Stormy seas at Walcott, but calmer ones on the Moon!

Since we had a powercut on the Heath that started at midday, Linda and I decided to brave the winds for a little seawatch while we waited for the electricity to be reconnected.

First goodie was a smashing little Merlin on a telegraph pole at Horsey: no photo, sadly.

The joy of Walcott is that you can park on the seafront with your window open and truly enjoy the passage of seabirds in total comfort: old man's birding exemplified! Mind you: spume and spray filled the air as the tide rose and, after an hour, we decided that discretion would be the better part of valour and headed home.

While we were watching lots of wildfowl headed north (Wigeon, Pintail, Teal, Scoter, Brents) as well as a few Gannets, auks and waders.

Arriving home, I realised the skies were epically clear (and that power had been restored!) so I grabbed a few images of the Moon with my 500mm tp.

Too old to Rock & Roll?

Sudden epiphany at the Heathlands Beer Festival last night: I was playing music I love and work hard at (Stones, Seager, Spencer Davis, Clapton etc) and the 'audience' was totally indifferent to the whole thing: they seemed to prefer poorly-played renditions of Wurzels, Lonnie Donnegan and Ralph McTell numbers.

What, I wondered, was the point of the couple of hours practice every day  and continual effort of bringing new material to the weekly jam sessions, when the tastes of those 'enjoying' four hours free entertainment last night seemed to centre around  'Have you got a light boy?' or 'Wagonwheels'. FFS!

Time to put my Fender Strat (1987, US Standard, immaculate in hard case) and Fender Super 60 (US: excellent condition) up for sale. Offers invited!

Glossy Ibis, Hoopoe and Black Brant all in a morning!

Not to mention a male Hen Harrier at Felbrigg! What a county for a birder to live in!

Brian and I met at 7.30 and headed northwards, anticipating a decent morning weather-wise. In the event it was cold and overcast, but the Spixworth Hoopoe put in an appearance on cue (albeit still distantly.) We parked at the back gate of Felbrigg Hall and walked through to the lake, picking up a male Hen Harrier being mobbed over the woods by crows on the way. No Goosanders or Mandies on the lake - just a couple of Goldeneyes. From the dam we could see Dave Holman out in the boggy meadows east of the lake, so we squelched out to join him. Almost immediately the Glossy Ibis took off (no - no-one 'spooked it: it was 100m away!) and flew past back to the lake.

After a bit of search we relocated it in a juncus-filled gulley: no chance of photos, so we headed to Cley for lunch. While we were eating our cheese scones four Whoopers flew past heading westwards: my first of the winter!

Both of us had to be home early afternoon, so we called it a day, but stopped at Salthouse to grab a few photos of the Black Brant. OK: none of today's photos are competition standard, but seeing the birds was the buzz for me: the images are secondary (And I didn't pinch them from the 'net!)

Whitlingham Lane: possible Caspian Gull and very distant Goosander

On my way to check out the new ASDA at Lakenham, I thought I'd give the Goosander at Whitlingham Lane another bash: I think I may have seen it at a range of about half a mile!

Another bird that looked slightly more promising was a large gull at the far side of the Great Broad: to me it has the potential to be a Caspian Gull. I attach a misty photo of the bird, together with a couple of 'atmospheric' shots!

Oh! Just an aside! Am I the only person who is perplexed by the current trend for blogs that claim to be local patch-based, but seem to consist almost entirely of other people's photos and click-through adverts?

Bittern, Kingfisher and Snipe: typical Strumpshaw fare!

Brian and I met early at the Fen (Tuesday is his 'duty day' as a vol) for a pre-hurricane dash around the reserve.

As the title of the post suggests, there were a few decent birds to enjoy: a close Kingfisher at Fen Hide, and a Bittern and perhaps a dozen Snipe at Tower Hide. Lots of Redwings and Fieldfares as well as a flock of over thirty Blackbirds!

Last interesting species were Siskins, Goldcrests and Redpolls that made up a rolling flock by the entrance gate.

 

Brian Tubby's excellent photo!

Hoopoe seconds!

After a futile hour's search for the Whitlingham Lane Goosander, I decided to try for better shots of the Spixworth Hoopoe, arriving around lunchtime. At first I was the only birder on site, but others gradually arrived until, perhaps, fifteen people were peering over the fence!

The bird stayed stubbornly distant, although it did raise its crest a couple of times. Perhaps I'll have another bash when I don't have to go with 1200 ISO!

Beautiful planet-rise!

This morning the three planets Jupiter, Mars & Venus were lined up with the bright star Regulus (in the constellation of Leo) making a beautiful 'diamond and ruby necklace'!