Bacton Bounty

 Friday October 1

We'd planned to stay in to-day as we had big plans for Adrian. Our aged Raspberry bushes failed to thrive this year, they needed replacing. The old already disposed of, the new canes waiting. the soil needs to be removed up to a spade's depth and replaced with fresh. That means barrowing onto an adjoining veg plot, digging replacement soil from the same plot. All in a day's work a few years ago, Adrian's job now.  Then, enriched with organic manure - also ready and waiting. It rained. He managed a few indoor jobs before leaving, hoping to return to-morrow.

Mid afternoon, we drove to Bacton in order to hand in an Amazon return parcel, then, on to the car park overlooking a very calm sea. 

Binoculars revealed a few dark blobs mid distance. Telescope time. In total, I saw four summer plumaged Red-throated Divers, six winter plumaged Guillemots, an adult Mediterranean Gull and a regular, though sparse, procession of Gannets flying south. The latter were nearly all this year's young. Enjoyable.

Our moth group sessions this week have been both meagre, and lacking in variety.  Our own traps have been marginally better. On Sunday night, we had our second beautiful Convolvulus Hawk-moth of the year, this one in good condition, despite its long flight across the channel. 

 

The diminutive macro, Marbled White-spot, was a surprise, they are early moths, the book states ''flying late May-July''.

 

Another immigrant this morning, despite overnight rain and wind, was a Rusty-dot Pearl.

Brought in on southerly winds. 

  

Some good birds soon, I hope. Shetland seems to be coming up trumps at the moment. Several Norfolk birders, including Penny, are already there, or on their way.