Little Snoring, Norfolk

During our week in Norfolk we stayed a few nights at a wonderful B&B in Little Snoring by the name of Jex Farmhouse. We chose it because their website mentioned their resident Barn Owls and Little Owls. We weren't disappointed, spotting the Little Owl almost immediately as it sat in the Oak tree in front of the house.

Knowing that we were keen to see the owls, Stephen kindly offered to take us out in his truck to look for the Barn Owl and within 5 minutes we were sat in the back of the open truck like a couple of kids on a fairground ride, what fun! We spotted it a little later and had even better views the next evening as the Barn Owl hunted over the meadowland to the side of the house for a good 20 minutes, wonderful.

The field in front of the garden has been sown with a wildflower mix, the cornflowers and daisies, were in full bloom while we were there and provided an irresistable draw for Common Blues and a mixture of Whites.

Just a few minutes up the road is Thursford Wood , a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve with some of the oldest oaks in the county where
we spotted a load of fungi growing amongst the leaf litter and heard the familiar tap tap tap of a Great Spotted Woodpecker captured here silhouetted in profile.

Blacktoft Sands

A recent evening trip to Blacktoft Sands offered some wonderful Barn Owl sightings as the bird flew overhead with a freshly caught rodent in its grasp, heading off in the direction of its nest box.

The bank sides were covered in the delicate branched flowering heads of Cow Parsley.

We also enjoyed sightings of Avocets on the water.

Bathed in golden sunlight, a striking male Reed Bunting sang from the top of a nearby bush, in feathery resplendence.

As the sun dipped the surrounding foliage glowed, emphasising the cobweb covered bristly seed heads of this clump of Teasels.

A view of the sunset as we made our way out of the Reserve.

Blacktoft Sands' Barn Owls

On a trip out to Blacktoft Sands RSPB Nature Reserve near Goole on Sunday afternoon we stayed until dusk in hope of catching sight of Barn Owls. We'd enjoyed sightings during a previous visit to Blacktoft's Roostwatch event at the end of February and once again we weren't disappointed, spotting a total of four Barn Owls hunting over the reed beds. As the light began to fade, we were joined in the hide by a friendly reserve volunteer who helped us identify a couple of owls at a distance and offered helpful information about the reserve.

The Barn Owl settled in the reeds with its bounty for a good 15 minutes, here you can just about make out a Roe Deer to the left of the Barn Owl.

One of the last pics before the light faded away.

I notice that Blacktoft Sands have two Barn Owl evenings on the 20th & 21st May for anyone interested in seeing more of these beatiful birds. I'll follow up with the remaining sightings from earlier in the day once Ive gone through the pics.

Blacktoft Sands RSPB

On Saturday afternoon we headed out to Blacktoft Sands RSPB, Goole, to join their Roost Watch event. Our group, lead by Pat, an RSPB volunteer, settled ourselves in Ousefleet Hide and during our stay were lucky enough to see 10 Marsh Harriers, 2 Barn Owls hunting, a female Merlin that appeared just in the nick of time and although we didn't see it ourselves a Hen Harrier was spotted briefly.

The Barn Owls were my favourite sightings.

One of the fantastic views from the hide. On the pond, although not all featured here, Coots, Wigeon, Shelduck and Teal. If it hadn't of been for the bone chilling cold I could have sat there for hours...

Blacktoft Sands has the largest tidal reedbed in England, formed where the Ouse and Trent meet to form the Humber estuary. This was our second visit, our first being last September and once again we enjoyed fantastic sightings of the Marsh Harrier.

The reedbeds create such a beautiful landscape whether the view is framed by hedgerows or the more distant patchwork of farmland.