Wednesday 2nd March light NW Heavy hail
showers
Heavy hail
showers occasionally hit me as I cycle back to the North Norfolk
coast. My shower cap over my cycling helmet protects my scalped scalp
from the hail.
Another
try for the lone golden pheasant male at Wolferton is as successful
as when myself and the Coppice 'Birding Clams' group used to try
every time we went birding to Norfolk in the 80s and 90s, that is not
successful at all. I just hope it doesn't become a piece of Norfolk
roadkill before I can get back here in May.
To
Titchwell RSPB reserve to ask fr new RSPB logo laminates to put on
the bike. I like people to know why I am doing this, to raise the
profile, to advertise and hopefully raise some money (hint!) for the
RSPB. To my great surprise I am offered not only a coffee but cake
and a chicken roll as well! Thanks Richard and Frances, Sue and Pam.
Sue is a
World big lister, that is she travels the world seeing as many birds
as possible. Sue is off to Estonia and Lithuania next week. Here's a
link to her blog for more information.
http://www.freewebs.com/suebryan/
The
red-crested pochards are said to be out of the reedbed and on view on
Patsy's Pool so I make my way there. Nine of them are on the pool,
another for the list. A RSPB volunteer, Paul Fisher, is sitting there
and we talk about birds and I realise that I am in the presence of an
absolute legend. Paul is a lovely man who has a proud history with
the RSPB, helping to create so many reserves around South Essex, as
the regional project manager.
Interested
in my quest, Paul asks me what else I need for the year list and as I
say “hen harrier” blow me if one appears in front of us. The
moment went like this:
“What
else do you need?”
“Hen
harrier, like that one there!”
Brilliant.
This photograph of the ringtail doesn't do it justice but it soon
goes behind some trees and is gone.
Maybe I
should have said pallid harrier.
We talk
for over an hour in the cold before deciding that the conversation
could be carried on more comfortably in the cafe.
Both of us are old men, both of us long time birders but we stop when there is a robin at our feet quietly singing away to itself.
We chat
until we are thrown out! A wonderful, inspirational man.
So the
year list is still at 177, twenty two ahead of this time last year.
44.68
Miles 1247 feet elevation up 1243 feet elevation down
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