Swallowtails at Strumpshaw

What a start to #30DaysWild! Strumpshaw Fen was literally buzzing with activity. I have never seen so many visitors here, there was no room left for parking, so we continued to Buckenham Marshes and walked back. This was a good choice, however, as I *think* we spotted a couple of Norfolk Hawkers along the lane – brown dragonfly with clear wings – but they were too fast to spot the diagnostic green eyes. Butterflies like commas and orange-tips also graced the hedgerows.

Arriving at the Strumpshaw Fen reception hide, their small ‘wildlife garden’ was surrounded by photographers all snapping away at a single Swallowtail butterfly who was clearly trying to give everyone a good view. I always forget how big these insects are, but being able to compare it to a brimstone and orange tip on the same patch really showed the size difference. Happily feeding on the white flowers of Honesty, these impressive creatures stand out with their bold patterning of yellow and black with the faint dusting of blue near their shocking red eye-spots.

We decided to take the woodland trail leading to the river, then back to the reception hide via Fen Hide. The woodland trail was a good choice for dragons and damsels; countless blue damselflies (a little quick to identify), some large red damselflies and female scarce chaser surrounding the stream. This is only the second time I’ve seen a scarce chaser and it was in exactly the same place as several years ago. The yellow-almost-orange body and wing patches with the bold black stripe leading up the abdomen and tapering to a point near the wings.

A kestrel hovered as we walked the river bank and a family of swans with young cygnets appeared at Fen Hide, alongside a confiding reed bunting who perched on reeds next to the hide.

#30DaysWild - Days 5 & 6 - Strumpshaw Swallowtail

RSPB Strumpshaw Fen was fabulous today. Last year, we spent a long time hunting for swallowtails and saw one from quite a distance. Today, there was one large, beautiful individual a stone's throw from the carpark and reception hide.

The swallowtail was close enough that I could really get a perspective of how large these butterflies actually are. Completely unphased by the number of photographers, some of whom were getting rather close to it, it stayed in the same spot for a long time. According to other visitors, it seemed to have a penchant for all things pink and red - including peoples' bags and shoe laces!

Whilst we were watching the elegant swallowtail, a shout of "otter!" went up from the reception hide. We all rushed over to be greeted with the sight of an otter bobbing its head in and out of the water. This is the first time I'd seen an otter in over a year. We were doing well - we'd been at Strumpshaw for all of 10 minutes and had already seen enough to keep us more than happy for the rest of the visit, but it didn't stop there.

Someone overheard us talking about Norfolk hawkers, another insect that we've spent a fair while looking for in the past. Every time I spot a brown hawker at Strumpshaw, I get my hopes up that I might spot those tell-tale green eyes, but never have. However, the kindly visitor who overheard us showed us to a spot where he'd seen them earlier in the day. Out of almost nowhere, a Norfolk Hawker appeared, hunting ever closer until it was nearly over our heads. It was in no mood for settling down for a photo, but very glad that we've finally seen one.

I had some doubts about our next 'big find' of the day, but I believe (thank you for your confirmations, people of twitter!) that the dragonfly below is a scarce chaser. According to my 'Britain's dragonflies' guide, this is a species which is near threatened on the red data list, but locally abundant in a few places in East Anglia.

After seeing two dragonflies which I can now 'tick' (if I had a list), we then spotted their arch nemesis, the agile and hunting hobby. We watched as it scythed through the sky, occasionally catching it's russet underside against the bright sky, over the place we'd been watching the Norfolk hawkers.

These are, of course, only a handful of the wonderful species we found at Strumpshaw, a full list can be found below:

Mammals:
Otter
Chinese water deer

Butterflies:
Swallowtail
Brimstone
Red admiral
Small white

Dragonflies:
Norfolk hawker
Brown hawker
Scarce chaser

Birds:
Marsh harrier
Hobby
Swift
Coot
Mute swan
lapwing
Mallard
Jackdaw
Reed bunting
Reed warbler
Cetti's warbler (heard)
Wren
Tree creeper
Black bird
Robin
Chiff chaff
Chaffinch
Wood pigeon

Being back at work today, I've settled for my 'random act of wildness' being the walk from my car to my class room. I felt truly lucky to work in such an idyllic setting this morning. All I could hear was bird song - the continuous and impressive song of the skylark travelling across the nearby fields, the attention grabbing song of the chaffinches in the trees and the beautiful, almost purring 'tzveeee' songs of the green finches. A wonderful start to the day.