Much needed rain fell during last Sunday’s tour. As we walked down the riverbank there was a break in the clouds and the sun broke through for a while at least.
A flash of turquoise and an orange breast bobbed atop a branch overhanging the water. A kingfisher delighted us as it beat the life from a minnow before swallowing it head first. Then above us the song of a Willow Warbler rang out. A Willow Warbler would you believe. Not what I expected to hear on a tour in mid March; in a few weeks time maybe, but not in mid March. A red letter day indeed. As we moved around the tree to see the perpetrator of this early rendition I almost trod on something half hidden in the leaf litter. It was something colourful; something bright and quite at odds with the greyness of the day. As I looked closer it was a fungus. Scarlet Elf’s Cup is not a common species with a limited range. Just a moment within a day that saw us marvelling at a whole host of Breckland species.
Rain, what rain?
Letter From Norfolk 