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Sunday August 17

The Bug Mansion is virtually finished. Still a few more spaces to fill - suitable small logs required, cones collected from Bacton Woods yesterday. Turf 'roof' planted with saxifrage, very sparse as yet. Wild flower seeds will be scattered next spring.

Most of the work was done by Pam, a mountain of suitable filling material collected and stored in the utility room (glad that's gone), pallets cajoled from various sources. My contribution was downloading instructions from the web, muscle when needed and the occasional idea - the green roof was one.

Well done Pam, it looks great and I'm sure will have plenty of happy residents.

Random

August 10- 13

Sunday August 10

I had a rush of cholestorol to the blood on Sunday. Never before have I fancied a fry-up for Sunday breakfast - especially when we had very few of the necessary ingredients in stock. Where could we go ? I had a willing accomplice. 

It was Brunch time by the time we left, aiming for Cafe Bacton first, with low expectations of it being open, which proved to be accurate. Pam said she was driving further on to turn round but her unspoken idea was right. Almost immediately after Bacton chip shop there is a new (to me) cafe open, set back off the road with parking space in front.

Mis-matched tables and chairs, sofas and cushions, a 60s juke box and very pleasant staff. Placing our order for all day breakfast - the others were too big and contained stuff like black pudding - we'd only had time to do the DT pub quiz before our piled plates arrived. 2 rashers of bacon, 1 egg and a sausage, 2 hash browns, mushrooms, baked beans and a slice of toast. £5.50. Not greasy and we thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Is this a birding/wildlife Blog?

The edge of tropical storm Bertha (it was a hurricane) was still influencing the weather. A very strong offshore wind but temporarily dry. Parking on Walcott front, I was able to add a juvenile Arctic Tern and a good number of Gannets to the month list before the next tropical deluge forced us away.

On August 11th, we did the Winterton run, for the first time in a couple of months. An apparently calm sea was actually deeply troughed, concealing the few birds present. In an hour's watch, we saw about a dozen Sandwich Terns, 5 Cormorants, 3 Gannets and one Marsh Harrier which flew in off the sea and got us excited for a minute !

Sometime during the night, I noticed the brightness of the moonlight. Remembering the report of the extra bright and large moon due to its proximity to the earth, I viewed it through an open window. It looked great. Why didn't I go and get my camera?

Tuesday August 12

After lunch with friends, most of the day had gone. As we stopped in the drive, I noticed several insects and butterflies feeding on the small dahlias in the front border, seeming to favour the white ones with a yellow centre. I hurried indoors to change and get my camera but was diverted by a request for a caterpillar ID from neighbour  J. It was a Poplar Hawkmoth giant which she took using her camera phone.

I then spent 20 minutes or so waiting patiently for a restless Painted Lady butterfly to alight long enough for me to photograph it. When it did, it immediately folded its wings to feed. I managed in the end.

I did not see nor photograph the Clouded Yellow which flew through the back garden yesterday. I had seen one last week which I discounted as being unlikely ! 

Wednesday August 13

Last night, I was looking for the Perseid shower of 'shooting stars' but it was mostly overcast. Good for the moth trap maybe? No it wasn't. A very poor catch last night, both in quantity and variety. As many Micros as Micras. We find other insects in the trap too, especially beetles and bugs. This handsome shield bug appeared this morning.

Parent Bug

We'd put our own trap out instead of travelling to the Titchwell trap opening. We intend going to the Cley trap opening in the morning. Next week is less busy so we'll go to Titchwell then.

Birthday Butterflies

Sunday August 3

After emptying the moth trap, we set off for Warham Camp. Not an easy place to find, our large scale roadmap book of Norfolk  marked it as 'Fort' we found later... Warham is easy enough, it's the area where we look for flocks of wintering geese. 

After a very pleasant lunch at Warham Three Horseshoes, where we got instructions to the 'camp', which is actually an Iron Age Fort. A quarter of a mile up the road opposite the pub, there are two gates on the right, the righthand of which is the entry to the Fort. There is a small layby with room for four cars before this. We parked in the lefthand gateway.

200 yards down the track there is another gate with a pedestrian gateway beside it. Where were we going? To a large open area on a raised mound overlooking the Stiffkey river area and meadows. The Fort is a raised grass mound with moat remains. 

The latter is lined with a mass of wild flowers, a walkway in between. Low thistles, Groundnut (that's what I called it as a kid, Pignut here I think), Harebells, Ragwort, Coltsfoot and others I don't know. Should have taken a flower book, next time I will.

