This morning Sue. Linda, Peter and I carried out the monthly survey of birds seen in, over or close by the churchyard. We also record butterflies, dragonflies and bees, as well as the regular flora. Pick of today's insects were the dozens of Meadow Brown butterflies..
The ISS begins a series of very bright passes in July: many of these are at 'silly o'clock', so I've left them out. The table includes all the passes at a reasonable hour either side of midnight. Remember: in Astronomy the lower the magnitude, the brighter the object. Mag. -3.8 is very bright!
Since Linda, Brian & Norman had yet to visit the Bee-eater colony, we met at 7.00 and were in the car park just as it opened. The cool northerly wind kept the exotic beauties low on the ground, where they divided their time between burrowing and mating!
Since we only had half a day available, we returned via Hickling for a stab at the reported Spotshanks: no sign, unfortunately, but a lone Glossy Ibis, a couple of gaudy Ruff and two displaying Great Egrets were worth the trip. Several Swallowtails were on the wing, as were four or five Hobbies.
Since this is, in fact, my personal diary, I'm going to post a few photos from the trip to Bempton Cliffs that Norman, his brother Laurie and I made this week.
Our route was northwards through Kings Lynn and Boston, with a detour to pick Laurie up from Hull station. On the way Norman and I stopped at Far Ings reserve: a bit of a disappointment, to be honest, but we did catch a fleeting glimpse of a distant Bittern.
As in the past, we stayed at the excellent Cameron Court B&B in Flamborough: superb value. excellent cooked breakfasts and run by a lovely, chatty couple. Nearby is the delightful Rose & Crown: same again - terrific food and drink, fabulous bar staff and a real 'old school pub' atmosphere. We missed winning the weekly pub quiz by two points!
No need for me to be coy about the location of what may turn out to be Norfolk's first breeding record for these beautiful birds: it's all over the internet and even featured on Springwatch!
Peter, Sue and I made the half-hour journey through Wroxham and North Walsham and parked in the excellent site organised by the RSPB. Following a very short walk, we enjoyed decent (if slightly distant) views of six - possibly eight - birds in flight, on the ground and perched on wires.
I know few of you will believe this, but the failure of the long-staying Albatross to put in an appearance hardly dampened my enjoyment of a three-day run up to Bempton Cliffs. I was asked if I'd like to join chum Norman and his brother Laurie for a Tuesday to Thursday stay in our favourite B & B, the Cameron Court: Once Linda said she was fine with it, we headed north, leaving Norwich at 9.00am. In the event, it wouldn't have mattered when we left, because Albert disappeared on Monday night and didn't return before we left on Thursday.
Plenty of birdy highlights: an unexpected Bittern at Far Ings, by the Humber Bridge, lots of Auk / Gannet / 'Rock Dove' and Tree Sparrow action and probably the closest views I've ever had of a singing Corn Bunting. More later!
