Wild Goosander (!) chase!

Linda & I had to be in Norwich at midday to meet friends, so - having seen online that the possibly plastic Goosander was once again at Thorpe Green - we stopped off twice (in and out!) for a five-minute search.

No sign: just lots of dodgy-parentage ducks, a few swans and a distant Buzzard...

Latest book!

My next book should be available at the end of September!

It deals with the largely unrecognised threat from to our existence from the trillions of comets in the Oort Cloud and Kuiper Belt. Until now, most pundits have stressed the danger from Earth-crossing asteroids: in the book I demonstrate that the vast majority of impacts upon our planet and the other bodies in the Solar System have been cometary and that these events occur more frequently than previously believed.

Lots of biology and pictures, too!

 

Winterton wanderings: dragonfly help wanted!

Brian and I spent a sunny - but very windy - day in the North Dunes.

Despite being 'on the birdmap' the Red-backed Shrike was (according to the NWT warden) long gone.. One piece of information, though, was that he'd watched several Common Hawkers emerging at the Kidney Pool the previous day. We spent two half-hour sessions scrutinising every rush stem: no Common Hawkers and no Southern Emeralds, just a handful of Emerald Damsels and four exuvia that looked promising. (Help!)

Several families of Stonechats (several with leg-irons) and lots of Buzzards, including a group of five.

Last stop was Upton Fen. Here I'm 90% certain we saw at least two Common Hawkers in flight, as well as dozens of Browns, Southerns and Migrants. Also: an intriguing Darter with yellow veins and tangerine patches. (Help!)

White-letter Hairstreaks!

You'll have to take my word for it, because I didn't manage to find one perched, but Linda and I saw four WLHs at Zak's on Mousehold Heath today. They were just where they 'usually' are, flying around the elms by the benches in the car park: seems late, but they were all definites...

Other odds and ends included a nice moth (Black Arches or something?) and some sh*gging shieldbugs!

 

Queen's Hills

As we had business to the west of Norwich, Linda & I decided to have a look for Clouded Yellows at Queen's Hills, Costessey.

Despite a long walk around the excellent habitat of the Circular Path, we saw very few butterflies at all: just lots of Brown & Southern Hawkers and a Buzzard. Still: a terrific spot with great potential...

Fen dipping and Willow Emeralds!

Linda fancied having a look at the Great White Egret, which was shown as present on the RBA map: according to regulars at Strumpshaw (and the board in reception!) it wasn't seen today. Hmmmmm....

Still: we enjoyed a good preprandial stroll and managed to see a few interesting odds and ends: my first Willow Emerald of the year, a flock of Common Sandpipers and Ruff at Tower Hide and a distant Kingfisher at Fen Hide.

 

 

Perseids!

I stayed up until 1.30 am watching the Perseid meteor shower last night: it was the best for years, with a peak of around 60 per hour, including some bright ones that left enduring trails.

The Perseids are debris from Comet Swift-Tuttle and generally put on the best display of the year.

(For readers of another blog: Sirius is NOT visible at this time of year from the UK: Canis Major is a winter constellation! The stars in my photo are the 'W' of Cassiopeia and part of the Square of Pegasus!)

Wader-Fest at Cley...

A day on the North Coast with Brian T was surprisingly productive, with several year-ticks and some interesting insects.

First stop was Cley, where a walk out to the Centre Hides produced Curlew Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and Wood Sandpiper, as well as a smart Little Gull. Lots of Godwits and Ruff too, until a tractor arrived to trim the banks!

On the East Bank we met Jonathan Forgham - a really nice guy, despite being an ex-teacher! (I've added a link to his blog.) After adding Sparrowhawk, Greenshank and the usual Terns to the day list, we went for coffee before moving to Stiffkey Fen. The access wasn't as good as I remembered it, but we managed distant views of 20+ Spoonbills.

Heading eastwards to Kelling Quags produced just Emperor Dragonfly and Small Red-eyed Damsel, but no Red-veined Darters. Kelling Heath was even more barren, so we headed home by way of Holt Country Park. Here a ten minute walk produced literally dozens of tatty Silver-washed Frits (including one valenzina-ish female!) and a few White Admirals.

A great day out!

Great White Egret at Strumpshaw

I hadn't intended going out this morning ( having a radio interview at 10.00) but the lure of a patch tick saw me up, dressed and out by 7.00am.

A few cars were in the car park and I met Brian Shreeve and Liz at Reception: they hadn't heard about the GWE and didn't seem that bothered!

I trudged round to Tower Hide alone, picking up Little Egret and Cetti's on the way. The hide was empty and first glance revealed nothing special: the light was still pretty gloomy. Then a movement in front revealed that the Great White Egret was just fifty metres away, standing in a pale patch of water that almost totally concealed it!

Other decent birds included ten Ruff and a couple of Little Egrets. What a terrific welcome back from Devon!