Thistle sp

 It was a very gusty-windy day, even in the moat. Despite this, there were hundreds of Chalkhill Blue butterflies flying their mad, erratic, restless way around. Seldom alighting for long and, when they did, closing their wings immediately. A photographic challenge. They're pretty small too. The also present Common Blue are a much deeper blue. The females are brown anyway. Finding a pair intent on mating was the answer, when their helicopter whirling dance was done, they actually stayed still for a few seconds. 

Male, bluer in the shade!

Usual view

Mating pair

 Chalkhill Blues were once found in Norfolk but these were introduced, the most recent in 2007 possibly. They're certainly doing well this year, a Club member said that they are into the thousands. Quite a spectacle.

We thoroughly enjoyed our time here and will return - on a weekday. Not crowded but a dozen or more people and the inevitable dog walkers. I'm not against dogs, their owners nor the walking BUT I wish some birding/natural history areas were free of them.

Our Beloved Snettisham

Friday August 1

Would we escape a shower to-day? The weather is more uncertain than it has been for the last week or so. Indeed parts of the west and south are getting storms again. We've had enough to top up the water butts which is most welcome. I can still dip the watering cans instead of having to wait for the tap outlet.

Birding did not start auspiciously, only 20 species by Abbey Farm but it did include Tree Sparrows feeding a second brood in an old nestbox on a very exposed house wall.

Very little at Abbey, we hastened on to Snettisham where it was an hour until high tide. The water was well in, a small number of beautiful summer Turnstones, Sanderlings and Oystercatchers still on the eastern shore. Most of the birds had already massed on any mud still exposed on the western shore. Seeing a few birders in front of Rotary Hide, that was our first call. They were watching a White-rumped Sandpiper on the near shore, feeding with a good number of the 4,000 Dunlin present. The nearest birder said ' Quick, look through my scope before you put yours up'. As I placed my eye to the lens, they all flew away !! Did I see it? No way could I count that. Most of the birds were escaping the rising tide, making their way further west. Baz and DH left wishing us Good Luck. Slim chance. We enjoyed the massed spectacle of Black-tailed Godwits, Redshank, Knot, Dunlin, some already congregating on the pit. The central hide was a victim of last year's storm surge, no point in going further. 

The Horned Poppies on the shore and the bank between the pits were a picture. The latter a tight mass of wildflowers.

Horned Poppy

 Reluctantly, we dragged ourselves away to breakfast at Hunstanton Tesco, tick off Fulmar along the cliffs and drive to Holme. Another spectacle as we entered the track out to the reserves. At least 200 Swallows and a few Martins clustered on the overhead wires. Very restless, they kept swarming into the air many descending once more. Impossible to photograph but I tried. They'd all gone by the time we returned...

Nothing to keep us at the reserve. On to Thornham, where the water was still high, before walking out to Island Hide at Titchwell. The first pool had 3 young Red-crested Pochard and Little Grebe with one young.  

About a dozen birders were stood on the main path at the entrance to the hide. Why? We went on to the hide, easily finding seats at the south end. After a wait of 45 minutes, the Spotted Crake appeared from the reeds, showing well for about five minutes before disappearing into the reedbed. Plenty of lovely waders to keep us occupied whilst waiting. Spotted Redshank, one ringed as an adult in Holland in 2008 - rings read by the warden, Wood Sandpiper and at least nine Spoonbills. Most too distant for my small pocket camera.

None of the birders on the bank had seen the Crake !

We didn't feel like hanging around at Cley just in case the Purple Heron showed again. we were home at 4.45, after ten hours with a list in the  lower 80s.

A Good Bird

Sunday July 27

Define a good bird.......it depends on the birder's opinion, I think that a Pratincole is too good a bird to miss. A Collared Pratincole took up residence at Minsmere RSPB at least a week ago. We should go. We could photograph insects too, Odonata are usually good there.
What a surprise to set off in grey overcast, not good for insects - as it turned out. I should have done my homework better too. The bird was listed as being viewable from both East and West Hides. We walked to west as it was shorter with more chance of other birds too. Wrong. Plenty of room in West to view the packed East Hide with very restricted viewing of that distant scrape. Another birder had seen the bird fly, startled by a Marsh Harrier, about 15 minutes previously.

