Christchurch Park - 20/3/2020

 

 

With the Covid-19 virus hitting the shores of the UK, many areas of the countryside we have taken for granted for have now became closed off to visitors, to stop  the spread. I was able to get to  Christchurch Park with my camera a day before it was officially closed to the public to record what is a pivotal time in the wildlife calendar. Spring is here, perhaps the most important season for wildlife and will carry on regardless to our woes.

 

 This female MALLARD had an extraordinary 13 ducklings

 

Whatever shortcomings Ipswich has a town it has some excellent urban parks, of which Christchurch is probably the best. Rising up from the town centre into northern Ipswich, Christchurch Park is a vital green lung for the town, providing greenery and nature to many people within a built up area.
I don't know how many times I have gone to the town centre, only to spend my time in this park. I know it like the back of my hand, and it repays me on every visit.

Little MALLARD ducklings

 



Its a familiarity with people that has given the birds a tolerance to any disturbance. As a result the birds are approachable and therefore are much easier to photograph than their counterparts in more rural locations.

Here's trouble: LESSER BLACK BACKED GULLS

 



The main feature of the park are the veteran trees, with some quite impressive old specimens. These stately specimens stand as sentinels in the park, guardians of the past and the future, for a time beyond our imagining.
Their trunks writhe as if possessed with demons underneath, they have a bloated main trunk with stubby branches reaching up to the sky, making them so impressive to contemplate.

One of the many impressive trees in the park.

 

These old trees have many nooks and crannies that provide much nesting and feeding habitat to the birds of parkland, such as MISTLE THRUSHES, STOCK DOVES, GREAT SPOTTED & GREEN WOODPECKERS, and MABEL the most famous owl in the country, although she has been missing for a couple of months.

SNAKES HEAD FRITILLERY

Apart from the river Orwell, Christchurch Park is the best site in the town for birds. As well as the veteran trees and the areas of parkland, there is an arboretum, and of course, the Wilderness Pond.

MISTLE THRUSH with nesting material

 



A bit of a misnomer, the Wilderness Pond is not in the least bit wild, rather a place where young families congregate to feed the many mongrelly MALLARDS present. Rubbing shoulders with these mallards are a horde of CANADA GEESE and what is the largest number of MANADRIN DUCKS in the county. These birds are one of the most beautiful birds in this country, but I'm fed up of photographing them, so look at an older blog for pictures.

This is the most common thrush in the park, loving the scattered trees and grassy turf

 



At the moment many of the CANADA GEESE are vying for the rights to the best nesting spots, so there is a lot of argy bargee amongst them, with birds getting very aggressive. Quite a large number nest on the various islands in the pond with as many as seven pairs present here. Three pairs of MANDARINS are present, being a tree nesting bird, nest boxes have been provided for them.
Pairs of COOT and LITTLE GREBE were present so its assumed they may nest this year. COOTS nested for the first time in the park's history last year, raising two broods. I have no idea about the LITTLE GREBES, I have never seen them nest here before, in fact they are quite rare birds here, so it would be great if they raised a family.

BLUE TIT

 



On the 17 March I made an earlier visit to the park, and there was a female MALLARD accompanied by an amazing 13 ducklings. Already used to humans the little birds came right up to me without a single care of my presence, I could have reached out and picked one up.
Unfortunately the pair of LESSER BLCK BACKED GULLS have returned. They nest every year on top of the large buildings bordering the park. From here they feast on all the young ducklings that are born on the pond, even venturing to take the larger goslings. Extremely clever, they have no qualms about eating up an entire generation of birds on the pond.

 STOCK DOVE come down to feed at the Wilderness Pond on spilt grain given to the ducks

 

Being such a warm Spring, lots of flowers have emerged. Yellow LESSER CELENDINE and PRIMROSE around the wooded areas, along with loads of DAFFS. In the fen area, a nice marshy grassy place just north of the Wilderness Pond, SNAKES HEAD FRITILLERIES have emerged. An extremely rare flower, it grows at around ten sites in the country, including a few in Suffolk, these specimens have probably been planted or seeded.

 CARRION CROW

 

As the country comes under more and more serious lockdown, I can now only sit by my laptop dreaming about the many gems there are out there in our countryside and everything that's going on without me. Because although its a city park, surrounded on all sides by housing development, it still is a place rich for birds, a slice of countryside accidently dropped in amongst the concrete.
Who knows what will be the cost of the virus, what in our society has changed, but wildlife will keep on going, living through the changing seasons as they have done in the past and will do in the future. Take comfort in that.

