The International Space Station overhead!

The ISS passed overhead tonight, gliding through Bootes, Lyra, Cygnus and Pegasus: at magnitude -3.7 it was incredibly bright! There'll be another good pass at 19.40 on Tuesday...

October: a two comet month?

You can never tell with comets: they often promise much and deliver little, sometimes because they pass too close to the Sun and sublime into a diffuse cloud of gas, sometimes because they're not visible from the UK when they're at their best. Just possibly, though, we might be able to see two naked eye comets in mid-October: Comet Swan and Comet Lemmon. The former will be near the bright star Altair, while Lemmon will be between the Plough and the bright star Arcturus. The chart below is for mid-evening on October 21st.

Art sale at Hemblington Church

This morning was the annual display and sale of local art, mostly themed around wildlife. As usual the team of Sue, Jennifer and Gwendoline had laid everything out beautifully and produced some wonderful cakes! Linda and I were first to arrive and pounced on a gorgeous pastel drawing of a hare to add to our gallery. Well done ladies: not only an amazing piece of art for the collection, but some of the money goes to the Friends of Hemblington Church!

Comet Lemmon - but only just!

Following yesterday's dismal failure to observe the Moon / Venus occultation (the sky was too hazy) I thought I'd have a pre-dawn bash at Comet Lemmon. It's still not visible with the naked eye, but - if you know where to look - a long exposure / high ISO image reveals it as a faint, fuzzy, green patch! Let's hope it brightens in October. A little later, Venus rose close to the bright star Regulus.

The Moon and Venus

This morning the crescent Moon is close to the brilliant planet Venus: the twin of the Earth in structure and size, but, with a surface temperature of 900C and an atmosphere made up of CO2 and sulphuric acid, you wouldn't want to visit! Being closer to the Sun than us, Venus exhibits phases like the Moon, as you can see in the third image.

Today at 12.45 the Moon will actually pass in front of Venus: this event may be visible with binoculars or a telescope - but be aware: the Sun will be close by!

The last Ruddy Duck in the UK?

Well: just possibly...  Following the RSPB-endorsed cull of the UK population of these delightful American ducks a few years back I thought I'd never see another: so when this female (or juvenile male) turned up at Leathe's Ham, Lowestoft I decided I had to go for a look. Now the SWC has visited this location before (failing to find a Penduline Tit) so I knew what to expect. There are hardly any places on the overgrown bank where you can actually see any water at all, but I persevered, moving from one 'vantage point' to the next and back for an hour. Finally I managed to find and photograph this dapper little duck: I wonder if it's a recent arrival from the USA?

Since I was in the area, I dropped in on Ness Point, where a newly-arrived Wheatear and a couple of Black Redstarts were great bonus species. The 'net posts' nearby held just a ringed Kestrel. Finally: could this be a Caspian Gull?

Non-bird highlights!

A Roesel's Bush Cricket and a very large Common Lizard were sheltering from the wind on the path out to the Centre Hides at Cley yesterday...

Red-necked Phalarope and lots more!

An early start saw Brian, Norman and me at Titchwell at 8.00am. Our target was the long-staying Red-necked Phalarope, which (with the help of a friendly local!) we eventually found - distant, but most welcome. Other birds included several Curlew Sandpipers, a fleeting Black Tern and a showy flock of Golden Plovers...

A move to Cley for coffee and scones added eight Spoonbills and two Little Stints to the day's tally - and we were home by 1.30!

The Moon and Jupiter

Just before dawn, the Moon and Jupiter were close together in Gemini: with Orion nearby, it was worth getting up early to see!