Butterflies, Bugs, Birds & Blooms

Easter Sunday.  Taking advantage of lockdown easing we went a few miles out of town to have a walk around, what is for us, a new nature reserve.  Southrepps common is a 14 acre site now run by the Norfolk Wildlife Trust.  Parking opposite the school you start on a boardwalk through reedbed and wet marsh.  The 3.5 mile circular route then takes you through mixed woodland and agricultural land, then on ‘quiet lanes’ around the pretty village of Lower Southrepps with it’s napped flint cottages.  This was the childhood haunt of our walking buddy Mick so he pointed out who lived where and the places he played.  Take a look at a small sample of the wildlife we encountered.

Snakes-head Fritillary (Fritillaria meleagris). This beautiful and unusual flower is something of a rarity in the UK so I was delighted to see this specimen

This tiny hoverfly is a species of Eupeodes possibly latifasciatus.  Love the colour the sun brings to it’s wings

Little bird, big voice!  A Wren (Troglodites troglodites) poses for a quick shot

I like to keep my eyes open for the unusual and this fits the bill! It is a type of ichneumon wasp possibly Spilichneumon occisorius (according to a fb group). The flower is Alexanders (Smyrnium olusatrum) a common plant of roadside verges near the coast. It was introduced by the Romans and is edible

Straight out of hibernation most butterflies seek sunny spots to absorb the warmth just like this Small Tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae)

Found a nice sheltered hollow for a coffee and cake break. Several Peacocks (Aglais io) were enjoying the newly opened sallow flowers

Orange-tip (Anthocharis cardamines)

When we completed the loop we decided to go a bit further to see the farm Mick grew up on.  It was a good move.  As we walked by the steep bank near the railway bridge Mrs H called out “butterfly!”  I was not expecting a cracking fresh male Orange-tip!  Considering we have not had a sustained spell of good weather it was very early to emerge.  Normally these (my favourite spring butterfly) fellows would be wandering here and there not stopping.  This one was attracted to a bed of Red dead-nettles and was still there when we returned some time later.

You will notice from the images it was a lovely sunny day.  Yesterday and today we have been ‘enjoying’ heavy snow showers and a strong north/westerly with temps just above freezing.  I don’t think that first Orange-tip has a great chance of survival.  The Peacocks and Tortoiseshells on the other hand will just return to hibernation, and life goes on.