Been using my Sony bridge camera for seven years but still amazes me what it can do. Will never match state of the art mirrorless bodies and big lenses but this Hoopoe at Winterton was always distant (the original photo is x25) but a mega crop still gives a half decent result.

Also not bad for birds in flight (Winterton Hoopoe courtesy of two runners and a stray dog) and with a screw-in close up lens great for macro photography. Now been discontinued by Sony-great shame.

A couple of crap photos from the Glaven Valley towards Bayfield this morning. No detail and not many pixels but it isn’t a Buzzard, Kite or Harrier…

First Hobbies of the year. Never cease to marvel at just how amazingly agile they are when hunting down dragonflies, in this case Hairy Dragonflies, one of the earliest on the wing.

Played the waiting game at Hickling today and after nearly four hours the female RFF decided to do the decent thing and fly over our heads. Also a minimum of 28 Hobbies over 100 Acre Marsh. Still bloody cold though!

Still checking local sites for RFF but still having to make do with Hobbies performing their acrobatics. Stunning birds!

A trip to the Suffolk badlands aka Lakenheath Fen. Highlights were great views of two Bitterns but a supporting cast of Hobbies, Cranes and Cuckoos made for a very enjoyable escape from the (virtually) barren east Norfolk coast.

With the east coast still virtually a bird-free zone headed to the Brecks for the day. Managed to track down several Little Blues but moth activity subdued although always a pleasure to catch up with several Clouded Buffs and Speckled Yellows both Breckland specialities.

Here, there and everywhere but the Booted Eagle eventually gave itself up big time at Kelling near the garden centre. Managed to catch up with it again at Bayfield but more distant. Time for a beer!

Three more from this morning’s encounter.

Red Kite at Horsey this morning but bird of the day was the one that got away. A couple of brief and distant views of a ring-tail harrier drifting south along the dunes before vanishing-how frustrating!

Not the county mega it was even ten years ago but still a bird I never thought I would see from the garden: Raven!!!!!!

Exactly 14 years ago today was my first day of retirement from Aviva. Went up to Horsey and the first bird I saw was this spiralling over the car park. Still a tricky one to catch up with in the county but perhaps due another one soon?

Been deathly quiet at Horsey this spring. Saving grace most days are the patrolling Red Kites. Common now but forty years ago a view like this in the county would have been one of the year’s highlights. How times change…

i actually feel like i’m going insane

Quiet in the county (again) but an obliging Caspian Tern on Hockwold Washes lured me away from staring at the sky from the garden. Always distant but had the good manners to stay on the Norfolk side of the river. Also 3 Ravens, several Hobbies and a Cuckoo.

A bit of recent insect activity to keep up the interest. Lots of Silver-studded Blues at Buxton Heath last week, good numbers of Dark Green Fritillaries and at least 3 Red-veined Darters at Winterton today (but no Lesser or Vagrant Emperors). Bonus Red-belted Clearwing at home.

This 83-year-old priest has just been arrested for holding a sign which read: “I oppose genocide. I support Palestine Action.” According to Starmer’s new law, this puts her in the same category as an ISIS or Al-Qaeda terrorist, with a prison sentence of up to 14 years.

Have tried unsuccessfully to locate details for these four gulls (one LBB and three HGs) all present on lake in middle of Stavanger in Norway last week. One had a Stavanger Museum metal ring so guessing all are potentially ‘local’ birds.Any assistance gratefully received.