Pipp's Ford - 26/4/2018

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER

 



Still having more time off work I decided to spend it wisely and biked over to Pipp's Ford. It is a half hour ride away, down Old Norwich Road, through the villages of Claydon and Great Blakenham and almost as far as Needham Market. Its a decent bird area containing disused quarries, active quarries and old pits, attracting birds not seen that much in inland Suffolk.
Locking my bike up, crossing the train line, the path cuts the site in two. To the south is the older finished pit, an area of water and dry and wet grassland. To the north is the active quarry, deep water, sandy cliffs and exposed mud.

The finished quarry

 



The finished pit to the south didn't really hold that much, two pairs of LAPWING, a pair of OYSTERCATCHERS and a LITTLE GREBE. An area of wet mud on the active quarry looked good with a pair of EGYPTIAN GEESE, a pair of GADWALL, a pair of LAPWING and a pair of LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS. The last species shouldn't be confused with RINGED PLOVERS a bird common on the coast but are rarer inland. LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS prefer nesting in working quarries and are subtly different in plumage. A further pair of GADWALL was on the deeper water of the active quarry.
SAND MARTINS nest in the active quarry, in the sandy cliffs, but each year there nest sites are destroyed as the quarry is dug out. So every Spring the birds have to dig out new nest sites, and it seems the area they nest are not quarried through the breeding season, which is a nice touch.

The path meets the Gipping and follows the river north. It moves through areas of rough grassland and scrub. A TREECREEPER was seen but not much else beyond the usual birds.
The path leads to Pippin's Lake, which held a pair of GADWALL which moved between here and Riverside Farm Pit. Riverside Farm Pit is a small lake set in grassland, and held a pair of SWANS, which usually nest here every year. The path carried on along some giant Poplars to Alderson Lake, a heavily fished pit that only held a pair of COOT. Ok that last paragraph just reminded me how terrible those pits are for birding. Beyond a local patch they shouldn't be visited by anyone! No I joke do what you want.

Pipp's Ford lock

The path meandered its way back to Pipp's Ford, and I cycled home.
So a nice way to spend a couple of hours whilst I have some free time. Although as I write this the day didn't really seem that exciting, that's what its like birding away from the best sites. Its really is about how much you enjoy the pastime of birdwatching. Its not all about the glory of the rare birds. Much love, Keith

AMERICAN BITTERN -Carlton & Oulton Marshes - 24/4/2018

I don't really know the area that makes up the Suffolk Broads, the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserves that lie on the outskirts of Lowestoft. A fairly ill fated walk from Beccles to Oulton Broad South last June was the only time I've visited here. So with some time off work, looking to go somewhere that wasn't Minsmere and with an AMERICAN BITTERN being reported from the area it was decided we should have a little look.

Langham Bridge, Blaxhall
A COMMON CRANE was reported on the Suffolk Bins website, as being present at Langham Bridge, Snape, the day before. As this was so close to where my brother was staying, we decided to have a look for it on the way to Carlton Marshes. The bridge was located on the outskirts of Blaxhall, along a country lane, single lane with grass growing in the middle. When we got there there were around six or seven people who had turned up with the same idea as us, creating a mini twitch. The area was a piece of rushy wet grassland, bestrode by lots of powerlines. It was typical CRANE feeding countryside, but we didn't see the bird, although it was reported as present this day.

CRANE country

Carlton Marshes
We headed off from Blaxhall and followed the A12 up to Lowestoft. The Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve is located right on the edge of Lowestoft, not far from Oulton Broad South train Station. It is currently going through a public appeal to extend the reserve by maybe three times the size. It seems that they have, finally, managed to raise enough money to buy all the surrounding land, creating a new super size reserve. In all it was a lot of money, £4 million all told, of which the Trust had to raise a million, but they managed it, to turn poor farmland into a super wetland.
The actual reserve as it is at the moment, is quite small, an area of fen, and some wet grassland. It exists in parcels surrounded by land they hope to acquire.
We arrived at the car park around 11, went to the visitor's centre looking for a coffee only to discover it was only used as an education centre of which there was a group of school kids, but they didn't bother us. A coffee machine could have been available at least but they do plan to build a new visitor's centre with the new reserve so in a couple of years maybe one will be available and I can get my caffeine fix.
A map showed the location of the AMERICAN BITTERN, it was reported from an area that wasn't part of the reserve, yet, but it is in the area they want to buy. Got it?
It was a good walk to get there, travelling through typical broadland country, comprised of rough grassland with areas of reed, extremely flat with no high ground. There were loads of SEDGE WARBLERS establishing territories, with a newly arrived REED WARBLER providing a good comparison between the two similar songsters. There were quite a few REED BUNTINGS as well, not surprisingly considering the habitat of the area.
Lots of CHINESE WATER DEER were seen today, often grazing out in the open, sometimes running and disappearing into areas of reeds. These animals have now become  an established species in our wetlands, having been introduced from China, so much so that it would be strange not to see them.

