East Wretham

Geminids & Owls – Saturday/Sunday 13/14^th December 2014 

Having had some of hedges trimmed back along our back fence it was time to put the scope back up so we could see into the field behind us. As Jan was putting it up she noticed a Hare on the far side of the field it was quite happily preening itself.

We had to get some shopping so on the way to Thetford we went round the triangle at East Wretham. We didn’t see anything until we’d nearly got back to the main road when I noticed a Red Deer Hind on the far side of the field and scanning round the field I noticed several Redwings.

After shopping we returned home but later, just after 11pm we decided to go out to see if we could catch a glimpse of the Geminid meteor shower which peaks tonight around 2am. This shower is caused by the object 3200 Phaethon, which is thought to be a Palladian asteroid (a family of asteroids of the grouping of B-type asteroids at very high inclinations in the intermediate asteroid belt) with a "rock comet" orbit. 

As we headed back to East Wretham Heath, Jan saw a Muntjac Deer by the side of the road. We parked in the lay-by next to the Nature Reserve. It is amazing how many more stars you can see on a clear night if you get away from the light of towns. There was an amazing Moon as well but unfortunately we didn’t have our cameras with us.

It didn’t take long for us to see our first meteorite (or as most people refer to them – shooting star) and in a five-minute period we saw about 9; one was exceptionally bright and dramatic and another had a long tail. It was very cold about 0C so we didn’t stay much longer.

On our way home we went around the triangle hoping to catch sight of an Owl or any Deer. Coming back down the second side of the triangle a Barn Owl glided across the road in front of us and we could hear a Tawny Owl calling from the woods. Jan also heard some movement in the undergrowth, which was probably a Deer in the roadside Ferns.

As I’m writing this at 7.30am the dawn is just breaking so I had a quick look through the scope and I can see a Barn Owl perched in a tree on the Golf Course which is behind the field at the back of our home.

Anyway back to last night’s narrative. We took a slight detour through Thompson and Merton on our way home. We saw another 3 Muntjac Deer in Thompson, one just ambled across the road in front of us. As we had just gone through Merton I saw a Tawny Owl sitting in a roadside tree but by the time we’d reversed back to it, it was gone.

We returned home just before 1am. Quiz answer on the next entry. 

Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.