Snape - 25/12/2018

The village of Snape is surrounded by a great bird rich landscape, which includes several RSPB reserves and one from the local wildlife trust, as well as the Alde estuary. This area holds many different habitats, from heath to wet grassland, to mudflat and reedbed.
I  had a pre-Christmas meal walk into this wild yet accessible landscape. I  walked from the village of Snape, to it southern limit and down over the Warren, an area of heathland managed by the RSPB. Being winter it was fairly quiet, desolate maybe. The path then went down to and then along the estuary. The tide was fully out and numbers of birds were thin on the ground, mainly the usual species, with some AVOCETS, and some TEAL.
The path came out beside Snape Marshes, a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve, an area of water meadow in places overgrown with reeds. Towards the back I found a hunting BARN OWL, floating over the landscape like something ethereal, not of this world. It would fly around for as long as I was there, sometimes resting on a fence post. I've found OWLS hard to come by this year so it was a great sighting. In the reedy areas REED BUNTINGS were calling and coming and going.
Later on I followed a series of footpaths that went out west of the village, to overlook the reeds at Abby Farm RSPB reserve to look for a STARLING mumuration that had been reported from there, Unfortunately maybe because of the weather or they had been spooked the birds didn't turn up.

Well, this is it from me for this year. I hope 2018 has been good for you bird wise, its been good for me. I wish you all a happy new year and a bird filled 2019.

Lackford Lakes - 19/12/2018

 BLUE TIT

After spending the  morning at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary the day continued with an afternoon trip to Lackford. Lackford can be a bit hit or miss, its a reserve with lots of common birds, lots of waterfowl, but it doesn't really attract anything unusual. That vein continued today, I saw lots of birds, but left feeling I could have had more. But I still enjoy going, because its a nice reserve, well laid out and because you do get good views of the birds.
On the entrance track to the reserve, REDWINGS and FIELDFARES were feeding along the hedgerows gobbling up the last meagre rations of berries left. The car park was fairly full, this reserve can be very popular, which just shows how important this reserve is for the area. The reserve centre had the usual birds feeding on the feeders outside, which included a MARSH TIT. No news had yet come back from the reserve about the birds that were there to see, so I wasn't holding my breath for anything out of the ordinary.

 MARSH TIT on the visitor's centre feeders

 

The reserve can be split in two, the Western Lakes, comprising the Sailing Lake and the Slough, and the Eastern Lakes, comprising five lakes of various size. The majority of the lakes are looked over by hides providing good views of the birds on them. The path follows the contours of the lakes running from west to east and back again.
The Western Lakes are the best for birds, attracting the vast majority of DUCKS.
The first lake on the way is the Sailing Lake, the largest of all the lakes and being winter there was no sailing, so the lake was absolutely full of DUCKS, with hundreds present. The majority were COOT, GADWALL and TUFTED DUCK, which were the main species to be found on all the lakes on the reserve. Found on the Sailing Lake and nowhere else in the reserve were POCHARDS with 60 - 70  present, mainly in the middle of the body of water.

POCHARDS on the sailing lake

 



The next lake was the Slough. Water levels were high here, and as a result the numbers of TEAL were quite low with around a hundred present. Again this species of duck was found only on this body of water on the reserve.
Three hides overlook the Slough. In the middle hide photographers pack in because it overlooks a sheltered area of water which attracts KINGFISHERS. Five photographers were all waiting for a perched kingfisher maybe with a fish in its bill, to take a hundred of pictures all the same as the other four photographers in the hide. There were no KINGFISHERS here today, but a LITTLE GREBE was attracting attention for having caught a fish that was half the size of its body. On another lake a LITTLE GREBE had caught a smaller fish and was constantly being mobbed by a GULL, who couldn't dive for fish, to the extent it seemed the GULL just didn't like the GREBE and just wanted to pester him.

 LITTLE GREBE

 

The Eastern Lakes were quiet. The furthest hide - Steggal's - was probably the best place. There was a group of five GOLDENEYE - four females and a male - with a further male on his own on a different lake. A SNIPE was doing what they do best, camouflaging itself into the surrounding vegetation with its cryptic plumage, but the bird would occasionally flap its wings to show us where it was hiding. A KINGFISHER flew around the lake a couple of times, calling, without stopping to perch. Only one EGYPTIAN GOOSE was found on the reserve, despite this bird being usually very common here. Other DUCKS included WIGEON which barely made it into double figures, and single figures of SHOVELLER.