Share Marshes - AMERICAN BITTERN country 

 

Without seeing anyone around the reserve, it was a bit of a surprise to stumble on a group of around twenty people all set up with bird watching equipment focused on the countryside. Of course this was a twitch and the people were all looking for the AMERICAN BITTERN. We found out it was seen around three minutes ago by an area of a sheet metal thing, having been seen in flight. BITTERNS at the best of times are highly secretive, with cryptic plumage and a love of hiding away in thick cover, the best chances of seeing them are mostly in flight.
As the minutes went by I was thinking it was one of those twitches - hanging around for four hours then briefly seeing a bird that someone claims is the species you were after. However we only had to wait around twenty minutes, as the bird flew up from the area it had been skulking and flew, for maybe a minute across the marshes. You could see the stand-out colours of  its neck and wing, which were different from EURASIAN BITTERNS. Suddenly from what was a fairly sombre group everyone broke out into cheering as the sighting really lifted the mood. Great, we saw it, I didn't expect to, my first ever sighting of this species and only the fourth ever rported in the country, so a good record, even for those who don't like twitching, like myself.

 

We moved on as the twitchers dispersed, and followed a circular route back to the car park. A scrape in an area of grassland held a few AVOCETS, as well as the usual marshland birds. Some SNIPE were put into the air by a passing MARSH HARRIER. SWALLOWS and HOUSE MARTINS were flying over the meadows in pursuit of airborne insects.
A CUCKOO was heard calling over the marshes, but was too far away to see. A WATER RAIL was heard squealing from an area of reedbed. We came back to the car park, quicker than we expected, but apart from the AMERICAN BITTERN, there wasn't too much to see.

There was a small colony of pure white DOVES in an abandoned farm building.

 

 

With Carlton Marshes completed it was over to Oulton Marshes, the Trust's second reserve in the area, a bit larger than Carlton Marshes, and situated north of the river. It was more low key than Carlton Marshes, with a small car park by the church, and only the odd sign, you wouldn't really know there was a reserve there.

 

Typical Broads country

 

As we entered the reserve the area was overgrown fen, and the first birds we heard were WILLOW WARBLERS, birds that are becoming hard to find and my first for the year. The path crossed the train line and from there we heard a GRASSHOPPER WARBLER reeling, a monotonous song which people say sounds like the reeling of a fishing rod. The path cut in and we heard a CUCKOO calling. We looked around for it, and with great luck managed to find it perched fairly openly on a poplar. As we moved on another CUCKOO flew over, not the same one as the one before was still calling. The path joined the river wall and as it did so the reserve opened out into wet grassland, a landscape which stretched far to the horizon. On a scrape were pairs each of AVOCET, REDSHANK, SHOVELLER and TEAL. The path followed the shape of a square and we soon returned to the car park. On the way we passed a small holding which held a curious EMU, a surreal sight to find in Suffolk. Two MUNTJACS as we finished rounded off a nice walk.

 

 



EMU

The Suffolk Broads until now had always been overlooked compared to the much larger areas in Norfolk. Until now the Suffolk Broad reserves had always been small scale, with little to offer to birdwatchers, when compared to places like Hickling. But it was nice to finally see the place, something I have been planning to do for a long time. Of course seeing the AMERICAN BITTERN was good, it was just apart from that there wasn't much else. Hopefully when the Trust completes its objective of acquiring all the surrounding land into a super reserve it will turn into a great destination.

 

 

Trimley Marshes - 18/4/2018

 Fisherman at Loompit Lake

 

With Spring migrants slowly trickling into the country I though it might be a good idea to go down to Trimley, always a good place for birds. The area I birdwatch edges the Felixstowe docks, the largest in the country and hugs the Orwell estuary. Timley Marshes is a Suffolk Wildlife reserve, probably the best reserve for birdwatchig the trust has, compromising wet grassland, several scrapes and a large reservoir. It is set in a large area of farmland, which can be quite boring, but also includes a decent lake in Loompit

Anyway the day proved to be the hottest of the year so far, making the walk a bit of a slog, and creating a haze on the landscape, but also stifling bird activity.

