Another year begins.

Frank considered new year’s resolutions but couldn’t think of any he’d have the remotest chance of sticking to, unless the resolution was to lean back & let life’s current drift him downstream a little further.

Well past the point of getting out & drifting down a different river, or heaven forefend, actually swimming earnestly in a forward and positive direction; Frank allowed himself to continue to glide aimlessly along while mildly remonstrating about the direction the current took him, ……nowhere ! But admittedly the trip was  fine, and at the end of the day who could really have the temerity to ask for more than that.

Having enjoyed the morning’s third cup of tea, the Guide ahead, they jollied out to Strumpshaw fen for some fresh air .  Brisk westerly was a bit chilly but plenty of sunshine helped forge a warm feeling of mild excitement. Coots, Coots , Coots at the brick hide, so our intrepid pair wandered ahead to the fen hide squelching through the mud. Towards the end they spotted a Jay noting that slow lazy purposeful gait; very dinosaur like to Frank’s  eye. Not much about at the ‘fen’. Few Cormorants in the distance toward the brick hide, eventually a Marsh Harrier, but flooding seemed to have kept all but the most ardent Mallard & Teal away. Frank’s namesake, ‘Old Frank’ appeared, bent his neck in , opened his aged wings &  rose aloft  toward the new tower hide, & finally loped off along the wind, a cue to move on.

Plenty of mud along the river bank as well as Greylags, a Blackbird &  small flock of Tits  for company and of course Chinese Water Deer tracks. Recent work had provided some pleasant vantage points over the water . The new hide seemed a little lower than the old one but solidly built and positively opulent, as hides went. It would be difficult to lever Frank out on a good warm day.  Apart from a few Rooks & some Shellduck on the water, the situation was much the same as the other hides, but never the less certainly an enjoyably fresh day even without too much wildlife. The sight of the the Rooks opened up a conversation focusing on the Rookery at Buckenham  Marshes just down the road. Frank had heard this called a ‘Corvid Roost’ on more than one occasion recently & wasn’t sure why ‘Rookery’ wouldn’t do, as it has for previous centuries. ‘What about the Starlings , Sturnus  vulgaris’, Frank interjected, 'are they Corvids ? ‘Plenty of them roosting down there’.  Frank was attached to ‘Rookery’, which to him meant churches, peace & quiet, David Copperfield & the rest. The Guide new this & forthwith wasted no more of her most valuable time upon it, & pointedly moved the conversation in another direction altogether. Frank was used to this, he mumbled, but fully understood.

Back tracking along the river Yare & past the pump house Frank spotted what suspiciously looked like a Redstart flitting about a hummock of rush, Redstart ? Wrong time of year perhaps? But it certainly looked that way, & kindly put on a lengthy display to help identification, no white like a Stonechat. Well, we’ll call it a maybe.  Frank was never really convinced, like seeing Bean Geese way over the back at Cantley, never quite sure if they’re Pink Footed, that was all part of the fun of finding wildlife though.

Another chilly January day, our intrepid pair perused the metaphorical 'bill of fayre' provided by Dingle marshes nature reserve near Dunwich in Suffolk. A pleasant amble through pine woodland, made notable by Red Deer tracks & Grey Squirrels, lead down to a delightfully secluded hide on the edge of the reed, which in turn stretched to the sea. Not a huge amount of birds displayed themselves, notable exceptions being Little Egret & Marsh Harrier. But the hide was tucked away in such an amiable little spot this really didn’t matter. The day was capped by a further walk through the wood, across the reedbed & onto the bracing beach...... for about thirty seconds, before retreating to the summit of a tiny hillock for a stare out to sea, a brew, a sandwich & those ever coveted homemade (is always best) flapjacks.

See you next time.

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Wilds of Norfolk was set up because of our unquenchable enthusiasm for the Norfolk Broads,  our small part of the natural world. We thought we'd like to try and give something back by helping other people enjoy the countryside and it's wildlife as well as do our own little bit to promote an interest in the natural world and it's conservation , not only for the wildlife but for the sheer exuberance of the precious life we're lucky enough to get the chance to live.

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