Day 280 - A Nature Ramble at Norfolk

North Norfolks Coastline

Hey everyone today's Day 280 and as you all know, I have been to Norfolk recently. I saw so many
things while I was there and I even got a whole 35 more posts to do. That will easily be able to take me past day 300 but I will also have to do something special for the 300th post. But anyway, whenever I go somewhere and see a lot of things, I compile them all into what I call a Nature Ramble. Only this was a wonderful week long one in places like Titchwell, Cley, Blakeney, Horsey and Hickling! Such a great holiday can't wait for the next one and hope to fit in a good few rambles yet, more about that at the end.

You will be able to work out what I have and haven't done as posts yet so it's a little 'sneak-peek' into what will be coming in the next month or so.

So, here's what I have seen:

Birds

Some of my photos still to be identified

• Ruffs
• Ringed Plovers
• Little Stints
• Avocets
• Green Shank
• Red Shank
• Little-Ringed Plovers
• Grey Plover
• Little Tern 
• Common Sandpipers
• Curlew Sandpipers
• Green Sandpipers
• Water Rail
• Oystercatchers
• Spoonbill
• Shelduck
• Mallards
• Dunlins
• Greylag Geese
• Egyptian Geese

Marsh Harrier over Cley

• Canada Geese
• Black-Tailed Godwits
• Jays
• Marsh Harriers
• Kestrel (There'll be a story about this one)
• Hobby
• Buzzards
  
  
• Mistle Thrush
• Wood Pigeon 
• Goldfinch
• Greenfinch
• Chaffinch 
• Blue Tits 
• Great Tits
• Sparrow
• Coal Tits
  
  
• Robins
• Blackbirds
• Cormorants
• Lesser-Black Backed Gulls
• Black Headed Gulls
• Common Gulls
• Herring Gulls
• Hansers (or Herons to everyone not in Norfolk)
• Starlings
• Swans

Bugs

Bloody Nosed Beetle - See day 277

• Bloody-Nosed Beetles
• Seven-Spot Lady-Birds (Approximately 500 of these! There were so many!)
• Many Caterpillars (more about them later!)
• Seven-Spot Lady-Birds in their Larval state
• Shield Bugs
• Red Soldier Beetles
• Kidney-Spot Lady-Bird
• Harlequin Lady-Bird
• Twenty-Two-Spot Lady-Bird
• Long horned beetle (yet to be identified)
• Spiders and Harvestmen (still working on these too!)

Dragonflies & Damselflies

• Ruddy Darter
• Red-Veined 
• Black Tailed Skimmers
• Brown Hawkers
• Norfolk Hawker
• Emperor 
• Azure Damselfly
• Blue Damselfly
• Emerald Damselfly

Reptiles & Amphibians

Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar

• Toads
• Frogs
• Common Lizard

Moths

• Cinnabar Caterpillar
• Cinnabar Moth
• Silver-Y Moth
• Several more species to be identified
• Elephant Hawk Moth Caterpillar

Butterflies

Speckled Wood

• Red Admiral
• White Admiral (but another one that got away from the camera)
• Peacock 
• Meadow Brown
• Painted Lady
• Skipper
• Speckled Wood
• Gatekeeper (being a Gatekeeper!)
• Swallowtail Caterpillar (I have seen the butterfly but never managed to photograph one!)

Mammals

Pipistrelle Bat

• Seals
• Pipistrelle Bat (up close - more about that later)
• Soprano Pipistrelle Bat
• Rabbits
• Stoat
• Grey Squirrel
• Muntjac Deer
• Red Squirrel (but this one was captive and part of a breeding programme)

There were probably more that this but I didn't write a list as I was busy trying to photograph them. It was a great week, can't wait for my next holiday! I've got a few more rambles yet these holidays I hope to be able to add to this list. 

Esme :-)

By the way, my posts have been a little later these days as we've been out on lots of walks and getting in a little late. The reason for this is in this picture here. She arrived last Sunday and has been keeping the whole family quite busy! Many more walks will be needed!

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.