I took the Felixstowe train from Ipswich, stopping off at Trimley, where I met my brother and he drove us over to Levington Marina - the nearest car park to Trimley Marshes is three miles away. The tide was rising but there were still areas of mud about. From the marina the path went through an area of wood where BLUEBELLS were emerging. The path led to Loompit Lake, a large, artificial lake, good for its wintering and breeding WILDFOWL.

 



Good numbers of all the resident ducks were present: TUFTED DUCKS, POCHARD, GADWALL and SHOVELLER. Hopefully this will lead to a good breeding season. There were also two SWANS nesting, with larger numbers over the lake. Two MED GULLS flew over.

On the mudflats BLACKWITS and REDSHANKS were present in small numbers. Still hanging around were small numbers of BRENT GEESE. Considering the brief breeding season so far up north they need to hurry up and get going, while they have time.

We passed the Managed Retreat, an area of field that was deliberately flooded to be turned to mudflats to compensate for mudflats lost further up the river when they were built on with cranes from the docks. Nothing much was present except for one solitary DUNLIN.

 Male POCHARD

 

We eventually arrived at Trimley Marshes. The first hide overlooks the Winter Flood. This is usually the best scrape for birds as it is flooded in winter (of course), but is then allowed to dry out over the summer - creating lots of mud and grass for migrant and breeding waders. However today the scrape had more water than I have ever seen, completely flooded except for a few islands. There were plenty of ducks present with a few WIGEON and TEAL joining the usual resident birds. On the wader front two RINGED PLOVERS were present amongst all the resident birds.
Between the hides and the scrapes they overlook is a ditch with reedbeds. They were full of newly arrived SEDGE WARBLERS, excitedly chattering away as they go full throttle in establishing territories. There were also several REED BUNTINGS, creating territories in the bushes amongst the reeds.

 LITTLE GREBE nesting in one of the dykes

 

Further down the path, the next two hides were being painted by Suffolk Wildlife Trust volunteers. So we decided to give them a miss and went down to the furthest hide the reservoir hide. As its name suggests it overlooks the reservoir which is similar to Loompit Lake with the same species, except there are no fishermen. By the entrance to the hide a CETTI'S WARBLER exploded in song.

As we left the reservoir hide we found the other hides had stopped being painted - it was lunchtime. They over look two separate scrapes, the Permanent Lagoon and the Summer Flood. The Permanent Lagoon was quiet, but the Summer Flood had large numbers of AVOCET with several pairing up and defending territories.
After going as far as Trimley Marshes we basically had to walk back the same way. On the way back the tide had risen quite high. By the Managed Retreat we found two FALLOW DEER. There is a small herd in the area, and we thought these might be young bucks kicked out of the herd and forced to  live alone.

 

We arrived back at the Marina and I got a lift back to the station, and got the train home.

Anyway it was a good day out, if a bit quiet, fairly solid without being spectacular. Spring migrants are arriving fairly slowly this year, and a lot of birds I expect to be present haven't arrived yet. Only time will tell how badly birds have been affected by the cold Spring.



