I set off early morning before the heat set in. In North Wootton Woods, I saw my Nuthatch again and Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps were singing. Other birds seen: Great Tit, Robin, Blackbird, Red-legged Partridge, Rook, Jackdaw, Mistle Thrush, Greenfinch, Long-tailed Tit, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, House Sparrow, Egyptian Goose, Great Spotted Woodpecker. I love cycling past the beautiful gardens at Castle Rising – one particularly property has a horse meadow that produces a good selection of birds, such as Mistle Thrush, Blackbird, Goldfinches, Linnets and so on – I was hoping for a Ring Ouzel, but none seen yet at this little spot. There is another garden that has some apple trees and hens in – today the hens were sitting under a beautiful Wisteria in full flower – a wonderfully colourful scene. I had forgotten that you can't take your cycle through the kissing gates at Castle Rising, so had to divert around the church and found a very scenic seat by a wall overlooking the war memorial and several beautiful mature trees – I rested here for a while to enjoy the view.
Cycled onto Babingley Bridge via "Onion Corner" and heard my first Cuckoo at 10.45am! At the bridge I walked right (too bumpy to cycle) to follow the river for a while and then retraced my steps and continued towards the A149, but diverted along the official cycle path to Sandringham, and then had to risk life and limb along the A149 at the Babingley Dip as its known and then turned left to Wolferton. At the Scissors Cross Car Park, I went through the kissing gate to Dersingham Bog and walked (as request, no cycling allowed here) through the reserve. It was very hot now and the wrong time of day for bird action, but I did see several Stonechats perched up. I walked as far as the large pond, where there were several large black cattle snoozing under the darkness of the pine trees – they were almost camouflaged! Opposite here, on the slope adjacent to the path, brought back happy memories of time spent assisting my dear father, to photograph Green Tiger Beetles – I remember holding his hat at a particular angle to cut out the light as he was photographing one of these cracking little beetles and him declaring that I was a good photography assistant (pre me owning an SLR) – I'll always remember that moment like it was yesterday.
Anyway, I walked through the pines and managed to get my bike and myself into a gloriously shady resting spot, right in front of the pond, sitting under rhododendron bushes. It was really lovely sitting here and nobody could see me! Perfect birding spot too. A Chiffchaff sang its heart out and a Wren was seen, 2 Shelducks and a Greylag Goose. Had my lunch here and a long rest. Suddenly 2 Ravens appeared overhead and were calling – WOW!!! My camera was packed away in the back bicycle basket – too late! I got the camera out anyway and waited – my patience paid off as one of the Ravens appeared again later and I managed to get some half decent shots. Also saw a Marsh Harrier here, just before I left. Ambled back in the intense heat and had lovely views of a Green Woodpecker along the path with mature trees, just before I climbed up to the kissing gate/Scissor Cross Car Park.
I don't think I will do this cycle ride again, as I felt very vulnerable cycling along the A149, even though I was only on it for a short distance. Headed home via Babingley and Castle Rising. I was very pleased to see that the large red graffiti letters have been removed from Babingley Bridge – it looks so much better now! Several butterflies seen today including: Brimstone, Orange Tip, Peacock and Speckled Wood – I haven't seen a Red Admiral yet this year though. At Castle Rising, I stopped to rest on the seat by the War Memorial again and scanned the skies and found 3 House Martins (my first this year) in the beautiful blue skies and fluffy white clouds. Cycled through the woods, crossed Ling Common Road and through the final section of wood. Here I bumped into Jane and Dan with their new twins in double pram! Jane is on maternity leave and is a Speech and Language Therapist in our team – it was so lovely to see them, but couldn't peer into the pram obviously – I viewed from 6ft away, they looked so sweet! I felt really tired now and was looking forward to returning home.
It felt so good to rest on my sofa after my big cycle ride – duly fell asleep! Cooked tea and fell asleep again. Back to work tomorrow.
PICTURES TO FOLLOW
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BTW. From Kings Lynn I found the cycle path north and along the edge of the main road to Dersingham Triangle so much better than being in the main road. How about going west around the flat fields and the edge of the south Wash to Sutton Bridge and back? Stay safe Penny and thanks for the blog. Always worth reading. Inspirational stuff.
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