Spinkyblurb

It took me almost an hour to get home yesterday, day 12 of #30DaysWild. I regularly cycle to work and normally it takes 15 to 20 minutes, depending on the wind direction. Yesterday it was almost an hour in only a light breeze.  It wasn't a puncture, or the choice of a longer route that made me take much longer, no, it was all the wild distractions, so many brilliant encounters that are great for #30DaysWild which is an initiative for June being encouraged by  The Wildlife Trusts  . So here is the story of 'My #30DaysWild ride Home'. When I left work I started a list in my head of bird species I saw or heard on the journey; Woodpigeon, Herring Gull, Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Jay, Dunnock, Greenfinch, Whitethroat, Wren, Jackdaw and I had barely gone 400m. I paused on the bridge over the river Yare to check out the fish (obviously inspired by the hero of this year's Springwatch, Spineless Si). There were lots of fry and some bigger fish too, guessing...

There was a touch of Fifty Shades of Grey about Cley the other day, and not just in the sky.  Despite the grey, murky weather the Cley wild things were gearing up for spring, the crossover, when briefly a bit of winter and summer collide.  There are still plenty of geese about, Brents mainly and a few Greylag. It's as if every grey that was in their feathers had been picked from the sky's palette.  The Wigeon are not thinking about heading East yet back to the breeding grounds, and are just focusing on looking and sounding gorgeous. They do pretty well on both counts. This lot of Wigeon were set up by a cruising Marsh Harrier, who was looking to impress his girl with a nice juicy duck breast. Pinging could be heard coming from the reed bed as the Bearded Tits flirt. I had hoped they might show out on the path to pick up grit but I had to make do with a pair of Reed Bunting instead. Still cute though, even the blurry female. Oystercatchers were li...

The days are short in January and leaves very little time for birding during the working week, but its not all gloom and doom because there's a lot going on if you just take a few minutes to look out of the window. Winter is a great time for watching birds, not only for the big spectacles out on the marshes be they salt or grazing marshes, but also for those birds that get driven by hunger into your garden at this time of year. Chris Packham described it as the "hunger gap" which starts in late January, early February and is when the birds are finding it more difficult to source a good meal in the 'wilds' beyond the garden boundaries. All sorts of species start to sneak in if you put out some treats and wait, some in quite large numbers. I had twenty-four Blackbirds, just like the nursery rhyme, in my tiny garden all at one time last February. There's a Blackcap back in my garden at the moment. Could it be the same one as last year, I like to think so. His M...

I didn't know I was going to become a birthing partner, but when given the job unexpectedly I grabbed it with both hands and lungs! I was visiting the grey seal colony at Horsey to see how they were faring this year during the pupping season. Were they going to be as successful as those up at Blakeney who were already breaking records? Well it seems yes they are, pups are all along the beach so a much larger area is cordoned off to help reduce disturbance. Seals don't understand ropes and I'm pretty sure they don't read signs too well, so they weren't paying too much attention to the designated areas. Seals and pups stretched as far as you could see. Fortunately those mammals that can read were respecting the signs and were even keeping off the beach that wasn't roped off. Excellent! Walking along the top of the dunes with my long lens trained onto the beach I managed to capture some lovely shots of seals of all ages. Some pups were resting quite high up th...

November, late in the afternoon and the light is fading at RSPB Buckenham Marshes so I tear myself away from the wonderful whistling wigeon and head back to Buckenham railway station. I'm not catching the train but the platform is a great spot to get caught up in the gathering corvids. Mainly rook and jackdaw make up this roost, and at first there are a few decorating the small stand of trees on the grazing marsh, but soon there is a steady stream of black birds from all directions, noisily announcing their arrival. There seems to be a little jostling for the top most points of the trees then things settle, apart from a little murmuring. Suddenly in unison they lift, it seems someone gave the call to move and the jackdaws continue their joyous recounting of the day to each other as they head to the field with the wires. But there is no room on the wires, for these are sole property of the rooks. Every inch filled but no bird actually looking cramped for space. There they si...