Minsmere - 11/4/2018

Having booked three days off work I still had one day left in which to do some birding. My brother was still hanging around in Suffolk, and without much thought or creativity, we decided to take a trip to Minsmere -again. Its pretty much the go to choice when you're not sure about where to go.
We left around mid morning, but soon discovered that the misty weather that affected my time in North Norfolk was still hanging around the countryside making visibility very poor.
The usual arrival routine was followed: park up - walk to the visitor's centre - show our membership cards - ask what's been seen - drink some coffee - set off for the hides. A routine as old as time itself.
In the old car park SAND MARTINS had returned for the Spring and were busy flying back and forth into their nesting holes in the sand cliff.
A thick fog had descended on the scrape and visibility from the North Hide was poor, but some of the usual birds could be just made out in the gloom. Exiting from the hide and passing though the North Bushes which were again quiet, passing the Stone Curlew field which might have held stone curlews its was just impossible to make anything out. The reedbeds from across the North Wall were deathly quite - no warblers had returned yet - and then we made our way onto the beach to look out to the sea.
With a mist on the sea nothing much could be seen. We walked along the beach to East Hide. In the fog a couple of MED GULLS could be made out, but maybe numbers might have dropped off since the last visit. A pair of STONECHATS seem to be nesting in the gorse bushes among the dunes. A pair of SANDWICH TERNS flew over and came back again several times.
We took the path to the final two hides from the beach, but again the mist was heavy and not much could be seen. Either a WEASEL or a STOAT ran across the path - it was too quick to tell which - but not much else. A quick note - CETTI'S WARBLER numbers seem to have been decimated by the cold snaps. Usually Minsmere has loads - 100+ pairs but I have heard none since the cold spell. They are a fairly recent colonist from the Mediterranean so are suspect to the cold of this country. We have to wait and see.
We took a break for lunch - a jacket potato in the café, and then headed to the reedbed hides. Bittern Hide was strangely empty, although it filled up after we entered - everyone was looking for bitterns - but I've never seen one from this hide. The hide is up a flight of stairs at around tree height and gives a panorama over the Minsmere reedbeds. However as there are no pools of any size not much can be seen. Three RED DEER were present on a grass bank in the reedbed - then two more came, coming out of the reedbeds, swimming across a dyke before joining the herd. That was a nice sight, even though it always seems so strange to see these big wild beasts in the countryside of Suffolk.

Three of the RED DEER - as you can see it was very misty

A BITTERN was heard booming, a deep fog horn blasting over the reedbed, a real atmospheric sound, one that is so rare way from the giant reedbeds. We walked further along to Island Mere hide, the last hide really on the itinerary. It overlooks a large lake - the mere - situated amongst the reedbeds. MARSH HARRIERS are guaranteed - and we saw several, although there were no bitterns or bearded tits. The usual DUCKS were around in small numbers and both GREBES were seen.
So not really much to report really, visibility was poor and that was key to today. Who knows what birds were lurking in the gloom, and it was definite we could have seen a lot more had there been no fog. Such are the pleasures of birdwatching and a visit to Minsmere is always a good time spent.

Cley Marshes - 10/4/2018

 

Having completed the photo safari with David Tipling - see previous posts - and sitting in Cley car park with only half the day over, I decided to have a look around Cley reserve. Having had my fill of photography I decided to ditch the big camera I used on the safari and took my telescope instead, armed with just my little bridge camera. Its always a conundrum, whether to take the DLR camera or a telescope. Both are too heavy to take together so often I have to choose one over the other.

Because of time constraints, I had to go home that day, I had only had a couple of hours to see the reserve, not that long for such a large and complex place.



The mist that had been present in the morning decided to hang around, making birdwatching very difficult, especially on a reserve like  Cley where you need a telescope to  properly see some birds.

First port of call and the best area of the reserve are the fresh water scrapes, three shallow bodies of water over looked by hides. When I was first there it was fairly quiet with around five RUFF the most interesting birds. AVOCETS were present, although they were in loose flocks with only a few pairs about. There were some GODWITS about, and small numbers of GULLS nesting. SNIPE were around the edges amongst the tussocky vegetation.

However when I came back a second time after going round the rest of the reserve, everything changed. A SPOONBILL turned up - see pictures - on one of the scrapes. Then four YELLOW WAGTAILS were discovered on an area of grassland by the scrape, my earliest ever sighting of the species. Then everything was put to the air by a ring-tail HEN HARRIER, which passed over the scrapes. Someone in the hide confidently classed it as a sub-adult, but I couldn't be certain. It was certainly different to the resident MARSH HARRIERS and was a contrast of winter versus Summer, that had made up the recent season.

 

The path goes round Cley Marshes in a square shape. Away from the scrape hides the path goes along the East Bank, on one side of which is reedbed the other wet grassland. Water levels were high on the grassland where a few remnant winter ducks were still present. SKYLARKS were singing in the drier areas. East Bank leads to the sea, but just before that is Arnold's Marsh, a large brackish scrape. Large numbers of DUNLIN and RINGED PLOVER were present, with small numbers of TURNSTONE, and singles of BARWITS and CURLEW. Also present were several SANDWICH TERNS roosting on the scrape, the largest of the commonest terns, and my first of the year.
The mist made sea watching pointless, and there wasn't much else on the rest of the reserve.
So as always a good time spent at Cley, with plenty of birds present representing a good example of spring passage, its just a shame I didn't have more time.

