Chris Lansdell's Birding & Nature Diary: Water Voles and the upper Little Ouse valley, 24 May 2020

On Sunday Belinda and I were up with the lark and heading for a spot beside the River Yare where a ditch holds good numbers of Water Voles. And they certainly didn't let us down with mega views of at least 10 individuals. It was my first chance to photograph them and I went a bit mad with the camera! Water Shrew also inhabits the same ditch but we couldn't fnd any of those. Also along the river bank walk were Garden Warbler, Sedge Warblers, Common Whitethroats, Great Spotted Woodpecker, plenty of nice bushy Common Comfrey and a gorgeous flowering Red Horse Chestnut. Back towards the car a male Grey Wagtail was under a bridge.

Water Voles

Common Whitethroat

Sedge Warbler

Grey Wagtail

Grey

Grey Heron

Common Comfrey

Red Horse Chestnut

After returning home for a late breakfast we headed out again - for a visit to Thelnetham Fen and a walk in the upper Little Ouse Valley there. I started off with my annual look at the the big numbers of Early Marsh Orchids ssp incarnata, Southern Marsh Orchids and a myriad of hybrids before we set off on a really lovely walk along the well maintained network of paths by the fledgling river and on to Hinderclay Fen. Here I found a Cuckoo, Garden Warbler, a nice female Hairy Dragonfly that sat still munching a fly and some nice bits of botanical interest - Brooklime, the scarce Great Yellow Cress, Sweet Alison and Common Fumitory.