Pensthorpe - 25/8/2021

Its a strange thing about birdwatching that often the best nature reserves for photography are not necessarily the best place to watch birds. What am I talking about you may ask? Well Lackford lakes, although enjoyable enough doesn't attract a lot of birds, whilst at Minsmere, a treasure trove of the avian kind, I end up taking the same shot each time, usually of an avocet, teal or gull. And so the same goes for Pensthorpe. As a nature reserve it doesn't compare to the big beasts of North Norfolk like Cley or Titchwell, but it offers a much better opportunity for photography. And that adds another dimensions to birdwatching, a creative one, capturing the visual splendor of birds in a different way.

    MUTE SWAN on the river Wensum

Don't get me wrong a day out at Pensthorpe is very enjoyable. The site is a strange combination of zoo, gardens, playground and nature reserve. The reserve itself is a series of flooded gravel pits, amongst a background of woodland and grassland, set around the chalk stream of the river Wensum. At this time of year, August, these habitats were fairly quiet.

    GREY HERON stalking the WENSUM Wetlands

The usual wildfowl of gravel pits GADWALL, COOT and TUFTED DUCK were scattered around the various lakes. One of the more interesting bodies of water was the Wader Scrape, although with water levels being too high there was no mud exposed to attract that type of bird. Instead, in addition to the usual wildfowl there were a few SHOVELLER around, among the hundreds of GEESE. Also present were some TEAL on the mud around Wensum Wetland, another lake tucked into the bottom corner of Pensthorpe.

    NE-NE, or HAWAIIAN GOOSE, part of the captive population

There were a few  further sightings of interest around the reserve. On Markin's Mere, a KINGFISHER was seen in flight across the water, before perching, distantly on a branch. Around the edges of Wensum Wetland, a GREEN SANDPIPER was feeding on the mud, whilst a GREY HERON stalked the shallow waters behind.

    Newly ringed BLUE TIT

Behind the Wader Scrape there was a bird ringing demonstration going on. I arrived a little late and only arrived at the end, but I still got to see a few birds. Apparently its been a poor year, well I can attest to that, but 80 birds were ringed today, a number that beats the rest of the year's entire total. 

    Deer sculpture in one of the gardens

On various lakes and pens around the site there is a large collection of captive wildfowl. Being August and with all the males in eclipse, the ducks weren't as attractive as they could be. When they are in eclipse the males moult out of their breeding season finery and at this time of year resemble the drab, brown females.

    BARNACLE GOOSE, one of the many, half-wild birds that feed on the duck food fed to the captive        birds

Around the captive wildfowl there was a murky gang of half-wild half-escapee EGYPTIAN GEESE and BARNACLE GEESE. They were present in large numbers and thrived because they fed off the grain that children were giving to the captive wildfowl.

    BLACK WINGED STILT in the Wader Aviary

Probably the best collection at Pensthorpe is the Wader Aviary. This is a walkthrough pen where native birds are kept. In here there are waders of course, AVOCETS, STILTS, GODWITS and RUFFS, but also some unusual birds such as BEARDED TITS, CORNCRAKES and TURTLE DOVES birds that are not often kept in captivity. Its a great way to get close to species that would be challenging in the wild and allows for some decent photography.

    EURASIAN CRANE

Another good part of Pemsthorpe is the collection of CRANES. EURASIAN CRANES (our cranes), CROWNED CRANES and MANCHURIAN CRANES, were kept in pens, where public viewing was from a hide, with each of the openings looking over a different species. The Manchurian cranes had two fully grown juveniles with them, so they have bred this year. Maybe captive breeding may work, as a lot of zoos say, with the captive animals eventually adding to native populations of rarer birds. I'm not overly sure, to me zoos seem more like sensible circuses, the animals living in their own filth, being gawked at by the public . 

    Part of the Millennium Gardens

Aside from the nature reserve there are the gardens, most especially the Millennium Gardens. People with an interest in gardens get all serious when I mention them. Created by Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf, at the turn of the millennium, they remain one of the best examples of his work. I don't know much about gardening but they were very attractive at this time of year, with lots of flowers in bloom.

