Suffolk and Norfolk

On Saturday I spent the day at the Suffolk Naturalists Conference, held this year in Woodbridge.  The theme was 'Linking Landscapes - pathways to the future?' and very interesting it was too, with a range of knowledgeable speakers including Richard Mabey, Chris Baines and Oliver Rackham.

It was great to bump into some familiar faces and to make some new connections.  I think I shall have plenty of wildlife to keep me amused, and some new groups to join, when I finally get to take that big step and move down to Suffolk.

I took the opportunity to buy some back numbers of the Suffolk Bird reports and transactions of The Suffolk Naturalists Society from their stall, at the bargain price of 30p each.  I also invested £6 in the 2010 version, mainly because of the photo on the cover of a Noon Fly,  Mesembrina meridiana.  Coincidentally I photographed this species a couple of weeks ago myself but hadn't got round to trying to identify it.

Noon Fly - Mesembrina meridiana

On Sunday I was back in Norfolk, and spent most of the day in the garden tidying up.  On the way back from the tip we had a drive round to see if there were still any stone-curlews about.  I know there have been a few over-wintering the last few years.  We spent some time scanning what I thought was the right pig field without success, and then found another just down the road where T was thrilled to spot 3 stonies pretending to be lumps of mud - a new bird for him.  The 3 birds we saw were lined up along an electric fence, perhaps out of the way of the pigs.