Serin

A very obliging little bird on my patch in Downham market, it took me a few visits to get a passable image, one had to be patient and wait for the bird to land near them as if you as it would quickly fly off if you encroached into it's 'safe' distance

Long tailed duck

We went to Lackford lakes to see this little female sea duck, she is the first one since 1995 to visit this inland site, the previous one stayed for seven months.Another visit is required to hopefully get a better picture.

New beginnings

We have now moved up to Norfolk to enjoy our retirement, Welney is our nearest reserve (15 minutes) and  Lakenheath fen and Weeting heath (25 minutes) are also close by and we can be on the North Norfolk coast in 40 minutes. Lincolnshire reserves are reachable in under one hour too so our base is ideal.
So bring on the new year and we look forward to starting a Norfolk list!

Iceland gull

This is the bird that has been in Kings Lynn for a few weeks, luckily it is very confiding.
I put two images on as they appear to be two different birds colouration wise, it is purely the light hitting them from different angles.

Long tailed tit

Taken from a hide at Lackford lakes in Suffolk, it was one of three adults coming back at ten minute intervals to feed a hungry brood somewhere in front of the hide, delightful little birds

Wood mouse

This little character has been mopping up under our feeders for some time now and it has become completely at ease when we walk around the garden. I lay down four feet away from it and the mouse calmly watched me, even the click of the camera did not disturb it, great stuff!

Goldfinch

It is good to get back to blogging, I am now fit and well again and able to use my camera again. A few years ago I planted the alder tree in our garden that this goldfinch is busy feeding from. This image makes the effort well worthwhile.

Little and large at Titchwell

                                          A seal and a wren from a recent trip to Titchwell

Images from America

                                                                Western bluebird

                                                                 Mule deer fawn

                                                             Cassins phoebe

                                                               Utah prairie dog

                                                                Black phoebe

                                                                Turkey vulture

                                                            Ground squirrel

                                                                 Night heron

                                                           Nuttalls woodpecker

                                                              Little green heron

                                                                Red tailed hawk

                                                                     Stellers jay

                                                        White crowned sparrow

Insect news

                                                          Vapourer caterpillar

                                                           Elephant hawk moth

The vapourer was in the garden and the big boy was at Willington

Early August

                                           Mystery garden moth

                                                               Garden spider

                                               Comma caterpillar taken at Lackford lakes

                                                Lesser stag beetle on out front lawn

                                                          Purple thorn in the garden

                                                      Straw dot in the garden

                                                   Southern hawker at Little Paxton

                                                 Common blue at Little paxton

                                                 Juvenile Tufted duck at Lackford lakes
On a recent trip to the lagoon I was watching five hares (a good site record), and two raised themselves and started watching a fox cub that was frolicking in the freshly cut straw, pretending to pounce on 'prey'. There was very little of interest in the lagoon itself as there 29 swimmwers doing laps and upsetting the fishermen.
Highlights from the garden were three hedgehogs one evening and a hummingbird hawk moth that trapped itself in our outhouse, despite a wait of ten minutes hoping it would land and allow me to photograph it I released it before it damaged itself headbutting the window.

Patch week 30

 Les and I found these small tortoiseshell catepillars on a walk around the greenway, I have not seen any of these since I was a boy.......................many years ago. Later in the day I came across a 'scold' of eight jays, seven more than I had seen on the patch all year and the largest group I had seen anywhere.

I sat in the garden watching the industry of these leaf cutter bees, they carried pieces of leaf and with surprising dexterity took them into their individual chambers ( there were at least five working) they then put a supply of pollen and an egg into the chamber and seal of the ends with multiple layers of leaf sections. The speed with which they returned each time with a new section of leaf was also impressive. Occasionally there would be a brief squabble amongst them and then they went straight back to their work.
I visited the Blue lagoon at about 0645  and for the second week running saw a juvenile common tern, but it did not stay long and flew away pausing only to take a pass at a hunting kestrel, I then watched the kestrel for a while and saw it try to catch a reed bunting but it gave up easily when then bunting fled for cover. A few moments later I was scanning the area with the scope and heard a rush of wings and looked up to see the kestrel 20 feet away on the cliff face, I'm not sure which of us was he more surprised.
all the pictures were taken with my iphone.
                                           Patch list 90 with common tern

Pictures from my week

                                         These little caterpillars were eating our rose leaves

                                             Purple hairstreak, taken at the lodge, Sandy

                                                                         froglet

                                                                         toadlet

        this is the same as the bottom picture, like a damselfly but appears to have four wings

                                                                  Spindle ermine

Blog news mid July

                                                                      Comma

                                                             Green veined white

                                                    Helicopter effect bumblebee

                                                                  Marbled white

                                                               Spotted longhorn

Just some of the insects seen recently on the patch, we counted thirteen different species of butterfly yesterday in a small area.

The following are some of the musings from my blog diary last Monday. The skyways were busy with a myriad of swallows witheir youngsters, a buzzard flew up from its post in the flooded meadow looking accusingly over its shoulder as if to say "no peace for the wicked".
A family group of long tailed tits foraged busily in a nearby hedgerow, one popped out three feet from my face, observed me casually and went on his way, typically I was cameraless. A blackcap caaled in a low tree above the tits and a youngster immediately went after it. A green woodpecker 'yaffled' from a nearby tree and soon after a great spotted wooodpecker drummed to declare his territory. A female kestrel watched below patiently for movement in the meadow. Pied wagtails chased insects frantically and comically, two wrens were singing close by to each other, a dunnock popped out of the hedge with a beak full of prey, normally what they pick up is very hard to see, a whitethroat called from behind the hedge and a yellowhammer was singing from the top of a tree -                                                                   magic moments.