Since I didn’t get out and about today I was delighted when wildlife came to me and allowed me to use the word onomatopoeia! I was working in my upstairs office this morning when I heard a chiffchaff in the back garden. As with several birds (perhaps the most obvious being the cuckoo) the name …
Today I did a walk I’ve actually never done before – a circumnavigation of Holkham Hall lake. It was lovely to see full summer plumage great crested grebes, alongside plenty of pochard and tufted ducks, plus gadwall and quite a few little grebes. Kites and common buzzards were circling overhead and there were plenty of …
This morning, whilst Brenda took a service at Burnham Market, I had a quick walk at Burnham Norton. At this point in the day it was relatively sunny and though there was nothing unusual about I did see good views of a marsh harrier and there were several chiffchaffs calling. Once Brenda had finished her …
Sadly it was a bit of a non-day in terms of wildlife today! This was partly due to the awful weather, but mostly the fact that both Brenda and I just had too many other things to do. I’m off to a music conference in Cardiff from Sunday, so it will be interesting to see …
Brenda writes: “And we’re off! Even though it was very chilly, this was a sunny day in which I saw four new species of flower, one of which I have never seen before (more of that later). The first was what I tend to call white comfrey (to distinguish it from common comfrey which is …
I did manage to get out early this morning, as did Brenda – to get to an early service she was taking. It’s always a little odd when the clocks change I think, but – as the late, great Douglas Adams once wrote – “Time is an illusion, lunch time doubly so”! What wasn’t an …
The clocks change tonight, and I am conducting rehearsals with Ely Sinfonia all day tomorrow, so my plan is to get up early (very early for me with the change to British Summer Time), in order to have an hour or so at Lakenheath Fen, which is pretty directly on my route to the rehearsal …
The past couple of weeks has seen an unprecedented influx of alpine swifts to Britain and Ireland. These birds migrate from sub-Saharan Africa to southern Europe at this time of year, but – perhaps due to the specific weather systems of the last few weeks – many more have been seen here than is usual. …
Brenda writes: “There’s never much chance of getting out for a walk in the garden on the last day of a Benslow course but, snatching five minutes in the sun after lunch, I spied some speedwell growing among the gravel in a sunny spot and went to get my field guide. By the way, I’m …
Brenda writes: “It only takes a few warm days at this time of year for new plants to come into flower. Back at Benslow for the mixed wind and strings course, I had a walk around the garden today, noting all the plants I saw last week, as the robins sang and long-tailed, great, and …
