Author
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Laurence Mitchell
Writer and photographer based in Norwich, UK-
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Tag Archives: birds
On Stiffkey marshes
On August Bank Holiday Sunday we drove east along the coast road from Cley-next-the-Sea. The coastline was bathed in hazy sunshine; the sky, milky white and unthreatening. Rain and wind had been forecast for later – typical bank holiday weather … Continue reading
Posted in Norfolk, Walking, wildlife
Tagged birds, marshes, North Norfolk, North Norfolk Coast, North Sea, samphire, Stiffkey
12 Comments
Landfall – absence and dislocation on the Forth shore
It began with a dislocation. A couple of weeks’ residence north of the border in the house of friends who had chosen to trade the Scottish late winter for the Antipodean summer. It was an opportunity for some writing time … Continue reading
Posted in Scotland, wildlife
Tagged absence, beast from the east, birds, Edinburgh, Firth of Forth, landfall, snow
12 Comments
Murmuration
Norwich, mid January. At dusk over the past few weeks an avian spectacular has been witnessed taking place in the sky over St Stephen’s Street. As the daylight dwindles around the four o’clock mark a swirling murmuration of roosting starlings … Continue reading
Posted in Cities, Norfolk, wildlife
Tagged birds, murmuration, Norwich, starlings, urban wildlife, winter bird roosts
7 Comments
Snettisham
There’s a good omen as we leave Heacham before dawn: the sharp cry of a tawny owl emanating from somewhere in the woods. Fifteen minutes later, walking from Snettisham RSPB car park towards the beach at The Wash, there are … Continue reading
Posted in Norfolk, Travel, wildlife
Tagged birds, pink-footed geese, Snettisham, The Wash, waders, winter bird roosts
20 Comments
Ho, Ho, Ho Chi Minh!
I don’t quite know what it is that has made me think of Vietnam recently. Maybe it was a casual mention in a conversation that made me realise that I don’t have a very vivid memory of the short time I … Continue reading
Posted in Asia, Travel, wildlife
Tagged birds, Ho Chi Minh, Ho Chi Minh City, Mekong River, Saigon, Vietnam
3 Comments
The Turning of the Year
(This winter’s berries) The turning of the year. These past few days mark the interregnum that sits uncomfortably between Christmas and New Year – a week of virtual Sundays and a period when some of us – those who are self-employed … Continue reading
Posted in Norfolk, Uncategorized, wildlife
Tagged birds, Christmas, new year, winter, winter solstice
3 Comments
Winterton-on-Sea, Norfolk
I did a circular walk at Winterton-on-Sea a couple of weeks ago, striking out from the beach car park that looked a little forlorn out of season – largely devoid of vehicles, its wooden hut cafe bolted shut for the winter. Winterton Dunes immediately … Continue reading
Posted in Norfolk, Walking, wildlife
Tagged birds, ghosts, nature reserve, Norfolk coast, shipwrecking, Winterton
13 Comments
Homeward to Mingulay
Heel y’ho boys, let her go, boys Bring her head round now all together Heel y’ho boys, let her go boys Sailing homeward to Mingulay! What care we tho’ white the Minch is What care we for wind and weather? … Continue reading
Posted in History, music, Travel
Tagged birds, communities, Hirta, islands, Mingulay, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, St Kilda
2 Comments
St Kilda
The St Kilda archipelago lies a choppy 45 miles west across the Atlantic Ocean from the Isle of Harris in Scotland’s Western Isles. Constantly settled from at least 5,000 years ago until 1930, when the inhabitants were finally evacuated, it … Continue reading
Posted in History, Travel
Tagged Atlantic Ocean, birds, communities, islands, Outer Hebrides, Scotland, St Kilda
14 Comments
