day 5-last day in norfolk and pensthorpe

Last Day of possibly the best holiday ever. The day was a scorcher and so we decided to go to pensthorpe, having said that, we had already decided to go pensthorpe. We wrapped up early so that we could get there before the crowds. Despite getting lost we did eventually manage to arrive. It was clear to see that the proprietors had not lost their sense of humour since last time as the "ruff road, slow down" sign was still there.

it was already quite busy and we did have to queue. As soon as we were in I went straight through to the reserve forgetting the pet zoo. It would be nice to end the holiday with a new dragonfly species and the weather was just right. It wasn't dragonflys that were showing however as there were hundreds of damselflys everywhere. It soon became apparent that the damselflys, however were all common blue. However by the river I spotted a dragonfly sp. but the darn thing wouldn't stay still which is generally a must have factor when watching dragonflys.

around half way through the reserve It became apparent that the damselflys were probably the only thing here worth watching besides lots of pet barnacle geese and mallards. Then I was about to exit the wildflower meadow when I spotted this thing in the sky. The fact that its neck is straight ahead tells enough and that this was a crane. I'm not sure If this counts, but I have already seen wild cranes at hickling broad last time but this seals it with a record shot.

I was pretty tired from standing so I sat down on the edge of the pool at the end of the wild flower meadow to have a rest. the damselflys were still plenty and so I decided to try and take some pictures. Some came out pretty well but then I spotted something fly off in the distance- something I failed at a shot of yesterday, a banded demoiselle. I followed it into a small in-let dyke to the main pool where it rested and, although it involved some leaving the path, manged to get some great record shots

I then returned to the bench I had been sat at and recorded all the damselflys I could find. Below is a concise list of every damselyfly species seen today although one of them was not taken at the site I described above.

common blue damselfly

red eyed damselfly

blue tailed damselfly-form rufescens-obsoleta

blue tailed damselfly

azure damselfly

The blue tailed Damselfly was not seen at the site above. The azure was just lucky really. There were so many blue damselflys that there simply had to be an azure amongst them. I therefore took hundreds of pictures in case one turned out to be an azure. as it so happens, one did.

I went to springwatches legendary scrape but to be frank there was nothing there. I managed to spot 1 avocet and 2 brown smudges which I assumed were little ringed plovers but I was a little too far away to be sure. A little egret flew in and offered some entertainment by fishing.

as I walked round the reserve in search of my illusive new dragonfly I had a brief view of a jay but that was all in the way of birdlife. I did see a dragonfly in the air but like so many before it failed to land in a suitable position (top of very tall tree)

As I walked around the reserve on one of the less obvious paths I found another family of barnacle geese with two chicks. I wanted to get a photo of the adults hissing face-on with the camera, I know that it would be a cheat of a photo because these are not strictly wild birds.

However what actually happened was a real shock. The first bird was not in the mood for a photo and wandered away towards its mate. Its mate was much more obliging but as I was setting the camera The adult goose Ran at me, wings flailing and crashed into my leg. I was so shocked, that I left them too it, still without a shot. It just goes to show the amount of devotion put in to their chicks

I had carelessly left my phone in the car and so I knew nothing of when my parents had any intention of leaving and so I decided to take up a bench near the exit and wait for them. There was a family of barnacle geese heading towards me so I headed down towards the waters edge for safety's sake.

As I did this I spotted a dragonfly flying in an area clear of reedbed right in front of me. I looked at it and it appeared to be a chaser of unknown affinity. I tried to take a photo of it but it didn't land and it kept moving when I managed To get the camera in focus. Eventually it flew of without giving its identity away.

I waited a little longer on the bench overlooking the water and saw a great crested grebe and 2 dabchicks but the water was a little empty. I looked up for no apparent reason and then I saw the dragonfly again heading towards some low shrubs. I did a runner to try and keep up with it but It soon landed where I expected. I crept up and found it where I took these photos

Later analysis showed that it was infact a young male black-tailed skimmer which is a first for me and well worth the wait and chase. The shrubbery made the photos quite difficult but you can easily tell what it is.

Then my family found me and we went into the avairy where they keep the british waders. this is my favourite bird enclosure in the whole world. British birds in a walk in enclosure. What made it even more special were the male ruffs that were constantly displaying. I have never seen a ruff in full summer plumage like these but they were really beautiful. A couple of the below pictures are of a male displaying but I'm not sure they have come out well.

The birds are really special here and the skimmer only added to this great place. This is the last stop on our norfolk holiday and so of we set home!!