Category: Natural World

Posted on

RSPB Bempton Cliffs: A Magic Morning

I went to Bempton Cliffs at the weekend and even though it was cold and overcast the visit was not wasted. The North sea blew a cold wind and the mist eventually came inland. However, I managed to get there before the mist appeared. This is a magicsl place for seabirds. Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and Gannets co-exist on the edge of the land. 400 ft of shear rocks are home from March to October every year to at least 250,000 seabirds. nesting looks,a nd is, precarious. Competition for space is palpable and each bird fights for its own space for breeding. There were few Puffins there, but the other seabirds made up for that. there was even a Kestral flying along the cliff tops. probably looking for an easy meal!

RSPB Bempton Cliffs, Post Code: YO15 1JF

Posted on

RSPB Lakenheath: Greylags and others…

Spent a day at Lakenheath in the Mere Hide. All peaceful, feeding Great Crested Grebe and restless Reed Warblers, until this lot of Greylag families flew in. The noisiest of flyers. Three families in all. The Coots scrambled away, they’d seen it all before. Greylag parents and offspring spent the rest of their day bathing, sometimes upside down in the mere.

RSPB Lakenheath Fen, Station Rd, Lakenheath, Brandon, Thetford, Suffolk. IP27 9AD. Grid ref: TL724865

Visitor centre with refreshments.

Posted on

RSPB Frampton Marshes Lincolnshire

Went to this reserve to see a Black Winger Pratincole, which did not appear for me! Still, it’s a wonderful reserve for waders. Out today was a Spoonbill and these very distressed Avocets. One of their chicks had wandered onto the path. Hope it found its way back OK, but I fear the worse.

Posted on

More from RSPB Frampton Marshes, June 2019

Alas I missed the Black-Winger Pratincole, which had decided to move on by the time and date I arrived at this favourite reserve. However, an unsuspecting Great Crested Grebe came within snapping distance and this ‘mistake’ pleased me. Ghostly photograph!

GCG and Godwits/Knots in flight.

Posted on

RSPB: An Evening Walk in Cambridgeshire

Last Wednesday I went on a walk in Cambridgeshire with an RSPB warden on a growing local reserve, The following film records a murmeration that we not expecting. The starlings were likely all fledglings of this year. They ‘were maybe, learning their craft’. Fascinating to see them join in as ‘squadrons’!


If you want to see such sights join your local RSPB group or go out and find them for yourselves.

Posted on

Wildlife Reserve: Brandon Hills and Holes

Quite close to Stamford in Lincolnshire and the A1 road, is this delightful and important wildlife reserve. Several species of orchids and scarce butterflies, etc. The Marbled White was in abundance Saturday 8th July 2017, together with some orchids including the Pyramidal orchid. Here’s a selection:

Two courting critters!

Pyramidal Orchid

Marble White Butterfly on Greater Knapweed

Bee on Greater Knapweed

Likely to be Small Skipper Butterfly at Barnack Hills and Holes

Cons: Not suitable for disabled as path is steep and bumpy. No facilities. Dofg walkers abound.

Posted on

My First NightJar Sightings

If you have never seen t he Nightjar, well you are not alone. As a nocturnal creature, you just get fleeting glances of it at dusk and at dawn. I went to Dersingham Bog Nature Reserve in North Norfolk at the weekend with the RSPB and had my first sightings of this strange bird. In fact it is only in silloette that you see it, but even that is a great sight, given the way it flies. Firstly, there’s the sound as it comes out. A ‘churring’ sound best desribes it, and it cannot be mixed up with any other bird. Incidentally, a Nightjar is also known as a Goat-Sucker!

Then it is on the wing and flaps around across the heathland, which is its favourite habitat. Whilst waiting a sighting, the Barn Owl and Short-Eared or Little Owl were a welcome sighting as was the Woodcock in flight. At one point the Nightjar sat next to a Short Eared Owl on a branch in the far distance. Even stanger!

Night Photo of the tree with a Nightjar in it! It is extremely low light and a very high ISO was applied to get even this shot. The bird is on a branch somewhere?

Before Dersinham Bog, we went to the Sandringham Estate. Not much to say about the bird life, but I snapped a common bue damselfly and a Speckled Wood Butterfly.

Speckled Wood Butterfly, Sandringham Estate, Norfolk

Common Blue Damselfly, Sandringham Estate, Norfolk

Oh yes and apparently Pooh Bear lives here!

Pooh’s House!