Whoever invented artificial grass, it was a REALLY bad idea!
This petition ends on the 1st June. So please share on social media, email etc etc. We need to reach 100,000 signatures and as it stands, its only on 9,855. It only takes seconds to sign, so please open the link below and help to ban this crappy green plastic carpet, that people are replacing their lawns with. It should never have been allowed in the first place.
Imagine being a Blackbird and landing on a plastic lawn, to discover that it can't find any worms underneath the "grass"?! Or maybe a Green Woodpecker probing for ants on your plastic lawn. Truly sad indeed. Birds are having a hard enough time as it is, with concrete and decking filled gardens, without removing the grass as well! Your lawn does not need to look perfect or be treated. Just mow it every now and again, or better still mow a path through it for Spring and Summer to let wild flowers grow either side and help our diminishing butterflies and insects.
My back/hip injury ruined the weekend and I had no choice but to rest, do ice treatment, physio exercises twice a day (as given to me previously by a staff physio) and take as much pain relief as I could. I shouldn't have been at work for those three days and now I had to rest, as the pain was still awful. I felt very sad that I was not able to join in with the Golden Oriole festival that was going on, very sad indeed.
Lots of young Starlings have suddenly appeared on mass with their parents, demolishing fat blocks, hoovering up seed and splashing all the water out of the bird ponds daily! Managed to do some light weeding in my patio area on Sunday, apart from that, I was very sleepy, due to the medication I was on.
I was sent an invite a few weeks ago, to take part in "The Galleri Trial" (Detecting Cancer Early), which I accepted. This morning I went to my first appointment, which involved a health questionnaire, family history of cancer, a blood test etc and was also given a £10 Sainsbury's voucher! There are two more blood tests within the next 2 years and for each one, you receive another £10 voucher. I did a food shop in Sainsbury's afterwards – at the checkout, I bumped into Andrea (an OT who left our Stroke Rehab Team a while back) – it was lovely to catch up with her.
I returned home and had a lovely salad lunch whilst watching the Starlings in the bird baths. I finally got a phone call from my GP (after I contacted them on Friday) who prescribed me a stronger anti-inflammatory called "Meloxicam" – the pharmacy didn't have it in stock, so will pick it up tomorrow after my staff physio appointment, which is early afternoon. My pain felt a quite a bit better today, so I decided to go for a much needed walk.
Before going to Ken Hill Marsh at Snettisham, I popped into Moulham & Horn at Heacham to stock up on bird food and was shocked at the increase in price – I may have to cut down the amount I put out daily. I must be the last Norfolk birder to go and see the Great Reed Warbler at Ken Hill Marsh, Snettisham Coastal Park, but late to the party isn't always a bad thing. I knew I wouldn't be able to carry my scope as well as bins and camera, so I had to leave it in the car, which wasn't ideal, as you need a scope at Ken Hill Marsh, but something had to be left behind. It was a long and slow walk along the inner sea wall, but it was beautiful and I was serenaded by Turtle Doves, several Cetti's Warblers, Sedge Warblers singing, Cuckoo calling, Blackbirds and a chorus from waders, ducks and gulls on the pools, including lots of Black-headed Gulls.
I wasn't sure I was going to be able to walk as far as I did, but I eventually passed the kissing gate and on to the reedbed. I immediately heard the loud and unmistakable song of the fabulous Great Reed Warbler and there it was, perched up in the reeds and I had it all to myself! Only one other birder joined me later on. The Great Reed Warbler sang continuously, but was mostly hunkered down in the reeds, although it did come out on show a bit later on, but still mostly obscurred by reeds. I sat half way down the slope of the sea wall and simply sat and enjoyed listening to this musical master. At one point the GRW flew across the reed bed to chase a Sedge Warbler away and also an intruding Pheasant. If you haven't heard a GRW singing, think of a flamboyant Reed Warbler with a microphone!
GREAT REED WARBLER
Ken Hill Marsh, Snettisham Coastal Park
Recording of the Great Reed Warbler
Other birds seen: 2 Spoonbills came into to land on the pool just east of where I sat and altogether had at least 4 Turtle Doves, 2 Grey Herons, Black-headed Gulls, Med Gulls, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Redshanks, Little Avocets, Mallards, Gadwall, Teal, Shelducks, Lapwings, Egyptian Geese, Reed Buntings, Long-tailed Tits, Goldfinches and Skylarks. Rain was forecast this evening – black clouds loomed and the wind got up, as I walked back at a quicker pace along the sea wall.
Ken Hill Marsh, Snettisham Coastal Park
The White-tailed Lapwing, which was last seen at Ken Hill Marsh on Sunday 10th April, decided to reappear at Hickling Broad NWT today! I would love to know where it has been since then?! My guess is the private nature reserve just east of Burnham Overy Staithe maybe? Anywhere else, means it has possibly been suppressed! In Norfolk? Never!!!
