Early start at Titchwell: some you win, some...

Linda and I beat the traffic and arrived at Titchwell before the crowds. Unfortunately, this also turned out to be before the Semi-P! A good walk and careful scrutiny of the wader flocks produced a Curlew Sandpiper, while at the back of the Freshwater Pool, 17 Spoonbills loitered in the sunshine. Several juvenile Yellow Wagtails were flitting about and there were well over 100 Dunlin, as well as Ruff, Knot, Curlews, Black-tailed Godwits and numerous Mediterranean Gulls.

An hour before lunch we decided to move and headed eastwards. First stop was Burnham Overy - no sign of any Cattle Egrets - then on to Wells North Point: very little to look at here, either. Since it's been a while since Linda and I have seen the Chalkhill Blues at their regular site, we moved inland. Lots of butterflies of a good number of species, and - best of all - a couple of dozen CHB on the wing. Eventually a few took pity on me and settled for a photo-call!

Continuing the butterfly theme, we carried on to Holt Country Park for fleeting views of scores of Silver-washed Fritillaries and just a single White Admiral. A well-coloured Darter caught our attention: I've never seen an immature Red-veined Darter - could this be one?
(I see from the pager that the SPS turned up at Titchwell just about the same time as old chum Alan. I hope he saw it... No, really!)

Jam session at the Hermitage, Acle

Today was the twice-monthly jam session at Acle: good fun as usual (although the young musicians do make me feel old!) I was there, but there was no Jenny to take photos of me!

Unfortunately Tim had to leave after just a couple of numbers and Garth is a bit under the weather, so we weren't as tight as we can be... Still: good to hear Olly playing lead: he really is a talented fellow! Excellent drumming too...

 

 

 

Fifty years of Hemblington Parish Council

Friend and neighbour Sue was the organiser of an exhibition (held at the Church) to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the setting up of the local parish council.

The event was very well attended despite the rain (and perhaps partly because of the Prosecco!) and, as usual, Sue's organisation was impeccable. Lots of fascinating documents to browse and a very interesting talk by the Chair of the council: great to meet some local readers of the blog - Julie and John were particularly good company, with a wealth of first-hand experiences of many famous rock musicians to share!

A flock of Guinea Fowl and a Marsh Harrier were worth looking at on the way.

Strumpshaw Tree Fair

Today (and tomorrow) is the annual Tree Fair at Strumpshaw Hall. Always worth attending (even if you're not an old hippy!) There's lots to see - and buy - including plants, sculpture, wood carving, metal work, live music and so on: as usual Linda bought a few pieces for the garden and I added to my insectivorous plant collection. The food stalls are outstanding: we had halloumi burgers with lots of salad and relishes - absolutely delicious! Linda bought some terrific animal hats for her grandchildren, as well as some fabulous cheese straws and naughty cakes!

Southern Migrant at Theberton Woods

As Brian and I were waiting to see the Purple Emperors during Wednesday's Suffolk excursion, Kessingland birder David Borderick pointed out a Migrant Hawker dangling from a nearby bush. As I was photographing this, another hawker flew past several times: it seemed very blue, and I assumed it was a Southern Hawker or even an Emperor.

Later it flew past again, and I took a quick photo, simply because I haven't seen Southern Hawker yet this year. Today I was checking twitter to see if the Pacific Golden Plover was showing and came across David's fabulous photo of the 'blue' Hawker: it was undeniably a Southern Migrant Hawker! I attach David Borderick's photo - I hope he won't mind: if he does, I'll take it down straight away. Of course, I wish I'd realised at the time and got better images: still - a new species for me!

My photo



David Borderick's photo

Migrant Hawker