Five Marvels – Three Man Made The Other Two Natural – Saturday 6th December 2014
Those of you who regularly read our blog will know that we often combine our nature watching excursions with shopping trips, especially the local ones. Today was no exception.
We had to go to Thetford to think about getting some Christmas presents. Our preparations for Christmas are notoriously late mainly because when I was working this time of year used to be so busy but also very enjoyable, however now I am retired things are not so hectic.
Wisely we decided to do our nature watching first because at this time of the year it gets dark so early plus it gave us the opportunity of having two bites of the cherry, so to speak.
We began our observations around the Hockham Fen area, a triangle we often visit. I’m hoping that next year we can give a pictorial record of how this area changes over the months and seasons. On our slow trip up to our first the only thing we saw of any note was a vintage car. The fumes after it passed us were very reminiscent of the smell you experience at a Speedway meeting (another of our loves) that you get from the Methanol the bikes use for fuel.
Once parked in our place there wasn’t much evidence of bird activity at first but then Jan started to hear the sound of birds in the trees around us, she spotted a Wren flitting about near the car (I, of course couldn’t see it for the life of me) and then she saw a Treecreeper going round and round the trunk of a tree. After that I saw several Treecreepers moving very fast up the trees eluding any possible video or stills of them, by the time I’d found them in the viewfinder and focused on them they were gone.
Moving on down the second side of the triangle we stopped at one of the Forestry Commission ridings. We got a little bit excited because we thought we saw a Kestrel in a distant tree but after much looking and a photograph we could see it was a Wood Pigeon that was caught in the afternoon sun and in fact there was quite a group of them roundabouts (Collective Noun – Flight or Flock). We had our coffee and the Jan heard an Owl or Raptor (Bird of Prey) quite close but scouring the trees we couldn’t see anything. A flock of small birds moved through the treetops. Moving on down the road we came across a Mistle Thrush and two Blue Tits in a roadside bush.
Making a small diversion we came across the first of our man made marvels the church at East Wretham dedicated to St. Ethelbert. Although it looks like one of our ancient churches it is most un-Norfolk like and was in fact rebuilt in 1865. St Ethelbert was a King of East Anglia who died in 794.
The Church Of St. Ethelbert East Wretham
As we made our way back to the main Thetford Road we did spot a Kestrel sitting at the top of a tree, just a little bit too far away to get a decent picture. We made a brief stop at the lay-by at East Wretham Heath and as always there were plenty of Rabbits but nothing else. Carrying on to Thetford we saw an enormous Murmuration of Starlings crossing the road (in the air, of course) making their way westwards towards Thetford Forest.
Shopping done we made our way back home passing a Muntjac Deer rooting about the nearside verge completely oblivious to the traffic. We could see an enormous Full Moon rising in the East, it was getting quite dark (it was 4.45pm) and the Moon was very low and as we crossed the A11 it appeared to be almost dead central to the road and about 10 degrees above it. It would have made a stunning picture but a roundabout on the A11 is not the place to dally!
Full Moon Through The Trees
I asked Jan if we could go around the triangle in the forest hoping we might see a Deer or an Owl but we came across our second man made marvel. Nothing much in this day and age as lots of people now decorate their homes at Christmas but what was unusual was this was a Farm House in the middle of the forest so it did make us smile.
Ash Farm East Wretham
Then we had one of those Wow! Moments; coming towards us at eye level was a Tawny Owl as it approached us it rose up into a tree beside the road. We stopped and reversed back a little but we couldn’t see it but we could clearly hear it and another one calling. Sometimes you can be fooled by Owls because they have the ability to throw their voices but what they can’t do is to call twice at the same time and the second call was coming from a roadside tree on the other side of the road. We inched forward and saw the first Tawny Owl fly off into the field and then right in front of us sitting on a branch lit by the car headlights was the second, it was probably only about 10 metres in front of us. I was looking through the binoculars but Jan could also see it before it quickly and silently glided off in front of us. We kept inching forward and could quite clearly hear the Owls calling to each other before moving off deeper into the forest.
The view we had of the second Tawny Owl was one of those views that if it had been a photograph would have been in with a good chance of winning any competition. It would have been lovely to have had a photograph but we were just content with having experienced it. Wow!
We returned home just after experiencing another man made marvel near our home. Jan spent all last Christmastime talking about this house and trying to show me it lit up but without success but tonight it was.
House In Watton
Quiz
Last answer: The valuable molluscan product is a Pearl, produced by an Oyster. The North American name for The Common Seal is the Harbour Seal (although they spell it Harbor; we are also now beginning to call them Harbour Seals as well). It was on the 7th December 1941 that was described by US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as “A date which will live in infamy.” When the Japanese attacked the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii. Which also proved to be pivotal in the US entering the Second World War with all its Military Might.
Question
One former name of a bird, with a strange appearance and strange behaviour was Cuckoo Mate. It was called this because it arrived in Britain in April at about the same time as the Cuckoo. What word, still in common English usage, is derived from that bird’s even older name, because it used to be trapped and used in magic rituals to effect the return of a lover or to cast a spell on an enemy? (Either email me with the answer or it will be in the next blog entry).
Remember get out there or you won’t see or hear and keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.
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