Unusual Jackdaw

A lot of years ago - in the late nineties, I think - there was an odd Jackdaw that hung around Cley for several weeks. It was generally regarded as being  '..of one of the eastern races'. I videoed the bird: it paired up with a more conventionally plumaged individual and, I seem to recall, built a nest on a chimney near the visitor centre. Looking at the video today, the Cley bird doesn't seem too different to the one in the photos below.

Now all Jackdaws in breeding fettle have a pale nape, but this individual that's been visiting my garden for a few days seems particularly well-marked.

Crow quandary!

This handsome fellow has been visiting our garden every day for a week or two: at first I assumed he was a juvenile Rook, since they're much more common around here than Carrion Crows. However, there's a Norfolk saying:

 

"If you see a Rook all by itself, it's a Crow: if you see lots of crows together, they're Rooks!"

Now this bird's head-shape looks good for Rook, but its bill is more crow-like. Also, it has no bare patch on its forehead - nor sign of a developing one. Ipso facto, I'm going for young Carrion Crow: a welcome visitor to the garden, albeit one that the Jays are terrified of!

We also have a Jackdaw visiting most days that has a considerably paler nape than all of his mates: I wonder if it's one of the eastern-type Jackdaws? I'll try and get a photo if it stops raining!

More odds and ends from the Fen

Another snatched couple of hours at Strumpshaw: still no sign of any clearwings... The strong winds kept everything on the ground, but I was amazed by the number of Scarce Chasers along the river and Lackford Run - I've never seen so many!

Black-tailed Skimmers are beginning to emerge in numbers and still lots of Hairy Hawkers on the wing. Quite a few very young Pheasant chicks creeping about too.

Birds of the Yare Valley: a site guide

My latest book is now available on Amazon and I have plenty on the way from the printers. Either way, the book costs £12 + p&p (unless you order it directly from me, in which case it's post free!) I'll happily sign a copy should you wish!

The book should be available at the better-known bird reserves soon and I'll keep some in the car, too (so if you meet me out in the field you can pick one up straight away)

We've purposely kept the price low: the idea is to help people to discover more of the Yare Valley and, hopefully, add their support to the movement to protect this fabulous region from property development and industrial agriculture.

Companion volumes for the Thurne & Ant and  Bure and Wensum will follow if there's a demand!

Fantastic Fen: just an hour delivers the goods - almost!

Linda and I had a free hour before lunch and decided to have a quick look for clearwings. In the event (despite diligent searching) we didn't manage to connect: however, we did obtain great views of many of the other Strumpshaw insect specialities. Odonata included Broad-bodied Chaser, Norfolk Hawker, Hairy Hawker, Four-spotted Chaser, Scarce Chaser,  Red-eyed, Blue-tailed, Common and Azure Damselflies, and lots of Banded Demoiselles! THe very first insect we encountered as we entered the reserve was a Swallowtail: we saw a total of three during our walk.

A Cuckoo came close several times, but was always (despite backlight adjustment!) frustratingly silhouetted against the bright sky: this was also the case with a dapper little Chiffchaff along the Sandy Path. Other birds included Marsh Harrier, Hobby, Cetti's, Sedge and Willow Warblers. We found our own Bee Orchid, too!

 

 

Frogs, Hobbies and gardening!

Gardens - even smallish ones like ours - take a fair bit of maintenance, from trimming the neighbours' p*xy Leylandii hedge, to mowing the lawn to keeping the filters in our two water features free from gunge and refilling the feeders!

Having said which, '...a garden is a lovesome thing, God wot' as Thomas Edward Brown somewhat pretentiously penned a hundred and odd years ago: there are always things to see, do and marvel at.

Today Linda and I spent a couple of hours in the sunshine and were rewarded by a pair of Common Frogs mating in the pond (bit late, I'd've thought!) a Hobby dashing about after dragonflies, the usual pair of Buzzards and our personal murmuration squabbling over the water bath!

Fascinating to reflect on how the mild weather has produced vast amounts of flowers on our palms and cordylines: we might be harvesting dates in a few years!

Blooming marvellous!

Sometimes I can be so focused on birds / butterflies / dragonflies that I'm unaware of the beautiful plants around them: however, even I managed to notice these lovely examples!

The orchids are, I think, a Pugsley's and an Early Purple Orchid, while Ragged Robin is one that most people can identify! Yellow Flag is one of my favourite wild flowers and something that many of us take for granted. The large fern is a Royal Fern, Osmunda regalis: I first came across the species on a college field trip to Askham Bog in Yorkshire back in the early seventies. Even then I was impressed by its sheer bulk and flower-like fronds of sporangia.

Last image is of one of the many dopey young Starlings that are currently eating us out of house and home: at any moment there are 30 or 40 in the garden: hardly a minute goes by without one of them thumping into a window or door! A shrug of the head and they're off again!

A very welcome visitor to the feeders!

Perhaps because our garden backs onto arable land rather than woodland, woodpeckers are somewhat scarce visitors: nevertheless, both Green and Great Spotted Woodies do pop in from time to time! Today it was a female GSW that came to inspect the mealworms and suet!

With any luck she's feeding young and will bring them to the garden in the future!