9. Ted Ellis Nature Reserve, Surlingham

A russet brown coat glistening in the sunshine and tail aloft with the fire of summer, an apparition guided our way along the path to the nature reserve entrance. Our first visit to this reserve, and what better way to start the journey than with a stoat sighting. The Ted Ellis Trust was founded to preserve Wheatfen which, as the visitors guide states, “is one of the few remaining areas of the once extensive Yare Valley swamp” and is a SSSI. It’s not quite like any of the other reserves we have visited, with a mixture of habitats and a diverse array of insect life, and, I would imagine, bird life at any other time of year.

I don’t expect to see or hear many birds in August and walks can seem eerily quiet at times. The summer silence was broken today by the half-call of a cetti’s warbler, the explosion of a woodpigeon from a tree, or the gentle dabbling of a family of mute swans. A pair of buzzards circled silently and lazily over the summer-bleached fenland. The only other sounds were those of rodents rustling in the undergrowth, the buzz of bees or the flit of dragonfly wings as they deftly avoided a face-on collision.

Dragonflies and butterflies were the stars of the show today. Speckled woods darted through the woodland, unusually fast and direct flights for a member of the Lepidoptera. Peacocks sunned themselves along the board walk and a single brimstone nectared on the beautiful purple flower spikes bordering the water. Many members of the Odonata order were on the wing today, taking advantage of the blazing sunshine and warmth to show off their aerial acrobatics to the full. Brown hawkers patrolled their territories, often flying low along the paths in front of us. Southern hawkers, dressed in their bright disco colours alighted on leaves momentarily before resuming their hunting. Common and ruddy darters basked in the sunshine, or couple up in-copu. Willow emeralds were in a similarly amorous mood, with more in tandem pairs than singletons (this adds to my list of dragonfly species spotted this year, bringing the current total up to 15). They were everywhere along the latter parts of the walk.

Brimstone	Ruddy darter
Common darters	Common darters
Willow emerald damselflies	Willow emerald damselflies

We tried to explore as much of the reserve as possible and ended it with a dash through Surlingham Wood to avoid the mosquitoes (not altogether successfully). A beautiful reserve that we will definitely be visiting again.

Dragonflies 2017

I've always had a bit of an obsession with dragonflies. Their speed and agility, their gracefulness and curiosity has always fascinated me. But, it is has only been over the past couple of years that I have truly started to learn to identify them. I've seen more diversity of species this year than I think I ever have before, and I haven't had the time to write blogs about all the reserves I've been to. So, here is a photographic summary of the species I've got fairly good photos of this year. I've included a written list at the bottom of other species I have seen this year, but not managed to photograph well.

I am still learning to identify them, so if you think I have made a mistake, please let me know. Thanks to @BDSdragonflies for their help in identifying species knew to me.

May / June 2017, RSPB Strumpshaw Fen:

Large red damselfly	Common blue damselfly
Blue tailed damselfly	Banded demoiselle
Broad bodied chaser	Scarce chaser
Hairy dragonfly	Black tailed skimmer

August 2017, Upton Broad:

Ruddy darter

Emerald damselfy

August 2017, Home:

Migrant hawker

Other species I've seen this year:
Common darter
Brown hawker
Southern hawker

That makes 14 different species I have knowingly seen and identified this year. Let's hope there's more to come!

8. Upton Broad and Marshes

We finally made it to another new Norfolk Reserve today: NWT Upton Broad and Marshes, apparently well known to host a great number and diversity of my favourite insect, the dragonfly. It is August and the high season for many dragonfly species on the wing, and this quiet reserve did not disappoint.

We decided to stick to the shorter NWT Nature Trail rather than tackle the full public walk around Upton Broad. We saw only two other people, but hundreds of dragonflies. On entering the fen, a cloud of dragonflies materialised; mainly common darters, but with a few larger species like brown and southern hawkers too. All moving with such speed and agility, I couldn't help but call this research study to mind as they prowled the reed bed for other insect prey. A black tailed skimmer briefly joined the fray before we reached the alder carr woodland.

Entering the woodland, there were fewer dragonflies, but there were a couple of particularly inquisitive southern hawkers who repeatedly 'buzzed' us - hovering with precision right in front of us. Such a colourful and beautiful species. Equally colourful and graceful butterflies alighted often to sun themselves on the board walks, flowers and reeds as we explored - small tortoiseshells, green-veined whites, peacocks and gatekeepers.



An emerald damselfly and a few ruddy darters met us as we emerged from the woodland and reentered the fen. I still find it tricky to tell this species apart from the common darter, but these individuals seemed distinctly more red.




I look forward to visiting this reserve again, although perhaps at a cooler time of day to offer better photographic opportunities!