Been a While

Good title on three counts.  Firstly it’s been a few weeks since my last posting.  For this the blame can be put on the push to finally finish the interior decorating so freeing up spring and summer to do as we please (I’m sure more jobs will be added to the ‘to do’ list).

Secondly.  It’s been many years since I last visited Cley Marshes Nature Reserve up on the Nth Norfolk coast.  Founded in 1926 this is the Countries oldest Wildlife Trust reserve.  430 acres of freshwater reedbeds, man-made scrapes, ditches and wet grazing meadows this is a famous site for turning up rare birds.  Only separated from the volatile North Sea by a (now un-maintained) shingle bank the reserve has flooded four times in recent years due to storms, taking a couple of years to recover from the salt incursion each time.  One day it will inevitably be lost for good.

And finally you have to go way back in the mists of time (well 1998 to be precise) for my last sighting of the feature bird a Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus).  This rare vagrant from North America turns up annually in the UK.  The specimen at Cley has been present since late October and last Friday I decided to go see if I could locate it.

Dowitcher spotted and it has a long bill!

Let me apologise here for the quality of these highly cropped and processed images of the Dowitcher.  In my defence the bird was always very distant, right at the limit of my 600mm lens, and the light was pretty poor, the promised ‘sunny spells’ were few and far between!  However it is what it is and I’m just glad to come away with something resembling the bird.

Shh! Don’t wake the sleeping Wigeon

Always on the feed

I wonder what will become of our visitor from ‘across the pond’?  It’s a 1st winter bird and is doing alright for itself.  It was constantly feeding, head down going like a demented sewing machine!  Come breeding season (not long off) will it stay or tag along with other species and head north?  One thing for sure it could be a bit lonely for other Dowitcher company.

Nice comparison shot. From left, Redshank, Dunlin, Dowitcher, Dunlin

Let’s have a look at a few other sightings.

A beautiful and elegant wader, the Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

A pair of Shelduck (Tadorna tadorna) enjoy a rare moment of sunshine. Soon they will be off to start a new generation down the nearest rabbit burrow!

5 Spoonbills (Platalea leucorodia) flew close by the hide taking me by surprise, I fluked this one shot

Not all birds were as distant as the Dowitcher. This smart drake Pintail (Anas acuta) was just a few yards away

Spring still seems some way off, two weeks of rain, snow showers (yikes) and low temperatures forecast.  Soon it will be butterfly time.

Winter Walk

Drawing back the bedroom curtains to a clear blue sky, the sun is rising and not a breath of wind.  Ah but this January and there is a price to pay for a beautiful morning.  The grass is white with a hard overnight frost, the pond frozen as it has been for several days now and paths glisten with ice ready to catch out the careless pedestrian as my knee found out later!

No matter, it’s too nice a day to be indoors.  Grab the camera a banana and apple.  Warm jacket, boots and gloves, let’s go explore the countryside.

A Great Tit (Parus major) forages on a bank unaware of my presence a few feet away

I crossed fields, through woodland with the drumming of a Great Spotted Woodpecker and then the hamlet of Spa Common down to the old canal.  The footpath is still fenced off so carry on up hill and through the first farm to skirt the edge of Witton Woods then down to the mill pond at Ebridge.

A Cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) provided a fly past. Not good news for the fish stocks if this fellow finds them!

The mill pond is part of the restored section of this dis-used waterway.  Today it was iced over.  To the side is a spillway, like a small man made waterfall it provided an area of shallow open water and to my delight was visited by the local Wagtails.

A gorgeous Grey Wagtail (Motacilla cinerea) glistens in the bright sun. Not common in Norfolk but the habitat in these mill pools and streams is very much to their liking

Another wagtail enjoys the ice free water, the more common and widespread Pied Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

Leaving the mill behind it was uphill on the field edge avoiding the somewhat busy, narrow, minor road to the hamlet of White Horse Common.  Named after a 17th century cottage which became the village pub in the 19th century, now it’s a house again as is the old Wheelwright Arms where I spent a few enjoyable evenings supping ale in my youth.

Not everyone’s ‘cup of tea’ the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) is a much maligned bird. At this time of the year their plumage takes on a sheen of purples and greens. The chattery song with much mimicry is quite pleasant. They eat a great many harmful insects and if you witness the pre-roost gatherings it’s one of the wonders of nature. What’s not to like?

