Snettisham Tawnys

Spurred on by recent (largely unsuccessfull) Owling activities in NW Norfolk, I decided to set myself the target of finding as many broods of Tawny Owls as I could, within the area of the local patch (mainly Ken Hill wood, plus the various copses in the fields at the back of the RSPB reserve) After two nights of strong winds and heavy rain, conditions improved, allowing me to locate 12 broods of Tawnys (brood sizes between one and three) with an overall total of 20 young birds heard calling. After numerous unsuccessfull attempts, a Quail was eventually heard calling from the fields at the back of the reserve (21:30-22:10 one evening and 03:50-04:40 the following morning) along with a single brood of 5 young Marsh Harriers and a juvenile Cuckoo. Up to four Yellow-legged Gulls were seen bathing in the channel at the far end of the reserve, early mornings, whilst strong NNW winds on the 23rd produced at least 14 Manx Shearwater and 6 Arctic Skuas offshore from the Coastal Park, where a party of 16 Crossbill flew south early morning.





Sea Campion


Vipers Bugloss


Sea Rocket A selection of coastal plants all taken on the beach at the RSPB reserve


Wall Brown A Butterfly which appeared in good nummbers earlier on in the spring