Spooner Row Message Board

We have a Barn Owl who hunts along the verges of Hill Road.

We moved here because we enjoy watching wildlife too.

A couple of days ago I saw a barn owl on land near the railway line between Chapel Road and School Lane. Last week I saw what I think was a kite, or it could have been a buzzard?

It's great news that we have a very rare turtle dove. 

I haven't seen a hedgehog here for quite a while, although there always used to be several on the land that has now been developed for housing at the Ridings. Has anyone recently seen a hedgehog in the village?

We have had numerous pheasants in the garden, a few rabbits, a couple of hares and a muntjac deer in the field beside our house. On our feeders we regularly have robins, goldfinches, blue, great, coal and long-tailed tits, bullfinches, greenfinches and sparrows. A sparrow hawk has perched on our fence a couple of times and one did an impressive fly-past over the garden. We had a few ducks and a crane when we used to have a pond along with plenty of newts and frogs. Despite our house being bordered by mature trees I have never seen a squirrel and there don't appear to be any hedgehogs around either. Finally one must not forget the three-legged cat with half a tail who showed up for a couple of days.

We also have a housemartin nesting on the side of our bungalow,never happened before! I've put a dust bin lid with molehill soil in it to try and encourage them to come back next year.

We have hedgehogs in our back garden ,they poo like crazy! Glad to hear people are putting out feeders for the birds,they need all the help they can get.Everything we do in our garden is help wildlife,does anyone know where I could possibly get a secondhand beehive?

I would love to have one in my garden,but to leave it alone and just let them do their thing.

I have spoken with a guy who comes to the village to exercise his Golden Eagle

The first time I saw him with it on his arm he was some distance away, and I thought he was carrying a dog; it is a huge bird.

 Have seen and heard a Whitethroat on the brambles by the signal box on the crossing. We have seen this visitor for the last 2 or 3 years here.

It's great to read about everybody else's sightings, glad to share with fellow enthusiasts. 

There were signs that a Hedgehog was in our garden last night (a little trail of poop across the patio) great to know they're out there even though they are a rarity these days!

Also a neighbour has reported that an enormous caterpillar demolished her Fuschia completely. the photo showed it was the caterpillar of the Elephant Hawk Moth. What an awesome creature!

Regularly walking the dog at the field , it is interesting to note that within minutes swifts appear and track the dog as she disturbs insects as she runs across the field and they feed on the insects so displaced 

Whilst mowing some rough grass at weekend came across several Mice , numerous Newts or small lizards and lots of Voles . At dusk there were plenty of House Martins or the like skimming  the field after insects. Look amazing .    

Just returned home to spot a deer and her fawn leaping across the newly harvested field around our house on Hill Road.

Just seen several swallow fledglings waiting on a telephone wire with the parents returning to feed them and a short distance from them, a couple of goldfinches, one of which was also a fledgling.  Lovely to see.

There seems to be starting to gather, a small murmuration of Starlings around Station Road area. only about 100 birds as yet but autumn has only just started! 

Thanks for that, I did wonder what had happened to him.

Have heard for the past five days a tawny owl calling from the old farm opposite the church,chapel lane. Usually hear him oct /NOV time.wonder why he is early?

Have heard several Tawny Owls during the night recently. This is their normal territorial making time so no real concerns.

Also, as I'm typing this, just heard three Buzzards that are 'keen' ing overhead! Wonderful to see against the blue sky! 

Not bad at all!  How nice to see so much wildlife on the outskirts of the village.

Interesting to see a Grass snake in the grass today whilst cutting the grass . Very lucky Snake !! 

Hi, yesterday afternoon a kingfisher flew along the stream that borders Bunwell Rd. Terrific. I have,nt seen one in the vasinity for at least 12 years. Fingers crossed that they will return.

Today we saw 2 unusual (to us) white birds (waders). They were a similar shape to herons, but much smaller, pure white with long beaks. They seemed to be searching the ditch on Bunwell road, opposite a house called Chestnuts or similar. So sorry to be so vague, I'm sure someone else with better bird knowledge would have said "Oh, look at those ............, I just thought, WoW! I've never seen those before. Any answers please?