A female House Sparrow (Passer domesticus) looks surprised to see me. No longer a common sight, the UK population has fell by 70% between 1977 and 2018 and is now on the red list of concern

And so back down the high banked lane and across the now thawed and muddy field to home.  A splendid few hours and miles with lots to see and enjoy.

Winter Swans

Two species of swan leave their breeding grounds in the high Arctic Tundra of Siberia to winter in the relatively warmer climes of Europe, the Whooper and smaller Bewick’s.  Though there are reserves where they can be seen in big numbers (the Ouse Washes at Welney here in the east) a drive around the Nth Norfolk countryside can often provide sightings of smaller herds.  Last Friday we found a group of a dozen Bewick’s just a few miles from home.  Luckily they were not too distant from the road and I managed to photograph them from the car as they are easily spooked.

Bewick’s Swans, the grey ones are the cygnets that migrate with their parents

Adult and young

The Bewick’s Swan (Olor columbianus bewickii) is con-specific with the North American Whistling Swan, together they are called Tundra Swan.  Unlike the American bird the ones we see have a large patch of yellow at the base of the bill.  The shape of this yellow is convex, on the bigger Whooper the colour extends forward along the bottom of the bill to a point.

He went thataway

Earlier in the day we visited the RSPB reserve at Strumpshaw Fen which was surprisingly bereft of birds and the river bank path far too muddy to enjoy walking.  After the summer drought the rain gods have been making up for lost time, even this morning the weather is foul.

Peek-a-boo. Great Tit (Parus major) on a Strumpshaw feeder

Favourite shot of the day. Marsh Tit (Poecile palustris)

Making the Cut

2022 has been and gone.  As with all years it had it’s highs and lows.  There were many plans hatched that never came to fruition mainly because we spent a fair bit of time having major work done to the house and decorating.  Only one room left to do now so hopefully we will spend more time enjoying ourselves in ’23.  Already we have booked a return to Scotland in June and to celebrate a special anniversary in May we are visiting the Greek island of Corfu which holds some lovely memories from our last trip in 2019.

I’ve been looking through my images from this past year and several, though fairly reasonable, never made it to this blog.  I usually limit myself to a handful of shots per post so only the best will do.  Other times there may be photos taken and I never wrote a post where they could be included.  Let’s have a look at what I found.

In May I went to the west of the County and visited the Cut-off Channel at Stoke Ferry. This Brown Argus (Aricia agestis) posed beautifully

Close up of a newly emerged Emperor dragonfly (Anax imperator) with excuvia in the background by my pond

June and the Silver-studded Blues (Plebejus argus) were emerging on the local heath. This is a lovely fresh male but I felt the background a little messy, that’s nature though these are not studio shots

Major bird news of the summer was three pairs of European bee-eaters (Merops apiaster) nesting in a sand quarry just 5 miles from home! This is only the third time this has happened in the UK in recent times. We took a look but photographing these gorgeous, multi coloured birds was difficult due to the distance. I added a 1.4x converter to the 600mm zoom and even with excessive cropping this is the best I could manage!

An unusual butterfly shot from July. This is a Small Skipper (Thymelicus sylvestris) on the conservatory door

A colourful August image, male Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) by the garden pond

Taken just before the new year. Curlew (Numenius arquata)

One thing I have noticed is that I have been getting a few new followers to this blog, welcome everyone I hope you find things of interest on this site.  Also there has been a few regular bloggers that have suddenly stopped and in some cases their blogs deleted from wp.  Not sure of the reasons but I hope they are still ok.

Let’s hope for a great New Year with lots of lovely subjects to photograph.  Take care all, B.

I’ll Take the Low Road

Scotland, pt2 sights.

Our short break north of the border included three coach tours.  One I was particularly looking forward to was a day in the capital Edinburgh.  I am not a lover of cities but have never visited this historical place.  The morning started, as usual, in pouring rain.  The journey took the best part of two hours but the driver did a detour and took us to Queensferry to see the famous bridges over the Firth of Forth.  He drove us over the new crossing, round a roundabout and back over the old road bridge to a view point where I braved the inclement weather to grab some quick photos.

Forth road bridge

Opened in 1964 and with a total length of 1.5 miles (2.5km) it was, at the time, one of the world’s longest suspension bridges.  Now it is only used by public transport, cyclists and pedestrians.  In the gloom to the left you can just see the new road bridge.  To the right is the iconic rail crossing however with a scrapyard in the foreground it did not make a ‘nice’ image!

