Ted Ellis Wheatfen reserve Norfolk in search of Dragons june 2015

This morning a walk around the Ted Eliss Wheatfen nature reserve , its warmish and still a bit breezy so might have a chance to spot a Swallowtail but hopefully a few Norfolk Hawkers which i have never seen.

                                                  First view of the reserve, beautiful :)

 Almost straight away i have spotted a few dragons , Scarce chasers    there are loads of them as i walk along the rush lined channels.  another new species i have never seen before :)


                                                              Female Scarce chaser.

                                                                 Male Scarce chaser

 I have come to a crossroads, i want to go right along a smaller drain but a family of swans have nested right on the edge of the path and they are Not letting me pass!!!!!!!!!!      lol

 I continue on the path along the River Yare boundary but cant find any that are settling.  walking all way around and come to a smaller cut through track along a small drain , and there are loads of dragons flying everywhere :)   Scarce Chasers and Norfolk Hawkers patrolling along the edges in repetitive flying patterns .


                                                           Mating Scarce Chasers :)

                              Overgrown drain where the Norfolk Hawkers are flying.

 Yay   got a perched Norfolk Hawker , had to shoot with 100-400mm lens and crop to get these images.

                                            Stunning dragons with bright green eyes .

It has been a really nice walk around this reserve, no sign of any Swallowtails but plenty of Dragons :)

After a successful morning its time to go back to Sea Palling to give the dogs a good run on the beach , its quite warm again and the sun is out.   they are soon tired  lol

                                       Awwww  Poor Chester , he looks Knackered :(

Swallowtails and Sunsets Norfolk june 11 th 2015

This morning a quick walk down to the beach with the dogs , its very warm and sunny and at last the wind has dropped a bit.    We stayed out longer than expected just sitting in the sun throwing the ball for the beasts :D

 A really beautiful morning on an almost deserted Norfolk beach , sitting in the sun throwing the ball for the Terrible Twosome :)

                                                          HAHA!      sandy face Mollster

 After lunch , a last trip to hopefully see a Swallowtail butterfly at Strumpshaw , the wind is the lowest it has been all week and being warm and sunny this has to be my best chance to see one.

 We are not going into the fen site, but walking down the track to the Doctors garden which is a very good spot for them ,the main Swallowtail breeding area is just the other side of the railwayline.

 Not a sight of Any species of butterfly on the flowers ,its clouded over a bit unfortunately ,but we continue down the path to a small hidden clearing a couple of fields away But Again Nothing to see!

Walking back past the small meadow next to the doctors cottage and a Yellow flash signified my first ever sighting of a Swallowtail YAY!    

                                Quickly putting on my 100-400mm lens i manage a few images.

 Then on with 100mm macro and after ages following manage a couple of closer shots ,unfortunately  its wings are a bit damaged :(

                            Into the next meadow and in the sheltered corner.........................


                                                                Thats a better one :)

After a successful afternoon the weather is looking very promising for a decent sunset tonight , i think another long walk to Brograve is called for.  Even Jan agrees surprisingly  lol
The Horsey Mill looks awful without its sails!   they are being renovated after damage over the winter i believe.

 The path follows the Waxham new cut channel from Horsey Mere ,   nice light over the mere as we walk past.

                                                 A Marsh Harrier is circling overhead :)

                          and flying past ...............    whatever type of geese they might be   lol

At the Mill in good time for the sunset , after a load of long exposure images that didn't work , i wait until the sun has almost set before shooting this 3 frame hdr image. the sun is lighting up the small drain beyond the mill where the owls were hunting earlier in the week.

 My favourite image with the colour at its strongest , the sky has lit up nicely tonight with the wispy cloud :)

The end of a superb day in Norfolk , the last two days over the weekend are looking rubbish weather wise so this may be my last sunset image of the week.

How Hill Sunset 10th june 2015

Time to go down to How Hill to shoot the Windpumps at sunset , the weather is looking ok so far but not really enough cloud for a good one.
After parking up i go down to the river and walk to the right first as its still ages until sunset time.

                                                        A phone pano of the boat house

 While walking towards Boardmans skeleton mill, i stop and watch two Marsh Harriers hunting over the fields opposite :)     wonderful to see and then as i turn back a Barn Owl flies straight past me with a vole or mouse in its claws!   Amazing!

                                 Turf Fen mill in evening sunlight . shot with 100-400 mm lens.

      As the sun sets the wind has dropped to give mirror reflections , pity there is not much cloud :(

Moving to the end of the staith to shoot this 3 frame hdr merged image.  just after shooting this,  i hear a loud crashing in the reads in front of me,  must be an otter hunting  :)

                       Back to the main subject , this is about as strong a colour that i got unfortunately.

                                                            A Panorama image to finish

                         Walking back to the Skeleton mill for a quick shot before leaving.......

Norfolk holiday june 9th 10 th

Today i am going to have another look for Swalowtail  butterflies at  Strumpshaw  fen.
Its quite windy but warmish and bright with sunny periods forecast , but im not hopeful!

Arriving at the reserve there are no butterflies on the flowers in the garden near the entrance  so i decide to walk around the reserve anyhow to take a look.......

                            Around the meadows and marshes i have not seen anything whatsoever!

                                                  Not even a Dragonfly or Damselfly :(

At the far end near the Swalowtail breeding area , the only thing i have spotted is this Lizard ......

                                                      finally get to use my macro lens :D

                                                                              Very cute :)

                               On the way out a Sawfly and then in the field beyond a ...........

                                                                                 Pheasant :)

Not a butterfly to be seen unfortunately.    now to go back to collect Jan the dogs to go for a walk.

An afternoon walk from Horsey mill to the beach , a good long walk and a few seals to watch for a while .

                                  The Seals are so nosey, coming up to watch us .

The following morning we are going to Holkham Hall which is right up at the top of North Norfolk coast near Wells-next-the-sea.  When we arrive, after paying car parking we are told the hall is closed on Wednesday's!!!!!!!!   WTF?                 there is virtually no mobile coverage so cant check on line and we have driven nearly hour and a half & its bloody closed!!!!! 

At least we can go for a walk in the estate ..............

                                                                 Mollster looks happy :)

                                                          Top end of the entrance.

 Enough of this walking, after a bite to eat in the car we drive down to Holkham bay to run the dogs on the Huge beach!                   

                                                                   Very wet...................

                     Time to head back now, stopping off at  Cley Mill on the way to Cromer.

                                                                Early  Evening in Cromer

                             And a walk on the Pier , which Terrifies Mollster   Oooops lol

after a visit to the famous chippy near the pier we head back to the caravan , and hopefully a  sunset at How Hill later :)