karen's country calendar

After a 4am start and 4 1/2 hour drive, we arrived at Seahouses ready to board our boat for the day trip to the Farne Islands off the  Northumbrian coast. The weather was cool and cloudy and we were glad of our layers of clothing and fleecy hats. The trip across lasted an hour as we were given a tour round the various islands and alongside the rocky cliffs and ledges which gave an indication of the sheer volume of nesting shags, razorbills, guillemots, puffins, kittiwakes and species of gull. We were also taken to where seals were resting on the rocky spits and our boat was soon surrounded by interested seals with their heads just visible above the water.  our boat Glad Tidings seals  cliffs  cliffs seals in water Our first landing was on Outer Farne, a rocky island where we  could wander almost where were wanted, being careful not to tread on any nests of Eider ducks or gulls which were marked with small flags.   It was amazing being so close to the birds.   

The day dawned quite foggy but with the promise of brighter weather to come, we set off for  Strumpshaw Fen in the hope of seeing  the rare Swallowtail butterfly.  Although the main month for sightings is June we had heard that there were already some about. On arrival we were told there had been some sightings the previous day so we were hopeful despite the slight breeze.  We wandered round the reserve, seeing plenty of ducks and a few other butterflies but no swallowtails in sight.  At lunchtime we took a break on  a seat on a boardwalk and then suddenly spotted a butterfly fly past and disappear over our heads. Was it or wasn't it?   We carried on round the reserve keeping our eyes peeled but no swallowtails.  Then just ahead of us by a garden of a house on the edge of a reserve we noticed a group of photographers, surely this must mean they had been spotted...  but as we got closer we saw one fly off into the distance,  just seeing enough to positively identify it as the el