Norrfolk Photo Safari with David Tipling - Part 2 - 10/4/2018

 

With the first part of our bird watching safari finished with, David Tipling took us to his private wood, to photograph from his hide. The wood was a mix of conifer and ancient woodland and David owned around four acres or so of it.

As we left the car and walked to the hide a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER was heard drumming.
With the recent wet weather the hide, which was below ground level, had to have water pumped out of it and it resembled something from the trenches of the Western Front. When we were able to use the hide, the viewing window was just above the ground level to be on the same level as the birds when they would come down to feed.

 

The hide looked onto a branch covered in bird food and a pond with a log on. It took a while but eventually the word spread between the birds and they started to appear, mainly on the branch. The most striking was of course the pair of GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKERS. They were literally perched on a branch stuck in the ground maybe two metres away.

 

 The differences between the two sexes can be seen by the red on the neck of the male - above - compared to the female - below

 

We must have spent nearly two hours there and took maybe a thousand photos. We talked to David and learned a lot about his life which was quite fascinating. A lot of the time was spent in silent contemplation of the beauty nature was opening up to us. Even in a place as tame as England, a place as divorced from wildlife as possible, nature still has a way of striking the soul.

 

The log in the pond provided opportunities for great reflections. 

 

 

ROBINS are such a charismatic focus for photos, however because they are so photogenic you end up with hundreds of photos of them

 

 

As you can see we took some great photos, its just a pity the lighting conditions were so bad. With decent lighting the photos would be twice as good.

 



 A more natural setting for the WOODPECKERS perched on a nearby tree.

 

 

 

CHAFFINCHES like this male feed on the ground

 

 

Also seen - but not well photographed were several COAL TITS and MARSH TITS.

 



 

 

 

 

They may be cute - but they're classed as pest doing unimaginable damage to our forests.

 

After we had taken our fill of photographs we still had a bit of time left so we went on the look out for some HARES again. We left the wood and drove around the arable fields that made up the landscape of this area of Norfolk. Again David used his HARE attracting device and this time it worked! Two BROWN HARES came racing over and stopped maybe two hundred metres away, examining us before, well, haring off.

 

 

 



As you can see the mist was quite strong at this point and it made the auto focus on the camera go haywire.

 

 

 

Also seen were three ROE DEER but again the mist was too strong to have any decent photos (the third deer was out of shot).

 

 

Also seen from a tree beside the road was my first WHEATEAR of the year and a RED KITE was seen hunting over the fields, as well as a few MARSH HARRIERS. After that we returned to the Cley car park and we had finished.

So that was it - half a day gone and the photo safari was completed. So I got a few decent images, I got some advice on camera settings. Of course the weather affected things and the bad luck to get a misty day after having booked the day months in advance, getting a slot off work, only for the poor light. David tried hard to remedy that, but it was outside of his control.

Would I recommend the photo safari? Well I had an enjoyable time and it did increase my photography skills (I wonder if I will remember any of it). I liked seeing new and different areas of north Norfolk, an area I know quite well. Maybe more pinpointing of certain species might have helped, but overall it was good and maybe worth a look if you're thinking of bird watching in the area.



Norfolk Photo Safari with David Tipling - Part 1 - 10/4/2018

 

Even though I have been a birder for most of my life, I have only recently taken up photography, maybe only for the last couple of years. Bird photography is hard, you need decent equipment and the luck of being in the right place at the right time. You need the weather to be on your side, and the light needs to be perfect, something that doesn't happen too often in the UK. Recently I have been struggling - I've invested in good equipment, so that's not the problem, its just that I have been getting better pictures on my old bridge camera than my new expensive DSLR camera. I just want to take the next step up.
If you are a regular reader of my blog then you will probably know my level as a photographer, I produce some decent pictures but not quite to a standard I want to be at. I want to be better, to produce better images, to reflect my interest in birds. However I couldn't do this on my own, the possibilities were endless on my camera, it would take years to master, so I needed help.
With all this in mind I decided to call upon a master of photography to help me out. I looked at the possibilities and decided upon on a half day course with David Tipling, to take me out on a safari around North Norfolk, a place teeming with wildlife and photographic potential. 
So at six o'clock on a Tuesday morning we were sitting in the car parked at Cley, waiting for David. We had woken up at half four to be here, an alien time for someone like myself who enjoys a lie in. The clock turned to six and David arrived bang on time.
It had been raining to begin with but it soon ended. However the light wasn't great with quite a thick fog on the countryside. As you can see the photos came out quite dark, there just wasn't a decent light today.

