Nature through the eyes of my camera

Strumpshaw Fen is a RSPB nature reserve on the Norfolk Broads. You can walk through a variety of wetland habitats, meadows, woodland and reed beds. There is much wild life to be seen and on a recent visit I was delighted to get good shots of the Swallowtail butterfly. The Swallowtail butterfly is one of the rarest and most magnificent of the British butterflies. It can now be found only on the Norfolk Broads. It feeds almost exclusively on milk parsley. When new materials (rather than reeds) were found for roofing houses after the first world war, reed beds were no longer maintained and the milk parsley was swamped by other sorts of vegetation. Without milk parsley the Swallowtail could not survive. It wasn't until the reed beds were managed again that the milk parsley and the Swallowtail started to re-appear. The Eyed Hawk moth (Smerinthus ocellata) is found mostly in the southern half of the UK. It can be seen between May and September in woodlands and garden

For a while now I have wanted to get some decent images of Kingfishers. I have walked by the rivers and sat in hides but to no avail, until last Thursday. It was a bright day and I felt optimistic as I made my way to Lackford Lakes. I headed for the 'double decker ' hide and waited. There had been sightings earlier in the morning. I hoped they would appear again. Within half an hour a Kingfisher was perched and the shutters were being released. It flew to a perch closer to where I was seated and I was able to get some great shots. Next time I'll hopefully get some shots of a Kingfisher fishing!

The grey seal is the larger of the two seal seen around our coastline. The grey seal can be distinguished from the common seal by its nose. The nostrils are set apart and parallel, not V shaped as on the common. The male is much heavier than the female and darker in colour. They come ashore to mate and give birth, usually between October and January. The bulls can become very aggressive during mating and the cows will often fight back to protect their pups. Some of the images portray this behaviour.

Norfolk is well known for its grey seal population. This year has seen a record number of seal pups born at Horsey, over a thousand. It is spectacular to be able to view so many at any one time. Seal pup Soon after the seal pups are born the cows are ready to be impregnated again. They become very protective of their pups and try to keep the bulls at bay. The bulls can be very aggressive and it is not unusual for them to harm or even kill a pup during mating. Affectionate male

2016 - This year I am going to challenge myself to photograph and name as many wild 'pink' flowers  as I can. Red Dead-nettle (lamium purpureum) My first wild 'pink' flower of 2016, The Red Dead-nettle (lamium purpureum). It has fine hairs on its leaves which are green at the base and a purplish shade towards the top. The flowers are pink to purple. It can be found during mild winters and is a good source of nectar for bees when there is little else around. The young tops are edible and can be used in salads and stir fry. Red Dead Nettle Comfrey (Symphytum officinale) Comfrey is a wonderful plant that draws minerals out the soil and into the roots and leaves making it good for livestock forage and fertilizer. It can be made into fritters to eat and is used in herbal medicines. It also attracts insects. It is a perennial that has large hairy leaves and bell shaped pink/purple flowers. It grows in damp, grassy places. Comfr