March 23rd Norwich

I took Mum for a walk along the River Wensum in Norwich today. We began our walk at Fye Bridge. Looking down from the bridge, I notice a long tailed bird fly under the arch way. It was one of those grey wagtails I was after last month! I waited on one side of the bridge for it to show up again, while Mum went over to the opposite side to see it was over there. We could hear it calling loudly and it was coming from Mum's side. I found the wagtail sitting on a chain on one side of the river. This was a female and she was busy preening her grey and lemon yellow plumage, giving us a good look at her.

I think she has a nest tucked behind a lighting stand on the man-made river embankment above the chain she was posing on. When I saw her land on the chain, that was where she came from, behind that light. We didn't see her return there, however, so I will need to visit again at some point. We did not see the male either, who has a black bib. As grey wagtails are usually found not too far from water, he must be around somewhere closeby.



Other highlights on our walk includes; Egyptian geese, comma butterflies, daffodils, crocuses, lesser celandine and pigeons. At Cow Tower, the pond adjacent to it was full of frog activity, but not as many as at Mousehold Heath's Vinegar Pond. Not that Mum was happy about this, she isn't fond of frogs.

Egyptian Goose

Daffodils

Blackbird

Comma

Frog

Another Frog

Lesser Celandine

Common Whitlow-grass

Peregrine Watch Point

At the Cathedral Close, a tent was being set up. This was The Hawk and Owl Trust's annual watch point for the peregrines. Every year, hundreds of visitors flock to see them up on the spire. In 2011, a nest platform was installed and since 2012, the peregrines have had massive fledging success each year. Not only does the Hawk & Owl Trust put out a battery of telescopes for the public to view from, they also have a webcam beaming live footage from the nest platform. You can watch them on this website http://upp.hawkandowl.org/norwich-peregrines/norwich-cathedral-peregrine-live-web-cam-2015/. The latest news is that two eggs have been laid (one on Friday and the other on Saturday)!! I will keep you posted if anything happens.

The Peregrine Nest Platform