So here's the final part of my road trip to
Norfolk.
With just a few days to spare in this most wonderful part of the world and after out forays on the coast. it was important not to try and do too much and end up spending more time driving than out in the field, so we decided to concentrate our efforts around a small but habitat rich area around
Surlingham and the
Yare Valley. We took in 3 reserves -
Wheatfen, Rockland Broad and
Strumpshaw Fen.
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| Wheatfen |
First port of call was the delightfully unspoilt nature reserve that is
Wheatfen. The famous Norfolk naturalist and broadcaster
Ted Ellis lived near here, revered the place and its wildlife, and after his death in 1986 the
Ted Ellis Trust was founded to preserve this area of outstanding beauty.
I'd picked this place out as a likely place for the elusive
Swallowtail Butterfly but although 1 had been seen the day before, predictably they remained elusive!
Lots of
Cuckoos, several
Marsh Harriers, Reed & Sedge Warblers, Common Terns flying down the
River Yare and common butterflies, and yet with 2 cameras and 2 pairs of eyes we somehow conspired not to capture much! Terrific place if you're a fenland purist though.
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| Common Blue, Wheatfen |
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| Wheatfen |
Just across the river
Yare is RSPB reserve
Strumpshaw Fen. Its bigger and higher profile but in my opinion not necessarily better than unspoilt
Wheatfen. It does however have raised hides and crucially some nearby birds to point the lens at! Marsh Harriers breed in good numbers here as they do right across Norfolk and this was a pleasing series of shots of a passing male.
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| Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw |
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| Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw |
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| Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw |
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| Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw |
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| Male Marsh Harrier, Strumpshaw |
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| Whinchat, Strumpshaw |
Less obvious and something of a lucky sighting as I scanned across the lagoon was this
Whinchat perched in the reeds. Fully expected it to be a
Reed or
Sedge Warbler ... goes to show its always worth scanning and checking every bird in such places!
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| Whinchat, Strumpshaw |
Somewhat more 'showy' this
Common Tern was one of several pairs on the reserve.
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| Common Tern, Strumpshaw |
Rockland Broad is a fairly typical area of wet meadow / fenland but we didn't get much here ... good pub next to the nature reserve though and a free berth for the van in the car park!
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| Great Crested Grebe, Rockland Broad |
Not sure how common these are in Norfolk but this is the first
Chinese Water Deer I've ever seen
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| Chinese Water Deer, Rockland Broad |
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