By the time we reached the City centre the rain had stopped and the skies cleared.  We made our way round the south of the castle and up to the start of the ‘Royal Mile’ by the castle gates.

Towering high above the City, Edinburgh Castle is an impressive sight!

Looking down the ‘Royal Mile’

There has been a castle on the remains of this volcanic activity since at least the 12th century.  The ‘Royal Mile’ (actually more than a mile) is full of fantastic architecture with shops selling as much whisky, kilts and woolly jumpers as you could shake a haggis at!  The Gothic spire is the former Tollbooth Kirk, though never a church it was built as an assembly house in 1845.  Now it is The Hub where the famous Edinburgh festival is organised.

Inside St Giles Cathedral

At the bottom of the ‘Royal Mile’ you come to Holyrood Palace which was unfortunately adorned in scaffolding and more unfortunately demanded a £17 entry fee, no thanks.  Also located here is, in my view, a modern eyesore, the new Scottish Parliament.  A mish-mash of dirty concrete and stone curves, blocks and other odd shapes surrounded by rusty steel railings.

In the shadow of part of ‘Arthur’s Seat’ my least favourite building

Dead centre of Edinburgh? New Calton burial ground. The three story tower to the right was the Watch Tower, built to deter grave robbers then used as a family home ’till 1955!

So that was Edinburgh, four hours of exploring but worthy of a much longer visit.  Another day out was to Glamis Castle (silent i) described as the most beautiful in Scotland it is home to the the Earl of Strathmore and Kinghorne.  It was also the favourite residence of the late Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who’s family have lived here since the 14th century.

Glamis Castle. I waited for an age to get a shot without any people in view!

Very nice garden ornament

Very often I will take a shot and not know what the subject was.  The photo above is a case in point, turns out this is Scotland’s tallest, grandest sundial!  350 years old and judging by the weather we had probably only used about six times a year!  Only joking, we had a great time, so much so we have already booked a return next June.

You Take the High Road

Scotland, pt1 scenery.

Welcome to the land of liquid sun and hairy cows!  Some time ago we booked a coach holiday to Bonnie Scotland.  Knowing the last couple of months were going to be somewhat hectic it was a relief to sit back, watch the world go by and let someone else do the 420 mile (676 km) drive.  The last (and only other) visit to these distant parts was in ’95 so we were quite excited to return.  Then we enjoyed a rare Scottish heatwave this time, though mild, slightly damp.  Our base was the lovely, remote Loch Achray Hotel and we had three full day trips out.  The advantage of these coach trips is you can relax, the disadvantage is if you see a fabulous view you can’t stop to photograph it!  Never mind, this Country is full of stunning scenery.  Here are a few shots I managed to get.

Morning has broken over Loch Achray and its not raining!………yet. Not a bad view from our hotel window

The Burn from Loch Katrine rushes under the bridge to Achray. Last of the autumn colours and trees adorned in moss and lichen make a pretty scene

The area we stayed in is the Trossachs & Loch Lomond National Park which is in central Scotland about 30 miles north of Glasgow.  The meaning of the word Trossachs is 1. a narrow wooded valley in central Scotland, between Loch Achray and Loch Katrine: made famous by Sir Walter Scott’s descriptions. 2. (popularly) the area extending northwards from Loch Ard and Aberfoyle to Lochs Katrine, Achray, and Venachar. (Collins English Dictionary).  There are some other mighty Lochs (lakes) in the area the most famous being Loch Lomond.  Nearly 23 miles (36.4 km) long, between 1/2 and 5 miles (1 & 8 km) wide and with a maximum depth of 620ft (190 m) this is the largest lake in Great Britain by surface area.

The bonnie, bonnie banks of Loch Lomond. No, not a mono shot just a wee bit ‘dull’

Loch Long is indeed long, about 20 miles (32 km) but the name came from the fact that the Vikings brought their longboats here then dragged them overland to Lomond (2 miles (3.2 km)! This water is connected to the sea via the Firth of Clyde and was used by the Royal Navy to test torpedoes up to ’86 and there are several wrecks in there

The River Forth at Aberfoyle Bridge. From here it winds it’s way east 29 miles (47 km) to the North Sea

I mentioned at the start ‘hairy cows’ and it would be somewhat inappropriate to do a post on Scotland and not feature at least one Highland Cow (or cooos as our coach driver called them).  Next time a few of the sights we took in.

