June 3rd the thin crescent Moon will be close by

Saturn is visible for longer, rising at 01.00, with the last quarter Moon coming close on the 27th & 28th

The winter constellations have disappeared until the Autumn, being replaced by the familiar constellations of Cygnus (the 'Northern Cross') Lyra and Aquila, whose brightest stars Deneb, Vega and Altair make up the famous Summer Triangle.

An amazing and beautiful spectacle that may occur in June is a display of Noctilucent Clouds. An hour or so after sunset the northern sky can be covered by a tracery of electric blue threads and waves. The origin of this phenomenon is not fully understood, but is possibly caused by the long-set Sun illuminating extremely high clouds of ice crystals.

The crescent Moon visits the twins!

Just after sunset last night the thin crescent Moon hung low in the sky below Castor and Pollux - the 'Heavenly Twins' that are the brightest stars of the constellation Gemini. My favourite lunar crater Petavius was beautifully illuminated, showing all the features that make it so interesting: central peaks, internal rille and strange, elongated neighbour Pallitzsch

Monthly wildlife survey at Hemblington Church

Linda, Sue, Peter and I carried out this month's survey in blustery, mild conditions: surprisingly we encountered a decent number of birds and insects, most unusual of which was a Marsh Harrier than hung around throughout!

SYNERGY at the Copper Beech, Norwich

If you live in the Norwich area, you could check us out tomorrow night (Friday)

Might be of interest...

North Coast Teaspoon!

With our intended  trip to Minsmere rained off and no news on the Booted, Norman, Brian & I headed to our default location: Bishop's Hide at Cley. A glance across the reserve from  the beach revealed three Cattle Egrets: we eventually saw all three species during the day. It was interesting to witness a Red Kite swoop down and pluck a juvenile Lapwing (?) from an island - never seen this before!

A move to the centre hides added a trio of Spoonbills (including a 'Teaspoon'!) and a distant Greenshank. After a chat with Jacqui B, David and their Crew, we adjourned for hot drinks at the VC before heading westwards.

We arrived at Titchwell just ahead of the rain, adding Bearded Tit and Great Egret to the daylist before retreating back to the Yare Valley...

A year tick at Helmingham Hall

Peter, Sue, Linda and I had a terrific day at the country fair at Helmingham Hall near Bury St Edmunds. We bought lots of lovely plants and artwork, and enjoyed some great 'street food', as well as encountering some interesting wildlife: Large Red Damselfly, Red Kite, House Martin and - best of all - the first Spotted Flycatcher of the year. I added some new Sundews to the insectivorous plant collection, courtesy of our old friend Steve at Predator Plants: he is just the best!

On the way home we stopped at Yoxford to marvel at the twenty-six foot bronze Yoxford Man: a very impressive sight right by the A12. Home for Retsina and Greek snacks on the patio: a grand day out!

A lifer and a year tick in the Brecks

One of the rarest breeding butterflies in Norfolk (and the smallest UK species) is the Small Blue. I'm pretty sure I've seen a few when visiting Stokenchurch to  look for Silver-spotted Skipper, but I certainly have never photographed one. Old acquaintance Mick Saunt was kind enough to give me the location of a colony he'd recently visited near Mundford: having a morning free, Linda and I drove down after breakfast to try our luck. To cut a long story short, we found at least thirty individuals in one small area of woodland ride! They were so involved in mating that they were completely oblivious of us: a couple even landed on Linda's jeans! Lots of Small Coppers, Common Blues and Orange Tips too.

A move to Santon Downham still failed to produce the usual suspects, but a Song Thrush was good to see. A nearby forest clearing added more Small Coppers and a Small Heath as well as a year tick in the form of a distant, singing Tree Pipit. A large accipiter drifted over: I'm pretty certain it was a Sparrowhawk.