BEAVERS on the river Tay - May 2023

Around ten years ago an unlikely creature turned up on the river Tay in Scotland. No one knew where they came from, whether they were released or escapees, it remains a mystery. Of course the creature we're talking about is the beaver. Extinct in this country for four hundred years, these animals have made a welcome come back. Easily dove tailing into a landscape that desperately needed them, they are now thankfully classed as fully wild and protected.

In mid May 2023 I took a week long holiday at Aberfeldy in Perthshire, Scotland. Walking the local area, the beavers were much in evidence. They had taken up residence in a deserted golf course across the river from Aberfeldy. This was pretty much a public park, used by joggers and dog walkers, yet the beavers were fine with it. They had taken to living in a ditch that branched off from the main river. Little dams had been constructed holding the water back, creating little reservoirs, and the local trees had been gnawed by their legendary teeth.

On the first night I got a good view of a beaver as it came up from the main river onto a dam, and then dived into the ditch where I lost it in the stagnant water. For the next couple of days I would again catch brief views, usually ended by a big splash as the animals escaped from me. It was becoming one of those ones where I came so close, yet unable to get a decent photo...

And so it came to the last night and it was a case of getting photo or going back home with nothing. It was 19:00 hours when I wandered down to the deserted golf course to look for the beavers. Creeping round their homely ditch, I took steps with great care trying not to disturb any beavers in the area. Finally I caught sight of one in the water, top part exposed. It swam down the ditch, and I cautiously followed. Tree branches got in the way of the camera and I couldn't get a decent shot. The beaver swam on, occasionally diving, so often I had to guess its position underwater by the trail of bubbles. 

I think the beaver got used to my presence as eventually it got out of the water, and started gnawing on some tree. Again I didn't get good enough views as the area was fairly overgrown. The beaver would carry on like this, going in and out of the water, plodding along. And I followed, desperate for a photo but not wanting to scare the animal. Time wore on and I was wondering if it just wasn't my day, when suddenly the beaver climbed up the bank, across the ditch from me, and I had a clear shot! For several minutes the beaver posed, completely aware of my presence, yet deciding I was safe. I got some good photos, and actual proof I had seen a beaver, which is all I wanted.

In a world as naturally sterile as the UK, we may think that there isn't the space for animals like beavers. Yet the repopulation of our rivers by them proves there is a lot of room for these larger animals in our countryside. They are such popular animals, an animal that is known by most people, and may inspire people to take a greater interest in nature. And for me it was a memorable way to spend the evenings of my holiday in Scotland.

And So It Goes: The End of Suffolk Birdwatcher

After more than six years its now time to end my birdwatching blog. For some time the number of people reading my blog has declined until a week before I decided to finish I had two views, less than a view every two days. If out of the billions of people on the internet, only two people are reading my blog in a week, its a sure sign no one's interested. This lack of interest was a sign to stop writing and end my blog, and so I arrived at the decision to finish suffolkbirdwatcher.

I have always enjoyed writing my blog, and at times it felt almost like someone was accompanying me out in the field birdwatching. The photos I took were all taken in mind with what I would put up on my blog, and I often went round those nature reserves composing what to write in my head. A great deal of thought went into the blogs, but not any longer.

And so after 433 posts and so far nearly 15,000 reads, it all comes to an end, as everything does. A lot of me has gone into these pages, a lot of effort and creativity, I have all put up there for everyone to see. And no one's particularly interested, which is fine, the blog was always a bit niche, a bit too esoteric so I wasn't expecting much popularity in the first place. But I was sure that at least someone in the entire world might be interested...but I was wrong.

Although this blog is coming to an end, I will still go out birding, I mean nothing is going to stop me doing that, but my sightings will remain private, written up in some journal, for only myself to read. And I will still be birdwatching in the glorious county of Suffolk, I mean I do still live here, and I still think its still the best county for birds, no argument.

These will be the last words ever written by me on this blog, and if you've been following me then thank you very much, and if you are a casual reader welcome to the end of my blog. All things come to an end, and, as ever, good luck, and good birding!

