Sunday 3rd. June 2012

At 6am. on Saturday morning , with steady , heavy drizzle falling , I met Keith , a fellow wildlife enthusiast , on a mission to see and photograph the Swallowtail butterfly , which I had seen at Strumpshaw Fen last year . Then , with all species emerging so early , I felt cheated only finding a few specimens , so , given that the first one was seen about a week ago , the hope was that there would be good numbers on the wing . Crossing the Thames at Dartford , the drizzle became rain , falling from ever greying skies . Those conditions continued up the M11 until we got to the Cambridge area , when a glimmer of hope in the form of brighter sky in our direction of travel towards Norwich . The forecast was for cloud and sunny spells  , becoming cloudier in the afternoon . When we got out of the car at Strumpshaw Fen , the sun was shining , hardly a cloud in the sky , with a cool breeze keeping the temperature down , but it wasn't raining . We set off straight away to the area where I found the butterflies last year , close to the Doctor's house , but found none . We crossed the railway track , re-entered the reserve , and checked out the breeding area , once again without a sighting , so we decided on a circuit of the reserve , allowing things to warm up . Surprisingly , given such a large area of reedbeds , only a few Reed Warblers were seen or heard and not a single Sedge Warbler , last year there were lots of both . As we headed for Tower Hide , Keith got a high flying raptor in  his binoculars ,

and then casually mentioned , 'that's an Osprey' , and so it was . Unfortunately , Keith had his macro lens on the camera so couldn't get a shot , but I had the zoom on and managed a few , even though it was high up and drifting away along the river Yare , what a start !

Plenty of sightings of Marsh Harrier , but like last year , when they showed they were always at distance , never at an ideal photographic distance . We also came across three Bearded Tits , but they flew into the reedbed and disappeared from view . Just before arriving at Tower Hide , we found a male Pheasant , looking like it was sitting on a nest on the edge of the path , in the same place that I

photographed chicks last year . He wasn't on a nest , but got up , had a good shake and a crow , and casually walked past us and into the vegetation . The hide produced nothing more exciting than Little Egret , Greylag and Egyptian Geese , Black-headed Gulls , Common Terns , a few duck species and the odd Lapwing , until Keith spotted a Bittern in flight , a good distance out in the reedbed , that I didn't get on to  . Last year I spent some time chasing a Cuckoo along the far bank of the River

Yare , without getting a single shot of it , but this time I was more successful , albeit at distance . A bit further along the track we found 3/4 Pheasant chicks , fossicking for insects on the edge of the

vegetation , but the soon headed for cover . The walk down to Fen Hide , where Swallowtails had been sighted recently was very quiet , and with just Grey Heron and a Mute Swan outside , we didn't stay . We did meet someone who had just seen a Swallowtail pass by , blown by the wind and not stopping . We got a fleeting glimpse of an adult and juvenile Water Rail , but it was very brief . I looked into the meadow where orchids were abundant last year , but all I could see was Ragged Robin . In an area that we could not access , a pink hue amongst the grass proved to be Marsh Lousewort / Pedicularis palusttris . By the time we finished the circuit , things had warmed up some , but it was still very breezy , but after a quick drink at the car , we retraced our steps down the lane towards the doctor's house , passing a few more people looking for the Swallowtails . When we got to the area where I photographed the butterflies on Thistle last year , a movement over the back proved to be our first Swallowtail sighting of the day . With Thistles still to come into full flower ,

this specimen was nectaring on Red Campion I fed quickly moving from flower to flower , making getting shots difficult . A second specimen arrived and did likewise , before the first flew a short

distance and settled , open winged . We only had them for 3/4 minutes , but in that time Keith's camera sounded like a machine gun , and he had a big beaming smile over his face . A little later whilst talking to a local dad and his son , a single specimen arrived , and the son was able to get some shots , and some people just wanting to see this beautiful butterfly , were able to do so , before it also flew off . We headed back across the railway track , this time finding more damselflies and dragonflies on the wing with the warmer temperatures ., but still no butterflies around the breeding area . We met a couple who has seen a few flybys further along the track , so we headed there . Whilst searching we also started photographing Odonata , like this Four Spotted Chaser , with the

sunshine catching the colour of it's wings nicely . More sightings of Marsh Harriers , and amongst them , a sighting of a large Corvid , which at one time had a bit of a spat with one of the Harriers .

