Staying home

ByDawn

I’m very fortunate to live near some lovely countryside, with two small nature reserves just a few minutes walk away from home. This weekend I decided to explore these instead of heading to the Fen. The closest reserve is an area of heathy common, with short rabbit grazed turf, and prickly gorse bushes. There’s a boggy area with a small stream, where I found a Little Egret hunting. I watched as he paddled in the shallow water stalking and striking his prey. He wandered up the bank and paused in the frost to take a look at me, before moving off back to the stream to resume hunting.

Little Egret, Egretta garzetta, in frost, Norfolk, Winter

I watched for a while longer, but the first dog walkers of the day appeared, so I headed over to the other little reserve, and area of wet meadow. This is such a contrast to the common, open, lush and green. Incredibly peaceful in the early morning sunshine, I sat and watched as the frost slowly melted. Flights of Woodpigeon crossed the vast blue sky, and a team of quacking ducks circled overhead. A male Reed bunting balanced atop a reed stem watching me. Definitely well worth exploring, hopefully I’ll get the time to get to know the local wildlife a bit better!

Back in the garden this Collared dove sat on the fence…

Collared dove, Streptopelia decaocto, perched on garden fence, Norfolk,

(Click images to view larger…)

If you like what you see, please consider sharing![social_share/]
UK & Eire Natural History Bloggers

Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DawnMonroseNaturePhotography

Current favourite books, click for more info:

 

Subscribe

Sign up to receive blog notifications and exclusive content!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Similar Posts

  • Grey Seals

    ByDawn

    Went to the Norfolk coast to try and photograph the seals this afternoon, seen as the weather person said it would brighten up. Unfortunately it didn’t and it was grey skies all the way. Still, I managed to get a shot of this little beauty, and as always it was amazing to watch and hear…

  • Exhibition News

    ByDawn

    I am very excited to announce that I will be exhibiting my work in Santiago’s Art Café in Botesdale, Suffolk. It’s actually my first exhibition in many, many years, so I’m really looking forward to it. There’s something about seeing photos printed that is so refreshing in our increasingly digital world, and that was one…

  • Close encounters

    ByDawn

    A dull and dreary start to the day at the Fen, with a heavy blanket of low cloud and mist. Nothing doing with the Sedge and Reed warblers, they were keeping low down in the reedbed, but still singing. Spotted the Little Grebe on his regular pool, shame there’s nowhere to get a clear view…

  • Autumn Ladybirds

    ByDawn

    Did a bit of much needed work in the garden yesterday afternoon, and got a bit distracted by all the lovely Ladybirds I found. They looked very Autumnal crawling around in the old strawberry plant leaves, here’s a selection.   Finally, if you don’t like spiders, I suggest  you don’t scroll down…     No,…

  • First signs of Spring

    ByDawn

    All has been rather quiet of late down on the Fen, no meaningful images in the last few weeks, which is somewhat disappointing. Yet there are the first subtle signs of spring all around. On my way there this morning a Skylark rises into the air on trembling wings, belting out his intricate song. On…

  • Green-winged Glory

    ByDawn

    I spent a morning in May at a local meadow, photographing these beautiful native orchids. I often think our native botanical riches are a bit overlooked, but we do have a fascinating selection of species here, and I will definately be trying to explore more in the future. The Green-winged orchid is one of around…

2 Comments

Leave a Reply