North Warren - 1/12/2022

Male PINTAIL are stunning birds, the most elegant of ducks

The huge numbers of wildfowl that used to come to our shores for the winter now seem to be a thing of the past. The recent mild winters have not provided favourable conditions for the birds to arrive, and now more birds are wintering on the continent, where conditions are more suitable. That's good for Dutch birders, but for us English ones its creating an eerie atmosphere of empty marshlands devoid of birds. That was the case with North Warren today, a place where even four or five years ago, thousands of ducks were present, but today they numbered just in the hundreds. It doesn't help that, despite recent heavy rain, water levels are still low for this time of year, and the grasslands just haven't flooded much, not providing the favourable conditions for the birds.

Marshland at North Warren

For a lot of the year North Warren is just a large area of grassland and is therefore not of much interest to the birdwatcher. But for a few months in winter, these grasslands flood, which in the past attracted large numbers of wildfowl. The reserve is famous for its wintering GEESE, often harbouring one of the largest flock of WHITE FRONTED GEESE in the country. With the recent mild weather, expectations were low as very few birds had been recorded so far this winter. I still thought it was worth a look though in the off chance something had turned up. The geese are usually encountered on the northern section, and looking from the viewpoint I was able to count 45 birds, the majority newly in from the continent. With them were two PINK FOOTS, my first sighting at North Warren of this species. In a more drier area was a large flock of several hundred BARNACLE GEESE, the majority of which will have descended from birds that have escaped from captivity on the continent. As geese do, they stretch out in a long line rather than forming any other kind of shape to their flock.

A preening male SHOVELLER

Of the flooding, most of it was on the southern section, and although duck numbers weren't particularly high there were good numbers of PINTAIL, as well as the usual WIGEON and TEAL. A JACK SNIPE was seen in flight from second viewing screen along from Aldeburgh. A female MARSH HARRIER also flew over, causing a few birds to flee, but in general they were blasé of the big raptor.

A female STONECHAT

Mild conditions have benefitted STONECHATS greatly, these little birds get decimated by hard winters, and are fortunately one of the few birds that are doing well, in Suffolk at least. Three birds were present today as usual favouring a nice perch in full view. Large numbers of BLACKBIRD were about, no doubt birds in from the continent. Conversely only singles of REDWING and FIELDFARE were about, this doesn't seem to be a good winter for them, as with the wildfowl, probably down to the mild winter so far.

An assortment of sleeping ducks

So not really the best of days, but its good to see there are still birds out there in our countryside. The mild weather is really confusing a lot of our wildlife, and its quite eerie to see the leaves still on the trees in December. What we need is for a blast of coldness to bring in those hard winter birds, and then maybe the spectacle of thousands of birds inhabiting our wetlands will again be something we can still witness. 

Hollesley Marshes - 24/11/2022

The scrape with the Hollesley Bay Penal Colony behind

Hollesley is not perhaps the most famous of RSPB reserves, but among local birdwatchers its gaining a reputation of attracting some unusual birds, especially in winter. The reserve contains areas of flooded grassland, with drier areas on the higher grounds towards the back, but the centrepiece of the reserve is the scrape. This habitat is an area of water literally scraped out of the soil, lying beneath the shadow of the prison behind. This habitat consists of very shallow water with islands, set amongst grassland. This habitat attracts large numbers of birds to nest, as well as winter, in Hollesley's case, good numbers of waders. At this time of year the birder's mind wanders to thoughts of wintering geese arriving on our shores, but unfortunately so far with the mild weather, very few of those birds have turned up on the Suffolk Coast. 

Shingle Street in the glare. Hollesley Marshes is pretty poor for photography as the birds never get close enough to take a picture, and the landscape is pretty flat and uninspiring.

On approaching the scrape, things didn't look too promising, as the only birds present seemed to be a large flock of GULLS roosting on an island. In among this group there were many types of species, of various ages and plumages but with a bit  of diligence I was able to spot three adult CASPIAN GULLS among the throng. Identifying gulls can be daunting at the best of times, and can be quite a headache for even a seasoned birder like myself. Caspian gulls are basically the type of herring gull to be found in the Black Sea area. At this time of year they can be easily be told apart from the similar herring gulls by a clear unmarked head (the herring gulls have a grey streaking to their head), in essence looking like large kittiwakes. 

