Day 16 March 31

Tuesday, March 31

I now know how it feels to have a limp wrist. Pam wheedled a large slice of conifer trunk from Rai (delivered to the door), which I have been attacking with a billhook. Trying to make a hollow in which to put bird food. I haven't made much impression. Try telling my wrists.

We have decided to make our garden feeding stations more interesting for photography. The conifer slice is part of that.

A piece of well-rotted birch branch, festooned with moss and well creviced, made its way into our car boot. Its first resting place is against the wall next to the nearest bird feeders. It's been strewn with some bird food, hoping that the birds will find it and become familiarised. We haven't seen anything on it yet. Early days.

 

Today's garden amble  found more Camellia buds in bloom.

Clusters of Leucojum (also known as spring snowflake) which I long coveted and are now well established. The bulbs increase when they're happy. Does that explain my weight gain ?

The wild meadow patch on the bank beside the dyke has been made larger this year and re-planted. The original seed carpet was planted in the early days of encouraging meadow planting in gardens. It contained European wild flowers and we wanted to make sure that they were British. I bought some 'bee bombs', wild flower seeds wrapped in a soil medium, ready for planting. We wait to see the results. The daffodils are the remnants of those planted by the previous owners - pre 1974

.

An encouraging amount of flower on the fruit trees this year, although we have seen Wood Pigeons enjoying the buds! The trees at the back are both Greengage, the bushes are Blackcurrants, a Lidl impulse buy by Pam.

With the best of intentions, we bought an Alder from a Norwich supplier of 'British' trees. This was to encourage Siskins and Redpolls and to give birds coming to the dyke feeder station somewhere to use as a vantage point. We now discover that it's a European species, probably Italian.

 We don't want Pheasants in the garden but that doesn't stop them coming. The largest number this year is 20. They loiter until birds come to the feeders and then do a road runner across the garden to stand, head cocked, under the feeders waiting for the dropped seed. This results in a well stamped side border. It's already been weeded and hoed this year. Look at it now.

The trees are varieties of Acer.

The peeling bark is griseum. The other is sangokaku, a Japanese species with red bark on new growth.

Day 15

Monday, March 30

The best moth of the last two days was a Red Chestnut.

With few exceptions, the catch is mainly Orthosis family, Common and Small Quaker, Clouded Drab.

Common Quaker

Small Quaker

and Hebrew Character

On my daily garden walk, a Ribes has grown into the Hawthorn hedge, adding a welcome splash of colour.

Erythroniums - also known as Dog's Tooth Violets - are amongst my favourite flowers.  
It's a genus of Eurasian and North American plants in the lily family, most closely related to tulips. They are woodland or alpine and should be planted in a semi shaded place. Ours is planted very near to a Camellia thicket and the clump has slowly increased in size. Not yet at its best, there are many more buds to open.

Like Hellebores the flowers hang down and their beauty is best viewed from below. My days for lying on the ground are past!

 We keep trying to encourage birds to nest in our garden. I really like this nestbox nailed to our weeping birch tree. So far, the birds don't.

 The left hand side of the veg. and fruit area has two rows of Autumn fruiting Raspberries, separated by flagstones to make walking easier. They were cut down to ground level in January as they fruit on this year's growth. 
The nearby netted area is to protect the onion sets from the pheasants - they pluck them out of the ground as soon as they shoot.They don't eat them, just mess them about. Once they're well grown, the cover comes off. 
Nearest of all is the Runner Bean frame, the trench prepared and fertilised before covering with black plastic to deter weeds, and to hold in the moisture necessary for a good crop. 
The Bug Hotel is partially obscured by veg protection frames leaned up against it in readiness for use.

 

Day 13 of Self Isolation

Saturday, March 28

Adrian, Sam's husband, who gardens for us, planted the early potatoes yesterday. I always warm the ground by covering it with fleece for a month beforehand. Fortunately, he is as anal about straight lines as I am.

Pam took all these photographs - from a distance -. I was still in bed, reading a Michael Connelly, Bosch book. 

Harlequin is no longer available, I'm trying Anya this year. Good, strong, chits.

Adrian gardens on his knees.metre rule in front of him, bulb planter at the ready. I find the latter the most effective way of planting all potatoes and vegetable plants.

The wood beyond the dyke at the bottom of the garden, holds a small herd of Red Deer, occasionally glimpsed through the trees as they pass through.

