Sunday, 31 May 2009

But wait, there's more...

...to share on our Norfolk holiday which has probably been our best break wildlife-wise. This should (fingers crossed) be my final posting on our holiday encounters. Before I go any further, I must mention that I did write another post earlier today. Please click here if you'd like to read it. It was about the various plants we saw there. But moving on, I think its the perfect time to talk about the leftover stuff from my Norfolk story, or "The final chapter which wraps everything up"!

Perhaps the best thing about the spring countryside in Norfolk is the large variety of butterflies and bees that can be seen around the wild flowers seen in my last post. On one particular walk during the week, I came across a Painted Lady butterfly which had landed on the edge of a quiet country road taking in some sun. It was there for a good 2 minutes, so I was able to take a good few photos of it, including some close-up shots taken at ground level. My favourite of the lot is seen below.

Taken slightly further away from the butterfly...
And the view from above:
At the beginning of the week, we were told by the cottage owners that Adders could be seen in the grounds of the house. Specifically,they said they were seen on some dry grass patches near the boat house on the lake. The boathouse area is pictured below. Even from the picture, you can tell that the area is quite overgrown. I was very interested by the news and was determined to see them at some point during the week.

Towards the end of the week, sure enough I did spot a snake bathing in the sun on the dry grass. My first impressions were that it was an Adder, but with a closer look, I concluded it was in fact a Grass Snake. When it saw me it moved to the edge of the lake and sat there while I took a couple of photos. It then swam a small distance across the lake to a small island nearby. I was very happy with the sighting, and it was only the second time I had seen one. It was great to see it, if a little unexpected.

Whilst we were out on a walk, we saw these sheep who must have been extremely hot in the sun. Phew... I'm finished with the Norfolk holiday postings now. All in all a great holiday in terms of wildlife. Thanks to the wildlife for, well, being there whilst I watched, and also to family who made the trip so fun. Off to bed now!

4 comments:

Jayne said...

I do believe I'd prefer seeing the butterflies, especially under foot! :c) Glad it was such a good holiday.

ShySongbird said...

A lovely end to the holiday Joe, and more lovely photos, thank you, I enjoyed sharing with you.

As you may have heard there has been a mass invasion of Painted Ladies, some people have reported seeing 500 at a time (not sure how they counted them!) sadly I have only seen three very fleetingly, and none at all so far in my garden :(

I have also left a comment on your previous flower post with an ID for your mystery flower!

Joe said...

Hi Jayne, Shysongbird and Laura

Jayne- Thanks and yes I know what you mean. Butterflies are quite a challenge to photograph though!

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Shysongbird- Thank you, and I'm glad you enjoyed reading through my holiday stories. Its always a nice feeling when a photo comes out well :)

Yes, I had heard about the Painted Lady invasion, and it was mentioned in Springwatch yesterdat too. I haven't seen any in my garden so far either, so I'm with you on that. I did however see loads of them on holiday.

Thanks for the ID help again

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Laura- Thanks, glad you liked the butterfly shots. It was great fun to take them.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Great photos and Iagree, the sheep look hot. That snake is different than any I have seen.