Thankyou for the info about the 'white birds'. I can now see them & say to my husband, "Hey, look, the egrets are there again".

They were in a tree in my back garden last Thursday night , sounds as if they were having a party !! 

I love this post Viv! I also regularly hear the owls in the evening, I really enjoy it.  I see kites and kestrels every time I drive to Wymondham and saw a single buzzard over my house a couple of weeks ago and two swooping around together on a walk to Attleborough. I have a woodpecker that I see almost daily in my garden and am never without at least two squirrels running around. Please keep posting your sightings everyone. 

Delighted to have a flock of Fieldfare feasting on the berries in our front garden yesterday. Only saw a pair last year.

Lots of birds are reappearing in the garden now I've put out bird food, this is the list so far:

• Blue Tits
• Great Tits
• Coal Tit
• Long Tail Tits
• House Sparrows
• Goldfinches
• Chaffinches
• Robins
• Wren
• Dunnocks
• Blackbird
• Wood Pigeon
• Collared Doves
• Starlings

Also seen but not for a while:

• Great Spotted Woodpecker
• Redwing
• Sparrowhawk

Anybody seen anything else?

Anonymous wrote:

---

This last week we have a field fare guarding our old apple tree.He/she spends their time in the branches ,on look out for any blackbirds who dare to come near.I was surprised how big it is ,it’s quite shy if we go outside .It loves the fallen apples,which are cookers.I learnt from last year to leave a majority for the birds as it’s so entertaining.

father Xmas i think is bringing one of my family a rather expensive camera,can’t wait to see the pictures they achieve!

Also father Xmas again is bringing another member a day/night wildlife camera.Cant wait to see who visits when it’s dark.

---

He's a clever Santa, they are fabulous present ideas! The Field Fare hasn't visited us for a number of years, not since the last snowy winter, but they are beautiful, if incredibly timid.

We have recently added Nyger seeds to our assortment of feeders and it's a delight to see so many Goldfinches visiting.  A family of Long Tailed Tits are proving daily visitors too arriving en-masse with LOTS of noise.  They are a joy to watch.

A couple of weeks ago we found a very young hedgehog wandering our shrub border where she had built an impressive dried leaf den.  Only 200 grams in weight, so way too small to survive the winter, she was cold and dehydrated as well as very hungry. She is now overwintering at a hog rescue in Acle.  On arrival she needed de-fleaing, subcutaneous rehydration and a shot of antibiotics.  Careful examination of her poo identified a worm burden (apparently there are several types which have to be specifically identified to treat) so she's had the "full" MOT.  This weeks report is that she's already doubled her bodyweight having taken a particular liking to mealworms.  In the spring she will come back to us to be released where we found her.

Anonymous wrote:

---

So nice to have people like you looking out and helping the wildlife - lucky hedgehog. Keep us updated on her return.

---

Thank you, that's kind to say.  We love all animals and try to do our bit for them.

Will most definitely post when "Jewel" comes back to Spooner Row.

Sure did! We were just on our way home from the 3 Boars; quite spectacular,  the leading deer with red rose was laughing too.

Here's an interesting link on how ordinary gardens can help hedgehogs,

http://theconversation.com/how-to-stop-the-humble-hedgehog-disappearing-from-british-gardens-and-countryside-forever-89432?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=twitterbutton

Did anyone else see the red kite soaring over the village around midday today?  From where I was watching in our garden I should think it was over the crossroads by The Boars and moving towards the fields up Guilers Lane and along Bunwell Road.  Before today the closest I had seen one to our village was at Kimberly.

Hi Saw an amazing spectacle yesterday in and above  the field going out of the village near Top Common . 2 Crows were attacking a Buzzard in flight . We stopped to watch what was going on and realized the Buzzard had a mouse in its claws . After a few minutes the 2 Crows brought the Buzzard down into the field and started to attack it again . Guess the Crows were after the mouse . A few minutes later the Buzzard took of , with mouse , heading towards the railway line with 2 crows in pursuit !!   