A Bit of Birding

There was a time, many moons ago, when I was an avid, perhaps ‘over the top’, birdwatcher.  September and October were my special months, this was the time when migrants and rarities could and often did pitch up on our east coast.  I would eagerly watch the weather patterns and bird reports.  If everything fell in place I would head to the coastal ‘hotspots’ and spend my days scanning the scrub, bushes and trees for those lost waifs and strays hoping and sometimes finding something rare and unusual.

Nowadays my approach is much more relaxed.  A day in the field means just enjoying whatever is there.  Most of my photography is now based on insects especially the butterflies and dragonflies.  Bird photography is still something I am learning with the aid of the big 600mm zoom lens so it’s best to practice on ‘easier’ subjects before attempting those tricky rarities.  With that in mind last week, on a very pleasant day, Mrs H and I headed up to Titchwell RSPB reserve to see what was about.  This is a good time of the year for waders.  Most are returning from the northern breeding grounds.  There will be some in summer plumage, some in transition, others already in their winter dress, also juveniles who can look totally different.  Here are a few of our sightings.

Male Ruff (Philomachus pugnax) are so much bigger than their females, they look like two different species. Gone now are the elaborate plumes that give the bird it’s name

This Dunlin (Calidris alpina) still retains a lot of summer plumage

Juvenile Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula) can be told apart from winter adults by its scaly feathering on back and wings

Autumn is well underway when the geese start returning. These are Brents (Branta bernicla) from Western Siberia that landed on the sea

Standing in the sea a winter plumage Black-tailed Godwit (Limosa limosa) our second biggest wader after the Curlew

By contrast this juvenile Black-tailed Godwit resembles a faded breeding adult

Of course it’s always nice to see birds that are not ‘common’ and we were lucky that there were two species of wader that are only usually encountered on autumn migration and then it’s in variable numbers.  The Curlew Sandpiper (Calidris ferruginea) and Little Stint (Calidris minuta) both breed on Arctic tundra and winter from Southern Europe to tropical Africa.  It is the juveniles that mostly stop over in the UK for a quick refuel.

Curlew Sandpiper, surprisingly difficult to pick out in a flock of Dunlin, they are slightly taller and slimmer

My favourite shot of the day. Europe’s smallest wader the Little Stint

Well, that’s a lot more images than I usually post.  I hope you enjoyed just a small selection from our bit of birding.

Euro Finals ’22

Saturday 10th September.  The third day of qualifying for the final round of this years championship, the first in two years.  The previous two days were blighted by heavy showers but we were promised a dry day, don’t believe the forecasts! A few light sprinkles and late afternoon one heavy enough to cause the  track to close.  Add in a couple of engine mishaps requiring the strip to be cleaned of oil meant only one round of Pro class qualifying took place not the two as scheduled.  The meeting had a big attendance and for the first time I could not get my usual (or any) grandstand seat!  I watched from the banking which stretches the quarter mile.  Photography was trickier.  The lighting was rather flat and clear shots difficult with the pro photogs along the wall and tv gantry to my right.  More shots than usual hit the delete button.

Top Methanol produced a real ‘blast from the past’ as Sweden’s Tony Bryntesson (blue car) made his first run at Santa Pod in 30 years. Here he is up against team mate Jonny Lagg in their ‘A Fuel’ nitro injected dragsters

Top Fuel bikes are awesome 1500+ bhp beasts capable of 5.6 second 250mph runs. This is Rene Van Den Berg of the Netherlands on his ‘Shark Attack’ Yamaha 1200

Though not actually street legal the Super Street Bikes are insanely quick with times of 6.6 seconds and speeds over 220mph! Here is Steve Woods on ‘Street Lightning’ getting, well, a bit light

The performances on display were top quality.  In his final meeting before retirement the crazy Frenchman Eric Teboul set a new world record on his rocket bike with a time of 5.06 seconds at 263 mph.  On Sunday he lowered this to 4.97 @290mph!  The fastest man on two wheels over the quarter mile in the world.  There was a side by side 5 second Top Fuel Bike race and a European Super Street Bike side by side record run of 6.7 220+mph by Steve Venables and Hungary’s Daniel Lencses.  Add in a clutch of 5 second Pro Mods and a 305 mph 3.8 second Top Fuel Dragster run all great entertainment.

