The advantages of early rising!

Linda and I are part of a rota to unlock and lock Hemblington Church: since I'm out in the Brecks early today, I unlocked the Church at 6.00am. Naturally I didn't take my camera!

I decided to check the poplars on the east side of the churchyard for signs of Hornet Clearwings: I didn't see any of those, but I did see a Little Owl! It was perched just above eye level at a range of perhaps three metres, shrieking and screeching, while head-bobbing from sided to side. I watched this charming little creature for five minutes before I had to leave...

Lunar 'X' and 'Y'

These two famous clair obscur effects were really plain to see tonight, just before the heavy clouds rolled over....

Meat-eating plants!

Our collection of insectivorous plants has survived the Winter and the Pitcher Plants in particular are thriving: they have just begun to flower. From close up they remind me of 'Little Shop of Horrors'! There are also Butterworts and Venus Flytraps beginning to push through....

The Moon, Mars and Venus

The sky was clear of haze last night, so I managed some reasonable images of the triple conjunction of these three bright celestial objects hanging over the western horizon. (Even from inside our garage!)

Nightjarring!

An evening 'jarring' on Kelling Heath has become an annual event for Linda, Peter, Sue and me: last night the weather was perfect, so we left home at 6.30 and were in our favourite spot by 7.40.

For the next couple of hours we watched Dartford Warblers flitting through the gorse: on occasion they actually flew in between us! We saw at least two juveniles and two adults, but they never perched for a photo!

Stonechats were more obliging: a pair of adults were busily feeding a couple of cute juveniles right until it was almost dark.

This being the longest day and all that, the Nightjars didn't start churring until nearly 10pm, but when they did there semed to be quite a few present. One obliging individual called continuously and made forays from a nearby tree: you may need to turn up the volume.

 Other birds included a croaking Woodcock, Yellowhammer and, of course, lots of Linnets!

Bee Eaters, American Golden Plover and much more!

My elder brother and his lovely wife have been staying near Stalham, so we took the chance to meet for a day's birding (It was Rob who got me into the hobby 60 years ago!)

After a 9.30 pick up we drove in the rain to Trimingham, where - despite the weather - the three returning Bee Eaters were ever-present (if somewhat distant) They fed continuously on large bees and butterflies: fascinating to watch!

We carried on around the coast to Cley for lunch at the Reserve Centre, before wading through the shingle to the North Scrape screen. The American Golden Plover was immediately visible (at range) as it fed among the reed stems: a new bird for Rob! Walking back along the shingle, we scrutinised a large flock of gulls and were able to pick out Mediterranean, Little and Yellow-legged Gull.

On the way back to Ingham, we stopped at Hickling Broad: no sign of the Stilts today, but six or seven Spoonbills, a Great White and ten Little Egrets were noteworthy.

Garden Hawker!

While doing a spot of garden maintenance, Linda came across this Southern Hawker resting by our splash pool. It was very confiding (presumably because of the heat) and stayed there until dusk..

White-winged Black Tern in Norwich

Since I'm having a day out tomorrow with my elder brother and his wife, I tried to ignore all the good birds that were available today. In the end, though, having completed all my meteorite work (and put in a bit of practice on some new songs) I thought I deserved a quick dash out to Bowthorpe. Parking just off Chapel Break, I joined three others (all very pleasant individuals!) and, after a short wait, managed a few photos of this beautiful southern visitor. The range was extreme - as was the heat haze - but even the brief views through a gap in the trees were most welcome! (The final image shows how far away the lake is from the road!)

Frampton Marsh

No sign of the Stilts when we were there, but a pair of Spoonbills, a Gropper and some lovely orchids.