Watton – Swaffham Thursday 8th January 2015
We had to get some fresh birdseed so we decided to go to Swaffham
and as it was nearly half past two we decided to take our time and see what we
could see.
We’d gone through Little Cressingham and were driving along the
Peddars Way towards South Pickenham. So far we’d only seen the odd Corvid and
Pheasant but then it all began to happen right before our eyes. The hedgerows
either side of Peddars Way always seem to be like a magnet for small birds. The
first two we saw were not easily identifiable as the setting sun was shining
directly on their breasts and we couldn’t get a clear of view their wings so we
had to wait until we got home to positively ID them with the help of our very
knowledgeable Daughter In Law, Dawn. They were Linnets and one thing I learnt
about them was that they were nearly always seen in pairs. We once saw a group
of about 10 or more but I think they were migrating birds either arriving or
departing at Warham.
Linnets
Almost in the same spot we saw a Greenfinch, Blue Tit, Blackbirds, Great
Tit and two Yellowhammers. Although they weren’t all together it is quite
common for small birds to make up larger flocks of mixed birds. Then just a bit
further along we came across a Hare running in the middle of the road. I don’t
know exactly why but I thought it was a youngish Hare because it looked very
fresh and sprightly. It is not the first time we have encountered a Hare in the
road going along Peddars Way in this area.
Just a little further along the road we saw a group of Long Tailed
Tits (collective noun – one is a zephyr but quite a few for Tits in general
such as dissimulation or banditry of Tits) as they usually do flitting from
bush to bush rarely stopping still for a second. We have very few pictures or
videos of Long Tailed Tits for this very reason. I remember proudly videoing about
8 Long Tailed Tits on a feeder only to find that I hadn’t actually pressed the
record button! There was also a group of Goldfinches going along the seed heads
(collective noun – charm).
Further along besides a coppice there is a track where the
Gamekeepers put out feed for the reared Pheasants and we’ve often seen many
there enjoying a free feed but today there was also 2 Muntjac Deer with them
and the Pheasants were quite happily feeding alongside them. We did take a video
which is on our YouTube Channel.
Muntjac & Pheasants
We turned on to main road through South Pickenham, stopped as we
went across the River Wissey where we only saw two pairs of Mallards and that
was it apart from Wood Pigeons and Corvids. Returning home we stopped on the
cut through lane at Hilborough to have our coffee and as we pulled up 2 Geese
flew directly over the car. We sat there until darkness fell but we didn’t see
anything but Jan heard a Barn Owl.
We returned home taking a detour loop up Cressingham Road to The
Arms and then back to the main road. Unfortunately there was some floodlit
farming going on but we did see 1 Tawny Owl fly across the road and Jan saw
something fly into a tree but we couldn’t dawdle along as we normally do
because we had agricultural vehicles following us.
When we got home we did a bit of Comet spotting, trying to spot
Comet Lovejoy. I think we did spot it. It’s in the SE night sky from about 8 -
10pm. It is the Taurus Constellation passing into the Aries Constellation on
the 16th January. It was at its closest on the 7th of
January when it was 43.6 million miles from us. It is now moving away from us
but skies permitting it should be visible through binoculars or a telescope for
another couple of weeks. If you can’t get out to see it, you can observe it on
the Virtual Telescope Project here on the 18th of January at 7pm
GMT:
There is also another heavenly sight in our skies this week.
Eridanus the long winding Heavenly River Constellation is also visible. To
locate Eridanus you need to look due South around 8pm. You can find precise
details of how to find it here:
That’s it for now; remember keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.
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