More from Norfolk

Cley Marshes are a fantastic place. I went there on two occasions during my trip. I was lucky enough to see spoonbill on my first visit

There were two present together and for a short while they were close enough to get these record shots.

Also present was this lovely Lapwing. It came so close to the hide that I could not get it in shot at one point.

There were also the usual Geese, Canada and Greylag.

Also present in quite large numbers were Egyptian Geese.

A number of Herons were seen.

There were lots of other birds seen but not photographed, these were Marsh Harrier, Sparrow Hawk, Hobby-which by the way was absolutely amazing to watch, Reed warbler, Little Egret, Black Tailed Godwit, Black Swan, Coot, Mallard, the list goes on and on.

More to follow.

Lifting Depression.

Those of you who know me well will know that I suffer bad bouts of depression. These are often all encompassing and turn my head from everything else. I am caught in one of these bouts right now. Nothing seems as good as before and everything is an effort. This has been an ongoing problem for over 6yrs. Anyone who has depression or lives with someone who suffers knows what i mean.

Photography has given me a direction but even that is suffering right now. In an effort to pull myself out of this mess I decided on the spur of the moment to return to Norfolk this week. Those of you who have viewed my blog before will know that I really enjoyed my trip there in the early spring, my hope was to recapture some of the happy moments.

So Off I went and I spent about two and a half days there, I didn't get as much from it as I'd hoped but I did get some good/very good shots (at least I think so)!!

I'll work through them and post a few here over the next few days or so. Here are the first couple.

This first one is, as you can see, a Snipe.


The snipe was seen at Titchwell, the light wasn't quite in the right direction but you have to take what you can get.

Next comes the Little Egret, Titchwell again, in one of the drains.

Finally a shot of a young Kestrel. I had a really great time stalking this little beauty. I was able to get within 15 yards or so, this pic is only slightly cropped.

The Kestrel was at Snettisham. It was chasing crickets or similar things and was hopping along the ground and sitting on very low bushes. I truly love the Kestrel. Snettisham is a great place but unusual in so much that its a long stretch of beach with a handful of lakes dotted along it's length. I didnt stay to watch the birds at high tide, I'd not prepared myself with food or drink and had arrived early afternoon so the thought of waiting until 7pm without food or drink did not appeal. However I saw a good few species of birds such as, Kestrel, Grey Partridge, Oystercatcher, Greylag, Egyptian Goose, Canada, Little Egret, Curlew, Mallard, and Swallow. I also saw lots of butterflies I can only name Gatekeeper, Peacock, Green veined White, and Small Copper. There were a few others but I have yet to identify them from the Pictures.

My one gripe about Norfolk is the cost of accomodation, B and B or Hotels are a lot more expensive than I expected. I spoke to others who expressed the same concerns. In these times of credit crunch It was hard to justify spending more than a couple of nights, again had I prepared myself properly I'd have taken enough kit to enable me to sleep in my car. It was a spur of the moment thing though.

More to follow.

Slimbridge.

WWT Slimbridge, a great place to get some fantastic pictures, sometimes. Unfortunately on other occasions it can be quite unproductive.

However I was up early yesterday (thurs 7th) due to my bad back and decided on the spur of the moment to have a look.

Here are the pics that i took.

Common Sandpiper.

Heron.

I am told that these are Green Sandpipers, they were certainly different to the common.

The coots, of course.

And finally a young Flamingo portrait that I quite liked, not wild though i know.

It wasn't as good as i had hoped but nevertheless an enjoyable morning.

Last of Scotland

This is the last of the Scotland photos, guess I better start thinking what my next submissions will be.

Firstly we've got these two pics of Spotted Flycatchers, there were a pair feeding chicks.

Dolphins were on view regularly on the moray firth. This was however the best shot i managed to get and it is a crop.

This was one of the most regularly seen birds during our trip. This Oystercatcher is doing what they do best mooching in the mud.

This was a real treat, a Red Throated Diver. A first for me. This was seen on one day only and was quite obliging, albeit from a distance.

This pair of Jackdaws were very entertaining whilst at the Harbour at Port Patrick.

A family of Willow warblers were observed feeding in the bushes at one of the sites we visited.

This was, I think, the best of the trip although the pictures don't do it justice. We watched this Slavonian Grebe for 3 days or so. It was extremely timid and would not come close, I got these pictures whilst hiding amonst some bushes on different days. I was amazed at just how far this bird could swim/fly under water before coming up for air. It was a pleasure to watch.

My favourite picture of the trip is hard to identify, however I do like this portrait of a feral pigeon.

Not really Wildlife although as I say it was wild. It's not very old, you can tell that by the pinkness of the beak.

A good trip all round, the weather was not always kind to us and we never knowingly got to see Golden Eagle, there were some sightings in the distance of birds that looked too big to be buzzards but neither Chris or I could or would say they were eagles. However at least 7 new species for me and photographs of some that i haven't got as well. Not bad for 12 days.

If you have never been to Scotland then I suggest you should go there, the scenery and the photographic opportunities make the travelling worth while. I look forward to going again. Check the Galleries link for more shots of some of the species I've featured over these last 3/4 posts.

Let me know if you have any comments I'd be delighted to hear them, oh and don't forget to click the back button rather than the X to return to the post. The X button will take you away from the site.

More from Scotland.

A few more from the recent trip to Scotland.

Black Guillemots, a species I'd never seen before.

The next are Rock Pipits, yet another bird I'd never knowingly seen

This next animal is not wild but very impressive I'm sure you'll agree.

Highland Cattle, very placid and lovely critters.

This common Sandpiper and a couple like it kept me entertained whilst at Loch Garten.

More to follow soon. Sorry for the delay in updating but have been experiencing problems with uploading pictures. Dont forget to check my galleries for other similar pictures hopefully slightly better in quality.