Yesterday driving home we saw a Barn owl flying across the snow fields near Gurney Reeve , brilliant . 

I was unaware that frogs and toads crossed the road by the bridge, will keep an eye out and help them across if I see any, though that's usually at night I believe.

I've been putting out bird food twice a day in this snowy weather. I put some fresh water out and the birds were straight there for a drink. They definitely needed a drink.

On and off for the past few days, we've had a very cheeky Pheasant visiting. He checks out what's to eat, then comes to the door and pecks on the glass and appears to ask for food! He doesn't fly away when fed either. Who can resist feeding a friendly Pheasant! He must have learned this over the years.

The Barn Owl at Top Common was on good form during my afternoon walk today.  After tracking the field around the barn it flew right in front of me (and the dog!) over the railway bridge and then doubled back and over a further two times before settling in a tree near the cattle.  It's a beautiful bird and so lovely to see up close.

I also have been watching the Barn Owl on Top Common , it doesn't seem fazed by people. Also been watching a Barn Owl in our back garden , it is quite big so it may be the Owl I saw several times last year . Obviously like the area.

It shouldn't be long before the housemartins and swifts re-appear, usually the early May bank holiday.

This is always the mark of the beginning of summer for me and a real natural highlight. Criminally the previous owners of our house destroyed lots of the nests, but numbers are growing again and we had two new nests last year.

Hope they all make it back safely from their travels...

Just been watching a muntjac deer munching the grass on the field in School Lane.

I have seen a Swift! flying over Station Road area. First this year for me. So glad to see them back safe and sound!

also saw the Barn Owl quartering over the field in the same area. A whitethroat and Cuckoo would complete my spring!

'Our' housemartins came back yesterday afternoon. I was starting to think they might not. They were excitedly flying in and out of their old nest and looked like they were dancing with each other in the sky. Just beautiful. 

We've had leaf-cutting bees building little leaf cells in an old hanging basket which had been left in the greenhouse. It was fascinating to watch them.

Walking the dog last week I saw a bees nest in a tree trunk just off Guiler's Lane ... thankfully I spotted it before the dog did!

Maybe a month/six weeks ago as I came over the bridge, two buzzards were perched side by side on the roof of the cattle shed.  I was staggered by their sheer size.  Unfortunately they heard me "conversing" with the dog and flew off, it would have been nice not to have startled them and been able to observe them for longer.

We've also been seeing some amazing frog activity in the garden during the rain showers.  Dozens (lost count at 30 last week) of frogs leaving the pond and borders and all hoping in the same direction, like a migration.  Have contacted Froglife who seem as mystified as we are so next chance we get we will be taking photos/video so they can identify them.

For anyone interested in housemartin observations...

We only have one of our six nests occupied this year (we were full last year!) a big drop in numbers.

Although this did happen a couple of years ago, and like this year, when they returned it had been hot and the ground was hard. So maybe the lack of mud to repair nests is a factor, perhaps they chose a different location?

Swift numbers seem down as well, hopefully this is a just temporary dip...

There's definitely far fewer housemartins flying in the sky this year, in Spooner Row. 

I was out walking the dog on outskirts of village and came across a flock of Francolin ( bit like a pheasant ) I have seen a flock in this area at this time of year for the last couple of years . Not seen any anywhere before . They are very noisy when they see you !   

 Haven't seen one of them. Saw a pink elephant hawk moth. There seems to be a lot of moths around this year.

Woken at 4am by what I thought was my 1 year old crying. After wandering round the garden and some early morning research it appears it was a tawny owl! Did anybody else hear it? I’m at Chapel Loke and I am sure those on Chapel Road with windows to their back gardens would have heard it. So, even when my son isn’t getting me up I am waking at 4am exploring strange noises in the garden!

28th September to March the BTO launch their new survey.To listen for tawny Owls once a week and to record whether or not you hear them.we do have tawny Owls in spooner row for anyone who’s interested.

I see squirrels most days at the bottom of my garden, hopping from the acorn to the walnut tree.

Bunwell Road.