A male STONECHAT see along the path to the river wall

With a closer look more birdlife was revealed on the scrape, with lots of ducks tucked round the edges of the water. Wildfowl numbers were still fairly low, the mild conditions don't really benefit the large numbers you usually get with hard winters. As is usual for this type of habitat the largest number of ducks were of TEAL and WIGEON, with a decent number of PINTAIL also showing up. The small flocks of SHOVELLER were graced by a leucisitic bird, an almost all white duck, which has been hanging around for a while, and small numbers of GADWALL were also about.

The river wall heading north, with the pill box around a concrete fence, created in the Second World War.

Three MARSH HARRIERS were around, hunting the surrounding grasslands, all of them females. These graceful raptors are always majestic to see, and no matter how common they have become in this part of the country, I never tire of watching them. A pair of STONECHATS were in a bramble bush along the path to the river wall, as usual perched right on the very top, always posing themselves. On the estuarial river Ore the tide was up, and only a SEAL was about, with a few REDSHANK flying up and down river. This is close to where the river Ore meets the sea, and large numbers of CORMARANTS rest on the shingle banks of Orford Ness, drying their wings after successful fishing, in preparation of going back into the water.

The river wall south to Shingle Street

This was a bit of a rush job today, I didn't really having the time to spend longer, or to visit anywhere else. That's the beauty of Hollesley, its small size means it can be done in a hour, and is also in close proximity to other reserves along the coast like Boyton, which you can visit briefly as well. To be honest I was only looking for the caspian gulls to add to my yearlist, as they are easier to identify at this time of year. Around the turn of the year our herring gulls lose the grey streaking and resemble caspians, meaning I will have to get into anal plumage details to tell them apart. Such is the fun of birdwatching.

Minsmere - 10/11/2022

COAL TIT and BLUE TIT on the Visitor Centre bird feeders

November can be a strange month, Autumn is pretty much over and Winter is yet to come. As a result it can be a quiet time and is probably the month in which I have seen the fewest species. November is chiefly a month of wildfowl, when winter birds arrive after fleeing the cold weather on the continent. Minsmere is a good place to see the arrival of these winter birds, and having not visited for a couple of months decided to go have a look in the off chance something rare had turned up. The recent temperatures have been mild, which has resulted in only small numbers of winter birds turning up so far.

The empty West Scrape

Unfortunately wildfowl were low on the ground across the reserve. To preserve the large colony of breeding birds on the Scrape, a lot of maintenance work is needed to provide optimum conditions for them to nest on. This time of year is usually the time when maintenance work is carried out, so as to cause the least disturbance. As a result there has been massive disturbance on the Scrape, and only South Scrape held any birds, the other parts were empty. Reeds had been cut back from the edges, and the islands had been dug up to get rid of any vegetation on them, as most breeding birds on the Scrape need open areas to nest in. Usually if birds are disturbed from the Scrape, they usually fly to the Levels, the area of wet grassland in the south of the reserve, but with water levels still low there, the area was unable to sustain any birds. Island Mere, a place that is usually a good bet for ducks, was also pretty empty, the area of reeds in front of the hide had been cut back.

TEAL and LAPWING on South Scrape

There were still a few DUCKS and GEESE about though. Most interesting was a PINK FOOTED GOOSE, among a flock of GREYLAGS around the pool on the Levels. The Pink-Foot was a lot smaller than the greylags, and had a darker plumage, and also the bird had a dark bill, with a slight bit of pink on it. Although a common winter bird in Norfolk, its fairly unusual this far south in Suffolk, and this is only my second record for Minsmere. The usual TEAL, WIGEON, SHOVELLER and GADWALL were present on South Scrape, along with a female PINTAIL, a fairly scarce bird at Minsmere. 

Sizewell Nuclear Power Stations loom over the reserve

In the winter months WADERS are usually absent from Minsmere, and not much was about today. Two AVOCETS, and a TURNSTONE hanging out with the flock of fifty or so LAPWING on South Scrape. A YELLOW LEGGED GULL was a nice find on South Scrape, a bird almost identical to a herring gull, the obvious difference between these two birds are the leg colour, but it also had a cleaner head than the nearby herring's it hung out with. This bird is the form of herring gull found around the Mediterranean, and is  a pretty common bird down there, occasionally wandering up to England. 

