5th of October: Autumn Skies

Autumn is definitely here. Although it has been a sunny Sunday, there is a cold edge to the evening air. Blakeney harbour is alive with the burbling sounds of Brent Geese, whistling Wigeon and occasional skeins of Pink-footed Geese flying over. Bird highlights of the last few days have included a Tree Sparrow (very rare on the Point),  Rock Pipits, Stonechats, Whinchats and even a Kingfisher. Song Thrushes, Blackbirds and the odd Redwing have passed over. A Honey Buzzard was seen above the dunes this afternoon. One was also seen on the 23rd, being mobbed by a male and female Peregrine.

After the rain, yesterday afternoon, sun shone through the clouds and some gorgeous colours filled the skies...

We haven't blogged for a while. So a belated big thank you to all who came along to help with the Great British Beach Clean on Blakeney Point on the 20th of September. We were able to clear litter all of the way from Cley Beach to the end of Far Point, some four miles.

The pile after the first two hours

 Another load

The most frequent litter items were blue plastic drinking straws, small pieces of plastic and over 200 helium balloons. These items can be extremely harmful to sealife when ingested. We urge people not to release helium balloons, as so many end up in the sea. Unfortunately it is impossible to get on top of sea-borne litter, as it is ever washing up on our shores. But thanks to the recent beach clean, the Blakeney Point shoreline is tidy for a while at least.

During the litter-pick, we found three young Wood Mice and their parent in the sand. There are so many beautiful things to discover on the Norfolk Coast, even when its raining...

-Ajay (Coastal Ranger)

with photos by Sarah Johnson and Alex Green