A flock of SISKINS were found in the lakeside alders identified by their 'sighing' call. A pair of MARSH TIT were calling to each other in Ash Carr, maybe establishing territories, or interaction between two potential mates. Annoyingly I forgot to bring along any bird seed, so I couldn't take any photos at the Stump.

 A flock of LAPWING roosting on the Slough, would often fly in the air at the least persuasion.

 

It was an interesting afternoon spent on this reserve. There are a lot of birds around, and as I get to know a reserve its fascinating to see it change with the seasons, see birds come and go, increase and decrease in number. However as I have mentioned before there were a lot of common birds present without anything unusual. But all in all habitats like they have at Lackford are rare in this area of Suffolk, so it exists as a centre for  a lot of species found nowhere else in the region.

 

 

 

 

Suffolk Owl Sanctuary - Stonham Barns - 19/12/2018

 

 

 

It was photography day, a time I take every so often to concentrate on developing my skills of capturing still images. This often entails going to a place where the birds are particularly photogenic and easy to capture.

 



This time I decided to have a go at photographing birds of prey at the Suffolk Owl Sanctuary located at Stonham Barns in mid Suffolk.

Stonham Barns is a real hodge-podge of random shops all collected together in this farm complex, with the Owl Sanctuary the main centre.

There were to be no official displays today at the sanctuary. However they did release some of the birds to exercise them.

These pictures show a pair of RED KITES. They were released from their cage and were allowed to fly around for half an hour during which time they flew around the grounds and collected food from their exercisers.

There were two exercisers looking after the birds.

When the bird's exercise was up their cage was reopened and the birds were allowed to go back in on their own time. Its amazing they didn't just fly away.

After that I had a look around the sanctuary. It was small, with cages holding all manor of bird of prey and owls, including many familiar birds like the LITTLE and TAWNY OWLS, to the more exotic like the TURKEY VULTURE.

 

Although a lot of the birds are flown it does feel a shame that they are kept in cages. Some of the birds were ex-display birds living out their retirement there.

Whilst looking around I was told that a BALD EAGLE was to be exercised.

This was a great chance to see a species native to North America in flight in rural Suffolk.

The bird was released and it flew to a tree where it decided to stay for around ten minutes. However it did decide to fly and came over to sit on a nearby bird cage giving fantastic views.

Well, what can I say. I came with the intention of photographing birds, and I succeeded. I had some great photographic opportunities, especially of birds in flight, which are so hard to get. Whatever your view on caged animals, most of the birds do get exercised, to fly naturally.

Bonny Wood - 4/12/2018

 

Another Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve near Ipswich is Bonny Wood, near Barking, East of Needham Market. The reserve is half of an ancient forest, one of several in the area, one that can be dated back to ancient times.

Bonny Wood from the outside

 

It is one of the hardest reserves to find, several miles from the nearest road, along a labyrinth of footpaths. It is set in a really beautiful area of Suffolk, not many roads, lots of paths, undulating fields with thick hedgerows, and blocks of ancient forests.

I entered Bonny Wood around midday, the weather was sunny, but there had been a heavy frost the night before. The woodland is predominantly coppice, spindly trees with lots of trunks stemming out from their base. There were also isolated 'standard' trees, ones that were left uncut to grow tall. In this type of  wood, because of centuries of being managed in this way, there are no ancient trees.
In the heart of the forest light couldn't penetrate through the trees so it was cold and gloomy. A MARSH TIT was seen. I disturbed a BROWN HARE on the arable edge of the forest. A small herd of ROE DEER ran across the path, only briefly lightening the quiet cold.
I came out of the forest and took another path along the southern edge, and the more open conditions attracted more birds. A male BULLFINCH was seen amongst a small bird flock, always a delight to see.
The aim of this visit was for a quick reconnaissance, but I plan to have a more thorough visit sometime in April/May time to see the flowers and the Spring birds. There are more woodlands in the area to explore, its just that accessing them is so awkward, being so far from roads and the spider's web of footpaths that crisscross the area.

The spindly trees typical of coppice woodland

 

Back at Barking, where I had parked, a very healthy flock of HOUSE SPARROWS existed, maybe thirty or forty, in what is in effect a hamlet, which is great considering how rare they are becoming in a lot of places.

