Anglian Adventures, Day 1 - 14th June, 2023

I had last visited Norfolk in July, 2019. Although I felt a little strange in the chest on the way there on that occasion, little did I know that I was experiencing the start of what was going to end up as pneumonia and pleurisy, and land me in hospital for two weeks soon after I returned home. 

Note from me:

Oh Dear! It seems that some people missunderstood my opening statement - I was ill in 2019, not this year. Sorry if I caused anyone any consternation!

I was eager to return to  Norfolk at a similar time of year, but Covid restrictions put paid to any such visits in 2020 and 2021, and a dire weather forecast for a booked visit in 2022 resulted in me cancelling my accommodation at short notice.

At the beginning of this year, determined to return,  I booked myself three nights accommodation at the Travelodge, Acle, and eagerly awaited the approaching dates, wondering if the weather would play ball on this occasion, and whether Lindsay would be in a condition with her mobility that she could be confidently left at home on her own.

By now, you will have realised that all worked in my favour!

I guess I ought to mention my reasons for wanting to make this visit. My main objectives were to find and photograph the Norfolk Hawker dragonfly, Variable Damselfly, and the Swallowtail butterfly, with secondary objectives being Scarce Chaser dragonfly, White Admiral butterfly, and Barn Owl. 

Wednesday, 14th June                    Home to Strumpshaw Fen

I set off from home at about 10.45 for the long drive to Norfolk. As the journey would get me there before check-in availability at the Travelodge, I headed straight to Strumpshaw Fen, arriving there at 14.15. I had a quick picnic lunch in the car park before heading to nearby Tinker's Lane, as this is somewhere where I have found Norfolk Hawker and Swallowtail before.

Before I got to the lane, I found a rather tatty Brimstone butterfly beside the road. I can't make my mind up as to whether this one is ovipositing.

Brimstone (Gonepteryx rhamni) (female) - Strumpshaw Fen

Having started down Tinker's Lane, although I  could see a few people obviously looking at something further down the lane, I popped into an area of rough grassland that had been productive on my previous visit. Here there were at least two Norfolk Hawkers, but they were low in the very tall grass, flying up when I  approached, and then settling back down low in the grass some distance away. I played cat and mouse with them for about ten minutes with absolutely no results before giving up and going to see what the attraction was further on.

The persons I had seen were watching a Swallowtail on the branches of a dead shrub about 20 metres away. This flew away while they were pointing it out to me. However, it was quickly found again in the garden of the nearby 'Doctor's House' - sadly the doctor, who was a great champion of the Swallowtails, passed away a few years ago, but the garden still attracts these fabulous butterflies. I did manage a few extremely distant record shots here.

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) - from Tinker's Lane, Strumpshaw Fen

I then continued a short way down the lane to where it does a sharp left turn and arrives at a level crossing over the railway. Having crossed the line, I was now on the Strumpshaw Fen nature reserve. 

I'd only gone a few metres into the reserve when I was startled by a sudden sound behind me. I turned round to find a female Mallard had flown in and landed about three metres away.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (female) - Strumpshaw Fen

I was now approaching the area where, on my previous visit, I had found Variable Damselfly, so found myself scanning all the blue damselflies I spotted. This Azure Damselfly has probably the worst case of Water Mite infestation that I have seen on a damselfly.

Azure Damselfly (Coenagrion puella) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

Further on, I  was once again alerted to the presence of a Swallowtail high up in a tree. Until then, I was unaware of the Swallowtail's penchant for roosting high up in trees. This individual was far more photographable than the previous one.

Swallowtail (Papilio machaon) - Strumpshaw Fen

There is a straight section of path, known as the Lackford Run, which runs along the north-western edge of the reserve. This had been quite productive on previous visits, but was almost completely bereft of wildlife on this occasion. Things started changing for the better, however, when I reached the River Yare (which is tidal at this point) and headed south-west.

It seemed that, at nearly every step, my progress was closely monitored by a species of large hoverfly which took up position about a metre in front of my face. Eventually, I persuaded one to settle and got some photos. This was Volucella pellucens - an extremely common, but impressive, hoverfly, and one that I don't think that I've photographed before.

Hoverfly (Volucella pellucens) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

On the landward side of the path, I found another of my target species - Variable Damselfly. The male of the species is very similar to that of the Azure Damselfly. The main distiguishing features are a 'broken' antihumeral stripe and a pale blue bar between the two blue eye-spots on the Variable.