A few days ago I booked a skip with Stevenson Skip Hire, which I
believe are based in Littleport, but cover the King's Lynn area. The
skip was arriving this Saturday, ready for my two week holiday, so I can
start clearing a load of unwanted/crap out of my two sheds. But annoyingly I had to cancel the skip today, due to injuring myself. On Tuesday afternoon, I spent a good while prising off ivy tendrils and roots from my side passage door, which I had to remove, as I couldn't open the door – its been like this for several years! This door leads to my sheds, so it had to be done, in preparation of the skip arriving.
I had presumably aggravated the same right hip and right lower back, that resulted in me going to hospital a few months ago, as yesterday morning I got out of bed in severe pain. Took some pain relief at work, but it didn't touch the pain at all. Went home after work and laid on the floor with pack of frozen peas on hip for well over half an hour. Did the exercises given to me a while back. Went to bed with stronger pain relief, Co-codamol (prescribed to me before), Ibuprofen and a very expensive Voltarol patch. Slept well, but was in total agony when I tried to get up this morning. Having a shower was torture. Managed to get to work, difficult to get out of the car and my walk to the hospital entrance, was the slowest I have ever walked in my life (I'm normally a fast speed walker at work). Arriving in my office, I literally broke down (almost in tears). I should have stayed at home, but there we go. Carried out lightish duties and continued with strong pain relief.
This morning, I realised there was no way I was going to be capable of doing a very manual job (by myself) of carting loads of stuff from sheds to fill a skip, so I had no choice but to cancel the skip. The main reason I am writing this post, is to thank the staff at Stevenson Skip Hire, who's professionalism has been second to none. From the time I made the first telephone call and spoke to Jack, when I booked with Grace and had to cancel with Peri, all of them were first class in how they spoke with me and that is rare nowadays I find! I should have been charged to cancel, but after hearing what I had done, they wavered the charge, so the least I can do is give them a shout out on my blog! A good business and service deserves to be mentioned. Thank you all very much and I will be booking with you again, as soon as I have recovered! Hopefully this may get you a few extra customers!
No birding from me this weekend, none at all. Its been a totally crazy and extremely busy weekend, but can't go into it all now. I have been meaning to order a skip for years, to get rid of tons of crap out of my two sheds and finally today I ordered one and its arriving on Saturday. I have holiday booked for the next two weeks, which was for birding, but plans have changed now, sometimes birds have to wait. I hope to get out some days though. I would have loved to have seen the Great Reed Warbler at Snettisham, but I have sadly not been able to go – I have seen one in Norfolk before though.
Lucy played another concert with the Norfolk Symphony Orchestra on Sunday. Her phone has died, so Vivien and I can't ring her and vice versa. Someone is going to help her buy a new one this Thursday – she had a cheap basic phone, so no big loss!
This morning I discovered a bird box full of Tree Bees, which I didn't know were there – they seem to be unusually aggressive and are far too close to my house – they won't even allow me to water my plants, I really don't know what I'm going to do! I got stung twice today! Someone suggested to cover the hole to the bird box at night when the bees are much calmer and move them further from my house, but there are still bees around the hole at 23.30!!!
Update: Tree Bees relocated, which resulted in two more stings, but they seemed very happy, when I checked them the following day, so all good.
If you would like to donate a monthly fee for the upkeep of my blog, it would be very much appreciated. Click on the Subscribe button below to see details – thank you.
Thank you to my subscribers for your continued support.
If you wish to purchase an image as a print or digital file for personal use or publication, please send an email to: pennyclarke@talktalk.net P R I N T S High quality prints are available at the following prices:
• 6"x4" £3.00 • A5 £6.50 • A4 £13.00
Postage and packing is an additional £1.50 per order I have had images published in Birdwatch, Birding World, The Daily Telegraph, The Daily Mirror, Eastern Daily Press, The Lynn News, NOA Report, NWT 'Tern', FIBO and the Norfolk Bird & Mammal Report 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, Front Cover 2014. Front & Back Cover of the NOA Annual Report 2011 and Front Cover 2016, Shetland Bird Report, Dutch Birding, British Birds and Pallas's Warbler in 'Siberia's Sprite' By Andy Stoddart 2016. Images published on-line for the BBC, Sky News, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail & more.
SEARCH MY BLOG
BLOG STATS!
I have a minimum of 4,000+ views a day, this can rise to 8,000 a day when I've posted and added photographs of a very rare bird or a popular post! Therefore, my blog is an excellent place to advertise. CleySpy who currently advertise with me (scroll to top) 'have more hits on their website via my blog than they do on google'! If you wish to place a natural history related advert on here, please email me at pennyclarke@dsl.pipex.com to discuss.
PHOTOGRAPHS
The following are a small selection of my photographs since 2010. Use the SEARCH MY BLOG facility, to search for more photographs to view or purchase. Clicking on the picture will take you to my post on the day.
Posts
