Tern for the better!

With the real threat of a dry afternoon in the offering I decided to have a ride up to the coast to Cley, and the famous Arnold's Marsh, where 3 adult Roseate Tern have settled for the past day or two. After a short wait (and a heavy shower!) first one, then two and finally all three appeared showing fairly well albeit distant. As usual with Cley there was plenty of other birds to see and a few to snap!

Common (front), Sandwich (biggun) and Roseate Terns

Roseate Tern in blurry flight

Another tern, Little Tern


Common Tern fishing

Sandwich Tern

Sandwich Tern with Sand eel tea!

Terns chillin'

And yet another tern, a 1st summer Arctic Tern

Duck Shelduck about to drop landing gear

Avocets are particularly aggresive when breeding and can drive most other birds away if they wander too close to their eggs or chicks. Unfortunately at Cley the Grey Herons have become particularly thick skinned and can be responsible for wiping out whole broods despite the adults best attempts, which judging by this individual, can be fearless and determined.

"Dance- to-the Moo-sic!" (sorry)

Marsh harriers are almost constantly visable here... no bad thing (female below)

A male

Rain Does not stop play

Despite the continuing heavy showers I put the moth trap on all night last night. Moths aren't really bothered about the rain, especially if its fairly mild, but my Mercury Vapour light is so I set it up in the summerhouse with the window wedged open resigned to the fact that I'ld end up with a summerhouse full of moths, and so it proved!

Buff Ermine2

Peppered Moth 2 MYL97

Poplar Hawkmoth 2

Small Elephant Hawkmoth 5

Lrg Yellow Udrwing 9

Swallow-tailde Moth 1 MYL98

Common Emerald 3 MYL 99

The Flame 13

Barred Red MYL100

Privet Hawkmoth 1 MYL101

Snout 5

Small Fan-footed Wave 2

Barred Straw 1 MYL102

Willow beauty4

Brimstone 2

Common White Wave 1 MYL103

Burnished Brass 1

Green Silver Lines 1 MYL104

Heart and Dart 4

Mottled Rustic 2

Spectacle 2

Small Yellow Wave 1 MYL105

Common Wainscot 3

Flame Shoulder 2

Turnip Moth 1 MYL106

Ringed China Mark 1 MYL107

Poplar Grey 1 MYL108

Large twin-spot Carpet 1

Uncertain 3

Straw Dot 2

Buff Arches 1 MYL109

Amblyptilia acanthadactyla MYL 110

Buff Arches

Ringed China Mark

Turnip Moth

Green Silver Lines

Common Emerald

Peppered Moth...if you look closely!


Amblyptilia acanthadactilya

Flamin' June my A*SE!

There appears to be no let up in the wet weather at the moment with even more forecast! I did manage to run the moth trap last night, albeit covered over in case of any cloud bursts!
Riband Wave 4 MYL 84
Small Elephant Hawkmoth 2 MYL85
Elephant Hawkmoth 1 MYL86
Poplar Hawkmoth 2
Flame Shoulder 2
The Flame 3
Lrge Yellow Udrwg 15
Heart and Dart 4
Light Emerald 3
Scalloped Hazel 1
Scorched Wing 1 MYL87
Common Swift 8
Small Bloodvein 1 MYL88
Brimstone 3
Garden Carpet 1
Straw Dot 7
Snout 3
Brown China Mark 3
Buff Ermine 3
Small Magpie 5
White Ermine 2
Spectacle 1 MYL89
Clouded Border 1
Dark Arches 1 MYL90
Burnished Brass 2 MYL91
Diamond-backed Moth 5
Plain Golden Y 2
Mottled Rustic 3 MYL92
Brown Rustic 3
Common Wainscot 1
Middle-barred Minor 8
Tawny-barred Minor 2 MYL93
Bright Line Brown-eye 1
Small Fan-footed Wave 2 MYL94
Common Footman 1 MYL95
Maple Prominent 1 MYL96
Green Pug 1
Udea olivalis