Potatoes planted and earthed up. Fleece ready for re-covering whilst there is still danger of frost. The small orchard on the right is next week's job. Clearing the ground of grass and weeds under the trees. The three trees in the photo are: Victoria Plum, Cherry and Conference Pear.

Dark-sided Bee-fly. A much better photo than mine.

In and around

Friday, March 27

Imagine my apprehension when the surgery phoned on Wednesday to instruct me that I had to attend an INR test on Thursday morning. When I questioned the safety of it, I was told that I am in the 'at risk' group. Doh.  As though I didn't know. So, after over two weeks of self-isolation with no people contact at all (Pam isn't 'people'), I went to the surgery for a 10.10 appointment, donned plastic gloves and found the door locked. I hadn't got my glasses so I couldn't read the notice. The broken English speaking 'guard' sent me around the side of the building. Making my way towards a small window along a thin plastic matting laid down on very uneven grass, I was told to return to the door and ring the bell.

I did so. 

A receptionist appeared between the two outer doors, asked for my name and purpose and unlocked the door. After sanitising my gloved hands, I sat in an isolated chair, along with at least three others, one of whom was a chemo patient I guess from her scarf wound head. 

Twenty minutes later, I was called by a nurse, who was masked and gowned I was pleased to see. They need protection. 

The reading was a little high. I have to go back next week. Normally I have to have a test every six weeks. This is the most 'at risk' thing I have experienced. We're even wiping the porch door handles after postman, newspaper delivery etc.

We're very well off for provisions, with thanks to various neighbours and a local shop/gardening Centre - Meale's - who has started a delivery service for named villages. Useful for fresh fruit and veg, milk, bread, and bacon.

Trying to keep to my walk around the garden at least once a day routine, I took a DSLR plus 100mm macro lens with me yesterday. Our garden faces due south. This means that the east and west sides of the area are sunlit at different times of day. Our beautiful Acacia tree's myriad fluffy blossoms are starting to brown off, yet it still looks glorious.

 A selection of the photos I took after parking my Rollator in various locations.

Pam's 'dead' - that's what I call it - grass

Pheromone Lure trap - Emperor Moth lure in plug on lid. They're flying at the moment, but not in our garden.

One of Pam's People

A Dark-edged Beefly Bombylius major on Grape Hyacinths.

Dark-edged bee-flies are sneaky critters with devious yet admirable behaviours. They are bee mimics, meaning they resemble small bumblebees yet are actually flies.

Their larvae are parasitoids of the larvae of mining bees which usually nest in colonies in soil such as woodlands or even your flower beds and lawns. Female bee-flies hover a few inches above mining bee nesting areas and flick eggs onto the ground with a rapid twist of the body. They actually collect fine dust in a little chamber at their rear end just prior to this, as the eggs need to be dust-coated before they are laid.

Once a bee-fly egg hatches the larva crawls into the underground nest cell of a host bee. Once the host grub is sufficiently large, the bee-fly larva attaches itself and starts to suck out the body fluids of the host species!

Digging bees are a common host species for large bee-flies.

The Robinson 125 volt math trap in situ. The white sheet enhances the light source and works as a resting place for the moths - often at the back of it.

Camellia buds, a little frost marred

Victoria plum tree blossom

Container plus nesting material for birds.

A hungry Blue Tit, he chittered at me

This is a small pond I constructed several years ago.
The bird is Icarus, so called because he icks up the water when his beak is full. He was one of two imported from eastern Europe for a special show. and I couldn't resist him. 
Merlin is one of Pam's People. 
The lovely Hellebores making a show at the back are also a specialty of Pam's.

Lock Down escape

Tuesday, March 24

We, who have been meticulous adherents to the 'keep your distance, don't go out if you don't have to, use sanitising wipes and plastic gloves, wash your hands for 20 seconds , don't let anyone in, leave everything in the porch, school', on the first day of lockdown, went out. Before you finish tutting.......

Sam, our cleaner, visits other oldies, has a working husband and two secondary school children - and needs the money she earns with us. In response to her phone call, she came to do her job and we self isolated in the car, leaving well before she arrived.

Another beautiful spring day after overnight frost. We still had two new for the year moths in the trap. Shoulder Stripe and Mottled Pug. Both were very frisky, even after spending time in the fridge. The Shoulder |Stripe had to be taken whilst in the pot which darkens the colour.