South Scrape

One of my favourite birds is the BULLFINCH, a very charismatic bird, beautifully plumaged, with a black cap, a rich rose chest, a grey back, and a big old bill, as well as its distinctive white rump when seen in flight. Its melancholy call is very distinctive and is a good way to look for them in the bushes they hang out in. Today two males were present, one in the North Bushes, and one in the Sluice Bushes in the Dunes, the typical bushy habitat of this bird. I often see them at this time of year, and the birds are probably migrants in from the continent. Minsmere is a very good place to see STONECHATS, and five were present today, one along the North Wall, and four on the Dunes, they are very showy birds, always perched on a bush, ready to be appreciated. An unusual visitor to Minsmere was a KINGFISHER which was briefly seen flying across the back of Island Mere, alighting on a reed before disappearing behind. At the visitor centre, the bird feeders are a good place to appreciate the huge numbers of the smaller birds that call Minsmere home. In among the large number of commoner birds there were plenty of COAL TITS, with singles of NUTHATCH and MARSH TIT. 

The sea of reeds at Minsmere

A quiet showing at Minsmere made by disturbance caused by maintenance work on the Scrape. As a result birding was brief as a look in North, East and West Hides produced no birds, as the areas in front of them were empty. These things are bloody annoying, but in the end are necessary for the thousands of birds that make Minsmere home in the summer months, which create the spectacle us birdwatchers come for. A place as good as Minsmere needs an intensive upkeep to keep it so good, as intensively managed as any farm.

Hen Reedbeds - 25/10/2022

LITTLE EGRET

Its been a quiet Autumn so far in Suffolk, with few rarities reported and very low numbers of the more common species. With nothing particularly around I chose to have a visit to Hen Reedbeds, just for the simple fact I haven't been there for a while. In the end it was a quiet day down there, the reed fronds gently swaying in the breeze. The reserve was created around the millennium when a river valley was allowed to grow into a reedbed, and borders the Blythe Estuary, providing some nice scenery and skies that go on forever.

Hide overlooking the reeds

For some reason it was an exceptional high tide, and it was in, meaning there were few birds out on the Blythe Estuary. For some reason few birds were roosting on the marshes or surrounding fields, so I have no idea where they all were. There were a few TEAL and WIGEON on the pools but that was about it. A GREAT WHITE EGRET flew over, heading west, a bird that has pretty much conquered all the Suffolk Coast. Just the one MARSH HARRIER was about, and plenty of WATER RAIL were squealing from the reeds.

A pool among the reeds

A feature of this time of year is the large amount of BEARDED TITS usually heard but occasionally seen on the reserve. In a big reedbed like the one here, they nest in large numbers, and when October comes, these bird "erupt" from their home territory, the tits literally rising from the reedbeds, to go find wintering grounds elsewhere. The Beardies were everywhere twittering out there metallic "pinging" call, with the odd bird arising from the reeds, to be briefly seen. There were two STONECHAT about, as you would expect, and the mild weather brought some CETTI'S WARBLERS out to thunder out their song. Some REDWINGS were by the furthest hide, a bird I haven't seen much of so far this Autumn, but in general things were quiet.

One of the horses grazing the reeds

I don't usually check the rare bird alerts on the internet, but some birdwatchers I met at Hen Reedbeds told me there was a DUSKY WARBLER over at Southwold, just up the road. This bird is your typical Little Brown Job, but I  hadn't seen one so I went to have a look. The bird was last seen on the north of the town, in a hedge next to the Boating Lake. When I arrived, there was just one birdwatcher about, and he hadn't seen the bird despite having waited around for two hours. It had last been seen in a hedge in a garden, and there were two DUNNOCKS around to add confusion. I hung around for a while, but the bird could have been anywhere, and I got bored of just staring into a hedge, so left.

