Trimley - 22/5/2017

 

So Spring peters out and Summer is now upon us. It turned out to be a fairly unremarkable day down on the Orwell river, the birds slumbering in the sunshine. But the reserve looked good, all green and overgrown, providing cover for nesting birds, and the grasslands were still wet despite the dry weather.

 

There were no standout birds today but there was still a few about. On the marshes there were a few AVOCETS, however there was only one brood present, with two chicks on the scrape behind the Reservoir Hide. There were plenty of the usual nesting waders with LAPWING, REDSHANK and OYSTERCATCHER all getting tetchy at the site of a HERON or EGRET or any bird that would eat their chicks. There was an over summering, non-breeding flock of 50 GODWITS. It was around half  tide, but there was little about, except the resident waders.

The Reservoir held a few pairs of POCHARD and TUFTED DUCK along with a flock of non breeding COOT, whilst there were SHOVELLER and GADWALL on the scrapes. A male PINTAIL was on the Permanent Lagoon, whilst there were still around 20 BRENT GEESE present, understandably deciding against a trip back to Siberia to nest. There was also a family of SWANS with two CYGNETS on the Permanent Lagoon.

 

MARSH HARRIERS are nesting in the reedbeds around the Reservoir, and there were several sitings of BUZZARDS and KESTRELS.
Nearby Loompit Lake held an impressive 20+ POCHARD, good for this time of year, these two site (Trimley and Loompit Lake) are pretty much the only place for nesting POCHARD in Suffolk. There were also 10 pairs of TUFTED DUCK and abut the same of COOT, whilst a SWAN family held six CYGNETS.
There was a small herd of FALLOW DEER on fields behind Loompit Lake, but for the life of me I do not know why but I didn't take any pictures.
So a fairly forgettable day, but its good to keep in touch with these places, to know there are still areas where nature occasionally wins out.
I'm not sure where I'll go for my next trip, as there's no standout places at the moment. As always I would like to hear from you about any good birdwatching places I haven't mentioned in the blog, or just general feedback.

Breaking News! Harris Hawk gets stuck in Ipswich - 12/5/2017

A falconer's HARRIS HAWK get stuck in netting in one of the buildings on the town square. The bird had captured a pigeon and whilst doing so gets tangled up. Two fire engines get called in, and  one of them extends a crane so a fireman could get up and free the bird. A big crowd gathers, goes ooh and ah and eventually cheers as the fireman shakes the netting and the hawk flies free. What a town I live in.

A Lazy Summer's Day at Lackford Lakes - 11/5/2017

This great picture of a KINGFISHER was taken from a pond overlooked by the Lackford Lakes visitor centre. The KINGFISHERS were nesting in a hole in a concrete structure right beside, and they would pose on this branch, which gave them a vantage point to fish, and to allow themselves to be photographed. It was possibly the best introduction to bird photography my new camera could ask for.
But alas, from this high the rest of the reserve was not going to live up to these expectations. Although there were lots of birds around, it was really a settling down for the Summer, a time when most birds aren't going to wander far from their nests.
Apart from the KINGFISHER the other good bird of the day was a HOBBY that flew around the middle lakes, a dark falcon with distinctive red legs, which it uses to catch dragonflies.
Another fairly unusual bird was a male RED CRESTED POCHARD.

Small numbers of wildfowl were present, mainly TUFTED DUCK, with some GADWALL, and one male SHOVELLER, which may mean a female is somewhere incubating. EGYPTIAN GEESE were everywhere, with two broods present.

EGYPTIAN GEESE fighting over territory on the Slough

 



 SWANS were present on all the lakes, but only one was nesting, here on a tern raft.

 

 

In fact all the rafts put out to attract TERNS to nest had been commandeered by other species, apart from the SWAN, lots of GULLS were using them as well as a nesting GREAT CRESTED GREBE.

 



One of the tern rafts commandeered by GULLS and a nesting GREBE on the very left

 

 

In fact there were only a pair of COMMON TERN on the reserve.

