A Short Trip To Norfolk

We had the most wonderful trip to Norfolk over the weekend.

Arriving on Friday afternoon, we had a wander around the village of Brundall which was to be our base for the next 4 days.

The first thing that struck me was the clear engagement with nature, not just by the residents (it looked like every house had its own wildlife reserve for a garden) but also the council, minimal verge cutting (they were brimming with flowers) but not a drop of glyphosate to be seen! Other councils should take note.

There was a wonderful local nature reserve by the name of Creamers Meadow which was an absolute delight-small but perfectly formed. The orchids were stunning as was the number of banded demoiselles and our first close encounter with a muntjac deer.

The next morning I went out earlt to Strumpshaw Fen-a wonderful reserve on the banks of the river Yare, managed by the RSPB and probably more famous for its swallowtail butterflies than the birds that also live there.

I didnt expect to see any butterflies first thing so I used the time to navigate my way around the reserve in anticipation of having to move around later in search of the elusive quarry. I headed towards tower hide and on the way there were at least two cuckoos calling, blackcaps galore interspersed with a sprinkle of cettis warbler and reed warbler-a great start.

I also heard the distant boom of a bittern and the first sight that greeted me was 3 marsh harriers hunting over the fen and a common tern hunting fish close to the hide.

After an hour I made a move and headed north. The sun was out and there was a good number pf active dragonflies including my first ever scarce chaser.

I made my way back to the visitor centre to check if any swallowtails were around.On the way back a muntjac deer and single speckled wood were the highlights.

No swallowtails at the VC so I headed to another well known spot-the doctors garden. Again no sign so went on to the boardwalk. On the way I met up with a really knowledgable young lad who apparrently writes blogs for the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, I was mightily impressed by his knowledge of all of the fauna and flora-he very kindly put me on to my first Norfolk Hawker as well as pointing out a very small swallowtail caterpillar (technically my first ever swallowtail) but not in the form I was hoping for. The boardwalk was good for common lizards as well as close views of marsh cinquefoil and marsh pea.

I made my way back to the car park for a spot of early lunch then went back to check out the VC. No sign so this time I headed out around the woodland walk, brown rat and squirrel were added to the mammal list as well as more muntjac. The woodland walk gave way to open fenland that took me part way along the river Yare. Great crested grebe was the highlight with a couple of buzards overhead. A very kind gentleman put me on to my first ever Fen Raft Spider-what a beast but I had to make a hasty retreat as the heavens opened.

A break in the visitor centre withe some very nice ice cream whiled away some time as the rain continued.

After around an hour it eased and the clouds parted-sunshine at last. I hung around the VC for a while and a very smart ruby tailed wasp created photographic interest while all the time I was hoping for the appearance of a swallowtail. In the enxt two hours I commuted between the VC and the Doctors garden with just 3 red admirals for my hard labour. At around 4.15 I realised I was running out of time but ever the optimist I headed back to the VC and news of a sighting filtered out. A swallowtail had settled on the ground just outside the visitor centre long enough for dome photos. There was still hope!

It had moved on by the time I got there but after only 5 minutes a shout went up that one had been seen near the car park-I dashed over and sure enough sat out in all its glory was my first ever swallowtail. The wait of 50 years plus the 9 1/2 hours on site was over! What a magnificent creature. It wasn’t a perfect specimen as it has a tear in its wing but still, wow I was mesmerised.

It stayed for around 10 minutes, wings half closed as the sun was obscured by cloud the opened them fully as the sun came out.

A true bucket list tick was finally accomplished along with a host of other amazing wildlife at a very special place, full of friendly people sharing the same excitement about some of our natural wonders!

North Yorkshire Butterflies

We had a very nice trip out to North Yorkshire today.

Arriving at our first venue, we were greeted with birdsong, the lead player was a songthrush but very nice backing vocals from willow warbler, chiff-chaff blackcap, wren, chaffinch and blackbird and this was way after the dawn chorus had finished.

A wander along the bridleway produced a peacock, a few orange tips and a small white. We descended a gentle slope through the bracken and almost immediatey got a view of our target species-pearl bordered fritillary. The sun was well up and it quickly zoomed off. We carried on and got a glimpse of another then another. This one was flyong round in a wide circuit and eventually posed long enough for a photo. We are towards the end of the flight period for PBF so unsurprisingly, this one was not in prisine condition.

We saw another one on the way back which was in slightly better condition, two large skippers were also added to the day list.

We had planned to go to Hawnby for Duke of Burgundy, but the rising temperatures and the thought of the walk up the hill were not too appealing.

Instead we set off towards a new venue in search of a new species for me-small blue.

They are only present in on site in Yorkshire and I had limited information as to where to go.

We arrived about an hour later and almost immediately photos online matched reality and it wasnt long before we found a few.

Small Blue is the UK’s smallest butterfly and these were almost pristine and not worried in the slightest by our presence.

The bank they were on was a marvellous example of how wildflowers grow together creating the perfect conditions for a very special butterfly to survive. There were only acouple of peacocks around as well as a reasonable quantity of mint moths.

All in all a fabulous day out in some magnificent countryside.

Collared Flycatcher At Spurn

Well what another fantastic weekend at Spurn that was.

I arrived on Friday evening and had a wander around Kilnsea just before the rain set in. I managed to get a fleeting glimpse of the collared flycatcher that had arrived earlier in the day.

The rain was pretty solid all night so I had high hopes of it hanging around, and so it did, showing well all day but remained faithful to the same place around 100 metres away.

It was a lovely Spring day and as you might expect at this time of year there were a few bits of interest around. Starting with my first cuckoo of the year calling around Sykes Field then did a flypast as we were watching the flycatcher.

Then a rough-legged buzzard flew south high overhead.

I had a wander down Beacon Lane and Church Field and was heartened to see some decent numbers of butterflies around-notably orange tips of which there was at least 20.

There was some good numbers of common migrants around including a showy blackcap, garden warbler, lesser whitethroat and pied flycatcher all in canal bushes.

I had an early night on Saturday night in readiness for an early start on Sunday. The alarm went off at 4.15 but I had already been awoken by a very close cuckoo that was calling in near pitch black. A shadowy badger in the garden soon moved off as it realised I was there, but I was up and out by 4.40 and the sunrise was magnificent.

The resident barn owl was around the car park as usual, as well as some avocets, oystercatchers and mute swans all posing nicely in the morning sunlight. A couple of spoonbills took flight and went on a round circuit, returning 5 minutes late. I hoped to photograph waders in the morning sunlight but the tide was too early and had started receding by the time I got there.

Instead I had a wander along the canal bank. I could only marvel at the birdsong, curlews, skylarks and warblers mainly but the orchestra of the dawn chorus was a sound to behold.

Mainly sedge warblers and reed warblers on the canal, another barn owl and nice to see swallow and sand martin numbers building.

The bushes were again full of warblers, the most vocal was a blackcap supported by whitethroat, willow warbler, chiffchaff, lesser whitehroat and a garden warbler.

A smart pied flycatcher popped out of the bushes for a short while-all of this before seven o’clock!

I had a ride along Easington straight in the hope of seeing a yellow wagtail and I wasnt disappointed 3 were sat out nicely in the ealy morning sunshine.

With warmer temperatures, bird numbers up and insects on the wing, this trip most definitely had a feel good factor about it-then again, isnt that always the case when you visit Spurn?