Views of Norfolk

Several days spent in a converted windmill next to the river Yare in the Norfolk Broads provided plenty of opportunities for wildlife encounters not usually seen in Oxfordshire.

The north Norfolk coast is a mecca for birdspotters, but it is the seals on Blakeney point we came to see:

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Both types of UK resident seal (grey and common seal) can be seen via one of the several boat trips out to the seal colonies:
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The birds that make Blakeney and Clay marshes famous are usually absent in September, the summer breeders have left and the winter migrants have not yet returned, but the occasional visitor can be seen, including a black tern.  A bird that has not breed in the UK since the 19th century, so this is probably a migrant from Europe:
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From the windmill itself a stoat could be seen hunting (although never successfully).  Stoats are very common throughout England (a population of several hundred thousand is estimated in the Collins complete guide to British Animals) and although I have seen them on several occasions in Oxfordshire, this is the first time I've actually managed to get a photograph:
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The broads and fens are a great place to explore and the RSPB reserve at Strumpshaw Fen is a particular gem, wading birds, marsh harriers flying overhead and the opportunity for what is probably the best kingfisher photograph I'll take:
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