Saturday 24th September 2022 - They're Back and An Enjoyable Walk

Peter thought he heard them a few days ago, Ross of Ross’ Wildlife Boat Trips posted a video of them on his Facebook page on the 22nd and on the same day, both Peter and I saw them. What am I talking about? The pink foot geese whose calls will be heard, over the coming months, long before we turn our eyes skywards and watch skeins heading to the fields in the mornings and back to the marshes in the evenings. These birds seem to hold a special place in the hearts of everyone we have seen listening to their calls as they watch them traverse the skies. There were good numbers in the skeins we saw but looking at various reports on the internet, pink foots, like the gannets, have suffered losses due to Avian Flu.

Seeing sun was forecast for Wednesday, we thought it would be pleasant to walk along the beach into Cromer for lunch and return along the disused railway line. As it was, the sun did not make an appearance, so we decided to save this walk for another day and take a stroll inland instead. We made our way up to Hungry Hill where, in other years, the long farm sheds would be full of gobbling turkeys, but all was quiet. Is this because of the threat of needing to cull, should the flocks become infected with Avian Flu, or concerns that with rising inflation, families may cut back over the festive season and buy something cheaper to grace their Christmas dinner tables? Anyway, it was a very pleasant walk watching a field being aerated and observing spindle and hops growing in the hedgerows. We descended into Northrepps, stopping at a friend’s home, where we invited her to join us for a light lunch at The Foundry Arms. There’s always a welcome at the pub; the three of us sat in the bar area and enjoyed filled ciabattas and our drinks before we returned home via Tolls Hill. Not quite what we planned but definitely and enjoyable autumn walk. Today’s photo is of the tractor on the field adjacent to the turkey farm.