Swallowtail at Hickling Broad

We've just returned from a weekend in Norfolk, where we visited Hickling Broad, a wonderful reserve run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust, and one of the few places to see Swallowtail butterflies.

Our first sighting was the briefest of encounters when one zipped across the path in front of me, and we assumed that was probably as good as it would get until we reached a warm sheltered boardwalk bordered with tall reeds and grasses and occasional patches of Yellow Flag Iris. Here we watched half a dozen swoop across the reed beds, disappearing for minutes before taking to the air again and virtually impossible to photograph. A passing warden recommended that we keep our eyes focussed on the Yellow Flag Iris a favourite nectar source of the butterfly and a potential resting spot.

And eventually, after a considerable number of obscured shots, I managed to get one reasonably clear view, phew!

Little Snoring, Norfolk

During our week in Norfolk we stayed a few nights at a wonderful B&B in Little Snoring by the name of Jex Farmhouse. We chose it because their website mentioned their resident Barn Owls and Little Owls. We weren't disappointed, spotting the Little Owl almost immediately as it sat in the Oak tree in front of the house.

Knowing that we were keen to see the owls, Stephen kindly offered to take us out in his truck to look for the Barn Owl and within 5 minutes we were sat in the back of the open truck like a couple of kids on a fairground ride, what fun! We spotted it a little later and had even better views the next evening as the Barn Owl hunted over the meadowland to the side of the house for a good 20 minutes, wonderful.

The field in front of the garden has been sown with a wildflower mix, the cornflowers and daisies, were in full bloom while we were there and provided an irresistable draw for Common Blues and a mixture of Whites.

Just a few minutes up the road is Thursford Wood , a Norfolk Wildlife Trust reserve with some of the oldest oaks in the county where
we spotted a load of fungi growing amongst the leaf litter and heard the familiar tap tap tap of a Great Spotted Woodpecker captured here silhouetted in profile.