As I was playing football in Norwich this evening, I thought I'd make the most of the day and the reasonable weather with a day at Strumpshaw RSPB reserve with the aims of getting a decent photo of a Swallowtail Butterfly and to try to see a Norfolk Hawker Dragonfly which would be a new species for me.
Upon arrival I made my way down the track just before the reserve car park to the house in whose garden the Swallowtails often frequent. To my delight there was a Swallowtail there as soon as I got there and over the next couple of hours there was always at least one on view, often two, and at one point there were three having an aerial tussel right in front of the delighted onlookers.
After taking a few hundred pictures of the Swallowtails, I eventually dragged myself away and made my way onto the reserve proper heading for the meadow trail and virtually immediately I spotted two Norfolk Hawkers chasing each other over the adjacent ditch. After spending some time watching one patrolling its teritory, but rarely landing for more than a second, I made my way further along and, as hoped for, spotted another perched on the reeds on the far side of the ditch and which continued to show well for the quickly assembled group of photographers. We watched it for about half an hour, and then as I made my way back, the first one was still patrolling its ditch and eventually landed on a stick on the bankside long enough for a few photos too.
