Nature watch.

[Herman 9,838]

The wings of a Goldfinch. Might be a young 'un.

[The Raptor 1,248]

Looks like it.

 

https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/identify-a-bird/

 

Edited July 1, 2023 by The Raptor

[dylanisabaddog 5,021]

Thank you both. Makes sense as at least one adult has been a regular visitor. 

Update on my Robins. The young have fledged but have been taken to a neighbour's garden since I was invaded by Starlings. Annoying, particularly as the adults return to their ashtray for mealworm and get quite uppity if it's empty. 

[horsefly 4,318]

5 hours ago, Herman said:

The big sky over Snettisham last Sunday.

Photos from Heacham last Saturday evening. Not the slightest movement of wind so the sea was entirely still and reflected the sky like a mirror. The only movement was from the effect of the moon's gravity as the tide trickled in entirely waveless. Very magical!

 

[dylanisabaddog 5,021]

12 hours ago, horsefly said:

Photos from Heacham last Saturday evening. Not the slightest movement of wind so the sea was entirely still and reflected the sky like a mirror. The only movement was from the effect of the moon's gravity as the tide trickled in entirely waveless. Very magical!

 

Those photos and the one by @Hermanare absolutely stunning. I'd suggest Googling the term 'landscape photography competitions' and have a go. 

[horsefly 4,318]

1 hour ago, dylanisabaddog said:

Those photos and the one by @Hermanare absolutely stunning. I'd suggest Googling the term 'landscape photography competitions' and have a go. 

Thanks for your kind words

[ricardo 7,414]

Fantastic, could almost be a "J.M.W.Turner".

[Herman 9,838]

On 09/06/2023 at 12:30, dylanisabaddog said:

My Robins are back and in the nest! They are called Rocky and Adrienne. 

Spent a small fortune on mealworm which they won't touch but they're consuming huge amounts of sunflower hearts. They won't touch the Niger seeds either. 

Mine have had a third batch. There was another couple of fledglings in the greenhouse this morning. 

[Mr Apples 1,335]

Got a couple of baby Swallows in the garage and will be about another 10 days before they leave the nest. Plenty of young Goldfinches tearing through the Niger seeds (having to fill the feeder daily) and a young GS Woodpecker on the peanuts (it was also practising pecking on a post in the garden).

Apples

[benchwarmer 625]

Salps.  I'd never heard of them until today. 

I was walking along the shoreline at Yarmouth North Beach as a very high tide was starting to recede, when I saw thousands of what looked like translucent marbles lying on the wet sand.  I picked one up and it was soft and squishy.

Someone told me they were jellyfish eggs, but in fact salps are harmless creatures which feed on plankton.  Some people call them 'moon jellies', and interestingly there was a full moon two days ago and its orbit is at its closest to the earth right now.  Until very recently salps were almost unknown in British waters, but there was a sighting last summer on the south Cornish coast. 

Hardly any seagulls around today, and I suspect Great Yarmouth Council has carried out genocide in time for the summer season. 

Edited July 4, 2023 by benchwarmer

[dylanisabaddog 5,021]

On 03/07/2023 at 15:34, Mr Apples said:

Got a couple of baby Swallows in the garage and will be about another 10 days before they leave the nest. Plenty of young Goldfinches tearing through the Niger seeds (having to fill the feeder daily) and a young GS Woodpecker on the peanuts (it was also practising pecking on a post in the garden).

Apples

I'm new to this bird feeding malarkey and having seen Goldfinches in the garden bought some Niger seeds. They won't touch them but eat huge quantities of sunflower hearts. 

[Mr Apples 1,335]

1 hour ago, dylanisabaddog said:

I'm new to this bird feeding malarkey and having seen Goldfinches in the garden bought some Niger seeds. They won't touch them but eat huge quantities of sunflower hearts. 

