A few correspondents have asked for details of where some of the various astronomical sights I've mentioned can be found: I thought I'd start with everyone's favourite constellation, Orion. This time of year it's really easy to find before dawn in the southern part of the sky, and can be used to locate a number of interesting objects...
A couple of short videos of yesterday's star birds!
Despite the early morning drizzle - and the promise of worse later - Brian and I headed north, beginning at Sheringham with a half-hour seawatch. This was almost totally unproductive, so we walked eastwards along the promenade, where we eventually found a very confiding Purple Sandpiper and a less helpful Grey Wagtail!
It was still raining, but the skies seemed clearer to the west: accordingly we headed straight for Holkham, where the first interesting bird we saw was a Swallow hawking over the boardwalk. A brisk walk to the 'roped off area' gave us decent views of a flock of 20 or so Snow Buntings. A good scrutiny of the saltmarsh failed to reveal any Shorelarks, so we retraced our steps to the pines and headed for the first public hide (The Jordan Hide is closed!) Lots of Buzzards and Red Kites, but little else, so we returned to Cley for tea and scones. The pager alerted us to a red-head Smew at Filby: it seemed rude not to have a look, but the Broad was devoid of the large duck groups of last week. After a chat with a delightful couple from Cockley Cley, we decided to call it a day.
As is often the case with elderly gents like me, I was out of bed by 5.00am and I was pleased to see that the sky was absolutely clear and dark (the Moon hadn't risen until 4.00am, and was a very thin crescent in the east)
Orion was a magnificent sight in the south west, so I grabbed a couple of shots of the Orion Nebula, M42, using a 300mm lens and 'Astrotracer' function on my Pentax K3. Even with a fairly short exposure of around 20 seconds, there was still a bit of 'trailing', and it's difficult achieving a sharp focus manually on small objects like stars. Nevertheless, the images of M42 and the Pleiades are reasonable, I reckon.
Mars is just above Orion at the moment: very bright, very red! I have no idea what the coloured, wavy track was made by: satellites only move in straight lines!
Thanks to the many (over 100!) people who messaged to wish Linda and me a happy anniversary: most kind! We had a lovely meal at the Ivy in Norwich (once a table with three very noisy and unruly children left!)
It's Linda and my 28th wedding anniversary today: doesn't seem that long since we were married at Norwich Registry Office, because every day has been full of fun, excitement and, at times, drama. Together we've started four online businesses (two of which continue to flourish) written six books, travelled to France over 100 times met many celebrities, enjoyed some terrific meals in some amazing restaurants and made - and lost - lots of wonderful friends. We graduated with OU BScs together, won two national 24 hour Bird Races, produced five rare bird videos before digital cameras and i-phones made it easy and were at the forefront of marine fishkeeping when obtaining a new coral meant a trip to London!
Still lots to do: we're starting tonight with supper at the Ivy with our dear friends Sue & Peter.
There are some bright transits by the ISS this month, and they are all in the early evening - no need for late stay-ups or early rises! There are a few clear nights forecast, so well worth a look...
At the moment all our little marine guests seem to be thriving and are, for the most part getting on well with each other. The original Xenia colony has divided and spread around the tank, while most of the Mushroom Polyps are growing larger every day!
Just a couple more photos of the Fudge Ducks (and hybrid) on the Trinity Broads. They were always distant and the weather was not at all conducive of good photography!
Brian and I spent the morning at Cley, mostly under blue skies: several large skeins of Pinkfeet flew in front of the waning Moon: very aesthetic! Not much else to report, to be honest, although a small flock of grey geese that landed briefly east of Beach Road looked good for Tundra Beans - they certainly had orange legs and over-all brownish plumage.
Aside from that, it was good to see three Pintail on the North Scrape, as well as a female Goldeneye in front of Bishop's. A nearby female Stonechat had an almost interesting supercilium!
Last night I delivered a talk to a terrific bunch of mostly international students at the INTO Centre at the University of East Anglia. Despite English being most attendees' second language, and the technical nature of much of the lecture, the students listened attentively and asked some great questions. (They also bought some meteorites and jewellery, which was a bonus!)
Thanks to Nicky and Dan for the invitation!
