It has been a long time since I wrote a blog. With a bit of a shock I realise it is almost 6 months. The entire winter. It is not that we haven’t been out amongst wildlife and nature, ringing or exploring, although our winter ringing sites were comparatively quiet this winter. I did get … More A great year for owls
Sitting on a plastic chair cuddling my youngest as he finally succumbs to sleep, darkness surrounds me with a cold cloak. The surrounding trees and little wooden house, lose their colour disappearing into black silhouettes. The sky still holds some light, varying shades of dark blue rather than black yet. My other senses take over. … More Reflecting
It has been a very dry April in our corner of the world. Cold too. Unseasonably cold and dry. There has been little sign of any April Showers and I don’t remember the last time I felt, saw or heard a deluge of rain drops. The lack of rain may not only be causing consternation … More To Catch Crossbills
It had been a while. Home schooling a five year old with a 1 year old running around and into everything, resuming work and settling into doing that from home, all meant lockdown 3 has been a completely different kettle of fish to last year. Except from some limited ringing in the garden we had … More We’re back
It was one of those winter days where soft light suffuses the air. The golden light from a sun still low in the sky despite the late hour of the morning, softened even further by hazy white clouds. Standing at the top of of a dune, spiky green grass poking up through the sand, I … More Christmas Seals
We are living in challenging and unusual times, and in the space of a few weeks life has changed in so many ways. For over 6 weeks we have been in lockdown, only leaving the house for essential reasons, daily exercise or food shopping. We are now homeschooling a 4 and half year old, looking … More Lockdown
Under a big bright blue Norfolk sky. A strong breeze blows across the marshes and lagoons. Grass and reed heads bend and flex, small waves ripple across the water. A flock of Brent Geese passes overhead, with a gargling call, moving from marsh to pool. Beautiful, elegant, smoky black geese with white crescents on their … More Birding with babes
It was the quiet between two storms that were battering the UK. Storm Ciara had passed and Storm Dennis was imminent. The wind was still strong, pushing and pulling trees, bending the tall grass almost horizontal and creating waves with small white crests on the pools at Cranwich. The sky overhead was a leaden grey, … More How did the toads cross the road?
It has been a while since I last posted, what with life, school, Christmas, New Year and the arrival of my little boy Toby. 19 days early but healthy and happy. Today, 3 weeks on, and I have returned to my routine and daily river walk. The tail end of Storm Ciara was still making … More River Walk
A calm Norfolk evening. The sky changing through shades of blue, darkening as the sun disappears below the farming landscape. A bank of cloud is building, and the breeze has a nip to it reminding us that it is not quite summer yet. Just off a main road and near a cluster of barns are … More Have I Got Newts For You
Wild Barley 