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.