Wicken Fen on a Windy Day

 The wind was still pretty strong this morning so there wasn't much flying at Wicken Fen - the Male Sparrowhawk and the Swifts were two species on the wing. We spent a bit of time in the Hide watching the squabbles of the Greenfinches and Goldfinches over the niger seed.

Lakenheath Birds

 A few more birds from our visit to Lakenheath yesterday. The female Marsh Harriers were few in number -  presumably sitting on the nest while the males hunted. This male has caught a rat and is carrying it back to the nest. There were lots of Common Terns diving for fish in the river. I was very surprised by the rainbow colours on the Magpie as the iridescence reflected the blue sky. The small birds are mostly sitting on eggs rather than feeding young as they were this time last year. The Reed bunting and Sedge Warbler were among the few small birds seen.

Hobbies at Lakenheath

 We spent a very enjoyable day photographing Hobbies at Lakenheath RSPB reserve. Incredibly agile birds, the hit rate for in-focus images is very low indeed. I am still waiting to get the perfect Hobby shot where they are catching dragonflies.

Swallowtails

 We had gone to Strumpshaw on Monday hoping to see the Swallowtails as the afternoon was forecast to be the best weather of the 3 days that I am spending in Norfolk. No Swallowtails then despite the bright sunshine - too cold and windy. Yesterday was much stiller and a bit warmer. Still no sightings in the morning but, just as we were about to leave, rumour had it that they had arrived in the cottage garden area. Two beautiful freshly emerged butterflies entertained us for about an hour before the sun went in and the wind picked up.

More Images from Strumpshaw

 A few more images from Strumpshaw Fen -there were several Egrets on the Fen, the Shoveller and Shelduck have similar markings, the Black-headed Gull has a very large dinner and the goslings were particularly cute.

There were very few Dragonflies around. I did find this Hairy resting up in a shady sheltered copse. There were Blue-tailed Damselflies, Azure Damselflies and large Red Damselflies

Strumpshaw Fen

 The Marsh Harriers were performing well doing lots of food passes but at a distance. The fish were going down well with the Great Crested Grebes and Terns.

 This Pheasant was very tame and not very good at balancing on the fence.

Scarecrow Trail 2

 A few more favourite scarecrows. To see all the scarecrows and the four exhibitions inToft for the jubilee go to http://www.pin-sharp.demon.co.uk/photos.

Scarecrow Trail 1

 It was good of the Royals to spare time to visit Toft and her Majesty help with a bit of gardening and other things to get ready for the Jubilee while Philip did a spot of fishing.

Strawberry Fair Parade

On a quick visit to Cambridge yesterday morning, I got caught up in the annual parade that marks the official start of  Strawberry Fair in Cambridge summer. This year the theme of the Fair was Fairy Queens & Kings with lots of performers in fabulous costumes and on stilts.