Cley Marshes, Norfolk

On our way from Hickling to Holt we stopped at Cookies Crab Shop in Salthouse for a crab sarny, then onto the Cley cafe for a cup of coffee and a delicious brownie. At Cley Marshes, we saw Marsh Harrier, Avocets, Green Sandpiper, Bearded Reedling (nowhere near as obliging as those at Hickling Broad), and the reeds were full of nesting Warbler and Reed Bunting.

We only had the briefest of visits as we were on our way to check in with the lovely Viv at Willow House B&B in Holt, which we can highly recommend.

Here are a few more pics taken on our wander round the boardwalk.

Rodley Nature Reserve

A visit to the Manager's Garden at Rodley Nature Reserve on Saturday gave us our first Brambling sighting of the year, the bare branches of nearby shrubs allowed for clearer views of the Brambling than at Fairburn Ings in November last year.

Around the feeding stations, and in adjacent hedgerows I counted 12 Reed Bunting at one point.  Chaffinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long Tail Tit, Bullfinch, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting, Jay, Magpie, Wood Pigeon appeared the garden during our visit.

The shrubs to the left of the hide provide good cover for the birds as they wait their turn to visit the feeding stations and it was here I managed to get a few pics of Reed Bunting, Chaffinch and Bullfinch.

Blacktoft Sands

A recent evening trip to Blacktoft Sands offered some wonderful Barn Owl sightings as the bird flew overhead with a freshly caught rodent in its grasp, heading off in the direction of its nest box.

The bank sides were covered in the delicate branched flowering heads of Cow Parsley.

We also enjoyed sightings of Avocets on the water.

Bathed in golden sunlight, a striking male Reed Bunting sang from the top of a nearby bush, in feathery resplendence.

As the sun dipped the surrounding foliage glowed, emphasising the cobweb covered bristly seed heads of this clump of Teasels.

A view of the sunset as we made our way out of the Reserve.

Rodley Nature Reserve

Making the most of this weekend's fine weather we stayed local and visited Rodley Nature Reserve. The vegetation was first to catch the eye, the coppiced Willows were laden with catkins and these hedgerow trees were covered in delicate white blossoms Wild Cherry (Prunus avium) perhaps? Five petalled flowers appear before the leaves, clustered in groups of 2 - 6.

Over in the Manager's garden, 5 Reed Bunting, this one a male.

And a pair of Bullfinch, the male had such a strikingly red chest, other woodland visitors included Blue Tit, Great Tit, Greenfinch, Wren, Blackbird, Robin and Chaffinch.

Viewed from the hides, a Little Grebe, a pair of Great Crested Grebe, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Coot, Canada Geese, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Wren, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Mallards.

During our visit we saw at least three Small Tortoiseshell butterflies on the wing, and three white species that I'd guess to be Small White's but couldn't be sure. This Small Tortoiseshell was the only butterfly to rest, basking in the sunshine for a few seconds before taking to the air.

A beautiful Cowslip (Primula veris) in the Wildflower Meadow.

Near the riverbank this Butterbur (Petasites hybridus), a perennial plant with pink/red tubular florets in robust vertical spikes, leaves are stalked and heart shaped and can grow up to 1m.

The Dragonfly Ponds were popular with visitors this weekend, especially as there were lots of these Common or Smooth Newts to see,

and toads, plus endless strings of toadspawn.

Teeside sightings

On a recent trip up to Teeside we popped in to Saltholme RSPB Nature Reserve and caugt sight of the Hooded Merganser following a report of the bird on the Teesmouth Bird Club website. As I understand its most likely an escapee but nonetheless a lovely looking bird. We were lucky that it swam right by the hide & plonked itself down for a rest.

Also on the water were Goldeneye, Teal, Tufted Duck, Gadwall, Shelduck, Mallard, Mute Swan and Redshank on the margins.

Walking back from the hide to the visitors centre we spotted this Kestrel sat on top of a Hawthorn.

Reed Buntings, and Goldfinch busied themselves amongst the hawthorn hedgerows & Skylarks filled the air with their song.

Elsewhere on Greenabella Marsh we managed to spot 10 Avocets, too far away for a decent pic but happy enough with the sighting. Curlew galore on Seaton Common and an Egret on the Common too.

Potteric Carr

This weekend we visited Potteric Carr for the first time. One of Yorkshire Wildlife Trust's Big 5 its an extensive reserve of with a range of wetland and woodland habitats, we'd gone with the hope of seeing the Bittern, yet despite a Bittern-less visit we really enjoyed our visit. From the hide we enjoyed close sightings of Gadwall, a Kingfisher, a pair of Little Grebe, Grey Heron and a number of Shelduck.

From the hide nearest the Field Centre the feeding station attracted a large number of Reed Bunting as well as Chaffinch, Robin, Blue Tit, Coal Tit, Pheasant, Blackbird.

There are some lovely patches of Birch throughout the reserve, a tree suited to the poor soils associated with reclaimed mining areas. I love the way they catch the afternoon light in a woodland, the horizontal lenticels of its papery bark becoming more fissured with age.

Plenty of Alder too, like the Birch its a pioneer species and actually belongs to the Birch family. Here the yellow elongated male catkins in the centre and the more rounded darker female catkins. The catkins appear before the leaves.

A great attraction of these kinds of wetland areas especially on a sunny afternoon is the abundance and variety of waterscapes. The reflections of marginal vegetation in the ponds, streams and marshes provide glorious abstract views.