Just Another Shopping Trip, Oh, and 3 Sparrowhawks, 2 Kestrel etc.

Wretham, Around Croxton, Thompson & Merton – Sunday 3^rd May 2015 

Cumulo Nimbus Clouds Over Thetford Forest Area

We had to get some shopping so we went to Thetford. We left home at 2.30pm it was bright with a slight breeze and the temperature was 18˚C, which at one point rose to 20˚C. On the way to Thetford we saw a Kestrel hunting the road verges.

After shopping we had a brief stop at East Wretham Heath at just after 4pm, where we saw plenty of Rabbits, Jackdaws, Rooks and a few Crows. We turned off the A1075 at Wretham and headed towards Croxton making several stops on the way.

At one of the stops where the road bisects the MOD Training Area we were sitting in a gateway just generally scanning the area with our binoculars when I turned to my left to see a young Hare (it wasn’t a leveret but it wasn’t fully grown, probably one of last year’s young) sitting about 2 metres from the car. I couldn’t help myself, I said to Jan; “Quick, there’s a Hare here!” In a not particularly quiet voice. The Hare didn’t run off but withdrew to the other side of the gate where it carried on grazing. Eventually he disappeared back into the forest but about 10 minutes later he came back again and this time came even closer to the car before disappearing round the back of the car and crossing the road.

Young Hare

We had plenty of sightings but in one stop right by Croxton Heath we saw no less than 6 Orange Tip Butterflies which all appeared to be attracted to a patch of Forget Me Nots in a sunny patch. These butterflies are normally so mobile that they are difficult to photograph but Jan managed to get quite close to them and at one point I thought one was going to land on her arm.

Shortly after this stop we disturbed a male Sparrowhawk which flew deeper into the trees and a bit further on on the other side of the road we saw another one, it might well have been the same one. After getting to Croxton we turned to come back in a loop on ourselves towards The Devil’s Punchbowl and Foul Mere.

Nature's Art

Just as we were pulling up to see if there was anything in Salix Bio-Engineering another male Sparrowhawk was just about to land on the telegraph pole in front of us, unfortunately as soon as he saw us he was off. Looking into Salix we saw another Hare.

After turning back onto the Wretham Road we stopped to look at the Gorse Bushes in the MOD Training Area and I saw our first Swift of the year, it was just a solitary bird. A bit further on we saw 2 Curlew in the fields they were probably a pair but they were in fields on opposite sides of the road. As we approached Wretham we had another close encounter with a Hare in a roadside field. In Wretham we saw another Muntjac Deer in one of the paddocks.

We did go round the Thompson Triangle in the hope that all the dog walkers had returned home but we had no such luck so we didn’t stop there. Going through Breckles there was a solitary Swallow on a telephone wire. We turned into Stow Bedon Road, where we saw another 2 Muntjac Deer and then headed towards Thompson. There was another solitary Swallow on a telephone wire as we went through the village and Jan heard her second Green Woodpecker.

Another Hare

As we made our way up Church Road there were just 12 Greylag Geese in the field but we couldn’t see the goslings but they may have been behind some reeds where some of the Greylag were. We saw 2 adult Egyptian Geese there as well and if they were the same pair we had seen the other day (we couldn’t see any others) they were now minus their 5 tiny goslings and they eventually flew off.

One Of Thompson's Non-Indiginous Species (Llama)

We made our way home through Merton and we saw a male Kestrel hunting close to the road but he was very mobile and I failed miserably trying to get some footage of him. While we were watching the Kestrel Jan saw another Muntjac crossing the road in front of us.

The Sun Goes Down Over Merton

Strangely, for us, today was a No Buzzard day.

What we saw:

3 Sparrowhawk

2 Kestrel

Rooks *

Jackdaws *

Crows*

Wood Pigeon *

Pheasant*

Partridge*

2 Jay

2 Magpie

2 Mistle Thrush

Several Chaffinch

2 Green Woodpecker (heard)

Swift

2 Curlew

5 Goldfinch

3 Swallow

12 Greylag Geese

2 Egyptian Geese

4 Muntjac Deer

4 Hare 

Rabbits *

6 Orange Tip Butterfly

* = Too many to count

Spectacular Moon Over Watton

Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.