    GREAT TIT

I started the post stating Pensthorpe wasn't great for birds, yet finish the post entirely stating the opposite. Sometimes seeing rare birds and large spectaculars isn't everything in the birding world. You can go to places like Pensthorpe and still get the full wildlife experience, and leave as satisfied as any visit to one of the North Norfolk big reserves. I thoroughly recommend a visit and it is handy that it offers something of interest for pretty much everyone.

 

Titchwell - 24/8/2021

A strange sight of a LITTLE EGRET feeding in rock pools on the tidal edge

With Cley done it was inevitable that I should spend my second day in North Norfolk at Titchwell. Similar to Cley, Titchwell is an expanse of reedbeds, scrapes and beach, that provides a haven for many birds, often attracting some unusual ones. Its a great place for WADERS, and a trip at this time of year usually guarantees a sight of some of the scarcer common species. But with winds not being particularly kind (the sort that would blow a rare migrant off course), and with not much being about in particular, I wasn't expecting much.

TEAL, Freshwater Marsh

Having take nthe bus, I stepped off, outside the reserve, and walked within, with that air of expectation as to what I'm going to see. The footpath through the reserve is one long line which runs perpendicular from the car park, with its visitors centre (and a nice coffee), to the beach. It traverses a succession of habitats that range from woodland around the car park, through reeds, freshwater scrapes, tidal systems, before eventually finishing at the beach and the sea, the natural end point for all habitats on this island.

SWAN, Patsy's Pool, with TEAL and a SHOVELLER behind

As you would expect from this time of year, the reedbed was quiet, the pools holding small numbers of ducks. A GREAT WHITE EGRET was about turning up at different points at the reedbed pools, preferring the deeper water found within the reeds, to the shallower water present further on.

Sleeping AVOCETS, Freshwater Marsh. At this time of year, at this time of day, most birds are asleep.

It wasn't until I got to Freshwater Marsh that things stared getting interesting. This body of shallow water is the best point of the reserve, where mud caused by receding water levels over the summer attract plenty of DUCKS and WADERS. However, recent habitat management has meant large diggers were working here, which has scared away the ducks but the waders didn't seem to mind, even though they kept a safe distance. The habitat management is taking place to create more islands for nesting waders, particularly AVOCETS, and doing it at this time of year results in less disturbance, rather than doing it in the breeding or wintering seasons.

The swanky looking Parrinder Hide, the Freshwater Marsh infront, its just not as cozy as your older hides.

And on Freshwater Marsh there were plenty of AVOCETS lingering from the breeding season, and with the work going on, they will only increase. Also about were usual collection of WADERS you would expect to see on a North Norfolk scrape. These birds will be on Autumn migration, heading away from breeding grounds to their wintering ones. Most populous were RUFF with around 50 present, lots of BLACKWITS and 15 GOLDEN PLOVERS a good number for the time of year. Just as at Cley a CURLEW SANDPIPER was present in a flock of the similar looking DUNLIN, as they always seem to at this time of year, birds often join flocks of similar looking species, I guess because they are just lonely, at a site like this on their own, they just want to make friends.

Recent management work on Freshwater Marsh, creating new islands

Also present on Freshwater Marsh, on the exposed mud before the reeds, was a juvenile WATER RAIL, a common bird of reedbeds, they're just so bloody hard to see! They spend all their time skulking about and never like being away from cover for long. They have a call like a screaming pig, which you hear quite often erupting out of the reeds. 

Diggers working on Freshwater Marsh, creating new habitat

As the path gets closer to the beach it passes a series of tidal pools, designed to reduce the pressures of rising sea levels on the reserve. Volunteer Marsh was looking good and has now become overgrown with saltmarsh, which is good as its fairly new in construction. However, there were few birds on these pools, so it was a further trudge to the beach.

Volunteer Marsh, tidal and now nicely overgrown with saltmarsh

And then it comes on you unawares, the climax of the walk down the reserve, the beach itself. The path walks out on the dunes, and there you are hit by an endless horizon, sand for miles and miles in both direction, with the sea in front of you, making you pine for the safe closeted land of the nature reserve.

