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.
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