Godwits

Posted on Apr 2, 2024 by wildlifetours

A good number of Black tailed Godwits on the scrapes at the moment. Almost all attaining that beautiful rusty chestnut breeding plumage.

Changes

Posted on Jan 5, 2024 by wildlifetours

You’ll see that the layout of ‘Letter from Norfolk’ has changed slightly. Friend Bob made me aware that he was unable to see posts on the site. When I investigated further ‘WordPress’, the hosts of the site, have mucked around with things at their end which made the site difficult if not impossible to see on a desktop or tablet although it was still ok on a mobile.

To see photographs just click on the title of the post. From there you can navigate through previous posts with the arrows on the top of the page. The site will probably morph a little over the coming weeks as I tweak it a little. So you will see a few changes.

In the meantime here’s a Red-backed Fairy Wren hunting spiders in Australia last November.

A grizzling post

Posted on Sep 4, 2023 by wildlifetours

I’ve been criticised before for writing posts like this rather than ‘pretty little blogs’. Well if you don’t like it I’d ask you to go and read something else.

I was watching the BBC’s Breakfast Show, en passant, the other morning and an interesting article on Emperor Penguins caught my attention. Naga Manchetty was interviewing a Dr somebody or other in Christchurch New Zealand (or at least I presumed it was New Zealand) who was relating that the Southern Ocean sea ice was getting less and less because of the warming climate. Emperor Penguins that use the ice upon which to nest were in a sorry old state and the size and numbers of colonies was decreasing. He estimated that we would loose King Penguins (as well as some other species) within 30 years because they can’t adjust to the rapidly changing conditions.

An iconic species lost. Gone. Never to return.

Naga’s response was “This is something to keep an eye on”. Really?

What that Dr somebody didn’t say was more powerful than what he did. He didn’t say this was the next canary in the mine to bow its head and threaten to fall from the perch. He didn’t say this is just a preamble to chaos and disaster on a scale the human race has not yet seen. He didn’t talk about the fires, the wars over fresh water in the tropics, the collapse of the food chain and the financial markets. He didn’t say it was a preamble to areas of the world becoming uninhabitable with resulting wholesale migration of people both North and South … but mainly North into Europe and North America. He didn’t say anything about the ensuing wars this migration would bring. But there again why should he. This Dr Somebody had probably dedicated half his life to studying Penguins and he’s just reporting the facts as he sees them. It’s not up to him. He’s no politician he’s ‘just’ a scientist.

Naga then moved onto the next article; about uncontrollable fires in Canada.

Somebody in charge of us is just not joining up the dots.

Is it too late? I honestly don’t know. I see lots of good happening in the world but I also see people ignorant and isolating themselves from the truth. The draconian changes needed worldwide to even start to put things right are such that the existing political system would mean someone with enough gumption to correct things would never get voted in. Think about it. The natural world is in balance. It has achieved that balance over millennia. A reliance of species upon species that has been millions of years in the making. We breed like rabbits and upset that balance with our need to eat and deploy our waste. The simple matter is there are just too many of us. We have upset the balance because of our numbers. Can you imagine the UK prime minister standing behind that lectern in Downing Street and stating you can only have a single child for the foreseeable future? How long would he last?

I’ve just returned from doing a sea watch at Weybourne. I spent 2 hours looking out to sea and I saw bugger all. No more than a few distant Gannets, a Cormorant or two and a few miserable Guillemots spinning in the surf obviously suffering with Avian Influenza.

I have two centres of light in my life. One bright shining beacon is sat on the sofa right next to me here. If it wasn’t for her drenching me with love I think I’d go uncontrollably mad. The other is a chink of light. A trust in nature. A trust developed since childhood and an understanding that when we are all gone, when we have facilitated our own end, Mother Nature will rise again. The earth will still be here. That’s my hope. I’ve never seen an Emperor Penguin. I probably never will. I’ve seen King Penguins … not off Weybourne of course.

BioBlitz – Saturday 5th August 2023

Posted on Jul 2, 2023 by wildlifetours

Bioblitz at Wild Ken Hill – 5th August 2023

Come and have a look around Wild Ken Hill along with an expert who will show you what wildlife we have here on the estate. During the day there will be 18 different walks and events – all details and the booking of your tickets may be obtained by clicking on this link BioBlitz at Wild Ken Hill Tickets, Sat 5 Aug 2023 at 08:30 | Eventbrite.

Fools dancing before an abyss.

Posted on Jan 11, 2023 by wildlifetours

It dawned on me quite early in my life that the way to protect the wildlife and birds in an area is to protect the area itself. Protecting the environment is key to having a safe home and area for creatures to live and breed. It’s not bloody rocket science is it? Cut down a forest for agriculture and everything in the forest will die or have to move elsewhere. Concrete and tarmac over a wild area and the insects that are key to supporting our wildlife will die or move on. Insect life supports everything above it like a Jenga tower. Pull out too many bricks and the whole lots clatters downward. The problem is we are running out of areas for our creatures to move to and we are loosing wildlife habitat and consequently our wildlife at a rate of knots.