We sat for nearly an hour, seeing Black-tailed Godwit, Common, Wood and Green Sandpipers, Greenshanks, Snipe, Common and Sandwich Terns and  several juv Grey Herons which were useful in that they scared up birds for us. Patience was rewarded. Very good - if of only for half a minute - flight views of the Collared Pratincole which flew north, rising above the dunes before returning to land out of sight. 

Extensive searching of the area from the back of the hide was incredibly non productive. A vast empty reedbed, no Hobby nor Bittern, not even a Harrier.

On the return walk, we met a birder with whom we'd conversed in the hide. He'd just seen a newly hatched Ant-lion showing 'really well, on a leaf on the left near the toilet block'. Others there. We went as quickly as we could. No 'others' and we failed to find anything apart from three Butterflies, one of them a Greyling, on the Buddleias. It's only when this happens that one realises how sketchy the directions were. We should have asked for more detail. 

No Odonata at the ponds, plenty of Sand Martins on their second brood by now. Oh for some sun to bring the insects out. That wish was fulfilled too late, we were in Lowestoft when the skies cleared and it became a lovely day.  At least it was cool for walking.

Silvery Gem, Harleys and Strawberries

Saturday July 26

Thanks to PW, I'd read of a 'new for Norfolk, 2nd for UK' moth caught at Weybourne last night (R. Eagling). If it didn't escape when photographed out of the tube, it would be displayed at Cley Centre from 10 - 5 to-day. A Silvery Gem. I tried to find it on the web and couldn't - how did the trapper ID it without a name? I then looked on the Norfolk Moth site and found a photo on there. Looks nice.....

The Gem was still in a rather worn tube, despite which I still wanted some sort of photo. It was a busy corner, I would have liked more time ans space. Excuse for a pretty poor photograph of a rather small Macro. Exciting though.

Silvery Gem

 Pat mentioned another had been caught in Suffolk on the same night. So Penny wrote on her Blog anyway. Which is the second? Definitely County firsts anyway, I'm glad none were trapped on Breydon south wall, that would have been a howdy-do. JL turned up too, also twitching the moth, not as many moth-ers as I'd expected but there's a good time bracket. The trapper left after an hour, leaving the moth in the care of the staff there - in a bag containing a cold block. Apparently the poor beast has to be killed and pinned in order for it to be accepted as a record. Quite bizarre and antiquated in the days of photography and the web. There would be an outcry if birds were still shot and preserved for record purposes.

Passing Weybourne Camp entrance, the presence of a dozen Harley Davidsons reminded us that there was a Harley rally at Sheringham to-day. Groups of camera holding spectators along the road heralded imminent arrival, we were tempted. Pam parked in a field entrance just beyond Weybourne Railway Bridge - the laybys were occupied. We only had to wait ten minutes before two small groups passed by. Were there more? Pam was confident enough to take her secateurs out to improve our view. I was sceptical and continued with my DT crossword. Waw, I was scrambled into action by the unmistakeable throaty rumble of approaching HDs appearing over the brow and under the bridge. My camera was in the back......oh ye of little faith. There were hundreds of shiny, covetable machines, polished to perfection, riders waving and smiling at spectators. I've never seen such a variety of models, let alone the sheer numbers. Maybe to-morrow's EDP will tell me how many.  A joy. 

Here are a few photos - there are many more!

After the procession........from the sublime to the cliche.  PYO strawberries at Meales. Enormous berries which did not taste sweet but will be good for jam. There was 3p in price between our filled mini baskets.

Home to Commonwealth Games, supper and Man United/Roma from Denver. Two beautiful goals from Rooney and Mata shortly before half time, the transmission was lost. When it resumed we'd scored another, a penalty and the whistle went for half time. Before that I'd thought Roma were on top. We had a very different team out. Who'll play the second half?

Early Morning from Daukes

Friday July 25

Awake early with the prospect of another scorcher, we did the essential chores - watering the toms and cues for me - and drove to Cley. We had Daukes Hide to ourselves, lovely. I hadn't catered for the blinding morning light there, especially when trying to view Pat's Pool. Again many Lapwing with a better variety of waders including Wood and Green Sandpipers. A lone Little Ringed Plover, five Dunlin skittere through and.....everything rose into the air and fled to North Pool, along with the waders on Pat's. Why? 

Not a raptor, a human bird scarer. Bernard the warden had driven his vehicle onto a bank near Pat's hide and was walking in front of the hide. Holding a metal bar, he was probably adjusting the water level, which was just about perfect for waders already.

Time for retreat and breakfast on beach car park  before driving home.