Slavonian Grebe at Wroxham Broad

There was just time before the birdwatch to visit Wroxham Broad, where a Slavonian Grebe had been seen late the previous afternoon. When I arrived there were just two birders present: Dave Holman and his charming wife. The grebe was directly out in front of the car park, but somewhat distant: nevertheless, I managed a few shots. I wish there'd been time to look for the Red-necked Grebe at Filby: that would have been five out of five!

 

Garden Birdwatch at Hemblington Church

The annual two hour birdwatch at our local church attracted a decent number of people, including youngsters and several birders from as far away as Aylsham! Despite a cool wind and the threat of showers, it was a thoroughly enjoyable session (from 11.00am until 1.00pm) The total number of species seen was nineteen, with an overall count (mostly pigeons!) of close to three hundred.
Highlights included at least twelve Buzzards (including groups of six and three) twenty four Fieldfares and plenty of Great, Long-tailed and Blue Tits. Thanks yet again to the indefatigable Lynda, Katherine and Gwendoline for the excellent homemade soups and cakes.

 

Burns Night in Blofield Heath

What a fantastic evening! Thanks to Lynda Beck and her team, this now-annual event was a triumph! Starting with a welcome from Piper Rory, we enjoyed Burns poetry, singing, Scottish dancing and a terrific meal. The traditional supper of haggis, neaps and tatties was followed by a personal favourite: cranachan. If you've never tried it, have a go: it's a delightful confection of cream, whisky, oatmeal and raspberries.

Ferruginous Duck at Ranworth: back for thirds!

With no supper to prepare and Linda busy on her new laptop, I thought I'd go and see if the female Fudge Duck was still at Ranworth: it was! Still very distant, but easy to pick out on size alone, even with the naked eye: it's noticeably smaller than a female tufted.

No Redpolls or Siskins in the woodland, but a delightful Kestrel was good to see.

Burns Night supper

Tonight Linda and I will be joining Peter and Sue in a walk up to Heathlands for our annual celebration of Burns Night. Organised by the Friends of Hemblington Church, this is an event we all look forward to: a perfect antidote for the post-Christmas blues! There'll be pipe music, poetry and - for those of a more flamboyant nature -  dancing!

Having a Scottish Grandfather (see below!) and a mother who would have been Scottish apart from her mother going into labour during a visit to Manchester, I've always been proud of my Gaelic / Celtic heritage (I have two Welsh Grandmothers too!) I was brought up on Harry Lauder, Kenneth McKellen and all things Scottish and have enjoyed many trips up to the Highlands and Islands. Like my father and grandfather before me, I love a glass of uisge beatha and have always enjoyed haggis. Luckily, MacSweens make a very acceptable veggie version: I always keep a few in the fridge!

So tonight we'll enjoy a deoch an dorus and raise a few quid towards the upkeep of our beautiful little church...

Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face,
Great chieftain o the puddin'-race!
Aboon them a' ye tak your place,
Painch, tripe, or thairm:
Weel are ye worthy o' a grace
As lang's my arm.

Our personal covey of Red-legged Partridges.

Linda always makes sure there's plenty of food for our avian visitors: we have a large ground feeder that is much-frequented by pigeons and Pheasants and half a dozen hanging nut and seed feeders. Recently up to five Red-legged Partridges have started spending time in the garden. Yes, I know they are not rare birds and that  far too many are released by gamekeepers, but they are undeniably beautiful - and cute!

Holding three planets in my hand

When Linda and I first met we decided to 'do' the Open University Astronomy modules: this was with a view to starting a meteorite business as a second income. This, as you may know, culminated in Spacerocks UK, which has been operating for over twenty years. At the time just a handful of lunar meteorites had been collected - all in Antarctica - and, for the first time it was being suggested that the SNC group might have originated on the planet Mars. Not everyone was convinced: I recall offering Sir Patrick Moore a Martian sample as a birthday present. He declined, saying that he didn't believe they were from Mars! Only a small group of researchers were given the privilege of handling these rare meteorites: even seeing one was a memorable experience

Nearly forty years later the situation has changed somewhat! Although lunaites and Martians are still pretty scarce (430+ and 140+ respectively) they are now available at surprisingly reasonable prices: we always hold good stocks of both! More intriguingly, there are meteorites which are good candidates for having originated on Mercury and on the prehistoric Earth!

Rock and Roll! Time to try out my latest toy

A couple of us are meeting at Heathlands tonight for a bit of a jam: it's a great chance to try out my cordless guitar connector. This consists of a radio transmitter that plugs into the jack socket of the guitar and a receiver that fits onto the amp. Simon at the Lingwood jam had one a couple of weeks ago, and it seemed a great idea (No tripping over each other's leads!) I'm assuming you can adjust the frequency so as not to interfere with someone else's set up!

Twilight assassin!

The female Sparrowhawk that has become a regular visitor to the garden arrived at dusk and took up station in the sycamore tree. After a minute or two she took off in pursuit of a Collared Dove. The photos below are all very high ISO, hence somewhat grainy!

Garden Birdwatch, 2020

Once again it's time for the annual winter garden birdwatch at Hemblington Church: where does the time go? This will be the sixth occasion that Sue has organised the event, ably assisted by Katherine and Gwendoline. As usual, Peter, Sue, Linda and I will be hoping for a good turn out -  both of birds and visitors - to this beautiful Saxon church. In the past we've recorded up to thirty species, with totals of 100+ being expected: of course, the weather plays a big part in what turns up.