Very, very last of the Summer Wine

Well it looks like Winter has skipped over Autumn and arrived early: the weather here in East Norfolk has been cold, windy, damp and decidedly unpleasant today. (Fortunately I managed a 'last' (yeah, right!) cut of the lawn yesterday afternoon)

Had conditions been slightly more conducive, Linda and I might well have made the two-hour trip to Spalding to look for the roving Lammergeier: as it is, we've been indoors all day catching up with correspondence and business.

Nice to hear from fellow 'Summer Winers' Brian and Norman today: it's been three months since we were out together. When you've reached (or nearly reached) the proverbial threescore years and ten and have underlying health issues, you have to be uber-cautious during the present situation. To be honest, I don't enjoy long-distance birding on my own: somehow the dips seem doubly depressing. When Linda is free, that's terrific - I rarely miss a bird when she's there! Of course, Linda and I have days out with delightful friends and neighbours Sue & Peter, with whom we've shared some terrific adventures (and memorable meals!)

I do look forward to a time, though, when the three of us can get back to our twice-weekly expeditions: a bird shared with good friends is a memory shared for life...

Another excellent Moon!

For once the sky was clear when I crawled out of bed around 4.00am: the Moon was still quite high in the sky, making photography a little difficult (it's easier when you can lean the camera against a car or wall!)
The terminator passed through the particularly rich field around the crater triplet of Alphonsus, Arzachel and Ptolemaeus: towards the north pole, the dark-floored crater Plato showed in terrific contrast. Worth getting up for!

Dodging the showers for a Hoopoe and a Red-necked Phalarope

A sudden brightening of the sky saw Linda and me heading north-west to Wighton just south of Wells. A long-staying Hoopoe had been reported as still present and, having nothing to do in the office or garden, this seemed a good chance to catch up with it. 

As soon as we arrived it was obvious the bird was showing well to a small, appreciative gallery: peering through the hedge, Linda and I enjoyed terrific views down to five metres. After 'filling up' we decided to head east on the off-chance of adding Red-necked Phalarope to the day (and year!) list, This we duly did at Salthouse Little Eye: always distant, we viewed the charming little wader from the beach hills and, somewhat closer, from the duckpond. Nice to see a confiding Wheatear on the beach, as well as Buzzards and Red Kites en route.

Glossy Ibis at Martham Ferry

 A couple of years ago, Glossy Ibis was becoming almost routine: singles, pairs - even flocks - were annual visitors to Norfolk, often staying on for months at a time. This year, however, they have become a little thin on the ground again, so, when the pager announced one had been seen near Martham Ferry I decided to dodge the rain and have a look for it.

Sometimes in birding everything just goes right: today was one of those occasions! I delayed leaving home until 1.40 when the rain had finally stopped, arriving at Martham Ferry around twenty minutes later. After a false start, I reached the stretch of riverbank from which a yellow digger could be seen. Just as I arrived, however, a team of workers began readying it for a move: the Ibis was not in sight. I decided to ignore the threatening clouds and walk upstream towards Martham Broad. In the distance I could see a large flooded area that looked ideal: a scan with binoculars revealed the Ibis distantly on the far edge of the flood. The sound of the digger starting up startled the Ibis which flew straight towards me. It settled briefly, before heading westwards over the trees: as I reached the car to return home, the heavens opened!

Linda could not believe it when, bone dry, I walked in from the garage just an hour and a half after I'd left!

Did a triple - or even quadruple - whammy kill the dinosaurs?

Linda and I were among the happy few people I know who actually watched as, day by day, fragments of the comet Shoemaker-Levy slammed into Jupiter. Using a 5" refractor, we were able to plainly see the huge scars the comet's impacts left in the upper atmosphere of the giant planet. It occurred to me at the time that such a series of impacts on the Earth would be a good candidate for the event that wiped out three quarters of our planet's the plant and animal species 65 million years ago.

A few years back I wrote a series of articles and, eventually, a book suggesting that multiple impacts by cometary fragments would be much more likely to result in a sudden global extinction than would a single asteroidal impact.

At the time it wasn't universally acknowledged that even one impact had occurred at the time of the K-T / K-P extinction (Cretaceous - Tertiary / Palaeogene) Recent investigation, however, seems to suggest that there were three, perhaps four impacts at the time:

• Chicxulub, on the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico
• Boltysh: a large crater in the Ukraine
• The Shiva Structure off the west coast of India
• The Silverpit crater in the North Sea

The Shiva and Silverpit structures are not yet acknowledged by everyone as impact craters, but both have their supporters. (Some evidence suggests that Silverpit may be slightly later)

If even just the Chicxulub and Boltysh Craters were made within a short space of time, this would be very strong evidence that it was a number of cometary fragments rather than an asteroid that was responsible for this - and probably other - global extinction events.

Mars and the Moon in the dawn sky

Although I missed their closest approach because of last night's cloud and rain, this morning at 5.00am Mars and the Moon were still near and bright enough to be impressive.

When to to see the International Space Station

For the next three nights the ISS will be visible from Norfolk - weather permitting - and will pass close to Jupiter and Saturn on the 5th and 6th. There are some good conjunctions coming up too: 

October 14th:  Venus and the Moon
October 22nd:  Jupiter and the Moon
October 23rd:  Saturn and the Moon
October 29th:  Mars and the Moon

Watch this space for reminders and other Astronomical events!

The ISS goes over Norfolk (and lots more too!)

An unexpected gap in the clouds last night allowed great views of the International Space Station sliding overhead at 8.00pm. Just below it was the ongoing planetary conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn: all four of Jupiter's Galilean moons were on show!

When the Moon rose, it was close to Mars - the Red Planet is about as bright now as it ever gets - tonight the two will be even closer: definitely worth a look if it's clear where you are. I couldn't resist a shot of the Plough (Ursa Major) Notice the double stars Alcor and Mizar: they are the second star along the 'handle' from the left.

Yellow-browed warblers in Yarmouth Churchyard

After a completely unproductive walk around Buckenham Marsh (Why don't 'we' get the waders that are turning up at Dickleburgh?) I decided on a quick visit to St. Nick's to look for migrants.

Years ago, this was a pleasant, enjoyable venue: I have great memories of Red-flanked Bluetails, Radde's Warblers, Collared Flycatchers and much more besides. Today, the place felt quite threatening: several gangs of drunks shouted aggressively: one group released a vile little terrier of some sort that raced around the churchyard chasing squirrels...

I made a couple of quick circuits and was about to leave when I bumped into local birder Chris Small: feeling a little less vulnerable, I joined him (at a distance) and spent another hour near the 'Sainsbury's gate' Holme Oak. Now and then a small warbler flock passed through: there were certainly two Yellow-boweds, as well as a Blackcap and, I assume, a Willow Warbler. Chris also saw a Pied Flycatcher, but I missed that: would've been a year tick, I'm embarrassed to admit! Sorry about the poor image quality: it really was a gloomy day...