Four Hours Local Nature Watching - Tuesday 16th September
We didn't go out until after 3pm. Jan had a cortisone injection in her wrist in the morning to help her with the tendonitis she's been suffering with.
Avoiding the school we went to Thompson to the Range Gates, I saw a Buzzard as we approached the turn off and a Sparrowhawk as we made our way along the road. The fields either side of the Range Road had just been ploughed so we didn't expect to see too much. We hadn't been there very long when a Roe Deer appeared about 200-300 metres in front of us along the Range Road, she was happily grazing the hedge along the side of the road.
There wasn't an awful lot of bird life about although Jan could hear plenty of chittering in the trees around us. There was just an occasional Crow on the fields, Wood Pigeon on the field edges and just one bird moving from hedge to hedge but just a bit too far away from us into the Range. There was plenty of Squirrel activity all around us and a Magpie or two along the Range road before a large covey of Partridges started to make their way towards us along the road; it put me in mind of a company of soldiers on patrol. There was still plenty of Butterfly activity, mainly Small Whites but also a few Speckled Woods and I also saw a strange day flying Moth which disappeared before I could get a picture of it and identify it.
As we left this location, I was hoping to get a picture of the Hebridean Sheep we had passed earlier but we had no time to stop as a car wanted to pass us. We drove slowly through Thompson not seeing very much except a field full of Pheasants.
Moving to the triangle in Thetford Forest we very fortunate to find our favourite place free of all disturbance. There were a few Darters about but at one point a couple of Hawkers in the process of mating appeared over the car and then flew back over it. These Hawkers (we couldn't identify them) are pretty big when they're flying solo but together these two looked enormous. Then we saw what we thought was a Sparrowhawk swoop down and then up into the trees. It was quite a distance from us but it stayed in position long for us to get a very bad video of it before it swooped off again. It was only when we got home and watched the video did we realise it was a male Kestrel in beautiful condition. It was such a shame that the video wasn't very good quality, decent videos of Raptors are so difficult to get.
After our coffee we then moved up to the Range gates but once again there wasn't much action. A few darters were moving about and there was a few young Squirrels in the area but all the bird life seemed to be in the tree-tops. Jan did hear a Green Woodpecker but we didn't see any sign of it.
It was beginning to get a bit misty as we moved over to Brettenham Heath. We saw a small skein of Geese and some Starlings on the way. When we got to the Heath, there were quite a few Rabbits, lots of Rooks, a few Crows, some Jackdaws and two Jays. I must admit I was hoping that the mist would encourage a Barn Owl to come out early but there was little chance of that with all these Corvids about.
We made a stop at East Wretham Heath on our way home but could only see Rabbits.
The well known and excellent local birder Paul Newport made some interesting points in his blog of Sunday; you can read them here:
Also on Tuesday's Radio 4 programme Shared Planet, Monty Don made some interesting points about disturbance to wildlife by Walkers, Dog Walkers, Photographers and even Birders you can listen to the programme here:
My experiences over the years have shown to me that being in a hide, whether it be a purpose built hide, portable hide or a vehicle produces far less disturbance to wildlife. One good example of this was when we were watching an Otter happily diving for and eating Crabs on the Isle of Mull one January afternoon on our Sabbatical a few years ago. It was quite happy and oblivious to our presence while we sat in our car but as soon as Jan got out it disappeared post haste. What do you think, you may disagree?
I haven't reported on our Bats recently but I can tell you that they've been feeding every night in the garden and around the street light outside our bungalow on some pretty big Moths. However, last night they were there the earliest that I've seen them so far.
An update on our last batch of 5 Painted Lady Butterfly Caterpillars: As I am typing this Jan is gluing one of the Chrysalis which was knocked down by one of the emerging Butterflies (which has since begun hatching) to a twig. Two of the Butterflies have emerged and are feeding, one is in the process of emerging (the one Jan has stuck on a twig) and two are still in Chrysalis form.
Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting, whatever you're looking for.
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