WADERS feeding on the beach

On the edge of the sea water WADERS fed, different kinds to the ones found on Freshwater Marsh. Here are the species that enjoy a saltier snack. They particularly enjoyed a mussel bed exposed by the receding tide. BAR TAILED GODWIT, CURLEW, OYSTERCATCHER, REDSHANK, TURNSTONE and SANDERLING were about. The latter are a grey/white colour and run up and down the tide line looking like wind-up toys.

GREAT WHITE EGRET stalking Patsy's Pool

To get away from the beach its the same walk back again to the visitors centre. Just off the main path, back near the car park, a small trail along a boardwalk takes you through reeds until you get to Patsy's Pool, an artificial pool now returned back to reedbed, Here all the WATERFOWL had concentrated, mainly GADWALL, but with plenty of COOT, SHOVELLER and POCHARD. The GREAT WHITE EGRET was also about stalking any fish that happened to be out in the open.

More AVOCET, Freshwater Marsh

A quiet time at Titchwell then, but you can't really expect more. Birds are never very predictable at the best of times, which makes watching them so interesting, if frustrating. August is always low energy, a lazy time of little consequence to the birds. The usual were about, there were no surprise omissions, it was just business as usual. And that is a sort of satisfactory thing to report. 

Cley Marshes - 23/8/2021

SPOONBILL, Simmond's Scrape

This was my first visit to North Norfolk in nearly a year, a welcome return to one of the best birdwatching areas in the country, a chance to see the two reserves of Cley and Titchwell. Both these sites are great for birds, and are very evenly matched when compared side to side but if I was forced to pick a favouirte, I would have to go with Cley.

Pat's Pool from Bishop's Hide, a typical scrape, a series of shallow water and mud

A series of scrapes within wet grassland and reedbeds, Cley is a haven for migrant birds, which descend on the Norfolk coast at this time of year. WADERS are the main focus, as late August is the time when Autumn migration reaches a peak for them, although things seem a little late this year, or maybe its just  a poor year. I'm still holding out for greater things to come.

Male RUFF, Pat's Pool, they are present in large numbers at the present

The main focal point of the reserve are the two freshwater scrapes, Pat's Pool and Simmond's Scrape, overlooked by a series of hides, although one hide was closed  as SWALLOWS were nesting inside. These scrapes are looking quite good with lots of mud providing food for the waders to feed on as they pass through. Pat's Pool, the largest scrape was crammed full of birds. A CURLEW SANDPIPER was present looking like a similar DUNLIN, although the CW is more elegant, has a more curved bill, longer legs, and a more elegant shape. Also present were two SPOTTED REDSHANK, an adult and juvenile, a KNOT, a GREEN SANDPIPER, and 24 RUFF. 

Simmond's Scrape

From one of the scape hides, what must be one of the strangest sights of the day was observed. A BITTERN was seen flying high over the reserve, just about seen as a speck in the sky. Was this a migrant having arrived on these shores from abroad or a wandering local? Whatever, it was my first record for Cley, my first flying so high, and an unusual record for August.

Family of SWANS

On the nearby Simmond's Scrape things were a bit more quiet, with proceedings dominated by a SPOONBILL, standing astride the shallow water but mainly staying asleep, with its head tucked in. A LITTLE STINT present here was also good, the smallest of the scarcer common waders. Also around were a GREEN SAND and a SNIPE. Several BEARDED TITS were seen here, coming out from the reeds to feed on the exposed mud before. On the Scrapes there were plenty of TEAL, with smaller numbers of other commoner ducks, typically asleep, with their heads tucked in. Ducks can at times be low energy.

BLACK TAILED GODWIT, Pat's Pool

Upon walking out of the hides and along the boardwalk, a BROWN HARE graced me with its presence, bursting forth from the reeds, running along the path before disappearing again.