 

Pill box Barking common

 

I saw this reserve on a map, a green square with a little blue bird symbol on it, and wanted to see what it looked like in reality. This reserve is one of two in the area, mere pin pricks on the map, whilst all around they are lost in a sea of intensive farmland. Places like this are so special, yet thy are so small and so alone in the countryside, and the people who own them can do nothing to extend them, to join two woods to make one giant one, to return the land to how it originally looked.

Papermill Reedbed & Suffolk Water Park

Of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserves the nearest one to my home is Papermill Reedbeds. Its a small reserve - 14 acres - consisting of a small reedbed amongst rough grassland. On the 26 November I went for my first ever visit, a first look at the place, to put a picture to the name. Despite being close to Ipswich it really is hard to find tucked away down a country road with no car park. It lies between the train line and the river just south of another local patch - Barham Pits.
The mill is now a block of flats, and amongst a small bird flock I encountered there was an overwintering BLACKCAP. Up river to the north of the reserve amongst another small bird flock I noted a TREECREEPER and a MARSH TIT.
So a nice little hidden surprise in an area that I visit frequently and being about ten minutes from my house is a place I will visit a fair amount.

Suffolk Water Park
Across the river from Papermill Reedbeds is Suffolk Water Park, which contains one lake to which public access is granted. Its a large lake with natural surroundings, although it is heavily fished, but there is no sailing of any kind. Like Papermill Reedbed I have only just started visiting this place, and will do more frequently due to it being so close to where I live - again about ten minutes away.
On the water are four types of WATERFOWL - MALLARDS, TUFTED DUCK, GREAT CRESTED GREBES and COOT, in small numbers, just breaking into double figures.
There are more lakes behind the main one, but I was warned away from them, apparently due to bird control.

Away from the coast, Suffolk is quite poor bird wise, and my local patches show that. Suffolk has few gravel pits or reservoirs, the kind of inland wetland that would attract birds, the only nature reserves being Lackford Lakes and Alton Water. I don't know, maybe I'll strike lucky, to make all this time I put in mean something.

Minsmere - 22/11/2018

Male SHOVELLER showing off the bill that gives the species its name.

 



The recent warm spell, an Indian Summer of sorts, has really ended now, and has been replaced with really rather dreary, chilly weather. It was the sort of day that was depressing and hard to get enthusiastic about. As I have said on previous November postings this month is really the worst one in the year for birding, and it can be hard to find anything out there in the countryside.
Anyway so I decided on a trip to Minsmere, so maybe something might be pulled out of the hat, and I could perhaps see something, maybe a lingering migrant or freshly arrived winter visitor.

Resting TEAL, SHOVELLER and GADWALL - this is pretty much all the action on the Scrape

 



Of the WILDFOWL on the Scrapes special mention must go to the party of WHOOPER SWANS on the reedbed pool behind West Hide. There were seven of them - a pair of adults and their whopping five juveniles. I rarely see this species in Suffolk, they are much more common inland, to the West, where they are found around the Ouse Washes.
DUCKS were the order of the day with several thousand on the Scrape. TEAL, WIGEON, SHOVELLER and GADWALL were all present in large numbers though it wasn't as exciting as it sounds with the birds mainly sleeping or lazily feeding.
With the Scrape's water levels quite high WADERS were in short supply with only a couple of SNIPE and GODWITS on West Scrape, but being winter there were large flocks of LAPWING, birds that would just float off into the air at the drop of a hat, providing a nice spectacle.

Some WIGEON and a TEAL

 



A lingering Autumn migrant was present or so I was told - I didn't see it. Apparently a YELLOW BROWED WARBLER was present in the Sluice Bushes - an area of scrub immediately behind the beach that provides sanctuary for newly arrived migrants.
For a quiet day -  people wise I was the only person present in most of the hides - there was a reasonable twitch. Maybe ten people were present looking for the little bird that harks from the pine forests of Siberia. I stayed maybe half an hour but didn't spot it.
On the nearby Levels, an area of wet grassland, the water levels were still low so there wasn't much flooding, which meant there weren't many wildfowl, only a small herd of BARNACLE GEESE.

