Red Kite & Frogspawn

Little Cressingham – Houghton-on-the-Hill And Back Again – Saturday 14^th March 2015

Frogspawn

Garden Update

We’re still getting regular visits from the Long Tailed Tits but they seem to prefer it when the House Sparrows are not here. The Wren and the Reed Buntings are still coming regularly and we had a visit from a Goldfinch this week. We are just waiting for the Yellowhammers to turn up. Otherwise our regular visitors to the feeders and ground feed are: Collared Doves, Wood Pigeons, Stock Doves, Blackbirds, Robins, Dunnock, Starlings, Rooks (very shy), Blue Tits, an occasional Great Tit, an occasional Chaffinch, and our hoarde of House Sparrows (numbering anything up to 25).

We set out today about 3.10pm. It was quite overcast and the temperature was 8˚C although it felt a lot colder because of the brisk Easterly wind.

We went along Peddars Way from Little Cressingham to Houghton-on-the-Hill. At Little Cressingham we saw a Mute Swan on the Mill Pond and between there and South Pickenham we saw 3 Hares, Pheasants, Partridges, Wood Pigeon and Corvids (mainly Crows).

Inquisitive Young Bullocks On The South Pickenham Estate

Stopping along Peddars Way above South Pickenham we had a lovely sighting of a Red Kite such a master of the air, so graceful and dignified. We also saw another Hare.

The Pond Near The Church

Views From Houghton-on-the-Hill

We then went up to the church at the top of Houghton-on-the-Hill where we found our first Frogspawn of the year. We took a little to put in our own pond. Some people say you shouldn’t move it to minimalise the risk of spreading infections. Although to a certain extent I accept that I do think that by moving a little of it could actually help improve the breeding stock. We have a relatively new pond (it’s just coming up to a year old now) so I’m sure it will help the biodiversity of our garden. Ever since I was a young boy it was a rite of passage every year to collect some Frogspawn and I suspect it still is for families who are keen on engaging with Nature. We also saw a Kestrel and a couple of unusually coloured Hen Pheasants. Predominantly silver coloured Pheasants are quite common all around Thetford but I’ve never seen a silver coloured hen before, the other was slightly darker than usual but not as dark as the one we’ve seen several times at Abbey Farm recently.

Dark & Silver Hen Pheasants

As we approached North Pickenham we saw quite a lot of Rabbits near a sandy bank and in the next field another Hare. We then went onto Swaffham as Jan had some shopping to do.

It was about 6pm when we got back to Hilborough and being a dull day the light was going rapidly. We saw about 10 Greylag Geese near the river but decided to move onto Watton Brook where we saw another Hare and three Mallard fly over.

It was now nearly dark so we decided to call it a day and head for home. We hadn’t got very far along the Cressingham Road when we disturbed a Tawny Owl on the roadside verge which just glided into one of the roadside trees. Likewise as we were going through Threxton we disturbed a Little Owl that was feeding on a roadside field.

Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.