Shoulder Stripe

Brindled Pug

 We started birding at Salthouse, where one other car was parked. Not a person in sight. A white Ruff fed with about a dozen Curlew. They soon flew off when we stopped, my disappointment sweetened by the Curlews' call as they flew. Synonymous with Welsh and Scottish moors for me. Especially as our much anticipated Highlands and Islands trip is cancelled. A strange gutteral call alerted us to a lone Snipe, flying in and landing out of sight. This is the alarm call. I'm more familiar with the noise made when they are displaying.

One of to-day's aims is to catch up with photographing birds for our year folders. The Canada Geese at Salthouse duck pond posed for Pam.

Half a dozen cars at Beach Road, Cley, car park. Again, no people in view. As we paused to try and plan a way through the many potholes, Pam saw a movement. The bird flew to the far end of the parking area, flying onto a post as we lurched towards it. A Black Redstart. What a lovely surprise. No point in alerting anyone as the bird quickly flew away, never to be seen again. By us anyway. We tried hard to re-locate it as Pam hadn't got a pic.

Cley water treatment plant was decidedly niffy to-day, on to Glandford ford after a very short stop. A Chiffchaff was calling loudly and closely as we pulled in. We could see it flitting in low branches above us. Eventually, after the bird's restless flying away and back again, I was able to take some pics. 

Only one survived - and not the best either - after I accidentally deleted to-day's photos from my memory card and had to use a recovery programme which worked for most of them. They always look better on the back of the camera anyway but one had looked promising. Ah well, an angler's story, the one that got away. I've only deleted a card's contents by accident once before and I swore I'd never do it again.........

Whilst waiting for the Chiffy, our first Cetti's Warbler called louidly from the marshy scrub and a Goldcrest and a Long-tailed Tit explored the ivy on a nearby trunk.

Next stop, Selbrigg, to feed the birds

Male Chaffinch

 and one of the five pesky Grey Squirrels present.

before a tour of Kelling Heath parking areas both sides of the road, proved to be fruitless.

We saw Andy and Pammy out on their bikes, several dog walkers, elderly strollers and a few running men but, the country seems to have taken notice of the stay at home, stay safe, instructions - at last.

Wracked with guilt, we returned home after a very enjoyable morning, the front hall redolent with the smell of polish, proof of Sam's hard work. We came into contact with no-one and Pam wiped the porch door handles with an anti bacterial wipe as we entered.

Indoors now, unless we have to pick up prescriptions. Maybe one of the kind neighbours who are doing our shopping will be able to do that as well.

Our hairdresser has closed, I was overdue a visit. I'm beginning to look like a salt and pepper Afghan Hound. I may well resort to cutting it myself. It's got several weeks to recover.

 

Hurdles

Thursday, March 19

Reports say that reserves are open, centres, hides, cafes and shops aren't. We haven't been to Hickling this month where, on production of our Blue Badge, we are allowed to drive down to Whiteslea Lodge. As expected, the centre was closed so we drove down the usual track, stopping where possible to scan the area.

Hammering noises didn't help, we saw nothing. Halfway down, a man appeared over the ridge and told us rather aggressively to turn round as the hides were shut and there was no parking (yes there is and we're not parking anyway). Keeping calm, we explained that we usually drove, couldn't walk to the hides so had no intention of doing so and had a Blue Badge. Still the same response. Feeling rather aggrieved at his tone, we reversed until we could turn. The same information put pleasantly would have been fine. In our experience, workers at this reserve have definitely not been to dealing with the public, charm school.

We are social isolating very successfully and being prevented from birding in ever increasing places.

Rant over.

On the way home, the Zwartbles sheep and their lambs were in the field near Sands on the Walcott road out of Stalham. Black sheep with a white face blaze and varying lengths of white tail, and a tight curly coat, I find them very attractive.

Originally from northern Netherlands, bred mainly for their milk I read.

Yesterday, I heard my first Chiffchaff, in Barton Broad disabled parking area. Pam heard one in the garden on Tuesday.

Jammy !

Tuesday, March 17

Although we have made some short local sorties e.g. Barton Broad, where the Great Crested Grebes were posturing in pairs 

and Winterton Beach, which added Gannet and Red-throated Divers to the month list, to-day was our first planned birding day.since the 1st. We are social isolating as we are over 80 and have some underlying health problems. In retrospect, the illness which resulted in my being hospitalized at the end of December  had identical symptoms to Covid19. I'll never know. 

Tuesday is our cleaner's day and having decided to miss moth-ing group meets, we needed to vacate the premises. Sam has two children of school age, works for other elderly people and contact with many others. It seemed prudent to keep contact to a minimum. Car isolating is much more acceptable.

