Karl J
Well-known member
Last Sunday 8th August (yes some of us have to work sundays :eek!: now and again) i done my monthly (..ish) cycle to work. As weekends only involve a short day of ~4 hours its a good way to fit in a couple hours cycling or birding (something i seem to have done little of lately) or both :king: at the start or end of the day.
The first 2/3 of it though, from home to Cantley, turned out pretty uneventful birdwise, through Ormesby, Runham, Stokesby and into Acle and Freethorpe. Nice villages but not much about bar a few singing Yellowhammers, (so ... skipping that bit) beyond this it becomes the Mid-Yare reserve where things start to pick up. Or maybe i just look for it more around here, who knows. But the combination of a sunny early morning in the quiet countryside always seems to bring out the best i think ... Goldfinch's, Blue Tits, Sparrows etc flew up from their feeding on the roadside verges and into bushes as i passed by, and a pair of Jays startled from their perch and crossed the field to disappear in the trees, but the party of 30 or so Egyptian Geese in a field by Hassingham church just sat there seemingly unaware (or uncaring) of my prescence. Above the same field i spotted my first Kestrel of the day, it always amazes me how they hover like that.
Past the House Martins swooping over the freshly cut hay bales, i made way toward Buckenham station and while crossing over the railway line a yaffling Green Woodpecker called out which couldn't immediately be seen, though after a bit of patience on the station platform it showed itself by briefly landing on the trunk of a small tree back across the lines. Riding slowly along the trackway toward the river i spotted a Marsh Harrier gliding slowly low over the marshes quite a distance away while in the pools a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, few Redshank and several gulls picked away at the mud, down at the river itself the first Kingfisher i've seen for quite a while flashed past. Other bits and bobs included some surprisingly early morning Brown Hawkers, Black-tailed Skimmers & some un-id'd darters, plus Red Admiral, Speckled Wood & Wall butterflies.
Didn't see too much from the hide in the main pools as i only had my bin's & not the scope, just a few Greylag & Canada Geese, couple of swans, more gulls and several Lapwing with a few Swallows sitting on the power lines, so it was back up the track and down the lane past Strumpshaw Fen reserve. Though i never had time for a visit i still added a Grey Heron, Cormorant, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, a singing Cettis Warbler and some Greenfinch to the tally by the time i got to Brundall.
In Brundall village 5 Swifts still screeched about in the sky chasing each other, in fact these seem to be the last to leave, they were there still there Tuesday but not yesterday or again today, i guess they've gone now. The only addition to the list after that was the Pied Wagtails on the roof of nearby farm buildings, shortly past this the road crosses over the main A47 and into Norwich.
Saw a total of 39 sp, made up nicely for working on a Sunday :king:
The first 2/3 of it though, from home to Cantley, turned out pretty uneventful birdwise, through Ormesby, Runham, Stokesby and into Acle and Freethorpe. Nice villages but not much about bar a few singing Yellowhammers, (so ... skipping that bit) beyond this it becomes the Mid-Yare reserve where things start to pick up. Or maybe i just look for it more around here, who knows. But the combination of a sunny early morning in the quiet countryside always seems to bring out the best i think ... Goldfinch's, Blue Tits, Sparrows etc flew up from their feeding on the roadside verges and into bushes as i passed by, and a pair of Jays startled from their perch and crossed the field to disappear in the trees, but the party of 30 or so Egyptian Geese in a field by Hassingham church just sat there seemingly unaware (or uncaring) of my prescence. Above the same field i spotted my first Kestrel of the day, it always amazes me how they hover like that.
Past the House Martins swooping over the freshly cut hay bales, i made way toward Buckenham station and while crossing over the railway line a yaffling Green Woodpecker called out which couldn't immediately be seen, though after a bit of patience on the station platform it showed itself by briefly landing on the trunk of a small tree back across the lines. Riding slowly along the trackway toward the river i spotted a Marsh Harrier gliding slowly low over the marshes quite a distance away while in the pools a couple of Black-tailed Godwits, few Redshank and several gulls picked away at the mud, down at the river itself the first Kingfisher i've seen for quite a while flashed past. Other bits and bobs included some surprisingly early morning Brown Hawkers, Black-tailed Skimmers & some un-id'd darters, plus Red Admiral, Speckled Wood & Wall butterflies.
Didn't see too much from the hide in the main pools as i only had my bin's & not the scope, just a few Greylag & Canada Geese, couple of swans, more gulls and several Lapwing with a few Swallows sitting on the power lines, so it was back up the track and down the lane past Strumpshaw Fen reserve. Though i never had time for a visit i still added a Grey Heron, Cormorant, Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler, a singing Cettis Warbler and some Greenfinch to the tally by the time i got to Brundall.
In Brundall village 5 Swifts still screeched about in the sky chasing each other, in fact these seem to be the last to leave, they were there still there Tuesday but not yesterday or again today, i guess they've gone now. The only addition to the list after that was the Pied Wagtails on the roof of nearby farm buildings, shortly past this the road crosses over the main A47 and into Norwich.
Saw a total of 39 sp, made up nicely for working on a Sunday :king:
