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I was thinking just the other day how few Swallowtail images I've seen so far this year, I guess that's all going to change very soon. Must pencil in a little foray into Norfolk for next year

Hi Trevor, good luck with your trip to Norfolk.

Hi Bugboy, I have seen a few posted on Twitter but not that many considering it is such an iconic species.

Norfolk June 10th to 14th – Swallowtails.

Over the past few years we have got into the habit of going away for a few days a number of times during the year in order to spend a bit of time exploring an area and hopefully see some species that we don't get around the midlands. I usually do some some thinking about where to go during the winter months and with me having to book time off work in advance, after doing some research on flight times of whatever species we hope to see, I take a bit of a flyer on the timing of our breaks.

Whilst thinking about targets for this year I had realised that I had only seen Swallowtails once before and that was now six years ago on a family holiday to Norfolk, when I had seen a couple at Strumpshaw Fen and just managed a couple of ropey record photos. We decided therefore that our first break this year would be to Norfolk and after looking at Swallowtail flight periods over the past few years decided on four days beginning 10th June. With a B&B booked it was with some trepidation that we watched the winter drag on into a late start to the season and then May arrived with some unseasonably hot spells that seemed to bring on some early emergences. I saw the first Swallowtails were being reported from the middle of May and also read comments to the effect that the warm weather was leading to some shortened flight periods for some species as they burnt themselves out in the heat.

Last Sunday (June 10th) we set off for Norfolk with me feeling fairly confident that there would still be some Swallowtails flying but also knowing that they had been flying for some weeks I was wondering what condition I would find them in.

We had started out at 9.30am and with our check in time at the B&B being the fairly standard 4.00pm we had plenty of time in hand for a stop off at Strumpshaw Fen where we arrived just after 1.00pm. Apparently a Swallowtail had been hanging around the flower beds by the visitor centre all morning ('You should have been here an hour ago....blah, blah, blah'.) but with no sight of it on our arrival we decided to have a wander around the paths. We wandered about for an hour or so and saw a couple of Swallowtails flying across the reed beds and had a close encounter with one which flew right past us on the path. Jane then said she would go back to the reception and sit in the hide whilst I had a bit more of a wander around. I went off down the track to the doctors garden where I found a large group of people by the flowers beds, some of who had apparently been there some time and mentioned that a couple had been seen earlier in the morning ('You should have been here this morning...blah, blah, blah'). After a brief conversation I decided to leave them to it, and carry on to where you re-enter the reserve over the railway track and was just approaching the gate when I spotted a Swallowtail fly off the reserve and towards a small rise on some rough ground a little further back. I decided to wander up this rise and found it covered with yellow flowers which looked like small dandelions (I am not that good with wild flowers – hawks-beard maybe?). I believe this is probably the area that I have seen mentioned in a number of reports from Strumpshaw in the past.. Anyway, My attention was soon drawn to what I presume was the same Swallowtail that I had seen fly in this direction as it flitted from flower to flower to feed. I must have watched this one individual for over15 minutes and took loads of quick shots as it balanced at the flowers with much flapping of its wings to steady itself. In the end I managed to get a number of decent photos of this one individual before it flew off back towards the fen.
I was well chuffed with this encounter, especially as it was an individual in good condition and if I didn't see another Swallowtail over the next few days I had already achieved my main target. Anything else now would be a bonus.

I then carried on to complete the circuit around the paths and had a couple more flypasts before arriving at the wet meadow area where another large group of people were taking photos of a couple of Swallowtails that were flitting between the many plants of ragged robin that grow there. These were much more difficult to get a decent photo of as the plants were mostly down amongst the grass and the thin stems would bend even lower when the Swallowtails settled on them which along with their almost constant wing fluttering meant that getting a half decent photo was a challenge.
I then went back to meet up with Jane and we then carried on for the further half hour drive to our B&B up by Hickling.

The next morning, after a good breakfast we had decided to pay a visit to Hickling Broad which was just a few minutes drive away. We arrived at the car park by the visitor centre at just after 9.30am and after paying the entrance fee and having a chat with one of the wardens, went for a walk around the paths. We spent the next three hours here walking the paths and visiting the hides and saw various birds including Marsh Harriers and heard a Bittern 'booming', plus loads of various Dragonflies. We also saw maybe five different Swallowtails at different points around the reserve. It seemed like more but I am sure that some were repeat sightings so I only counted those that were seen in different parts of the reserve. The morning had become very warm with the sun shining from an almost cloudless blue sky and all our Swallowtail sighting here were flypasts and although a couple of them came very close we didn't see any of them settle.
After going back to the visitor centre and seeing my first Meadow Brown of the year whilst sitting at one of the picnic tables and having a coffee, we drove around to Potter Heigham church where there is room to park a few cars and you can follow a footpath that goes across a field and through a wood to pick up the Weavers Way, a section of which passes along the southern side of Hickling Broad. Jane was tired after walking around the reserve in the morning and elected to stay at the car and read her kindle whilst I went to check out the paths. Coming out of the wood onto the Weavers Way I tuned left and walked along for about 15 minutes before coming to a stretch with a few ragged robin plants growing amongst the grass by the side of the path. Here I spotted a Swallowtail and managed to get a couple of shots before it flew off across the reed beds, although like yesterday in the wet meadow at Stumpshaw, it was difficult to get a photo without grass stems all over the place.


I then retraced my steps and walked along the path in the other direction for a similar amount of time and saw another 3 or 4 Swallowtails flying across the reed beds. Like earlier it seemed like a few more but I only counted those that I felt fairly confident were different individuals. This meant that during the day I had seen maybe 10 Swallowtails across both sides of Hickling Broad.

Tuesday was dull and cloudy and although we visited How Hill it was too cool and breezy for any Swallowtails to be flying, but there is still plenty to see here and we spent a couple of hours exploring the grounds and walking through the woods to the secret gardens.

On Wednesday we spent the morning at Horsey Gap and then stopped off for a cream tea (great for keeping the brownie points topped up). As it had turned out to be a nice day again with plenty of sunny spells and light fluffy clouds Jane said I could make the most of it and shoot off somewhere for the afternoon. I returned to How Hill to give it another go in better conditions and this time within minutes of walking along the path through the wet meadow there were two Swallowtails flitting from flower to flower on a patch of purple flowers, I couldn't decide if these flowers were some kind of thistle or knapweed perhaps, but they looked different to either of these that I see at home. Like I said earlier, I am not very good with wild flowers.
I then spotted another Swallowtail across the other side of the meadow which meant that for a while I had three in view at the same time. I spent the next hour or so in this spot just watching them and taking photos as the opportunity arose and at one point was joined by a couple of members of Norfolk BC and had a pleasant chat about various things butterflies and our thoughts on the current season.
Whilst watching the Swallowtails coming and going around this area, I saw a male chase a female and they spiralled high up into the air until the female just turned and dived headlong back down into the grass in an attempt to shake off her pursuer. He followed her down and flew along just above her and seemed to be trying to force her down until she managed to shake him off and made good her escape. I tried to follow them with my camera to catch the action but only just managed to get one shot that wasn't just a vague blur.
After leaving How Hill and with a bit of time to spare I decided to call in at Catfield Fen which is close by. I followed the narrow lanes and parked up in the small parking area and spotted a chap wearing a Butterfly Conservation top and stopped for a chat. It turned out he was doing a recce for a guided walk he was doing later in the afternoon and invited me to join them but unfortunately I needed to return to Jane before then (hmm!...didn't quite mean that how it sounds).
The interior of the fen here can be dangerous but there is a raised path around the outside from which it is possible to see Swallowtails and so I set off for a quick walk around to see if I could spot any. I only stayed here for about an hour but managed to spot two Swallowtails at different spots around the path, both flypasts, one of which came down the path towards me and flew past within a couple of feet.

So then, all in all I reckon I saw something like twenty two Swallowtails across all the sites visited between Sunday and Wednesday. There may have been one or two more but as mentioned above I have only counted those I was fairly certain were different individuals due to being seen a good distance apart.
My counts for the individual sites were;

Sunday 10th. Strumpshaw Fen - 6
Monday 11th Hickling Broad (inc. Weavers Way) - 10
Wednesday 13th How Hill - 4
Wednesday 13th Catfield Fen - 2

Out of those, I managed to photograph six different individuals, 2 at Stumpshaw, 1 at Hickling Broad by the Weavers Way, and 3 at How Hill.
Some that I saw were showing signs of wear and tear but others were in remarkably good condition still and although I suspect that numbers were just past their peak I think they should be flying for a little while yet.

The Swallowtails were the main target of course but there was plenty of other stuff to see as well...

Bye for now,

Neil

Fantastic images of the Swallowtails, Neil, what a trip

Mike

Brilliant Swallowtail pictures Neil. What a cracking butterfly!

Beautiful, just beautiful.
Neil, your pictures are fantastic. I love them all but you got a couple of great side shots and even one from underneath!
Brilliant.

Just wonderful Neil! Absolutely beautiful. You have no idea how many years I have wanted to make that trip

Well done Neil. That patch of hawkweeds beyond the doctors garden, is exactly where Neil Hulme and me saw and photographed our Swallowtails, I think it was in 2011.

Beautiful photos of the Swallowtails, Neil. I haven't seen them for many years and really do need to go again. All being well, there could be a decent second brood this year - not that the first is by any means over yet by the look of things!

Dave

Right that's confirmed, Swallowtails next year is at the top of my list. My fav picture from your set is those two in flight, I'm a sucker for a good action shot

Superb images, Neil - and thanks for the extensive writeup. Is a job with the Norfolk tourist board in the offing?

Cheers,

- Pete

Fantastic Neil, your photos make me want to go back there and I was only there a little while ago, it's a beautiful area. Goldie

Fantastic Stunning Lush images Neil Also the report is brill as now when I finally manage to sort out a visit for Swallowtails I'll know exactly where to head and what to expect.

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Wonderful Swallowtails, Neil. I've never seen the British sub-species and I must organise a trip next year. This year's already too full

Thanks all for the great comments, very much appreciated

Although heading for Norfolk meant that I will be missing a few cracking species that have been flying elsewhere recenty, I am very happy I decided to do so.

A cool and cloudy morning here so a chance to do a bit of catching up on some other diaries and keep up with this.

Norfolk June 10th to 14th – Other Stuff.

Besides the Swallowtails which were obviously my main focus of our trip to Norfolk, there was plenty of other interesting stuff too see.

There were not that many other butterflies about to be honest, mainly due to being in the 'June Gap' between the spring species finishing and the usual summer ones not yet flying in any numbers.
Having said that, I did see a few including my first Painted Ladies of the year, one of which was on the flower beds at the Doctor's Cottage at Strumpshaw on the Sunday afternoon.
Red Admirals put in an appearance with one or two seen at most places we went to, their worn appearance, along with the Painted Ladies and a number of Silver-Y Moths that we also saw indicating that a bit of an immigration was going on.
A good number of Common Blues were seen along the path behind the dunes at Horsey Gap on the Wednesday morning with examples in all conditions from very worn and tatty to almost fresh looking. Small Heath were also here in good numbers, some of which were very nicely marked examples. I was also told that Wall Browns and Dark Green Fritillaries can be found here but unfortunately not on our visit this time, probably being too late for the first brood of the former and a bit too early for the latter.
Other butterflies seen, mostly in ones and twos at most sites were Large Skipper, Large White, Green-veined White, Meadow Brown and Speckled Wood.
Horsey Gap is also home to a colony of Grey Seals and although the winter months are apparently the best time to see these there were a number in good view up on the beach approximately twenty minutes slow walk from the car park.
Lots of birds were seen during our stay including Marsh Harriers which appear to be fairly common around this area. I also saw these a few times over the farm fields by our B&B, usually too far away for a photo with my FZ200 but I did get good views through my binoculars. Other birds seen at most of the wetland sites we went to included Herons and various warbler types although not really being a birder I was not sure of the IDs of most of these similar looking small brown jobs.
Most days a family of Swans could be found in a drainage ditch just down the lane from our B&B.
I mentioned in the previous report that we went to How Hill on Tuesday morning and although it was too cloudy and cool for Swallowtails to be flying we spent a couple of hours exploring the grounds and walked though the wood to the secret garden. These gardens contain many azaleas and rhododendrons which I reckon would put on a lovely colourful display a bit earlier in the year.
Not surprising really considering the nature of most of the sites we visited but absolutely loads of various Dragonflies and Damselflies were also seen. I still need to sort through some photos and check some ID's of these so they will follow in a separate post.

Bye for now,

Neil

More cracking stuff Neil Spot on with the Reed Bunting ID That is a stunning Painted Lady, which had it not been for the Swallowtails would have been the star butterfly of the trip

Have a goodun

Wurzel

Excellent reportage, Neil. I'm delighted you saw decent numbers of this species and, what's more, that you got some darned good images of them too (they're rarely easy, being big, heavy and fluttery as butterflies go!).

Only been to see them once in Norfolk myself. Perhaps next year might be the time to do so again! The britannicus race is, in my opinion, more attractive than the continental gorganus.

I'm blown away by your Swallowtails Neil!
Fantastic shots, well done.

HI Neil,
I saw your outstanding Swallowtail images on a borrowed lap top, at our hotel in Wroxham.
Really first rate specimens, and you have done full justice to them.
What a difference a week can make. I will go in May next time.

Great stuff,
Trevor.

Thanks for the confirmation of the Reed Bunting Wurzel

I agree David, I reckon the slightly darker markings on our native race make for a more attractive butterfly...a close thing though

Thanks Andrew, although there was a degree of luck in being in the right place at the right time

Cheers Trevor, I see you got your Swallowtails. I was a bit concerned that we may had left it a bit late when I saw the first sightings in the middle of May but it turned out good in the end. In a 'normal' year I reckon the first week or 10 days of June would still be about right.

Being stuck in work again this week all I have seen in the way of butterflies is a couple of specklies in the garden so here is a final report from Norfolk, this one on the Dragonflies seen.

Norfolk June 10th to 14th – part 3.

I mentioned in my last report that we saw loads of various Dragonflies and Damselflies during our stay in Norfolk. As we were staying not far from Hickling Broad and intended to visit a number of fenland sites I was fully expecting to see good numbers of these insects but to be honest there were times that I was amazed by the sheer numbers in the air. Hordes of Blue Damselflies were everywhere and at Strumpshaw Fen, Hickling Broad, How Hill and Catfield Fen, the air was thick with various Chasers, Skimmers and Hawkers.
Most of the time these were very active and difficult to approach when they did occasionally settle, but there were times when there was more cloud about and it felt a bit cooler which made them a little less lively and I managed to sneak up and to get a few photos.
Banded Demoiselles were especially numerous at Strumpshaw along the path by the river,
Four-spotted and Broad Bodied Chasers were the most numerous of the larger dragonflies,
Black-tailed Skimmers were also seen in good numbers,
A few Emperor Dragonflies were about and usually stood out amongst the others with their blue colour and larger size,
Being in Norfolk, I was obviously on the lookout for Norfolk Hawkers but I was surprised by how many I ended up seeing, I had imagined that being a more localised species that these would be harder to find but I suppose it is like some of our more localised butterfly species that can be surprisingly numerous at some of the locations where they do occur.
At Catfield Fen in particular there seemed to be a Norfolk Hawker every couple of yards along the raised path around the outside of the fen, often hovering a few feet above the ground in the middle of the path which tempted me to try a get a few in flight shots…with varying success.
I originally thought that The Dragonfly in the photo below was a male Black-tailed Skimmer but looking at it afterwards I now think that it may be a Scarce Chaser…not 100% sure though so would welcome any comment.
That completes my reports from Norfolk. All in all a great few days with not only the Swallowtails but loads of other interesting stuff and for the most part we were lucky with the weather

I really shouldn’t leave it so long before returning again.

Bye for now,

Neil

Cracking set of Dragon and Damselfly images Neil, I was wondering about whether you'd see the Norfolk Hawker and there it is

Have a goodun

Wurzel