Good Local Sightings

Clouded Yellow & 3 Roe Deer

We had to go to Kings Lynn today for some shopping. On our way just after South Pickenham we saw a Kestrel on top of one of the telegraph poles.

On our way back we pottered around some of the smaller country roads. Travelling along Peddars Way from South Pickenham we saw more large groups of young Gamebirds (Partridges & Pheasants) probably reared by the Estate there. Again there were highly mobile flocks of mixed small birds feeding on the fruits of the Hedgerow, it was very difficult to identify them but they were probably Whitethroats, Chiffchaff, Blue Tits & Long Tailed Tits. We also saw several Small Whites flitting along the Hedgerows looking for mates or places to lay their eggs.

We crossed over the main Watton Road and into School Road. The hedges along this road are of a different nature to the previous road with no obvious fruits in. We came across a group of fungi mainly Puffballs & Stinkhorns but one of them was the size of a small football.

It was at this location that we heard a strange noise that was like a type of barking, we couldn't see anything but we presumed it was a Deer of some sort. A little further along the road we disturbed a Sparrowhawk from a tree, it had obviously seen us before we saw him. Just before we got to the Arms there was a Paddock on our left hand side and I saw something I hadn't seen before. There were about 50-60 Swallows (Collective Noun - A Flight) but some of them were on the ground picking up insects and then just as quick as we saw them they were all back in the air circling around and then they were off. I should think that these were migrating birds having a refuelling stop on their way to South Africa, probably not from our area at all.

Turning right at The Arms the hedgerows became less formal with plenty of fruits. As we travelled along this stretch of land Jan saw two birds fly into a tree, she said they weren't pigeons so we pulled over and scanned the tree. I saw a Little Owl fly out of the back of the tree and I could see another bird moving about but I couldn't get a clear view of it but we presume it was another Little Owl. As we moved to the tree Jan said she could hear Owl noises coming from the back of the field whereas as usual with the three tones of Tinnitus going on in my ears I could hear nothing!

We then turned up towards the firing range stopping to take a photo of one of the flowers we'd seen on Sunday, as yet we haven't been able to identify it. It was near where we had seen the Stone Curlew on Sunday a bare patch of soil between some Maize and Sugar Beet.

Then we had a double whammy. Jan said she'd spotted a Deer in the Sugar Beet and just then on my side of the car a Clouded Yellow Butterfly went past us, they are notorious for not stopping and this one carried on without me able to get a shot of it. It very quickly climbed up and fluttered over the tree-tops. They are very powerful flyers as they have to be because they breed around the Mediterranean (North and South of it) so this Butterfly had travelled a long way. Free of that distraction I turned my attention to the Deer and saw it was a Roe Deer and there wasn't one but two and when Jan played back her video there was actually three of them. They made their way bouncing across the Sugar Beet as only Deer can.

We travelled back down this road towards the Watton Road and again we saw a flock of small mixed birds feeding in the Hedgerows; there was Goldfinch, Long Tailed, Marsh & Blue Tits, Whitethroats and at least one Chiffchaff.

We crossed over the Watton Road and stopped at the bridge over the Watton Brook but didn't see anything else of note.

All through our journey we saw various Dragonflies hunting the hedgerows and edges of the fields but we couldn't identify them. 

Once again superb sightings and most of them within 6 miles of our home on agricultural and roadside land and Jan only got out of the car to take the pictures of the fungi.

Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.