Somehow I have got behind on posts again, and it’s not due to lack of adventures. Spring is proving wet, green, and very noisy with choirs of warblers that pretend to be invisible as they shout at extra volume from riverside tangle. Sometimes they slip up and permit a glimpse – I saw this sedge warbler in the Broads earlier this week.
To warblers, the Norfolk Broads – England’s premier wetland – is reeds and spiky bushes. To humans, it is the strange marriage between energy production and conservation; long ago, peat was dug under Norfolk’s vast skies, and the resulting depressions flooded into shallow lakes. Tidal rivers ebb and flow past them, and clouds buckle overhead.
And birds paint many colours. Great crested grebes, our most elegant dancers, brighten even the sunniest day.
Common terns sport a more modest uniform, but their nickname of sea-swallow hints at their airborne grace.
As for Broads royalty – he was the prime goal of Saturday’s voyage. It’s two centuries since ospreys bred here, but the persistant residence of this male at Ranworth Broad is giving hope that he might find a mate. Not easy to get a photo at that range from the water, so apologies for the quality, but his black and white splendour was still very special to see.
I suspect he approves of his kingdom. I certainly did.
A Walk with Wildlife 
Nice photos, Adele.
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Thanks Anneli.
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Great shots, Adele. I hope a female osprey comes along soon!
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I hope so! Or next year, at least.
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Great captures, Adele. I hope the osprey finds some company!
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Well, he has lots of human admirers in the meantime!
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What a beautiful outing!
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The Norfolk Broads are magical, especially in the spring when warblers are singing loud music in the reeds and bushes 🙂
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If osprey was on that tree (last photo) then you did a good job with that photo. Unless you have a 600mm lens, every attempt to make a decent looking photograph is futile.
I like a grebe photo!
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That wasn’t the osprey’s tree, but he was a long distance off (they aren’t taking the boat too close for risk of disturbing him). The grebes are much easier but I never tire of seeing them and their zebra-striped chicks 🙂
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Ospreys are magnificent. I see from the discussion that they are taking care not to disturb him, which is good to know. The sedge warbler is very pretty!
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Yes, he’s being well looked after, and trends to hang out in places that are inaccessible except for Norfolk WT boats. I haven’t heard anything about a female osprey joining him though so I guess it won’t be this year.
I’ve seen a couple of Cetti’s warblers lately (I mean, actually seen them, rather than just heard them shouting). Seems to be a good year for migrant birds – swallows and swifts here too.
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