Free to Roam - Locally

Monday, March 29

News of a White-tailed Eagle in the Horsey area  was too tempting. The news gave a sighting of the bird on the ground at 11.45. We were in the area before 12.30. The map showed that it was north of Horsey car park. We had a quick look there before deciding that the viewing was too limited. We returned to a field entry, and there we sat for over an hour and a half. Buzzards, Marsh Harriers and Kestrel put in an appearance, many Skylarks rose vertically singing their appreciation of the warm, sunny day. 

Enjoying a truly apricate March day, a thought came over me. I'd never tried photographing a Skylark in song flight. Camera poised, a middle distance bird sprang out of the tall grass. A few problems as I couldn't see the bird without wearing my specs - which I wasn't. Ever the optimist, I raised my camera and took these.......

 

You can see what they are.

We gave up and drove home, where I read my Twitter feed. The Eagle rose high and drifted out to sea at 12.15. 

Tuesday, March 30

My Cromer eye clinic appointment was for 9.00 a.m. After hearing the good news that I did not need an injection to-day, we drove to Cley Spy - with a Homebase diversion. Whilst waiting, I'd been reading my Which gardening magazine, where Homebase's peat free general purpose compost was announced as best buy. Boot filled with odorous bags, we went on our way towards Cley.

The call at CleySpy took longer than I'd planned, as their machine would not read my card from the doorway. I was in the car, Pam just outside and the manager stood on the steps. What a pantomime, but we're used to it, Covid regulations rule. Eventually I suggested that she did what would have happened if I'd paid over the phone last night. Took my details over to the machine. Why didn't she think of that? My old binoculars have been sent back to Swarovski for a new front lens and something about diopter adjustment. No wonder I was having difficulty. I thought that it was my eye. I've had them a long time, they're well travelled.

Cuddling a pair of brilliant Swaro 10x42 NLs, next stop, Cley Beach. The first bird we saw on the way along Beach Road was a female Wheatear. Too distant to photograph. The next tick was Mike, returning to the car park from a successful shingle scrunch to North Hide for three male Garganey. I would have loved to have seen the birds, neither of us would survive the walk comfortably.

After an enjoyable chat, we added Sand Martins over Gramborough Hill, failed to see a Ring Ousel at Felbrigg, and drove home to find this on the doormat.

 

A Simnel Cake made by ex colleague and good friend, Kate. Pam will really enjoy that. Although - when I'n not dieting - I would enjoy the cake, I am not fond of almond paste, which both covers the top and forms a central layer.

The chick has a Covid hair style from the tin's lid. 

Wednesday, March 31 

Two, new for the year, moths, in this morning's traps, which held numerous Small Quakers, Common Quaker, Early Grey, Clouded Drab, Hebrew Character and a Chestnut. .I believe that the Pug we trapped - not pictured - is Brindled.

An Early Thorn. 

 

Fitness for the over 80s

 Saturday, March 27

Having been very active for most of my life, the present sedentary option does not sit well. Unable to walk more than 25 metres unaided - further with my rollator - how does one keep the muscles going? I am known to chair dance whilst listening to music, that's mainly limited to legs.

I recently bought a DVD entitled 'Gentle, Sitting Tai Chi' which Pam and I have managed twice this week. 

 The recommended start time is 17 minutes, the full programme takes an hour. We timed the second session,  we lasted 40 minutes, the first was 28. Not bad. 

Pam finds the shoulder and arms part difficult, being unable to raise her arms above shoulder height. The knees are a challenge for me. But.....it's not too difficult and does succeed in working muscles I'd forgotten I had.  I shall continue.

I once sat alone at dawn in the wooded glade of a Beidehe hotel, looking for migrants. I was soon joined by a Chinese woman who crept silently in, before beginning her silent, early morning Tai Chi exercises. It was elegant and mystical.

Mine is neither.

It's so tempting to go to the coast. Reports of Wheatears at Cley and Holme, Lapland Bunting at Sidestrand, White-tailed Eagle at Horsey. I'm looking forward to March 29th, when we can legally drive further again. 

In the meantime, the garden is still  full of Siskin chat, Pam counted nine at once yesterday, there will be more than that visiting.

My camera and I coincided with two visiting male Brambling at last. Never landing in view on a scenic branch, I had to make do with them feeding on the seed scattered ground, never together. One was more brightly coloured than the other.

 

We also had a good moth this week, a Dotted Chestnut. 

 

Norfolk status
Formerly scarce, spreading rapidly in recent years.

Woodland, wooded heathland, pastoral farmland and thick hedgerows.
Noted as being a very local species, occurring mainly in the south and south-east of England, this species has been spreading rapidly across Norfolk in recent years.

Overwinters as an adult, flying again in the spring.

First Norfolk record of a female taken at Hockwold in 2013 (K. Puttick, 24/04/13).
Norfolk Moths website

Raptor Rhapsody

 Wednesday, March 24

Yesterday was warm and sunny. 

