Norfolk Holiday – Part I

Ok, get yourselves a cup of tea because there’s a serious amount of photos to get through… I am going to divide my photos from Pensthorpe up because there are 100.

Yes you heard that correctly, 100!

I have no idea how I managed it because I’m no great fan of wading/water birds but the photos are mainly of the ducks/geese and a rather beautiful and amazing surprise!

Then there are also photos of some of the gardens… Piet Oudolf’s Millennium Garden in particular was a disappointment; clearly it is geared towards Late Summer/Autumn… Oh well, another time perhaps.
I’d known I was pushing it and with the harsh winter plants are behind – Bluebells are still out compared to this time last year when there was barely any left.

So on with the first instalment:

First stop is the lovely B&B we stayed in, Swanton Morley near Dereham… Called Hunter’s Hall.

It was on a farm, and looked to be converted stables, nice rooms and seemed to work more like a hotel than your average B&B.

Fields, this did have some white British White cows in it on the Sunday, but sadly they’d disappeared on the Monday when we left… There was a huge bull!

From the B&B we set off to Pensthorpe, not really knowing what to expect as all I wanted to see was the Millennium garden…

There are so many water birds here it’s unreal, and so many of them are far too tame. If you don’t like birds around your feet then you may be best avoiding one of the entrances into the reserve – i.e. don’t go in the left entrance, go straight ahead into the nature garden!

A Stork

Lots of Ducks/Geese as promised. Wonderful Mandarins too!

Urm… Any ideas?

Mr Mandarin showing off to his wife

Fluffing up his feathers…

Baby Moorhen??

White Cheeked Pintail

Baby Coots, only a mother could love them!

And indeed she does…

As it began to rain she covered them up…

??

Red Crested Pochard

Lots of fighting for food

Smew

Black Headed Gull

Ruddy Duck

I was thinking Sedge Warbler…

Same again, or a Reed Warbler??

Juvenile Blackbird being protected by dad

Hoard of Greylag (?)Geese coming to attack Pete… Babies made such a cute noise compared to the hissing of the parents! Eeek.

I think this was a baby Barnacle Goose

Ruddy Shelduck

Gorgeous little female Smew, my favourite.

Male Smew

Pretty too, but I don’t know what it is.

Poor one legged Mallard 😉

Another unknown… I’m not very good at this!

Juvenile Mallard maybe?

Sleeping Shelduck

Sleeping???

Teals

???

Female Gooseander… Let me tell you, they’re vicious!

Poor little female Smew didn’t stand a chance!

They kept on pushing her under water.

And on our way out we came across this…

Mmm, I smell something

Food!!!

Widgeon?? Nup, urm, no idea!

I thought birds didn’t have teeth!!! Scary. Merganser? No idea. Pretty though.

Male Smew again

Moorhen feeding baby

So what did I learn from all this??

• I know far more ducks/waders/water birds than I thought I knew.
• I still have a long way to go.

(Corrections thanks to Shirl)