 KONIK PONIES

 

The KONIK PONIES were back on the Konik Fields, an area of grazed reedbeds with pools, behind the path that meanders from South Hide to West Hide. They were also back on the area in front of the North Hide, creating a short grassy sward for next years LAPWINGS to nest on. In the reed fronds of the Konik Fields a party of BEARDED TITS were heard but I just couldn't see them.

GREY HERON posing in front of Island Mere - if only there wasn't that annoying reed frond in the way.

 



The woodlands are quiet at this time of year with birds very hard to find. The reedbeds were quiet with around four or five MARSH HARRIERS seen floating above the brown sea. Bittern Hide was empty of people, usually its full of wishful people looking out for - well - bitterns. It felt really eerie so I didn't spend much time there.
The last hide was Island Mere and it proved to be quite good, overlooking a large lake amongst a huge area of reeds. A male GREATER SCAUP was out on the water - the only DUCK pretty much. It shares the plumage of a TUFTED DUCK, although it has a grey rather than black back, and is a bit bulkier in shape.
The usual quiet of a bird watching hide was broken when someone called out 'BITTERN!' and a brief view was had of the bird flying across a small reedbed pool to the right of the hide. As everyone piled into that side, the same bird flew out of the reeds, right across the mere, in front of the hide, to be witnessed by every spectator. Always a great sight.
An interesting, if not quiet spectacular day out bird watching, and as I say every time on my Minsmere posts there is always something here even on the worst days. With the weather starting to turn cooler it may be expected that more winter visitors will start to arrive on these shores. Bird numbers haven't quite reached the heights of high winter so there is definitely more to come. Keep your eyes peeled and keep birding.

 

River Gipping Lakes - 13/11/2018

 

Having taken a break from birding for a couple of weeks, I thought where better to rekindle my interest  than my local patch, a series of lakes that cuddle the river Gipping. Although not especially rich bird wise, its a nice relaxing walk in a gentle landscape providing a breath of fresh air.
With this Indian Summer extending into November, with some really warm days, winter visitors are fairly low on the ground. There isn't any cold weather to  push birds out of the continent to this country. I always feel that November is the worst month of the year anyway, Autumn is over and winter hasn't really begun, so it really has the worst of both worlds.

I took the bus to Needham Market, thinking it was best to save polluting the world to go to the same destination I was heading. It cost a whopping £5 for two half hour journeys, extortionate and not the best way to encourage people to use the buses.
I disembarked on Needham Market high street and headed south, reaching Needham Lake, a local nature reserve, a duck pond where hordes of MALLARDS, CANADA GEESE and GULLS loiter around on the look out for a mother and toddler team to feed them. I had a quick look and with nothing much there I headed off into the country proper.

 

 Needham Lake

 

Crossing the road from Needham Lake the next pit I got to was Alderson Lake, heavily fished and mainly fenced off to non fisher folk. Through the bordering trees I could make out the pit didn't have many birds on, just a few MALLARDS and COOT. A TIT flock had a few COAL TITS and GOLDCRESTS amongst them, but nothing too interesting.

 

 

The path follows the river Gipping and apart from the lakes the countryside held areas of rough grassland, trees and bushes, including an impressive stand of giant POPLARS.

 

Riverside Farm Lock

 

The next lake I call Riverside Farm Pit, named after the lock on the river. To have a closer look I  left the river path and headed to the lake's edge. Whilst I was looking through my bins I heard the sound of a car horn repeatedly blasting. Turning round I saw a woman across the river standing half way out of her car and she shouted 'you can't go there its private property!'

Making my apologies I rejoined the river path and headed off before she called the police or something.

Anyway its quite a small pit which held a resident pair of MUTE SWANS and also a pair of GADWALL.

 

 

 

 

Shortly after the Riverside Farm Pit the path forked in two, and I took the one that went away from the river. This path took me to another pit called Pippins Lake. Its a small pit surrounded by woodland. Usually its quiet, but this time held 10 GADWALL, and a GREEN SANDPIPER was flying around, its dark wings and white rump vey distinctive.

The path headed up round the back of the active quarry, which had most of its water pumped out of, so was too dry for any birds. One area of mud looked really good for WADERS, and if it can hold out like that until the Spring has good potential for something interesting.