Inconceivable a few years ago, Buzzards are now a daily sight around home, usually seen spiralling towards the clouds.

 

In pairs in early spring.

 

 Even more unlikely, handsome Red Kites are now a regular occurrence. I can still feel the excitement of my first ever sighting. We were in mid Wales, specifically to see a Kite, not that far from my village of birth. I called the sighting, which brought our Morris Traveller (Woody) to an abrupt halt - when I fell out for a better view. My sister and husband were in another car, not birders, but excited by this sighting. There are some birds that most people love to see. Red Kite is one of them.

All photographs taken from the car.

 

There were three, possibly four, White-tailed Eagles in Norfolk yesterday. With lockdown in force , we couldn't even, legally, travel to Horsey for the two we knew were around in the Horsey/Hickling area. 

Nearer to home, Pam caught a distant sight of one with its following entourage of Red Kites, Buzzards and Marsh Harriers. I saw a mob of distant raptors, but not well enough to count as a sighting. Ian and Sue had seen an Eagle, we were too late.

Keeping Busy

 Sunday, March 21

The first day of spring.

The early potatoes, Lady Christl, (not a spelling mistake), are planted, the tomatoes have been potted on, cucumber and pepper seeds planted, and the back garden is full of yellow and white. Miniature daffodils and crocus.The front border shows Winter Aconites and Anemone Blanda, the newly planted roses look thriving too. 

Pam is in the greenhouse potting on the myriad flowers she planted, temporarily filling my propagator. Once the tomato plants have grown, the flower plants will all be ready to harden off, I hope. The leek seedlings are already out on the work surface, healthy green shoots.

The garden is also alive with Siskin chatter. They rival the Goldfinches as chatterboxes. I tried some photos yesterday. 

We got the idea for adding the plastic ties to both perch fitted feeders and those without, from a webcam. The birds seem to prefer the longer perch.

 

 

The Camellias have fat buds, the large camellia hedge near the greenhouse has a Blackbird nest again. Although we have seen birds prospecting the nestboxes, none seem to be occupied yet. The nesting material holder has been well used, the contents have been spread around the nearby tree and bushes.

 

The moth catch is slowly increasing. We had 24 moths of 8 species yeaterday, 19 of 8 to-day.  Twin-spotted Quaker and Clouded Drab were new for the year.

We also had a micro this morning,

	Acleris ferrugana
	Rusty Oak Button

 

And, a moth trap intruder. A small, dimpled, beetle, Chrysolina oricalcia, a member of the leaf beetle family. New for us.

 

Description

Size: 6.5-9.1mm
Basic colour: Dark blue, sometimes dark violet, very dark green, deep bronze or black with a bronze reflection.
Pattern colour: None
Number of spots: None
Other colour forms: Sometimes
Pronotoum: As basic colour
Leg colour: As basic colour
Confusion species: Chrysolina haemoptera

Biology

Status: Widespread but Scarce (Notable B) and may be declining in some parts of England.
Habitat: Various
Host plant: Various Apiaceae such as cow parsley
Overwintering: Unknown location, but adults do overwinter.
Food: Adults feed on leaves and possibly pollen; larvae feed on leaves at night and in the evening.
Other notes: Similar to C. haemoptera. Pronotum trapezoidal with longitudinal furrows towards the sides. Elytral striae formed of sparse punctures.

(Müller, O.F., 1776)

 

 

Walcott

 

St Patrick's Day.

Wednesday. March 17

An essential outing to Walcott Post Office saw more cars than before - but fewer than usual - parked along the front. We pulled in to a space to avoid an oncoming car, and noticed that the mob of Turnstones  usually present were on top of the sea wall. Amongst them were five lovely Sanderling.

We always have a small bag of bird food in the boot, including one of bird table mix. Pam sprinkled some along the wall, much of it then blown onto the pavement. The blizzard of gulls which immediately rose, eyed the banquet and decided that there was nothing there for them. Excellent, that was the idea. As soon as Pam returned, the flock was back, squabbling, jousting for position, constantly on the move. At least I could photograph through the gap between the side mirror and the car. Pam had to make do with the tinted distortion of the front screen.

 

 

One of the birds had a foot which pointed backwards. It didn't appear to hamper it, apart from a slight limp.

 

Then we posted the letter.

Not many moths being trapped at the moment. We have added a new species for the year this week. A Grey Shoulder-knot 

 

A moth frequently seen in Sep - Nov which re-appears in March/April.

 

 

Woollies

 

Mother's Day present from Sara. It's lovely.

 Monday, March 15 

Spring = lambs. To the BBC it certainly does. Last night's Countryfile was devoted to all things sheep, lambing at Adam's Cotswold farm, the wool trade, sheep that do not require shearing, and the plight of sheep farmers now that it costs more to shear a sheep than the fleece fetches. Farmers are bound by law to shear their sheep once a year, for the health of the sheep.

