Skip to main content

Mink!

Mink are a bit of a guilty pleasure, like say Duran Duran. They are an invasive species (Mink, that is) and have been responsible for depleting native fish stocks, and have had a negative impact on Water Vole numbers. They should not be here. But, one could argue that is a very xenophobic attitude. Little Owls should not strictly be here, but I can't say I mind them. I had never seen a Mink in the wild until yesterday, and a part of me was pleased to see them. It goes without saying, that I will not articulate this pleasure when contacting the RSPB.
After a fruitless morning at Surlingham, Ricky and I went to Rockland Broad in the hope of an Osprey sighting. Walking the track that circumnavigates the broad, a crash in the reeds revealed the aforementioned Mink, one chasing another. Unaware of our presence, but unseen in the undergrowth by now, the pair engaged in some rather odd noises (courtship, play?) and then disappeared further into the thick vegetation.
The Broad itself held a few Great-crested Grebe, Tufted Duck and a resident Kingfisher. 2 Marsh Harrier drifted through, and both Common Buzzard and kestrel were seen behind the hide in the meadow. No Osprey, but going by recent form, there is a good chance of one or more hanging around the Rockland/Strumpshaw/Surlingham area until September. Now that would be a smashing bird for the patch list!
Debs and I went for a wander in the Broads that evening, and the sky was undoubtedly the best bit. Add in the sound of bugling Common Cranes, and you can only be in Norfolk.




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Everything is about edge

Hardley, where it is often confusing to define where the garden ends and the marsh begins. Tumble-down houses and rickety shacks, away from any bus route and Team Sky sorts wrapped in lycra, this is a village that by choice is cut off. The secret is out, and pre-storm Ciara as many as 10 large lenses littered the river bank firing at will. Their target- Winter ghosts. First, the classic Scooby-Doo type, as a Barn Owl responds to an ill-advised squeak in the grass and heads towards the onlookers. Another quickly joins the hunt, their formation a picture of double-edged stealth. But these year-round residents are not the key objective today, that honour is given to the Short-eared Owl. 3/4 of these can be seen from the staithe at the minute, floating like giant moths over the tussocks and edges.  In a recent article in The New Yorker, Jake Fiennes states "Everything is about edge". Hedges, ditches, scrub, forgotten tracts of land that link nothing and no-one. Fiennes, now ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Grey Phalarope- a new patch bird

The 7th of April was another bitterly cold Spring day, hats and gloves in prime position on pegs and in bags ready to be deployed. A few brave Garganey have been reported north of the river, but it was a bird from the north itself that had me rushing for the thermals and the telescope late in the day.  I was thankful for the local Whatsapp group who were quick to report that a Grey Phalarope had been seen on Rockland Broad. This tiny Wader would have come in on the northerlies over the last few days, although to grace one of the broads is a real surprise, since most stick pretty close to the coast before moving on. Indeed, my experience of the birds has usually been on a sea watch in the Autumn, waves crashing and foam flying, my eyes straining to pick them out as they fly low just above the surf. They are fantastic birds, and now one was here on the patch. I had a brief panic when I realised my scope was in my car at the garage (thankfully I do have a much older spare) but once th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Claxton-on-sea!

 Although it was not quite the Christmas we wanted here in the valley, the rain has bought its own gift. A grim vision of the future, perhaps. But right now, the patch is peaking and is alive with birds, and for that I am thankful. On Christmas eve, it was a job to navigate away from the village due to standing water that had left abandoned cars and undelivered presents in its wake. The rain had been persistent and unforgiving, the ground, saturated. Over on the marsh, where there had once been a muddy puddle amongst the pasture, a city had sprung from the leak, with a plethora of new occupants noisily laying claim to a patch of sodden marsh. Wigeon and Black-headed Gulls in their thousands now wheeled and whistled over and amongst the newly formed pools, accompanied by smaller numbers of Teal and Shoveler. A flock of two hundred-strong Lapwing enjoyed feeding on the less damp spots where green grass was still exposed, and thrown in for good measure have been a couple of Ruff, the ...
4 comments
Read more