Young SHELDUCK, all the adults have migrated to the Baltic

The reserve footpath is basically a square shape. One side is the East Bank, a footpath with reedbeds on the west side, and grazing marsh on the other, eventually leading up to the sea. Within the grazing marsh there were a good assortment of pools and scrapes, gradually becoming more saline as they got closer to the sea. Arnold's Marsh is the final pool, nestled just behind the dunestack. A large pool, its a good spot for esturarine WADERS, such as DUNLIN, CURLEW, REDSHANK and TURNSTONE. Also present were a decent number of roosting SANDWICH TERNS on the various islands, this is a good site for this bird.

East Bank

Another of the side of the square of paths is the sea, walking along the dunes with the reserve to the south. Things were a bit quieter round here, with only a few GANNETS flying lazily offshore. Small flocks of WADERS were flying up and down the coast, with some SANDERLING being the most interesting.

TOAD waiting to be trodden on, path to Blakeney

From Cley Marshes I had a walk to Blakeney as I was staying at a hotel there. The route from Cley traversed the river bank along Blakekney Fresh Marsh, an area of rough grassland, grazed by cattle and sheep. Its not a nature reserve, but is fairly overgrown, with lots of reeds growing amongst the grazed areas. It was pretty quiet with the usual birds of open grassland. A typically brief STOAT was good as well as a TOAD sitting on the footpath, waiting to be trod on.

Blakeney Fresh Marsh, looking towards Cley village, with its windmill

In the end it was a fairly standard August day on the North Norfolk coast, seeing pretty much what I expected to see, with a few strange sightings adding to the mix. North Norfolk is one of the best areas for birdwatching in the country, so a visit up there is always worthwhile, even if nothing much is around. I cannot complain though, especially as I get to spend my time doing a hobby I love, in places that I'm also so fond of. It can be a hard life at times.

Hen Reedbeds & Blyth Estuary 13/8/2021

If there's one bird you can guarantee on seeing its the WOOD PIGEON

In the birdwatching world not too many places that can be like Minsmere, the kind of reserve that packs the birds in no matter what season. Even the best places can be quiet in the off season. So it was on a very quiet day that I went over to visit Hen Reedbeds. It was your typical August day, low on spectacle and low on energy. There wasn't really anything to see on the reserve, but I decided to include a post for completion's sake.

Typical landscape of the area, cow grazed fields along the river valley

Hen Reedbeds is a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve, where they have flooded a river valley and let it become overgrown with reeds. It sits beside the Blyth Estuary, and with all estuaries timing is important as birding is always dependent on the tides and how much mud is exposed. As is the case when you don't plan for tides they are always either too high or too low, always at a height that's not best for birds. So today the tide was high and as a result there was little to see from the estuary. Walking along Hen Reedbeds there were a lot of BLACKWITS, with smaller numbers of  CURLEW, OYSTERCATCHERS and DUNLIN on the rapidly disappearing mud. Apart from that there were few birds on the reserve, the reedbeds were quiet as they are at this time.

The estuary at Blythburgh

From Hen Reedbed I travelled down to have a look at the estuary at Blythburgh, and again the tide was high, with little mud for birds to feed on. There was a large flocks of REDSHANK roosting on the artificial banks on the side of the A12, before flying off across the estuary, they must have numbered around 300 in total. Also present here was a WHIMBREL, a smaller, similar looking, cousin of the curlew, my first of the Autumn, and an iconic bird of the estuary. 

Blythburgh church stands imperious above the Blyth river valley

From Blythburgh I walked inland for a couple of miles along the river Blyth. Here the river, although thin, was still tidal. The landscape was of little use for agriculture, except a few grazing cows, so the area was fairly overgrown and left to nature. A KINGFISHER flew along the river and across some fields, probably the best bird of the day. Several COMMON SANDS were about, a wader that doesn't like flocks, with its bobbing tail and distinctive call, they usually hung around on their own. 

Its here that the local Wildlife Trust wants to introduce ospreys, which if it comes to fruition is a good idea, as it might lead to more wildlife conservation being implemented in the area as well as bringing in the ecopounds to the region. Money and wildlife conservation can live hand in hand, they aren't two opposing ideologies always in conflict with each other. Ecotourism brings a lot of benefits to the Suffolk Coast, that other rural areas don't get, and it benefits the local communities around here.

