Yet more..............

More of the Hunstanton Purple Sandpiper, 23rd December 2015

Off patch highlights 2015

Steve (left) & Andy (right) turning rocks in the River Glaven looking for fish, crayfish and inverts.

Over the course of the year, as well as thrashing the patch, we had field trips around the county mainly focused around the Brecks, Broads and North Norfolk coast. We visited STANTA twice, both times assisting Rob Hawkes with his PhD studies and Darren Mann and Steve Lane in finding dung beetles. We also took part in the National Trust's Bioblitz of its Brancaster estate, joining Neil Lawton, Mike Rooney and John Williamson on Scolt Head and spent various other days inverting and botanising in the Brecks and North Norfolk.

A small selection of images...

Marsh Warbler, Narborough, June.  Quite probably my bird of the year due to its mimicry alone!

Purple Milk Vetch, Cranwich Camp, June.  One of many cool species seen during a afternoon botanising

Fen Potter Wasp, Sutton Fen

Great Silver Diving Beetle, Sutton Fen.  Unfortunately No water Stick insect.

Glow Worm, Dersingham Bog

Antlion, Burnham Overy Dunes.

Starlet Sea Anemone, Salthouse

Bullhead, River Glaven

Keeled Skimmer, Holt Lowes

Bird's-nest Orchid, N. Norfolk

In 2016 we plan to continue hitting the patch - focusing our attention towards the less well-recorded taxa on the patch (Spiders, Lichens and Leafhoppers), try out the new guide to Bees, mop up some dips from 2015 (Nebria livida), get out more onto the local heaths of Dersingham Bog and Roydon Common and spend a warm summers evening watching the giant Tanner Beetle.

Sunday 27th December 2015

Natterjacks still active!!

After another balmy winter's day at NWT Holme Dunes I made another search for a "late" natterjack toad just after 9pm. Temperature was around nine degrees so really wasn't expecting to find anything, but just after reaching the ridge to the beach in the pines I came accross this natterjack, running around actively, although a similar size to the animal I saw a few days ago it felt to me to be much fatter and healthier looking.

I then carried along the footpath and back around the west end of the pines and over the established grey dune, really not expecting to find another one, but doing just that! Sat on a small mound of sand as if waiting for the next meal to crawl to him (or her).

Apologies for poor quality of photos but using torch and camera combined as I have no flash in camera.

Turnstone and Cormorant, Hunstanton, 23rd December 2015

A Purple Sandpiper at Hunstanton

Purple Sandpiper, Hunstanton, 22nd December 2015

Holme sightings

A superb days birding on the patch with highlights including Iceland Gull, 3 Shorlarks, Slavonian Grebe, 3 drake Velvet Scoters, 3 Snow Buntings, 2 Greenshank, 85 Lapwing west, 30+ Kittiwake, Merlin and a Stonechat.

Could resist more photos of the Iceland...

Photobombing Snow Bunt...

Iceland Gull eating Sunfish

First time the two have ever been photographed together?!?

North meets South: Iceland Gull and Ocean Sunfish

A lunchtime stroll today produced the goods at Holme. First I flushed an Iceland Gull from high on the shore at Gore Point - my first here in many, many years and then, on going to check whether there was anything of interest near where the gull had been standing, I found a dead Ocean Sunfish - long dead, in tatters and rather smelly. Its rather worrying that at least two Sunfish should be so far north in our waters and more worrying still that they died. Interestingly, there cant be many occasions when a bird from the far north gets to feed on something from the far south. I hope Robert can post better pictures than I.

Iceland (and Great Black-backed) Gull, Gore Point, 17th December 2015

Ocean Sunfish, Gore Point, 17th December 2015

Ocean Sunfish: off and maybe even on patch.....

We followed up a report of a dead Ocean Sunfish on Old Hunstanton beach on Monday, but could not relocate the beast. This one was washed up at Titchwell and may possibly be the same individual.

Ocean Sunfish, Titchwell, 16th December 2015