CATCH UP

Time to catch up with our posts, I'm sorry that they're delayed but both myself and my computer have been under the weather; I'm glad to say that my computer is now much better and I'm able to get out a bit more now.

Thetford Forest - Tuesday 2nd September

We had to go and do some shopping in Thetford so on the way back we stopped at one of our favourite parts of Thetford Forest. We couldn't park at our normal place so we went right up to the gates of the firing range and although we could hear the dull thud of distant artillery it didn't deter the wildlife.

The first thing we noticed as we drove up to the gates was the number of Dragonflies whizzing about along the edge of the road and Forest. Most of them were Common and Ruddy Darters both male and female, with the odd Hawker which were travelling too fast for us to identify.

Female Common Darter

The next thing was the number of Spiders we could see; they were mainly Garden or Cross Spiders. There are many variations and colours of these Spiders

Two Variations Of The Cross Or Garden Spider

The afternoon, although warm was pretty overcast and we managed to get a long look at a Speckled Wood Butterfly that was obviously trying to warm itself up. Although it was warm enough for it to be on the wing there was no sunshine to keep its batteries charged. We have been trying all Summer to get a decent video of this Butterfly.

Speckled Wood Butterfly

There wasn't much birdlife about (not that we saw anyway) apart from Wood Pigeons but we did see a Sparrowhawk swoop across the road in front of us.

Moving down the forest towards Great Hockham Jan found a Caterpillar under an Oak Tree it was from the Scalloped Oak Moth and you can see videos of all the above on our YouTube Channel.

Scalloped Oak Caterpillar

On our way home we saw a Kestrel hunting beside the road.

Remember to keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.