Nitro flames from the headers of the beautiful ‘Gladiator’ Fuel Funny Car driven by Jason Phelps who won the event

Top of the Sportsman classes is Super Pro ET which pits a wide variety of different types of race cars against each other that run between 6 and 8.99 seconds. The teams must state how quick they will run (ET) and not go quicker but reach the stripe first. The slower vehicle has a handicap start. Here is Mark Coulsell in the ‘Ballbreaker’ slingshot dragster v Ron Bartlett and the ‘Sweet FA’ Ford Anglia

Footnote

Thursday the 8th was a very sad day for our Country with the passing of our Queen.  A lot of sporting events were cancelled as a mark of respect.  It was decided that the racing should continue but other on site entertainment called off.  To make the weekend even more sombre one of our sports long serving and well respected racers, Jon Morton, suffered a fatal heart attack in the pits.  I decided to attend at the last minute.  Before the professional classes started there was a two minute silence and a playing of the national anthem.  There is a phrase ‘you could hear a pin drop’ and literally you could.  It was a very moving moment and I felt so proud to be part of the drag racing family that, despite whatever views are held, could show such respect.

RIP Your Majesty    RIP Jon

Strolling into September

Autumn is on it’s way.  The year is slipping by.  Day after day, week after week of heat, humidity and drought is slowly coming to an end.  We have finally had a little rain, not much, just enough to settle the dust.  This morning was that cool I had to put on a cardigan!  The last couple of weeks we have decided to reprieve our walks that were such a feature of the covid lockdown.  Sadly one of my favourites, by the old canal, has been blocked by the landowner who had received abuse when asking dog walkers to control their pets.  The minority spoiling it for all.  Still, there is plenty to see at this time of the year as a different suit of species take front of stage.

With the flowering of the Ivy comes the Ivy Bees (Colletes hederae), really cute little mining bees

I mentioned in my last post Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) romance, here it is in action at Hickling Broad

Just hanging around. One of the largest UK dragonflies is the Southern Hawker (Aeshna cyanae). This is a beautiful male

The most numerous of the butterflies encountered on the walks has been the Speckled Wood (Pararge aegeria) which likes shady areas

Sometimes you capture a shot you are really pleased with. A female Common Darter on dead Bracken, simple muted colours of Autumn

A Few Dragons

Not featured our flying assassins much this year.  This is mostly due to the fact I have not been out very often looking for them and when I have not actually seeing many.  The start of the season was good but it tailed off a few weeks back when we started this drought and spells of extreme heat.  Coincidence?  The larvae that have spent one, two or more years underwater and can time their emergence should be fine.  Of course if a pool dries up, as is happening, they are in big trouble, this will have an effect in future years.  As for the lack of adults maybe it has been just too hot at times.

Here are a few I have managed to see in the last few weeks.

Migrant Hawker (Aeshna mixta) at Winterton

End of July and I took a walk in the dune system at Winterton-on-sea. Last year this place was heaving with odonata.  Those with a long memory may recall the rare Lesser Emperor I found.  This year a three mile hike turned up just ten, yes TEN, dragonflies!  Yes it was a bit breezy but even so….  One of the pools in the main breeding area had been filled in to stop the spread of an invasive water weed, the others all but dry and with no rain since, well, they must be dust now.

Female Common Darter (Sympetrum striolatum) Upton Fen

Upton Fen in the Broads was better but still not as prolific as in recent years.  On my first visit the Darters were just starting to show.

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) Upton Fen

The Skimmers are a pain to photograph.  They usually sit on the paths, let you get nearly in lens range, then fly a few feet away and repeat ad-nauseam.  The one above obviously had not read the rule book!

Small Red-eyed Damselflies (Erythromma viridulum) Pensthorpe

Saw a few different species when we went to Pensthorpe with the Lemming but again not big numbers.  The highlight being two Lesser Emperors by one of the lakes but frustratingly no photo opportunity.  The damselflies above were egg laying in an ornamental pond and that shot was taken with my 600mm lens.

“Oi mister take my picture!”

“Very well but you must sit nice and still” Male Common Darter, garden pond

The garden pond has been almost deserted for some weeks, just the odd Blue-tailed Damselfly.  This Common Darter arrived a week ago and is good company it even tolerates the macro lens a foot from his face.  What he does not tolerate is any other male Darter trying to muscle in on his territory.  These are given a quick kicking.  Any females are treated to ‘Darter romance’, grabbed by the back of the neck, dragged into the bushes, brought back to the pond by the back of the neck and dunked in to lay eggs, the little charmer, not even a “what’s your name babe, care for a dance?”