Although once again distant , with a larger bulk , heavy bill and slower wing beat , we were both sure that it was a Raven , but it never came close to be certain . Soon after we met up with a chap that Keith recognise , a birder that he knew well from many years ago . While they caught up , I wandered back towards the breeding area , at last finding a few more Swallowtails , but these were just flyovers , dropping down into the reedbeds and out of sight , but good to see anyway . It also

gave me the opportunity to photograph a male Reed Bunting that had eluded the camera a few times

before . Later on , I got a female collecting food on the edge of a ditch . Having caught up on his youth , Keith caught up with me and , getting a bit peckish , made our way back past the doctor's house , where we found him mowing the lawn . We commented on the flowers in full bloom in his front garden , grown specifically for the Swallowtails , and were surprised to hear him say that he hadn't seen a single one yet this year . He was pleased to hear that we had seen a few , but said he was fearing that it was going to be a bad year for the species , along with many of the others . His wife then called him in for lunch , so went to get ours back at the car .
With the sun still shining and lunch quickly eaten , we headed off round the circuit in the reverse direction . Keith got some male and female Orange Tip shots near the visitor centre , and also had a Painted Lady , but it was chased off by the male . A quick look from the screen by the visitor centre wasn't exactly exciting , just nesting

Black-headed Gulls and a Great Grested Grebe on it's nest . A brick red dragonfly with red suffused wings , which I mistakenly IDd as a Norfolk Hawker , which is brown with clear wings , caught my eye just out front  , but never settled for a shot . As we walked further on , a group of walkers were lunching at a picnic table and behind them I spotted a similar or the same dragonfly again , but again it never settled , and no shot was obtained . A female Hairy Dragonfly was also seen settled on a large leaf , but she decided not to be photographed today , annoying as she would have made a nice shot against the green leaf . The trouble is now , what was the red dragonfly , about the size of a Southern Hawker . I can only think that it was a migrant species , but , without a shot of the specimen , I can't take it any further . With the wind getting stronger and clouds starting to build in the distance , we checked out the ditches for other Odonata . Plenty of male Hairy Dragonflies , as

usual , permanently on the move , until one zoomed upwards , caught an insect , and brought it down to the side of the ditch to feed . Also taking insects on the wing were good numbers of Swifts ,

always a challenge to get into the viewfinder , but out of many , the odd one or two made it , even if was a greying sky behind . With the temperature falling , we decided to call it a day and turned around on ourselves , finding a few Azure Damselflies intent on carrying on with the next

generation , despite the weather , and almost at the end of the last ditch , having just seen the pair

mate on the wing , a female Hairy Dragonfly started laying her eggs . The sun had gone by the time we got back to the car , so leaving this wonderful wildlife reserve wasn't too painful , but we had a long journey back and we did see and photograph the target species . A great day out with really good company , incredible weather given what we drove through , and if it wasn't for Keith I wouldn't have seen that Osprey , nor did all but one of the people we met on that circuit . On our way home , we started making plans for another two target species that will be on the wing soon , the Large Blue and the Marsh Fritillary . If we can have similar success on that trip , it would be fantastic . At home , I made it 57 species of birds and 5 species of Odonata , + 1 ?
Today , horrible conditions , the feeders are alive with young Tit , and Finch families . Taken through
double glazing , a couple of shots of what family life does for parent birds . The adult Great Tit on

the right , worn to a frazzle trying to keep up with the insatiable appetite of it's offspring , who

already looks as if it should be on a diet , and the same could be said for the young Blue Tit . All the

commotion also attracted a female House Sparrow , hopefully to occupy the communal nest box soon .