Elephant Hawkmoth

Maple Prominent


Tawny Marbled Minor

Mottled Rustic

Dark Arches

Dear, Dear Monty

A miserable day here in Norfolk, and I nearly didn't go somewhere but in the end was glad that I did! Work today took me past a relatively well known nesting site for Montagu's Harrier, and though it had been raining most of the morning, as I arrived it briefly stopped. With the site to myself I soon focused in on a male Montagu's Harrier flying in from the west fairly high heading over the road. With the bird going away at distance I didn't bother with the digi-scope but just then the female broke cover, flew up to the male and executed a perfect food drop form the male to the female-a fantastic sight that I'd never witnessed before! I set the scope up and with fast shutter speeds and rapid frames set up I waited for a repeat performance. I hadn't seen the male after the food pass, until 6-7 mins later when he flew back heading west, but this time alot closer! With camera all set and ready to shoot off frame after frame... disaster! The auto power save kicked in and turned the bloody camera off!!! I quickly turned it back on (my current camera does not memorise the settings so it goes back to standard!) and managed to get the bird in the view finder and clicked off ONE frame! One bloody frame, I know when I pushed the shutter there were little red icons in the veiwfinder everywhere (which generally means-Warning, crap picture on the way!) BUT the actually result of one frame I think was, well... see what you think...

Montagu's Harrier (a male, and gorgous!)

More Moths

Ran the moth trap again last night (I generally try not to run consecutive nights but at the moment opportunities are few and far between!) and the catch reflected the reasoning - smaller and more of the same with a few additions, including 2 Poplar Hawkmoths and a year in the form of a Grey Pine Carpet MYL 80

Grey Pine Carpet


The moths that I count at the moment for a year list are known as Macro moths and are all thankfully included in a single field guide. Another group of moths are known commonly as Micro moths (which can then be split into even more groups!) and although they are true moths, I don't count them because there is not one complete identification guide to help you ..erm.. identify them! But as I become a little more confident with the macros I find I'm showing an interest in the Micro's! So the best way of ensuring an attempt at ID-ing them I think is to start counting them in the totals, well a moth is a moth!

Thistle Ermine MYL 81


Diamond-backed Moth MYL 82



Cherry-fruit Moth MYL 83


Oh these last two little fella's are about 3-4mm long, if you fancy looking for them!

Mothing - at last!

Finally managed a nights mothing in the garden last night, with neither wind nor rain thwarting an attempt, a healthy catch this morning, plenty of year ticks and another lifer!

Snout 4 MYL65
Brimstone Moth 3
Flame Shoulder 8
Smokey Wainscote 1 MYL66
PALE-SHOULDERED BROCADE 1 MYL67
Large Yellow Underwing 13
Common Wainscote 1
Bloodvein 4
Buff Ermine 10
White Ermine 5
Bufftip 1 MYL68
Eyed Hawkmoth 1 MYL69
Silver Y 2 MYL70
Green Pug MYL71
Clouded Silver MYL72
Heart and Dart 7
Plain Golden Y MYL73
Clouded Border 1 MYL74
Brown Rustic 3 MYL 75
Small Square Spot 3
Setaceous Hebrew Character 1
Light Emerald 1 MYL76
The Flame 1 MYL77
Straw Dot 6
Common Swift 1 MYL78
Willow Beauty 3 MYL79
Small Magpie3
Brown China-mark1
Udea Olivalis1
Diamond-backed Moth 1

Common Swift


Pale-shouldered Brocade


Green Pug


Plain Golden Y

Clouded Border

Eyed Hawkmoth

PINGO'S

No! not U's!, O's...Ping-go's!

One of my appointments today took me to Stow Bedon near Watton, which is right next to the Thompson Common Pingo trail, not an orange-footed curser in sight but a few of these remnants from the ice age caused by underground springs. Apparently Pingo is Inuit for 'hill', which is how they were first formed, as an ice hill. Any way cause they've been there so long they can built up fairly diverse and numerous species that depended on them, not least of all a healthy population of Scarce Emerald Damselfly which were out in good numbers the short time I was here. As the name suggests these are not a common insect at all, so we're fortunate too have them here in Norfolk. There were lots of bugs here today, an absolute haven, if you know what you are looking at!

A Pingo


Scarce Emerald Damselfly (female)

Scarce Emerald Damselfly (male)

Long-horn Beetle Agapanthia villosoviridescens

Beetle Oedemera nobilis

Nursery-web Spider

Even saw a moth, Snout

DIY Springwatch!

Work took me as far a field as Suffolk today (Sudbury and Shotley!) taking in such sites as historic Lavenham and the Orwell Bridge! I took my digiscoping gear with the intension of finding a meandering river at lunch break to look for dragonflies and the like... lunch break? ha !you must be kidding! I did steal a rest break at Suffolk Water Park near Needham Market where a Great-crested Grebe was being the perfect parent... altogether now ahhhhh!
(please excuse the Bill Oddie-esque comments!)

"aint no pimping of this ride needed!"



"Faster mum! Faster!


"eh? I thought we were going this way?"


"Go play with this feather , dear"


"bored now... got any more?!"