10-17th August, A family week in Norfolk

A summary of a week in Hempstead, near Holt, Norfolk, with our daughter and her partner and our three adorable grand-daughters. We planned with some care, a location with activities to suit us all and a large enough property so that we each had enough room to escape for some peace and quiet when needed, it turned out to be perfect and even the weather was kind!

A tiring drive down on busy roads was dealt with and the holiday began in earnest on Sunday morning, we headed to nearby Cley Next The Sea and a renowned nature reserve. Even at a time of year when sightings can be difficult the day passed quickly and we had plenty to see.

A black tailed godwit...

A beautiful peacock butterfly....

A green sandpiper...

We kept getting glimpses of marsh harriers, unfortunately too far away for photographs most of the time until this one settled in a shrub...

We also had a sighting of a rare red necked phalarope, a gorgeous little wader which stayed well away from the camera.

Lovely warm weather and a couple of showers in the evening did nothing to spoil a great first day.

Monday and Holkham for us, all that is needed for a great day out with beaches, scrubland and woods to walk through. A lovely hall set in splendid grounds also offers lots of other attraction for families of all ages, highly recommended!

We walked along the edge of the woods, plenty of butterflies and other things to entertain us...and to test my sparse knowledge and ID guide later!

A slightly battered gatekeeper...

A speckled wood....

A female ruddy darter...

A comma...

and a painted lady....

Rumours of barn owls near our home for the week meant I had to try at least one early start to see if I could locate them.

Out before 6.00am the next day I maintained a patient vigil from field edges for the next couple of hours, my only reward...a swallow before it began its flights for the day.

Oh and legs that looked as if I had been walking through razor wire, the shorts were not a good choice for bramble lined paths...ouch!

We chose a boat trip to Blakeney Point to see the seals that congregate there.

The longer nosed grey in the water...

And the common seals in moult on the beach...

We were also lucky enough to see sandwich terns hunting and diving like arrows into the tidal waters...

Another short walk at Cley brought us a sighting of a young reed bunting...

With family bbq's and games of cricket on the lawn back at our property the evenings were lively and fun.

On Wednesday we had a family sized boat booked for a few hours of cruising down on the Broads, departing from Wroxham was not too nerve shredding and the sedate pace was soon settled into.

With the girls to entertain and be helped as we all took turns at steering, I didn't get too many opportunities for wildlife photographs. When we moored for lunch however I found a quiet spot and an Egyptian goose near, formerly escapees they are now firmly established in the area..

Great crested grebes are numerous as were my attempts at getting photographs of them, this is one of the few to survive the editing!

A laughing cormorant was on hand to welcome us back from a great day on the waters as we successfully navigated back to Wroxham..

RSPB Titchwell was the chosen destination for Thursday and Friday, noted for water voles which we have never seen.

Prominent early on were black tailed godwits...

Avocets sweeping the shallow water for feed with their upturned bills...

A ruff....

Lapwings had been nearly every day, this was the best photograph I got of one...

Occasionally we saw goldfinch...

Spoonbills were present and seen but only at long distance, little egrets came much nearer though..

Spending time by the pond most noted for water voles we were visited by a splendid southern hawker...

And eventually as a reward for patience and persistence, or maybe just luck, a sweet little water vole appeared...

Apart from the small drama of a power cut back at the house which meant a hasty drive for a takeaway meal, the last day was as good as the others...a superb holiday and a safe drive home for us all. We brought back lots of photographs, these are a small sample and I hope you enjoy them.

Above all we brought back lots of brilliant memories and we will return to Norfolk.

Many thanks to all who read, don't forget if you do feel like adding a comment, they come to me first for approval.

26th August, Leighton Moss RSPB reserve

We had decided on a later start than normal for a trip over near Carnforth to the splendid RSPB reserve at Leighton Moss, two reasons...we wanted to stay a bit later than we had before, it can be a tiring day and we usually are ready for home in late afternoon, secondly it was due to rain in the morning!

It was raining when we arrived but the forecast said sunshine later so we firmly crossed our fingers and set off to explore, the dampness is well shown by the droplets on these reed grasses.

Bird sightings were not too exciting at this point but a couple of red deer appeared, one with very funny ears!

The rain eased a little, but it was still unfortunately grey as we saw a marsh harrier appear and settle in a bush, camera speed not good enough to get a sharp shot. Leaving the hide we heard a noisy little bird in the reeds, a couple of brief sightings ensued and a passing RSPB warden confirmed it was a cetti's warbler, very rare!

If I started posting about birds and pole dancing readers could be a little alarmed to say the least, but this was in a purer sense than is usually referred to:-))

We had a break for some lunch and then set out for the lower hide, we have some tremendous and memorable sightings from there and it never disappoints.

On the way down there are some small ponds lined with reeds and foliage, ideal for butterflies and dragon and damselflies..in quick succession we saw a speckled wood butterfly, a black lined skimmer and a ruddy darter.

We had barely settled in our seats in the lower hide when a call of "Osprey" went up, heads turned binoculars and cameras were trained as the bird came closer, this numpty was still in macro mode so the pix were not as I good as I hoped for..but the sight of this magnificent bird hovering over the water, then diving and catching a fish before flying away with its catch was awe inspiring.

We watched as it soared higher and higher before making its way over the distant woods.

After correcting my camera settings I did manage a decent action shot of a swan during a take off, complete with droplets of water.

Fortune or fate decreed that we would call in the public hide on our way back to the centre, on the way across the causeway this beatiful patch of tranquility caught my attention.

There are always plenty of coots to be seen from the public hide.

Mrs Wildlife is a redoubtable spotter, often seeing things before me, on this occasion she beat about twenty seasoned birders in spotting a kingfisher arrive on a distant post!! We watched through binocs and scope as the little fella fished happily, chuckles abounded as he held a small fish in his beak and proceeded to bash it about before swallowing it. A range of about 70 yards is way too far for a good clear shot of a small bird even with a powerful zoom, this is the best one I got.

A couple of greenshanks on the island completed my photographs for the day, the drive home was thankfully uneventful, what a brilliant and unforgettable day!!