Jetty on the Blythe Estuary

Still with a hang over from the Isles of Scilly, this was a nice, gentle excursion into the wilds of Suffolk, to clear my head of all that pollution that civilisation pours out. It didn't help that it was an immensely high tide which didn't seem to drop no matter how long I was there, which resulted in few birds being around. It was just one of those days where nothing much was to be seen, one just to sleep through, and dream of rare birds to see some other day.

The Last Day on the Scillies & The Road Back - 15&16/10/2022

At the twitch for the WILSON'S SNIPE, packed like sardines into a little hide

And so the last day on the Scillie arrived, and in the end the week seemed to go so fast. My time on the Islands ended in a blink of an eye, and soon all those places I had just discovered were now going to be behind me. It had been a busy couple of days, so much packed in and so many birds seen. Its strange sitting at my computer, in Ipswich, looking back to something that happened three weeks ago, it kind of makes me feel fairly nostalgic, wishing I was back there on the Islands.

Porth Hellic Pool

The Scillionian didn't leave until 16:15, which gave us plenty of time to have a look round the the main island, St Mary's. Happily after the blank drawn yesterday, a rarity had been called in today, and this was a mega, an extreme rarity: a WILSON'S SNIPE. Being the Scillies, this bird was from America, and its basically their form of our common snipe. Its pretty much the same bird, almost identical, except for some really anal plumage differences, like the number of feathers in its tail, and the colour of its primaries.

Where the WILSON'S SNIPE was seen

The bird was found at Porth Hellic pool, a lake by High Moors, among a flock of COMMON SNIPE, in some muddy areas on the margins of the water. The area was looked over by small rickety hide. Opening the door to the hide, I pushed into someone's back, and then was able to find a standing position. Around ten people were packed like sardines into the hide, scanning for the bird, with plenty of others waiting outside. And we would wait for an hour and a half of extreme discomfort for that bird to finally appear. The WILSON'S SNIPE decided to spend its time in a little channel, not to far away, but out of sight. Someone claimed they could see the bird from the beach a mile away, but they must have been telling fibs, or else they had superhuman vision.

Carreg Dhu Gardens

The bird finally emerged and despite what everyone said, was actually quite distinctive. It had a distinctive tear drop of white below its eye, and its plumaged was more subdued, the browns less vibrant, than the common snipes around it. This is a very rare bird in the UK, with a handful recorded in the country every year, so it was a decent bird to act as a send off from the islands. A KINGFISHER was also seen on the Pool, and there were a few WIGEON, GADWALL, TEAL and COOT on the water.

Some FIRECRESTS were flitting about in the evergreens

From Porth Hellic Pool it was a short wander through the Holy Vale to Carreg Dhu Community Gardens. In among the exotic foliage several FIRECRESTS were flitting about in the tree tops, occasionally showing themselves. After that it was a short walk back to Hugh Town to get some lunch and to wait for the ferry back to the mainland.

The Scillonian

With some high winds feared, it was possible that the voyage back to the mainland might be cancelled, but it wasn't the case, and the boat sailed. As it was the journey back was pretty hairy. Gently leaving the calm of the islands the boat came out into the main sea. There it lurched from side to side on the waves and the rain came down, soaking us all. Most of us hardier types stayed outside, but there came a point where we had to go in, with all the sane people, as the waves undulated over the sea. Being so choppy, not many birds were seen but a GREAT SHEARWATER was a decent spot, low on the water and over to the horizon. 

Hugh Town Harbour

The boat docked safely and I stayed at the Dock Inn near the quayside overnight. The next day it was a simple train journey to Paddington, then from Liverpool Street back to Ipswich and safely home, leaving behind a world of adventure to reenter a world of routine.

The SCILLONIAN III docked in Hugh Town

In the end it was a successful adventure down to the Isles of Scilly, to discover a whole world of rare birds. For a birdwatcher new worlds are a thrill, to discover new ground, new birds, new people. What rarity could beat a BLACKBURNIAN WARBLER? Not many. There's nothing more satisfying than an adventure that worked out well, one where the actual outcome beat the planned one. I'll forget most things but there are a few memories that will linger, birds I might possibly never see again. And so its back to planning the next holiday, hopefully just as bird filled as this one.