Those of you that live locally will know of the area that is just to the West of Cromer on the South side of the A149 coast road. A wild piece of land full of bushes and scrub, often referred to as the site of the old zoo; not only important for breeding birds but also for migrants. Scrub is such an important habitat. It is not waste land. It’s essential habitat. I’ve seen Ring Ousel here, Red backed Shrike, Citrine Wagtail, Barred Warbler as well as commoner migrants. Those of you that have lived here longer than I will know of more rarities found here on migration. Well no more!

The area has been cleared. It’s gone. bulldozed and cut away to nothing. Some, self-important, pound greedy, cretin of an imbecile, has ordered the whole area to be cleared. We are in the middle of a biodiversity crisis and some idiot did this.

A few years ago I was just one of the individuals that objected to a building development on the land. For all the reasons outlined above, it did not seem like a good idea. Well take away all the ideal habitat and all the reasons to object are swept aside. Ruthless.

It was friend Andy (his photo below) that told me of the clearance. I went that morning to take a look. I was so so dejected. When will people understand that we are sawing away at the branch of the tree we are sat on. Bloody fools. Complete and utter … BLOODY FOOLS!

Photo credit: Andy Hale

Happy New Year

Posted on Dec 31, 2022 by wildlifetours

Well, the end of 22 is just about upon us and 2023 is about to open its doors. It’s been a more relaxed year here on the North Norfolk coast with restrictions fading into memory and life returning to somewhat like normal.

Throughout 2022 there have been several low points. Leaving Scillies in October the day after the Blackburnian Warbler turned up was one. Visiting Manchester and seeing the amount of litter both in the city centre and surrounding countryside was another; seeing such disregard for the environment was not just disappointing, but stomach churning.

Thankfully there have been some outstanding high points; including several ‘firsts’ for me. Eleonora’s Falcon, Cape Gull, Glanville Fritillary and Late Spider Orchid being a few examples.

Episodes with Broomrape, Bee Eaters and Little Buntings were entertaining and far reaching.

Despite foreign travel being shunned by Tania and me until next year we’ve had a number of trips here at home and tours have been UK wide. Scotland appeared on the agenda four times with Dumfriesshire, Sutherland and the Spey Valley twice. Scillies was visited twice with Spring and Autumn breaks. There were also tours to Knepp in West Sussex and the East coast including the Farne Islands. A very successful trip to Cumbria was enjoyed for its butterflies and dragonflies. We had a personal trip to the Isle of Wight which was very productive. A short trip to Kent with Tania and Tony took some topping; the range of Orchids we found coupled with time watching an Eleonora’s Falcon would take some beating. By a hair’s breadth however my moment of the year was in October on the island of Tresco. The day I spent with Tania photographing a Swainson’s Thrush was for me just the biz!

It’s been a long time since I have seen this diminutive, subtly marked species, so well. Seeing American Thrushes in the Americas is wonderful. Seeing one in the UK is always a thrill; but actually spending an extended period of time with one at close range was just exhilarating.

We are both looking forward to the New Year and what it brings, and hope you are too. Happy New Year from us both.

You never know what you might find.

Posted on Jun 21, 2022 by wildlifetours

I’m often asked before a tour what we might see. My answer is always the same

‘Rule nothing in, rule nothing out’. You never know what you might see or find.

Tania and I were on the Isle of Wight last week. We were seeking out Glanville’s Fritillary … but more about butterflies in a later post. Tania pointed out a hillside of Broomrape. Broomrape are parasitic plants with particular species having a particular association with various host species.

Now those of you that know me will know I’m no botanist, but I could see this species of Broomrape was not one I knew. A quick text to friend Tony revealed we were stood amid a host of Oxtongue Broomrape (Orobanche picridis), a parasite of Hawkweed Oxtongue. A rare plant indeed.

However, it’s what we saw next which was so incredible.

Amid the throng of spikes was a very pale one. Now I’ve seen the pale form of Purple Broomrape previously, but this was subtly different. Another text to Tony took a few days to generate a reply. Tony had referred the find to ‘Mr Broomrape UK’ Author and botanist Chris Thorogood.

Here’s what he had to say:

“How intriguing, it’s a pigment-deficient form of O. picridis – forma rather than variety (but I don’t believe the official combination e.g. ‘forma lutea’ has ever been made for this species). Nice find 👍🏻

Chris Thorogood”

You never know what you might find.

Orchids

Posted on Jun 17, 2022 by wildlifetours

One of the rarest orchids in the UK is the Late Spider Orchid. At the beginning of this month Tony, Tania and I stumbled among a hillside full of them. The yellow tongue on the lower lip of the flower instantly distinguish it from the Bee Orchid with which you will no doubt be familiar. Orchids are such beautiful flowers.