I only put out peanuts, Niger and mealworms in summer so it could be they eat them here as they don't have another choice! 😅

Apples

[The Raptor 1,248]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-66095950

Probably deaf now poor things. On other hand they were there without a ticket.. 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,198]

Mother Nature  back to playing silly búggers again 

[horsefly 4,318]

On 02/07/2023 at 11:31, ricardo said:

Fantastic, could almost be a "J.M.W.Turner".

cheers!

[ricardo 7,414]

Just been to Trimingham to watch the Bee Eaters. Well worth a look. Very helpful RSPB staff on site.

[BurwellCanary 216]

Snapped this praying mantis in Tenerif in April

[Herman 9,838]

There was a large insect flying about at work today and we couldn't figure it out. When it landed it turned out to be a large cricket. I've never seen that before. Are we due a plague of small locusts?

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,444]

7 hours ago, ricardo said:

Just been to Trimingham to watch the Bee Eaters. Well worth a look. Very helpful RSPB staff on site.

Are they hopeful of a second breeding attempt Ricardo? After the first one failed.

[ricardo 7,414]

1 hour ago, Wings of a Sparrow said:

Are they hopeful of a second breeding attempt Ricardo? After the first one failed.

I asked the RSPB bloke  and he said they were still going in and out of the nest hole in recent days but there is no feeding going on or any sign of egg incubation. While i was there they occasionally flew up to the bank where the nest holes are but i didnt see them go in. There is still a short widow if they decide to have another attempt according to the information I was told.

Mostly the three birds were perching on the telephone wire and swooping down for bees, flies and even butterflies. I took my binoculars but it was also possible to look through the high magnification telescope used by the RSPB people. It was a great experience to see these colourful summer visitors in real life. My wife and daughter accompanied me and also my great grandson who had a day off school due to the teachers strike.

I strongly recommend anyone interested in birds to give them a look if you are in the area. Its a fiver per person with easy parking in the field opposite the quarry but the RSPB bloke didn't charge me for the boy because he had his NCFC shirt on. 😀

Edited July 7, 2023 by ricardo

[dylanisabaddog 5,021]

The rarest of all birds. A one legged white/blackbird 

[How I Wrote Elastic Man 1,198]

Eruption time again

Fair bit of smoke on the webcam, anyway 

Right now there are some people down there! I'm guessing that they are scientists 

I drove past the area 30 minutes before it began 

[Herman 9,838]

On 07/07/2023 at 19:03, Herman said:

There was a large insect flying about at work today and we couldn't figure it out. When it landed it turned out to be a large cricket. I've never seen that before. Are we due a plague of small locusts?

This was it. Still hanging around.

[dylanisabaddog 5,021]

10 hours ago, Herman said:

This was it. Still hanging around.

That's a bigun! 

[Herman 9,838]

42 minutes ago, dylanisabaddog said:

That's a bigun! 

Not as big as a locust but bigger than a usual grasshopper. Strange.

[dylanisabaddog 5,021]

19 minutes ago, Herman said:

Not as big as a locust but bigger than a usual grasshopper. Strange.

Google lens is a bit unsure about which it is. If it's a locust we may have a problem! 

[KiwiScot 1,489]

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2023/jul/11/crows-and-magpies-show-their-metal-by-using-anti-bird-spikes-to-build-nests

[Herman 9,838]

22 hours ago, How I Wrote Elastic Man said:

Eruption time again

Fair bit of smoke on the webcam, anyway 

Right now there are some people down there! I'm guessing that they are scientists 

I drove past the area 30 minutes before it began 

 

[ricardo 7,414]

Bee Eaters having another try apparently.

https://news.yahoo.com/bee-eater-verge-laying-norfolk-044908893.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAADg3SktenetI_zUakpwpqa0piwUMlFVJgFgd_rW10AaS3fBAOPsngZbWMKYZICl11nGs4CQgMqx9rCbxhHcPPE_TQ7UVFcuisBBL-tMyFOcXBWq9KzShvlSWBzxtj6RIUkEwo7mZEH1RTcfrL0-Uvpx_fWXuud8iCMQKJqvp-M_y

[Wings of a Sparrow 1,444]

Great news about the bee eaters. Fingers crossed.