Wednesday 6 June 2012

A day in four parts


At home: a great tit chick in the garden, making mickle melody at his mother. Lesser black-backs singing lustily from the rooftops.

At Cley: a black-winged stilt (plus a brace of spoonbills) on Billy's Wash. Not new for the year (saw plenty in West Bengal) but the first I've seen in Norfolk since the demise of dear old Sammy (may he rest in peace). My 'scope seems only to like seeing rarities. Suits me.

On the cliffs at West Runton: meadows like a plate from a field guide to Fabaceae. Bird's-foot trefoil, kidney vetch, tree lupin, common vetch, meadow vetchling, lesser trefoil and hairy tare in flower; red clover creeping into flower; and leaves of hare's-foot clover (gotta love that plant) and common restharrow. And the Oscar for plant family with the daftest names goes to...

In the rockpools at West Runton: black squat lobster Galathea squamifera, grey topshell Gibbula cinerea, painted topshell Calliostoma zizyphinum (phwoar) and two new species of fish for the year (did you hear that Gav and Rebecca?), common blenny and eelpout. Talking of Oscars for daft names...


New today

Fish

5
common blenny (shanny)
Lipophrys pholis
6
eelpout
Zoarces viviparus

2012 Totals
Mammals: 61
Birds: 468
Reptiles: 14
Amphibians: 6
Fish: 6

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