Hang on , someone’s shut my favourite reserve !!!

Wandering down to Buckenham this month you’ll find more earth moving machinery than birds, the environment agency contractors have begun a phase of important flood defence work along the stretch of the Yare between Bucknham and Cantley which is expected to last up to a year, (and probably more, considering the efforts that have been going on  further downstream from Reedham to Berney. So it’s with a bit of disappointment that we peer through the recently erected fence barring our way to the river, and look at the progress.

Never the less it’s all change this month as there’s a noticeable lack of wildfowl. The Wigeon have all flown back to their summer breeding grounds. I have been hearing them calling as they fly over at night, for the past few weeks so it wasn’t unexpected, but still strangely lonely down there without them nibbling about near at hand.
Had a look for the other usuals but didn’t spot a Teal and counting up I managed more Avocet (8) than ‘Widge’ . Pochard seem to be in evidence again though, which is always nice . We did put a Green Sandpiper ‘up’ on the walk down with his distinctive call and white rear end.    
The odd swallow announces summer (almost) and our first sighting this year was  the 2nd April, but no Cuckoo yet. Butterflies seem to have come early this year with Holly Blue , Brimstone, Tortoiseshell (could have been ‘small’) and Peacock in evidence. So despite the lack of a wander still much to see & it’s even quite interesting to watch the  progress of the flood defences which look a bit unpleasant now, but I’m sure will  have blended in by the end of 2006.

We’ll if you can’t walk along the bank at Buckenham,  best thing to do is sling the canoe atop the motor and  grease Harry’s palm with a couple of shinning golden pound coins for a chat and  a trip out across Hickling. What a fantastic day, dunno why we didn’t do this earlier. Slight breeze & it’s not warm, but the effort keeps you from needing your fleece. We paddle out & along the margin where almost immediately we pass an opening where Old  Frank stands , so close and startled he doesn’t even move, just twists his head around so one beady eye can fully concentrate on us. Following the margins we keep hitting the bottom with the paddles, it’s only about two feet deep, so we move further out, away form the mosquitoes, and avail ourselves of the awesome panoramic vistas created from the water & sky. Plenty of Marsh Harriers about , but not quite sunny enough for the courtship displays yet. Even before we get to the end of Hickling Broad we’ve seen this year’s first Common Terns, and here there’s quite a number of Geese and Ducks nesting, even saw a couple of tiny Mallard chicks, lets hope the weather gets warmer for them !

Always paddle down meadow dyke, I say,  and as usual it’s worthwhile, having first heard a faint and distant ‘Boom’from over towards Horsey , again the first this year, another male Bittern chimes in much closer, to start what sounds like the beginning of a competition, then unbelievably a third, with a markedly different two note wheeze. They keep this up sporadically for quite a time. Well that did it for us, hop out onto the bank, brew up (bugger…. stove, water, pan, matches, paraffin, mugs, milk but no bloody tea, took it out of the rucksack after that wander over to Braydon yesterday, four Little Egrets and quite a number…… but that’s another story) & hang about till one alights & we get to see him.

Never happened of course, but we had a nice picnic & found an old Otter run & ‘spraint’ containing plenty of old fish scales, so didn’t really mind. Maybe we’ll have another round up next month, if we can’t do Buckenham justice, could be Dragonflies are on the agenda !

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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