Rain Stopped Play: Ranworth guided walk, 30 April 2021
Reports about Honeyguide guided walks are partly a souvenir for those there, plus we hope the usual account of lovely wildlife sightings to encourage others to wish they were there. But not today, I think. Using the long-range weather forecast to help choose dates is better than not looking at the forecast, and perhaps it’s best to appreciate how often it’s right. We started well, it has to be said. Chilly, certainly, this exceptionally cold April, and when the sun came out on a couple of brief occasions, very pleasant. The group walked from the NWT’s car park along the quiet road alongside the Bure National Nature Reserve. On a meadow on the higher land to our right there were four hares. To our left, muddy areas among rushes and reeds showed the impact of some serious flooding last winter, creating good habitat for displaying lapwings. A pair of Egyptian geese emerged from tall rushes with chicks that were so patterned and fluffy it was tricky to tell where one stopped and the