 

There were two pairs of OYSTERCATCHER present and one LAPWING, but not much else.

 

 

 

View over the Slough, the best lake for birds

 

As reflects an area of overgrown marshy woodland there were lots and lots of small birds present. CETTI'S WARBLER exploded with song from almost every bush. There were CHIFFCHAFFS, WILLOW WARBS, BLACKCAP, GRADEN WARBS and REED WARBS all creating a peaceful ambience to the reserve with their assortment of different songs.

A CUCKOO was singing from behind the lakes, with a possible second calling at the far end of the reserve. A pair of MARSH TIT were in the main woodland block and a GREY WAGTAIL was on the kingfisher pond.

 

So although  nothing unusual was present, and everything was settling down for the breeding season, it was still a good day. As with all good places, the number and quality of birds remain high even in a quiet season. On such a warm day, with the bird song and the fresh scent of lush vegetation it was all a sensual high.

 

So Spring turns to Summer - Minsmere - 9/5/2017

GREEN WOODPECKERS are very common at Minsmere, often feeding out in the fields

So Summer starts to appear and things quiet down as the migrants leave and the breeding birds settle down to raise families. At a site as good for birds as Minsmere there are lots of breeding birds, many very rare and not seen at many other places, with the main habitats in particular the reedbeds and scrape.
Today I tried out my new camera and its new lens a Canon 80d and a Sigma 150-600 lens. As this was my first use of the camera, the shots aren't that great, but hopefully in the future I'll get better and the pictures will increase in quality.

This male MARSH HARRIER was trying to grab some COOT chicks

 



The Scrape at this time of year is always a remarkable experience with thousands of birds crammed into a small area. Probably the best of the many birds were the two pairs of LITTLE TERNS, the earliest I have seen any. Their presence here probably means they may nest on the scrape with their former habitat in the shingle beach getting smaller and smaller as it is eroded away by the sea. There were around 40+ COMMON TERNS present as pairs build up for the breeding season. Also around were 50+ MED GULLS, a great number which seems to fluctuate from year to year. There were very few last year. There were also roosting KITTIWAKES and some COMMON GULLS about.

There were a few migrant waders passing through, all mainly on South Scrape, with two KNOT, two GREY PLOVER and three DUNLIN, all in breeding plumage and all looking striking. I'm used to  seeing them in winter when they are a boring grey, Springtime can produce some very colourful birds.
On the beach it looks like a couple of pairs of STONECHAT are nesting in the last remaining gorse bushes.

Male STONECHAT

 



There was also a migrant WHEATEAR at the sluice, where SWALLOWS are nesting.

 

SWALLOWS at the sluice, a place where the water from Minsmere goes out to sea

 



The reedbeds were fairly quiet, with a small herd of four RED DEER present in front of the Bittern Hide.

 

Some HIGHLAND CATTLE were grazing the areas by the deserted abbey, looking very primordial with their huge horns, in a wild landscape. This could have been the dawn of time.

 





 

So a fairly low key day today, with nothing particularly note worthy away from the sheer quantity of birds present at Minsmere. To get the right idea it would be to compare Minsmere to a sea bird cliff, it's that much of a spectacle. Visit there and enjoy.

Nesting Grebes - Barham Pits - 7/5/2017

 

 

It seems to be a good year for breeding GREAT CRESTED GREBES on the pits, with one brood of 3, two further pairs nesting, and another pair idle. However an earlier pair and brood has gone missing, with just one single bird present in that area. That' the problem, in the four years I have been visiting the area I have never noticed a single chick fledged, despite the fact that it is a common species.

I don't know whether it is species control - these pits are heavily managed for fishing - as grebes are fish eaters. But that doesn't explain why they are allowed to nest in the first place. Maybe there are stocked fish big enough to eat the chicks. Or maybe the birds here are just lousy parents. I don't think I'll ever know.