The GREAT MULLEIN, this triffid like plant was growing to at least three metres high

An uneventful post for a rather uneventful day, and despite the effort I put in, and no matter how good a bird watcher I am, if there's no birds there's there's nothing to see, and nothing to write about. This area of the world is usually good for birds its just the high tide and a crap August day that did for it. Sometimes birdwatching is like this, some may say a lot of times. However if you're not an experienced birdwatcher don't think this is what its always like, pointlessly walking round a birdless countryside. Birdwatching is a highly rewarding pastime that allows a person to spend time in nature, to see another world away from modern life.

Minsmere - 6/8/2021

Pair of AVOCETS

Autumn is gearing up, and there's an air of excitement as new and rare birds are being reported from the main reserves along the Suffolk Coast. At the moment the return migration is dominated by the movement of WADERS, as they take the long, relaxed route back to their wintering grounds.

Pair of CANADA GEESE

Minsmere is always good for migrant waders, a welcome pit stop for tired birds travelling across the land. The Scrape, a world famous habitat of shallow water and islands, is particularly good for attracting them. Usually as the year reaches August the shallow water dries out and lots of fabulous mud is exposed, great feeding refuges for waders. However with the intense rains over the summer water levels remain high and therefore there is little mud to attract this family of birds. Despite all this a decent assortment were about and I saw fifteen species of this type of bird. The birds were constantly on the move, flocks flying in and out, seeming to ride in front of the brief rain squalls which drenched the land. Luckily I was able to dodge this weather and was able to ride out the fierce rain storms in the hides.

Looking across West Scrape to Sizewell B, an ugly eyesore that dominates the landscape

This time of year is always good for picking up rarities, those birds that have got lost on their journey. There were a couple today, a WHITE RUMPED-SANDPIPER and a PECTORAL SANDPIPER. The white rump was the rarest and took a bit more finding as it was hidden for a while, it eventually appeared with a small flock of DUNLIN. From that flock of little waders I was able to tell the white rump apart, with its white eye stripe, and its well named white rump when it flew off to another part of the Scrape. Its a bird that originated from America and may have been blown here by some storm. Also from America, another bird that made its way across the pond and is now destined to wander the marshes of Europe, is the PEC SAND. This bird was much easier to find, hanging around an island in front of East Hide. Neither of the two birds were particularly impressive, mainly little brown jobs (LBJs), the kind of birds people rib twitchers over.

LAPWING

At this time of year one species I always like to see is the SPOTTED REDSHANK, a bird that peaks earlier in the Autumn period. Its a more refined version of our commoner redshank, much more elegantly shaped, and with a cleaner colour, and is found only on migration. Today there was a decent number of 25 present, with 15 on East Scrape and 10 on South Scrape. Most have now moulted out of their jet back summer plumage, although one was still nattily attired. Ruff were also about with 7 on East Scrape and 1 on South Scrape, although like the spotshanks they had now moulted out of their summer plumage and now just had browny upperparts with a white underneath, a bit like a big redshank.

Birds on West Scrape

Lots of AVOCET were still about, and on West Scrape hundreds of GODWIT. The usual August ensemble cast of waders were present, this included small numbers of  COMMON SAND, GREEN SAND, TRUNSTONE and RINGED PLOVER, with single SNIPE and GREENSHANK, all dispersed around the Scrape. 

TERN Island, East Scrape

Outside of waders August can be fairly quiet. The breeding season has pretty much finished, and the excessively hot weather means a lot of birds were keeping themselves undercover during the warmer hours of the day. Some of the COMMON TERNS were still nesting, with a few older chicks about, big balls of brown fluff, although most had fledged. Of the hundreds of SANDWICH TERNS present over the Summer, all had left as had all the LITTLE TERNS. All the GULLS had left as well.

Cows grazing the Levels, creating the perfect habitat for wintering wildfowl

There were some further highlights from the reserve. As soon as I got into North Hide, and literally the first bird I saw at Minsmere today was a BITTERN flying across right in front of me. I seldom see this brown reedbed heron in August, and never from the North Hide, what a sighting it made. Over the Konik Fields, a HOBBY was in flight, although the other specialist breeding raptor, the MARSH HARRIERS, were about only in small numbers.

