Broadside

Been camping in the Norfolk Broads. Had my best ever [UK] views of Swallowtail and Norfolk Hawker, though the pictures of the former are so bad I'm not showing them to you (it was a long way away).

We could have visited lots more broads/fens but it was too hot to do very much. So here's a small selection of photos (more here, if you want them).

RSPB Strumpshaw Fen

Norfolk Hawker

Upton Broad, looked after by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Variable Damselfly (I think)

Lush woodland

Blue-tailed Damselfly

A tent with a view

The campsite was pretty good for wildife. We pitched our tent next to a dyke. Hairy Dragonflies perched in the Alder trees above it, Blue-tailed Damselflies flitted around the reeds at its edge, and a Water Vole plopped into its waters. Next thing, I heard a loud crunching, as if a person was eating spring onions. I looked down and the vole was a few feet away. That was quite good, and about 10 feet from the tent.

We added Whimbrel, Avocet, Green Sandpiper, Cuckoo, Oystercatcher and Redshank to the 'birds heard from the tent' list.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D and EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or Canon Powershot A640

The foggy coast

Back from a long weekend in Norfolk, in which we enjoyed different climatic conditions to the rest of the region. Winds blew mist in off the North Sea and kept the cloud cover to 100% for much of the time. The result was we didn't suffer the sweaty heat that everyone else did, though it was still fairly humid.

Stiffkey Fen

The beach at Titchwell

We camped at Reedham, right next to the Yar, and not far from Strumpshaw Fen, where we started Saturday.

There were orchids-a-plenty. This might be a Southern Marsh Orchid, or apparently it could be a hybrid. I have no idea. To me it's just a pretty pink flower.

Loads of butterflies about, with Small Tortoiseshells most common

Female Emerald Damselfly

Male Black-tailed Skimmer

Very Hairy Caterpillar, probably a Vapourer moth

Next, Upton Broad, a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve. Here we skored Swallowtail butterfly - a mighty impressive beast, the first I've seen since a holiday to France when I was 11! - Norfolk Hawker dragonfly and...

What appears to be a Variable Damselfly

Lots of Large Skippers, too.

Another pink flower, which might be Herb Robert. Remember, I don't know anything about plants

After that, we went up to the north Norfolk coast, which was somewhat less productive, but still enjoyable: Ruff, Spotted Redshank, lots of cute, fluffy Avocet babies

and a Hobby being mobbed by a Black-headed Gull

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or with Canon Powershot A640

Norfolk/Suffolk

Today we spent the day around the Brecks.

Great to see plenty of butterflies on the wing (Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, Red Admiral, Comma, Brimstone, white sp.)

At Santon Downham we heard a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming, but Did Not See It


At Mayday Farm, we Did Not See a Goshawk (or much else)


At Lakenheath Fen, we Did Not See a lot either. There are 70 pairs of Bearded Tits in there. We heard only two. Still, it was a pleasant walk, and we did see three Garganey, so mustn't grumble

Stunt Ladybird 'showing well' on a daisy

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D + EF 300mm f/4L IS USM or Canon Powershot A640

Welney

Pochards. I'm really rusty at digiscoping, and this image is rather noisy, but I like it. Proper wild Swans were in short supply at the swan feed; a flock of drake Pochards hoovered up the grain thrown their way


The washes seemed well-flooded


Whooper Swan family. They flew all the way from Iceland together, which I like. Apparently Whoopers had a good breeding season; family parties including 7 cygnets have been seen!


Mute Swans

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x II
digiscoped photos taken with Canon Powershot A640 + Leica Apo Televid 77 with 20x eyepiece

Annual leave

Got to use up the last of my annual leave, so headed to Norfolk

Arnold's Marsh, Cley

Speckled Wood at Kelling Water Meadows

Celandines

Hoverfly

Alexanders, Smyrnium olusatrum (thanks, Roy)

Dead nettles (this is the kind of plant I can identify)

Er... red campion? No, Herb Robert (thanks Charlie)

Ramsons, or wild garlic... no, Garlic Mustard (thanks, Brian. I did say that I'm no good at plants, and I've just proved it)

What did we see? Started at Kelling Heath where Darren relocated the Great Grey Shrike just as we were leaving. Next stop was West Runton for two Shorelarks seen in a clifftop field; we couldn't find them but we did see a nice fly-by Hobby hunting the Swallows there.

Then on to Kelling Water Meadows, where there were lots of bugs and greenery down the lane (see above), a Ruff on the pool, a little flock of Yellow Wagtails containing two which looked vaguely blue-headed on a brief glance, a male Wheatear and three Ring Ouzels on the way to Weybourne.

I think we went to Cley next. The new visitor centre is very nice but the rainwater-flushed loo was a bit feeble. Nice idea, though. On the shingle ridge by Arnold's Marsh, we caught up with two Shorelarks; on the marsh itself were nearly 200 Sandwich Terns and an assortment of waders including a smart breeding-plumaged male Bar-tailed Godwit. Mustn't grumble.

photos taken with Canon Powershot A640 or Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Salthouse

Turnstone

Snow Bunting

Black-headed Gull

The first stop of the day for us was for the Bittern at Beeston Regis. The bird was visible with the naked eye as we approached. I grabbed some digiscoped record shots (which were hardly worth downloading from the camera) but I was dragged away after only 10 minutes. The Bittern flew off shortly afterwards.

By the time we showed up, there was already a large crowd, virtually all toting long lenses. Most of them were standing around chatting and not even watching what was an outstandingly showy Bittern. If they'd cleared off out of the way and continued their conversations down the pub, there would have been enough room for everyone to get a good view. Mine was through some reeds.

If you want to see photos of it, please go to Weedon's World of Nature.

We also stopped at Cley to try for the White-crowned Sparrow (surely Britain's most-famous bird?) but it didn't show in the 30 minutes we were there, despite the fact that I'd made a donation to the church fund.

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM

Holme

Dunlin

beach pebbles

whose footprint?

photos taken with Canon EOS 30D, EF 300mm f/4L IS USM, Extender EF 1.4x II