Zwartbles sheep and twin lambs - Stalham 2021

 

When I was growing up, shearing in May was a time for excitement and celebration.. My father was one of the local men asked to help shear the sheep. By hand clippers, I still have dad's, wrapped in an oily rag. 

We kids were also welcomed. The boys would chase around the straw floored pen wrestling the sheep to the waiting shearer. Girls were in charge of the tar pot and brush, ready to dab any cuts on the sheep.Only once did I volunteer to do the catching and wrestling. It was hot, messy, hard work - and I got covered in sheep muck. After a year or two I was promoted to fleece rolling with the farmer's wife. Tail, leg and neck parts neatly folded in and then the fleece rolled into a small bale, added to a well packed sack. The lanolin in the wool was very kind to the hands.

Best of all was the farmhouse tea afterwards. Ham sandwiches, the meat and bread home produced, cakes and biscuits. All workers welcome.

Dad also helped with rounding up the sheep from the mountains beforehand, riding either Bolas the pony or Dick the carthorse. In retrospect I don't know how he fitted everything in. Night shift at the mine, council meetings and brass band practice with the odd bit of trout fishing and rabbit hunting thrown in. He would have been happier farming, but as the oldest of nine children, the better paid job was more important. Another reward was a few rows of potatoes and swede planted for him, and then delivered by the farmer in the Autumn. The sacks saw us through the winter. I was privileged to ride in the trailer, and help deliver the veg.

'Our' Blackcap is singing, and feeding again. He's been missing for a week or so. Up to four Siskins and a pair of Brambling are also making regulat feeding visirts. More amorous toads have added to the pond wildlife, still no sign of any frog spawn. We've always had frog spawn.

Tomato and leek seeds have sprouted, the onion sets have been planted, the first potatoes will be planted on Friday. Spring is well on its way, as is the next easing stage of lockdown. After March 29. we can drive further afield legitimately, looking for those much anticipated first migrants. Wheatears are the first joy.

Many Black-headed Gulls now have their full dark brown hood.

 

We have also booked a Scottish holiday, in September, another enjoyable target. Four nights at the Grant Arms followed by five on Ardnamurchan at Heatherbank guesthouse. All the hotels on the peninsula involve climbing stairs to the bedrooms We've stayed at the one level B and B before, finding it very comfortable and scenically situated. We shall make at least one day visit to Mull, easy from Strontian.

Wrong Conditions

 Wednesday, March 10

It was definitely the wrong conditions. Overcast, cold, without sun. We arrived at about 11.20, on the late side for mid morning thermals. Another minus point. Despite having good directions, we did not find the site easily. Five minutes after arrival, a female Goshawk rose out of the far woods and made her way west. Always distant, always an awesone sight. One of my favourite raptors. I managed two snatched photos before the bird planed out of view.

 

 

Shortly afterwards, two more Goshawks appeared high over the conifers, spiralling lazily on unseen currents, ever higher, and higher, until they disappeared. Within a few minutes, two more birds appeared  The same ones or different? We shall never know - they appeared from the same direction as the previous duo had disappeared. We watched these for a quarter of an hour, until they were specks in the sky, until our arms were too tired to hold the bins up any longer. Not our best ever views, but certainly the most extensive. Excellent.

The show was over. We - and the occupants of the other three cars present - packed up and left. 

We returned via the coast, the longing for the sea and the coast is ever present. 

 

The two Greenshanks were still present, still separate. My photographs were bigger but not much sharper in the murky light. 

 

Garden Nature

 Monday, March 8

Time for the annual celebration of our wonderful Acacia/Mimosa/Wattle tree. Acacia for us, Wattle for Australians and the flower is Mimosa - and a rather nice cocktail. It started life in a pot, for many years spending the summer outdoors and the winter in the greenhouse. It was planted outside when it grew too tall for the greenhouse roof. It had two chances and has flourished, I don't know how much longer it will survive. Last Autumn, a gale caused the trunk to split downwards from the first major trunk division. It has a tourniquet around it which seems to have sufficed this year. The right hand side of the tree now leans down rather more than before, its weight pulling the split in that direction. I  have to duck to get through underneath.

A joy for several weeks in early spring.

 

Nearby is a Hazel tree I planted for nostalgic reasons. During my youth, I spent my free days roaming the hillsides of my welsh valley home. My friend Olwen and I knew where all the Hazel trees were and which ripened  first  I am still very fond of fresh hazelnuts - which is why Sara sent me a kilo of Kent cobs last year. In photographing the Acacia, I thought to look at the Hazel for signs of a possible fruiting this year, It had a total of a dozen last year when it fruited for the first time.

Yes, there were a few catkins. 

 

And many more of the much more insignificant, female flowers There should be a few nuts.

 

 

Although Pam has seen two frogs in the pond, there is no spawn as yet. Toads have been active though, laying their strings of spawn, attached to whatever is handy in the pond.