 

 

MUNTJAC behind Pipps Ford

 



I rejoined the river and finally made it to my main destination - Pipps Ford. This is an area where a footpath cuts between a finished quarry and an active one. It can be quite good, I mean I've seen Glossy Ibis here but today I shouldn't have bothered.
I met a local birder, who I see here a lot of times, he told me he had got a text saying a SWIFT species had been seen over Norwich Road in North Ipswich. Damn, I go all the way to Pipps Ford when the best bird of the day flies over my home.
There were no DUCKS or any kind of water birds, which was a bit surprising. However, as the excavated quarry had become overgrown with weeds, there were some flocks of small birds feeding amongst them. Around 20 LINNETS and 10 SKYLARKS were all quite noticeable.
The excavated quarry area was looking very much unloved. As nothing definite has been planned for its future, it looks quite neglected, with no one really knowing what to do with it. A half arsed plan to create a reedbed has come to nothing, and the drawing out of water from the neighbouring working quarry means the water levels remain low.
As I headed back I had a pair of KINGFISHER fly along the river at Pipps Ford Lock. I headed back the way I came getting the bus at Needham Market and headed home.
A nice walk in lovely countryside in lovely weather, what more could I want. Well, more birds, but that can't be helped. I could never really expect more for inland Suffolk, and this is the best birding destination in the area, and with a little bit of love could become a really good place.

Sculthorpe Moor - 24/10/2018

Two CHAFFINCHES

Sculthorpe Moor  is one of those reserevs I have driven passed plenty of times whilst in North Norfolk but never got around to visiting. I mean there are so many great reserves around this location its hard to fit them all in.
However today I had a couple of hours to kill before heading home, and with this reserve being on the way, it seemed the perfect place to while away those hours productively.

A view of the fenland, the most important habitat on the reserve

 



Its a small area, only 45 acres or so, but contains an important and rare habitat, lowland fen, that a reserve of that habitat of any size is important. Its owned by the Hawk and Owl Trust, a fairly small and not very known bird conservation group. They have a couple of other reserves but Sculthorpe is their main one, where their head office is.

 SISKIN

Sculthorpe must be the only reserve in the country to have turned all their paths to boardwalks, including one that rises up to a tower hide. The paths wonder through a variety of habitats, dry woodland, alder carr and the important fenland.

 GOLDFINCH flock

 

There were a lot of hides dotted around the reserve, but they could be a bit hit and miss, at some you see birds at others you don't.
At every hide they had plenty of stocked bird feeders, and as you can see from the photos there were loads of birds using them. The tower hide was the best one, being up in the tree canopy with feeders way up in the trees, and just outside the window, within arms reach as you see birds coming in to feed.

 GREENFINCH

 

CHAFFFINCHES were everywhere, as were MARSH TITS, although they were present as singles in the different locations. A TREECREEPER was found in the dry wood, whilst the canopy of the wet wood was ringing to the twinkling of GOLDFINCHES and the sighing of SISKINS.
One unusual bird was a REED BUNTING using the bird feeders, an unusual occurrence as their habitat doesn't often intermingle with bird feeders. Also using the same feeder was a nice NUTHATCH and a male BULLFINCH was a good find as they are scarce at the best of times.
A flock of twenty FIELDFARE flew over the fen, a harbinger of colder months to come.

 CHAFFINCH

 

Larger birds were noticeable for their absence, just a few MALLARDS, one BUZZARD drifting lazily on thermals. Being a small reserve it doesn't really have the scale to attract those birds that need larger areas to exist.
However there are plans to extend the reserve, nearly tripling it in size and adding some important habitats. I hope they are successful in raising the funds to complete it, as bigger reserves are always better, as they protect more. It would also open up new areas for people to enjoy.

A cracking male BULLFINCH

 



This is a cracking little reserve and a great place to spend a couple of hours. Sure it doesn't compete with the larger reserves in the area but its not really a place for that. Its so accessible for birders, so gentle and relaxed that it would be a great place to bring beginner birders who won't be bamboozled by all there is on offer. We need more of these reserves around the country, places where every person can access nature, places that are so lovingly maintained.

