Memories.....

Watching the behaviour of a Nuthatch at Strumpshaw this morning reminded me of another bird twenty-odd years ago....

As Sandy Denny sang: "Who knows where the time goes?" Well - let's hope we all do meet on the ledge one day.

Après moi le déluge!

Partly to take advantage of a brief lacuna in the foul weather and partly to pick my monopod up from Norman, I took a short walk around Strumpshaw today, sharing Fen hide with Ben Lewis (on his week off!) Norman, Liz & Mike.

Between 7.30 and 9.30 the sky was clear and the light pretty good for photography, but the wind picked up, the temperature dropped and the clouds rolled over.... Still, we managed reasonable views of two Otters, a couple of Bitterns and a group of six Marsh Harriers: a pair of Chinese Water Deer came close to the hide. And just for Bob Walker - one of the five or so Marsh Tits that were feeding in the woods today!

Two-barred!

Wowser! Three species of Crossbill in two days... possibly!

Once the rain stopped and I'd done some office-work, I drove the short distance to Hoveton Hall and immediately jammed in on the putative Two-barred Crossbill. Despite it being high in the larches, I managed some photos that show how easy it was was to pick from the rest of the flock: smaller bill, very pink rump, white tertial tips and a much more obvious wing bar than some people have reported...

Brecks again! We shoot - we score!

A run down to the Brecks delivered the goods today - a flock of Crossbills drinking from a puddle in the car park at West Stow and seven Goosanders at Lackford. Possibly the bird of the day, though, was the huge female Goshawk being mobbed by crows by the A11 at Thetford...

The last time I visited Mayday, I met and chatted to the chief Gamekeeper from Hoveton Hall, who elected not to mention the Two-barred! Today, we continued the Crossbill theme nearby at Spink's Farm with a flock of seven: at least one looked a reasonable candidate for Parrot!

By Jove, Missus!

Having wasted hours trying to get it right by trial & error, I took the sensible strep of browsing Astronomy websites: as a result, I finally managed a decent image of Jupiter and its four Galilean moons!

With a little help from my friends!

Great morning at the Fen with the usual reprobates! Cheers Brian & Kim for the use of your excellent cameras (when my batteries went flat!)

If you're thinking of visiting, best go now before all the trees have been cut down!

Astronomy!

Mercury is at its extreme eastern elongation this weekend, making it the easiest to see it's been for ages! Also: the Moon and Jupiter are pretty special tonight! The red star is, of course, Betelgeux - NO enhancements!

Making a Mealy out of it!

Highspot of a morning at Strumpshaw was bumping into legendary rock guitarist / birder Bob Walker and his mate Richard: the only people I personally know with Egyptian Vulture on their Norfolk lists!

After they left for a bash at the Acle Cranes, I carried on round the circuit and came across a chunky, somewhat frosty Redpoll... Only other bird of note was a Sparrowhawk getting a world of grief from the local crow population!

Buzzards!

As Linda & I drove into the village at lunchtime, a pair of Buzzards (but NOT the ones perched on the hedge last month!) were calling and displaying over Blofield Hall...

No Smews is bad news!

Despite a 7.00am start, I failed to connect with the redhead Smew that Ben Lewis found in front of Reception Hide on Thursday. Still, after meeting up with 'Blonde Liz' and Brian in Fen Hide, some consolation came in the form of a Water Pipit and an always-obscured Bittern.

Brian and I decided on a walk round (more to warm up than anything!) and saw three Buzzards: two displaying over the eastern end of the reserve and one in a tree in the Woodland Walk.

On the way back to the van, a glance at the feeders revealed a pair of Nuthatches, which I always enjoy watching.