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

Beside the river, I found one (or rather two) of my 'secondary targets' - Scarce Chaser. This was a pair 'in cop'. They were a bit out of reach for a good shot. The female of the species is recognisable by the smokey dark marks on the wing-tips. In the male, these marks are much paler or absent - as in this male. It can't be seen here, but the female has an abdomen which is, basically, bright orange on top.

Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) (male+female in cop) - Strumpshaw Fen

Further on, there was a lone male.

Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

A female Banded Demoiselle played hard-to-get, and this is the best that I could manage.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (female) - Strumpshaw Fen

I then arrived at the Tower Hide and it was time to sit down and take a rest. The first impression was that the area in front of the hide was overrun by Mallards. However, a few other species were present. The order of the day seemed to be adults with young.

The single chick following this Great Crested Grebe, seemed to be having buoyancy issues!

Great Crest Grebe (Podiceps cristatus) (adult + chick) - Strumpshaw Fen

This female Mallard had all seven of her chicks neatly lined-up for an inspection.

Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) (female + chicks) - Strumpshaw Fen

And this pair of Mute Swans were being closely followed by their brood.

 

Mute Swan (cygnus olor) (male+ female + cygnets) - Strumpshaw Fen

I stayed in the hide for about fifteen minutes, before deciding to leave. It seems that the sitting had not done me any good as my back gave me shooting pains as I descended the steps from the hide.

Shortly after leaving the hide, I was pleased to find a female Variable Damselfly. The main distinguishing feature is, again, that pale thin band between the eye-spots. The female comes in two colour forms - 'dark' and 'blue'. This one was of the blue form.

Variable Damselfly (Coenagrion pulchellum) (female) - Strumpshaw Fen

The most numerous butterfly species was Red Admiral.

Red Admiral (Vanessa atalanta) - Strumpshaw Fen

I also found a male Scarce Chaser which exhibited the pale marks at the wing-tips, as mentioned above.

Scarce Chaser (Libellula fulva) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

I'd been seeing a few small day-flying moths, but not managing to get any shots of them. Eventually I got one.  

 

Small China-mark (Cataclysta lemnata) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

I was still not having much luck with Norfolk Hawkers, although I had  enjoyed a few brief distant views.  I then arrived at a point where two were interacting with each other and seemed to be staying in one locality.I must have stood there for about a quarter of an hour, trying to get flight shots, and failing. A gentleman came along and we chatted a while, both wanting to photograph these beautiful dragonflies. After maybe ten minutes, he left and I concentrated on the mission for a while. Eventually, one shot into a nearby tree, and I was able to pinpoint where it had gone in. You can probably imagine my surprise when I found four Norfolk Hawkers together! As far as I can make out, all four were females.

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles) (4 x females?) - Strumpshaw Fen

I stayed there a while longer and a male arrived and settled in a different part of the same tree.

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

I went back to look at the four, and found that they were now three.

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles) (3 x females?) - Strumpshaw Fen

My attention was diverted by the arrival of a Banded Demoiselle, this time a male.

Banded Demoiselle (Calopteryx splendens) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

When I turned back to the Norfolk Hawkers, I was just in time to see a fourth join them.

Norfolk Hawker (Aeshna isoceles) (4 x females?) - Strumpshaw Fen

I was now feeling quite weary, and it was time to start back towards the car park and find myself some sustenance for the evening. I'd not gon far before I came across an obliging male Black-tailed Skimmer. The male of this species is superficially similar to that of the Scarce Chaser, but it has green eyes (rather than blue-grey) and a greater expanse of black on the rear of the abdomen.

Black-tailed Skimmer (Orthetrum cancellatum) (male) - Strumpshaw Fen

I'd planned to have a snack at the Scottish restaurant on my way to the Travelodge, but my satnav decided that it would take me on a different route back than on previous occasions, so I missed it. Having checked in at the Travelodge, I ended up crossing the car park to the 24 hour M&S Food Store and buying myself a 'meal deal' of a sandwich, side, and drink, which I consumed in my room.

That night, I turned in early, setting my alarm for 05.00 so that I could return to Strumpshaw Fen for a pre- breakfast visit in the hope of photographing a Barn Owl. At least, that's what I thought I'd done - all will be revealed in my next blog post if things go to plan.

I will try to prepare my report of Day 2 for publication in about a week's time, but it's beginning to look a bit dubious. It will probably be shorter on words, and longer on photos. In the meantime, please take good care of yourselves and Nature.

Thank you for dropping by - - - Richard