The herd of KONIK ponies, on the aptly named Konik Fields

Just outside the reserve, but still visible from the beach, the sea was still and turquoise and out on this blue expanse several GANNETS were about, a bird that is not so common off the Suffolk coast. There were also lots of TERNS flying down the coast migrant birds on the move as they head south from their northern breeding colonies.

Island Mere, a large lake in the reedbeds

DUCK numbers were low on the Scrape, but on Island Mere, a large lake in the vast reedbeds, there was a nice number of moulting wildfowl. Over 150 GADWALL were present, with 20 SWANS and 10 GREAT CRESTED GREBES, as well as one still nesting, grebes as a species have a long breeding period. The strangest thing about Island Mere Hide was there was no people in there. Usually its a busy hide as people search for the reedbed specialties that can be seen from here. This lack of people was a first for me and maybe one of the strangest sightings of the day.

The Sluice maintains water coming in and out of the Scrape

A pretty solid showing for the Grand Old Reserve, with, in the end, around 65 species seen, a good total, although they were mostly the common fodder, but I had some unusual sightings as well. It was a good showing for August which can be a tricky time, too hot, or no birds, and as usual the wading birds were the stars. It wont be long until wading bird migration will hit its peak, usually in a couple of weeks, with smaller song birds starting to move a bit later. Hopefully exciting times await. As always, good birding to you all.

Wolves Wood & Groton Wood - 28/7/2021

RED ADMIRALS were abundant in the sunny glades

I took a trip over to Hadleigh today and a quick visit to the two nearby woodland reserves of Wolves Wood and Groton Wood two of the best forests in Suffolk. Its been while since I had last been over that way, since way back in mid May, a lapse I can blame on no other reason than I've just been really busy. Being late July, the peak time for woodland wildlife has come to an end, and so things were a bit quiet and as a result I didn't really see much. However I just decided to write a post about it for completeness and because despite the lack of any sightings, I enjoyed the visit. And isn't that what counts?

Rides cut through the forest like green lungs of light

Wolves Wood is an RSPB reserve situated along the main Hadleigh road, its more open than Groton, but thick with coppice stools, and full of rides and glades. Groton, a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve, is very much out in the sticks, away from civilisation, and has a much taller canopy, and a lot of ponds. All the woodland flowers peaked a long time ago, so there wasn't any magnificent displays you expect from a trip in, say, May, but everything was lush and verdant, due to the wet summer we have experienced.

Dead hedging made from the coppiced trees

The chirping of small birds alerted me to any avian activity. July is a quiet time for birds, they have stopped singing, and most of the nests have fledged their young. A lot of the birds are flocking now, mainly TITS, with lots of recently fledged young birds forming them. In Wolves Wood, one of these flocks contained a MARSH TIT, a bird I hadn't caught up with yet this year, which was a nice bonus. 

MEADOWSWEET grew in the wetter glades

Although these reserves are predominantly wooded lots of different micro habitats occur within. The woods opened up into glades, where wildflowers like MEADOWSWEET grew and where BUTTERFLIES danced under the sun. Two FRITTILERY butterflies were present, of which kind I'm not sure, as well as more commoner species, like the WHITES, RED ADMIRALS and others. Rides cut their way through the trees, green roads carrying light throughout the forests. Most have been cut now, as the wildflowers have turned to seed. Also, especially in Groton, lots of ponds cut as deep as the trees' roots into the ground.

The path through the forest

So a fairly uneventful blog, and one that has been easy to write for a change. Ancient woodlands in many ways remind me of cathedrals, they have that same air of awe inspiring power, a place in which you can never speak louder than a whisper. These are sacred places, our last link back to our primordial selves, an ever changing landscape that at the same time forms a permanent bond to our most distant past. Woodland makes up such a small part of our landscape, yet is the most important habitat for wildlife. Maybe with new plans to plant more trees to combat climate change forests will once again become a dominant feature of our countryside.