Apr 28th Creake Abbey.

This was a quaint little place I came across called Creake Abbey.....in the lovely village of North Creake. The Abbey was first used as a small hospital and almshouse which was attached to a church.....known as St. Mary of the Meadows in 1206. Thirteen poor men were to recieve food, clothing and shelter. In 1231 Henry the 111 raised the status of the priory to that of Abbey. Much of the church was destroyed by a raging fire in 1408, unfortunately, soon afterwards a plague killed everyone.....the sole survivor being the Abbot....he later died in 1506. I really enjoyed soaking up the atmosphere.....nearby was a lovely babbling stream......it was idylic.....postcard perfect !

Apr 27th Norfolk.

Woke up at 10 past 7 this morning to a really sunny day and the sound of quacking outside the caravan.....I was greeted by the sight of a female Mallard duck and her little ducklings as soon as I opened the window.......what a wonderful vision to see first thing! Our excurtions took us to Blackney first...where I took the images of the Red Crested Pochard and the Mandarin Duck...these were taken in a Wildfowl collection.........As w drove past Burnham, I happened to see two Deer running in a field, I only managed to capture one on film though. Looming black clouds.....and rain stopped play! But there is always tomorrow....
Deer.

Red Crested Pochard (drake).

Mandarin (drake).

Mallard (with brood).

Apr 26th Norfolk.

Holidaying for a week in Norfolk.....beautiful place, beautiful scenery and a wide variety of stunning birdlife. For our first day we went to Titchwell RSPB NR....I captured the Pheasant on top of one of the picnic tables....too good a shot to miss !En route, I also took images of the windmill, Avocet and harbour at Thornham before the clouds and showers decided to descend on us.....I hope to capture more images tomorrow (weather permitting)....forever hopeful !!
Burnham.

Pheasant.

Thornham Harbour.

Avocet.

Apr 20th Moore NR.

Went to Moore NR this afternoon...it was a really hot day( well, the hottest day so far. )I had a leisurely, slow, saunter around trying to capture images of just some of God's little creatures. A very relaxing and satisfying afternoon......
Rabbit.

Gadwall.

Speckled Wood.

Green-veined White.

Apr 18th South Stack, Anglesey.

South Stack.

Yes, you've guessed it.....another glorious, sunny day! What a picturesque place South Stack is, it has everthing...a wide variety of bird life, magnificent scenery, great walks and panoramic views....(the image of the cliffs was a 400ft sheer drop) what more could you want?. I would highly recommend it as a great day out...
South Stack Lighthouse.

Sheer Drop.

Ellin's Tower.

Llama.

Apr 13th.Moore Nature reserve

Another absolutely gorgeous day....almost sunbathing weather! (17 degrees) We walked to all three hides in search of the Iceland Gulls.....we did manage to get a glimpse of them, although this was at a fair distance. I managed to get some images of the Little Grebe,Coot and Canada Goose. On my gentle amble back I spotted some wild mushrooms (or it could of been toadstools) As the sun was still warm later that day we dropped in at Meols in the hopes of catching the Spoonbill that had been reported there....we were in luck!.....I managed to get a shot of them, although they were at a distance....this was my first encounter with these lovely birds.

Apr 5th Meols, Wirral

The start to another beautiful day, we decided to visit Meols today.....which was another first. It was a nice small peaceful haven.....I took a few shots of some landed boats....merely because they appealed to me ... and a couple of Redshanks as the tide was retreating, seeing as they were so obliging.

Apr 4th Draycote Water, Warks

This was my first visit to Draycote Water...indeed Warwickshire...I was very over-awed by its sheer beauty and serenity and it was a gorgeous sunny day too! My first photo was taken from the visitors centre...what a lovely view, my second image was as we walked to Toft Bay. We managed to see a Green Winged Teal (all the way from America) although we could not manage to get a picture. We did however manage to get images of the Red-Necked Grebe and some Great Northern Divers. I had a smashing day and met a lovely bunch of birders, who made me feel extremely welcome....many thanks....On the way back we dropped in at Middleton Hall..hoping to see the Cattle Egret, we never got any shots though, just a passing glimpse, although I was quite pleased to get a shot of these Highland Cattle (minus the Cattle Egret of course).