 

We switched to David's car and we drove for a long time, we passed Titchwell, and ended up at Thornham Harbour. As we arrived a small flock of BRENT GEESE were put to flight by the car. Nearby were some WADERS on the mud. An AVOCET, which was initially cagey, keeping itself tucked up, but would later moved around allowing some photos which you can see above. Also present were a GREY PLOVER, a REDSHANK and a pair of OYSTERCATCHERS which were seen mating. A SWALLOW flew passed a first of the year for me.

We moved down the estuary where there was a CURLEW - see below - the largest of the waders, a bird that stands out amongst the other species by its sheer bulkiness, its long curved beak and its bubbly call.

 

And a BLACK TAILED GODWIT present in beautiful brick red breeding plumage, these are birds that winter in the UK but nest in Iceland.

 



We went further inland to look for BROWN HARES - this part of the world was crawling with them - nearly every field had one. David had this device which emitted a sound that would entice the HARES to come over. The sound was like someone blowing into a kazoo over and over again. However this time it didn't quite work - some HARES came close but didn't stand out amongst the crops.
As well as HARES the fields were full of large numbers of PHEASANTS and RED LEGGED PARTRIDGES, introduced into the countryside in huge numbers to be shot. The countryside isn't a fair place at all, just don't forget that nothing of the countryside is in any way natural, its an intensely managed landscape. The stupid birds would stand in the road and not move even if a car was coming straight at them. Its meant to be sporting to shoot these stupid things.

 

We disturbed a pair of KESTRELS, and even though the female fled the make stayed in the tree long enough to be photographed - the handy bugger.

Anyway, this is the end of part one, the next part David takes us to his private hide in his wood, where we photographed small woodland birds.

COUE'S ARCTIC REDPOLL - Hazelwood Marshes - 1/4/2018

 

Two rare breed sheep, a male and female, out grazing Snape Warren

 

Had a nice Easter day, visiting the family in Snape, had a nice meal, although being a new vegetarian, I'm still getting used to the food. Nut roast or lamb - hmm. After the meal we went for a walk along the Sailor's Path, a track that runs from Snape to Aldeburgh, through heath and woodland, fenland and marshes and which flows parallel to the river Alde. Around three miles along the way is Hazelwood Marshes, an area of mudflats that used to be grazing marsh until it was inundated by the surge of 2013. It has a hide which is the only viewpoint on the river for miles around.

 

As you can see from the  photo above it was high tide, everything was completely saturated under water. Islands had been created that just about peaked above the water line and were full of roosting WADERS. The usual suspects were around such as AVOCET, BLACKWIT, DUNLIN and OYSTERCATCHERS, birds that are usually encountered along the river throughout the year. Also present were a flock of BAR TAILED GODWITS,  a species that doesn't usually winter that much on the estuary, which probably means they were a spring passage flock. Some of the birds had turned into the brick red of their summer plumage, a much richer and deeper colour than the BLACKWIT. There were also GREY PLOVER, TURNSTONE and KNOT about. There were a few duck about, the usual wintering species. Hazelwood Marshes was the planned destination of the walk, from where we would walk back to Snape. However I had one final plan.

Okay, so on other blogs I have mentioned I don't usually do twitches, but with a COUE'S ARCTIC REDPOLL just half a mile from Hazelwood Marshes, I thought I might as well have a look. It was by the entrance car park, nothing particularly different about the habitat just some farmland.
One birdwatcher was present, and upon asking him if he had seen anything we were directed to a flock of LESSER REDPOLLS (the normal or commoner redpolls). A flock of 15 were present feeding on farmland - strange behaviour for a bird usually seen in woodland. Every so often they would erupt from the field and roost in a nearby hedge, where they would stay for a couple of minutes before commuting back to the field, where they would hide in and out in the ploughed furrows. Eventually after around half an hour I finally caught sight of the ARCTIC REDPOLL, a much paler bird with a slightly longer body. Okay I guess, some kind of tick, a new bird species, quite a rare bird to find even though this one had been present since October. With that done we walked back to Snape and I went home.

So ended my little Sailor's Path adventure and it proved to be quite an interesting one. Next birdwatching visit will be to North Norfolk  next week. Until then have fun.