The long-staying Great Grey Shrike found at Fincham, in the west of the county, was the most attractive destination. It's several years since we saw one. It seemed wrong not to go via Salthouse as there have been reports of a large arrival of Wheatears along the south and east coasts. Salthouse is our favoured site for this early migrant.

We were not disappointed. Pam found two cracking males to the east of Beach Road.

As we scanned the area, a Sand Martin swept past, driven by the blustery wind. Three Ruff stalked stiff-legged on the verges of the roadside pool behind the duckpond.

A good start to the day.

Seeing the Waxwings would have been the cherry on the top. They were not in the trees opposite the duck pond. We saw John G and a friend turn up the lane leading to the church. A later report on my pager said that the Waxwings were in someone's garden along this lane. If only we could have walked up......The distance was acceptable, but not if the birds hadn't been found - which was the case at that time.

The RBA instructions for finding the shrike were ' 1 mile SW of Fincham at Black Drove by track to Raven's Farm'. The track's name was not visible from the Fincham end but Pam noticed that it said Nature Reserve. We had to turn round, after consulting the local map book. Black Drove was obvious from this direction.

We drove up the gentle hill. As we reached the track branching off to the farm buildings, I saw a long-tailed bird hovering like a Skylark over the field to the right of the entry track. Great Grey Shrike. It's been reported as elusive and often distant for the whole of its stay. Truly jammy. One car and one birder present in the best parking spot on this narrow one-track road. We turned around before parking on the grass verge at the junction of the farm road. The Shrike had flown off across open ploughed fields to a distant line of bushes and trees. We had a coffee and a snack. Almost before the drink was ready, the bird returned, landing on overhead wires some distance away. This habit of perching on a wire, flying way off into the distance and then returning continued throughout our stay. Another birder, a woman, appeared, parked and stood out with the man. They continued to chat which would not have encouraged the bird to land any closer. They were still the best views I've had for years - in this country.

We did well for raptors too. Red Kite, Buzzards. Kestrels and a Marsh Harrier along the way and a Sparrowhawk in the garden at home.

Would Bintree have an early Garganey? Bintree MIll is very attractively positioned in a valley on the river Wensum. The near approach road is lined with shades of yellow daffodils which adds to the artistry. We parked to view the large pool where we saw a Garganey last year. Plenty of Coot, male Shovellers doing their head bobbing and tossing courtship display, pairs of Gadwall formation swimming, and little else. Still lovely.

On the way back to the main road, Pam parked so that she could photograph a large, well-shaped weeping willow in its spring glory. Sauntering along the road towards us was the unmistakeable figure of David N. He's also socially isolating but out for a breath of fresh air as he lives a mere twenty minutes away and this is his local patch.

Pam and David had a conversation whilst standing at a distance, content with blowing kisses at start and finish.
Another quick visit to Holt sewage works only to find locked gates. I peered through the increasingly small gaps in the hedge - leaves - admiring the Rooks having fun jumping on and off the moving arms of the nearest sprinkler, one of them actually drinking from the sprayed water jets ! Suddenly, a beautiful male Grey Wagtail appeared. I alerted Pam, and fortunately, she managed to see it before it flew away.

What a lovely day.

Soon after we got home, a near neighbour, Justine, phoned to ask if she could get us any shopping. How thoughtful. I'd tried to book an online delivery. Sainsbury's were full for three weeks and didn't offer any other dates. Waitrose's website was down. Pam gave her a list, the shopping was duly left in the porch. She'd visited three shops to get what we wanted and had had to replace several of the items e.g. Persil non-bio powder with Fairy non-bio tablets. What a chore, willingly achieved. 

This morning Viv phoned from Meale's to see if we needed any veg. Our postman, Barry, known as Petal because that's what he calls us, left a card containing his phone number and an offer to bring shopping etc. People are very kind and thoughtful.

A more sobering event was an email from our next door neighbours, who have been on an Antarctic cruise.

The very good trip was cut short by one day when Argentina closed its flights to risky areas which included the USA, on the 17th . As there were lots of Americans on board they needed to get flights by midnight 16th. When they arrived back in Ushuaia Coronavirus had struck and everywhere was in lockdown. Ruth and Pete are holed up in a hotel with food delivered to the door as the restaurant is closed and they can’t leave the hotel.

Things are changing  by the hour; they have just heard that their hotel tomorrow night in Buenos Aries is closed so have booked an airport hotel. All now depends on flights still happening and that they do not develop a cough. Good luck to them both.