Freiston Shore - 23/10/2018

Two of the four WHOOPER SWANS

The second reserve of the day is Freiston Shore, just over the river from Frampton. Unbelievably this reserve is even more remote than Frampton, with few signs of civilisation and no body else there on the entire reserve! The main part of the reserve is an area of managed retreat where they broke holes in the sea wall and allowed an area of unimportant farmland to flood nayturally with salt water to create an area of saltmarsh. The saltmarsh is the original habitat in the area before it was reclaimed to create farmland, so allowing the sea wall to breach allowed the area to return to something more natural.
Looking on the map the RSPB give for the reserve it actually looks fairly small in scale. Boy was I in for a shock. On reaching the managed retreat I was surprised to see how vast it was. It extended for several miles into the distance, covering a large area. However there weren't many birds about as it was mainly saltmarsh, any areas of mudflats were far in the distant, which is where the birds would be feeding. The only bird seen was a female MARSH HARRIER lazily quartering the area.

From the car park, before I got to the managed retreat, the path skirted the lagoon, looked over by a hide. An area of shallow water and shingle islands it was fairly quiet, mainly WIGEON and BRENT GEESE, but also with four WHOOPER SWANS, a family party that included one juvenile. Also present were five LITTLE GREBES which are nice little birds to see.

 

The lagoon seen from the sea wall

 



On the other side of the reserve to the managed retreat is a large area of wet grassland, also created from farmland. Unfortunately due to the time of year it was dried out so there wasn't any water to attract ducks and waders, but I guess in winter the place would be heaving with birds numbering in their thousands. I skirted this habitat and returned back to the car park, with just the odd REED BUNTING and MIPPIT for company.

I spent a couple of hours here in total, and although I didn't see much bird wise, compared to Frampton, this was a visit just to experience the place, the wide open skies, horizons that stretched on to infinity, the peaceful solitude, all the qualities that make up great birding locations. Once again hats off to the RSPB for creating such a stunning landscape, to have such far reaching vision to create a reserve on this scale. They do such a good job, its just that there are so few people to witness it.

Frampton Marsh - 23/10/2018

 The 360 degree hide

 

The main reason for coming up to North-West Norfolk was to visit two Wash-side nature reserves over in Lincolnshire called Frampton Marsh and Frieston Shore. Both reserves have had good write ups so I was looking forward to visiting them.
I decided to visit both reserves in one day, as they were both close to each other. I decided to  visit Frampton Marsh first as it was the closest. Despite being only four miles from Boston it was very much out in the wilderness, flat featureless fenland, with the odd farm the only sign of civilisation. On arrival I had a quick look in the visitor's centre, which was pretty much just a café and with some information headed out into the reserve.

 Sleeping WIGEON

 

The reserve is made out of blocks of different habitats, with the nature trail skirting the edges. The visitor's centre overlooked an area of water with reedy edges where a few lingering AVOCETS rested. However the main habitat was the area of wet grassland. Wet flashes, scrapes and ditches created a wildlife haven heaving with DUCKS mainly WIGEON, with smaller numbers of TEAL and PINTAIL.

 A view across the wet grassland and all its ducks

 

The main bird attraction was a LONG BILLED DOWITCHER, present in a ditch in the grassland area. A wader from North America, it was small, smaller than nearby REDSHANK, with an oversized bill. It had an unremarkable plumage, mainly brown with a distinctive eye stripe. Its cool to think this bird travelled all the way across the Atlantic, to rest here in a Lincolnshire ditch. It was a first for me, a bird I should have spotted a long time ago, but its good to finally get the "tick". Apart from the DOWITCHER the only other wader I saw was a RUFF.

 A female PINTAIL

 

Upon reaching the sea wall the flat landscape beyond stretched out to infinity, saltmarsh that went on for as far as the eye can see, in fact it was one of the largest examples of this habitat in the world. Its amazing that this habitat exists in lowland England, a place I think of as the suburbia of the world.

A flock of BRENT GEESE flying in

 



A large flock of BRENT GEESE were feeding on the saltmarsh, something spooked them and they all flew onto the reserve pools where they settled down.

 BRENT GEESE settling down

 

There were several hides on the reserve overlooking different areas of water, and it was a fairly busy day with small numbers of people dotted about.

A pair of CANADA GEESE

 



So a first for me both with the reserve and the DOWITCHER, and I wasn't disappointed. There was so much present it could be over whelming at times, with huge numbers of birds present it would probably take several days and visits just to come to grips with the place. I would definitely recommend a visit to this reserve for anyone looking to explore the region or looking for anywhere to go on a day trip. The RSPB really does it better than anyone else, creating this kind of place from dead lifeless arm fields. Well done to them.