Warbleswick - 25/9/2017

With my brother spending some time in Suffolk I wanted to show him some of the birding highlights that the Suffolk coast has to offer, and where better than the often overlooked Warbleswick. Despite being one of the most biological rich reserves in the country its often overlooked compared to the nearby reserve of Minsmere, which is geared up for birding, rather then the more low key Warbleswick. Its a wilderness of coast, reedbed and heathland that stretches over a huge area.
We started from the Dunwich car park which was unusually quiet, and from then on saw barely a soul. A pair of STONECHATS were present in some gorse bushes by the car park, but apart from that the area was quiet. Walking up by Dingle Marshes, the pools there were fairly quiet with the usual estuarine waders, and the first couple of BRENT GEESE of the Autumn.
We turned off from the coast at the entrance to the Warbleswick reserve, and in the reedbeds there were three MARSH HARRIERS. By the abandoned wind pump there was a party of 'pinging' BEARDED TITS. These birds were to become a feature of the day as dispersing parties of birds were seen across the area. A WHINCHAT was found perched on a bush in the reedbeds, with its eye stripe and white patches on its tail, when it flew, making it a nice find.
As the land rose, the habitat turned from reedbed to woodland and eventually to heathland. A lot of the heathland at Warbleswick is more kind of grassy, with stunted heath plants dotted about. I hadn't been to this area for quite a while and a lot of the farming practice had changed since then.
We followed the footpath to Tinker's  Marsh an area of grazing marsh bordering the Blyth Estuary. Most of the grassland had dried out, and the estuary was quiet. However there were two COMMON SEALS resting on some exposed mud, a good sighting for this area. There were several parties of BEARDED TITS seen along the ditchside reeds, it really has seemed to be a good year locally for this species.
We connected with the old train line that used to run to Warbleswick village, and on a cow grazed area of grassland were four WHEATEARS. On the marshes north of Warbleswick were a huge number of BARNACLE GEESE. We walked through Warbleswick Common, an area of more overgrown heath, of gorse and scrub.
We traced our way through some farmland and came across a huge flock of birds. Seeing the number we guessed them to be STARLINGS but on further observation found them to be RED LEGGED PARTRIDGE, in a flock numbering several hundred! There were loads of PHEASANTS about, on Tinker's Marsh one kept running into my leg, in a vain attempt to get some food off me!
We returned to Warbleswick reedbed, where we saw a pair of STONECHAT, a REED BUNTING and more BEARDED TITS, before diverting off around Dunwich Forest. On a pool on the edge of the Warbleswick reedbed, viewed from  a small hill, were a large number of commoner DUCKS and GEESE, and also a GREAT EGRET, standing as tall as a HERON next to it, with its large yellow bill.
Further along the track on the edge of Dunwich Forest we saw a MARSH TIT, always good to see. The path took us back to Dunwich and a drink at the beachside café.
So we covered pretty much all of the Warbleswick reserve, which is a huge area, it took a long time, about five hours. I haven't been to this area for a long time, nearly a couple of years, as I tend to go to the reserves further south, which are so much easier to birdwatch. But its a good reserve, and by putting in the effort it can be richly rewarding.