norfolk holiday-a boat trip on the broads (day 2(part 1))

Went to go on a boat trip today with my uncle Nick and his girlfriend Sophie. They had come down to the broads for the bank holiday weekend and, since we were in the area, asked if we would like to come and spend a day on the boat they were renting out. initially we were unsure if we would be able to but luckily it turned out that we. My dad said that this would be the day that we went to the broads-so if I was going to see a swallowtail, it would be today. The day didn't start too well as we got lost and we were a little late to Horning, where we were meeting, but once we got there everything went smoothly. the boat was Not large but comfortably had room for 6 of us. The weather was mainly cloudy with a few bright spots. All around Horning there were lots off baby geese and ducks which were quite cute and made great photo opportunities. We Decided that we would take a trip to Ranworth broad to go and try and see some swallowtails, only getting there would be a little more interesting.

When we set off, the river was quite busy but it soon filtered out. My uncle offered my brother the wheel and so we set off. My first surprise off the day was a lovely Egyptian goose sleeping in one of the riverside gardens. I took a few pictures, in case there was a lack of them up river, but I shouldn't have worried.

as we traveled further up river the wildlife got more and more interesting. Most interesting were the grebes which would dive about 5m ahead of us and then pop up right along side the boat. Most of these popping ups took me by surprise so I didn't really get any photos


as we passed a reed bed we saw reed warbler and marsh harrier and along the river we saw coots and moorhens really close.

It was a really enjoyable trip. As we pulled in the broad parallel to Ranworth broad for parking the wildlife got even better. a common tern started flying alongside the boat, plus there was an increase in the number of grey herons

The terns got really close and I managed to get some great shots. I could boldly say that I have only ever got closer to terns on the Farne islands where they nest (and attack). But best of all were the number off herons. About 5 herons were flying round and some came really close, allowing you to really appreciate the size of the birds.

As we moored near the visitor center one of the herons was sat on the docking. I was sat on the bow of the boat whilst they moored up the boat swung round and the bird didn't even flinch. It was so bold, it just stood there posing for the camera

we moored and set off towards Ranworth Broad. I had hoped for a better day that this weather wise, in case the swallowtails didn't come out. sadly they didn't and they remained elusive for the moment. What was at the broad was a sedge warbler, more egyptian geese, more grebes with a chick and some intimate grebe life moments with the adult feeding the chick on its back. plus 2 more terns and a chiffchaff, pochard, sand martins and swifts. It was great to see all the wetland species but the evident lack of swallowtails was really bugging me.

as we walked back to the moorings we found that a large family of egyptian geese and swum quite close to the hull and were offering some great photos. These were the egyptian geese shots that I had been waiting for. Even the chicks were showing quite well.

we decided to pull into the center of the lake to have lunch and as we did so I decided to go and sit up front because I had noticed that the bold heron was still there. Once again he showed no interest in our presence. In fact he was quite bored with us, as the shot below shows him yawning on our departure...

When we arrived at a suitable space on the center of the pond the terns came even closer and offered some great photo opportunities as they kept diving. Unfortunately the photos that I took were not great but you make like them.

As we ate our lunch a heron flew over the boat and gave us a great photo opportunity. You can now really get a great view of heron

also near the boat there was a lone male tufted duck which was even tamer than those at bakewell. I was not keen to take a photo off this bird but in the end I took one and turned out to be a good decision.

plenty of action around see the photos below

(a lesser black backed gull)

on the way back we didn't really see anything of interest because the river was really busy with boats. The only thing different was a breif view of a kingfisher which was really nice to see.