Minsmere - 18/3/2020

 

 

The sheer number of birds at Minsmere is mind boggling, by how many are present in this diverse nature reserve. This amount is really extenuated by the season of Spring, a time when the birds are gearing up for the breeding season. Not only are there thousands of birds on the Scrape, but even within the woodlands, the areas of scrub there are so many birds singing and establishing territories. The birds are making themselves obvious now, after spending the winter slinking away. Having such a diverse amount of high quality habitats makes Minsmere maybe the best reserve in the country for birds and other wildlife.

 

The view from North Hide: across West Scrape towards Sizewell B

 

As you enter the reserve even before you get to the Scrape, you are hit by this wall of sound from the cacophony of thousands of BLACK HEADED  GULLS, as you approach the hides. The birds are newly arrived and are jostling with each other as they set up territories for the breeding season. Its a true wildlife spectacle, with so many birds trying to fit into such a small area, the Scrape, and any birdwatcher coming to Suffolk has to witness it, any nature lover too.

 LAPWING nest in the short grass in front of North Hide

 

Water levels on the Scrape are very high, with a lot of islands covered by water, especially on South Scrape, and to a lesser extent on East Scrape. This has confused many birds. Arriving every year to nest in the same spot, this year they find there's nothing there as their island nesting place is under water. As a result many GULLS are standing knee deep in water wondering where their nesting spot has gone. MED GULLS were back as well, like the black headeds, but quite strikingly different when you get your eye in, a bird that has increased a lot over the years. They don't number in the thousands, with maybe thirty present instead.

 



 A pair of DARTFORD WARBLERS nest in gorse bushes on the beach

 

Breeding WADERS have returned, with the grassy area in front of North Hide a favourite spot for LAPWING to nest. Pairs of OYSTERCATCHER, plenty of AVOCET, REDSHANKS mainly on West Scrape, and a RINGED PLOVER on the beach had all arrived. With the high water levels migrating WADERS weren't particularly obvious, with just a few GODWIT and one TURNSTONE.

 COOT are very territorial, with the deep water on the Scrape, there are more present than normal

 

With the high water levels being detrimental for GULLS and WADERS, nature still finds a balance, more water has led to larger numbers of DUCK, with a good amount of SHOVELLER and GADWALL present. There are more COOT around, as well as more GEESE and SWANS. The Levels, the area of wet grassland south of the Scrape, were still flooded with a decent amount of water, with 15 PINTAIL present amongst the commoner DUCKS.

 



There are thousands of BLACK HEADED GULL on the Scrape as they prepare for the breeding season

 

At ths time of year, there is the twinkling of birds from every tree or bush as birds proclaim their right to their territory to nest in. There were large numbers of all the usual birds. On the beach there were three pairs of STONECHATS amongst the gorse bushes. And where you find STONECHATS you find DARTFORD WARBLERS, with a pair present in bushes just behind East Hide.

Every bush had a CHIFFCHAFF singing from it as new migrants arrive into our country from Europe, this is known as a "fall", where migrants arrive en masse, deposited by some weather system. Likewise every reedside tree burst with the explosive song of the CETTI'S WARBLER, again a fairly new colonist.

 



Any visit to Minsmere in March, wouldn't be complete without hearing the "booming" of a BITTERN. This secretive reedbed bird, for maybe a month, will announce its territory by this loud sound. Its a sound that carries for miles in the quiet air of a nature reserve. This is a rare thing in this country, and is only found where there are huge reedbeds, the home of bitterns, which is not a common habitat in this country. When I started out birdwatching this bird was found in only three sites in the country, one of them Minsmere, and while not common now, they are found in many more places due to reedbed creation on many new reserves.

There are good numbers of GADWALL on the Scrape

After the excitement of the Scrape, the reedbeds were a bit of a disappointment. Some BEARDED TITS were heard calling from the reed fronds around the Konik Fields, and there were plenty of REED BUNTINGS calling from a suitable perch, the usual birds for Minsmere.
Island Mere held two pairs of GREAT CRESTED GREBE, which indulged in a bit of display, mainly just head shaking, this bird is famous for its elaborate courtship. However there was little else present, MARSH HARRIERS performing food passes, and over the trees in the distance, a flock of THRUSHES several hundred strong flew, reminding us this is still partly winter.

 

MUTE SWAN

 



There was so much birdlife today at Minsmere, it is impossible to see it all in a four hour visit, and also impossible to relate it within a readable blog. Spring is my favourite time of year, as a time of renewal after Winter, but also as a time when there is so much birdlife. Literally anything could turn up as the birds in the world migrate somewhere new for the breeding season and the birds are all singing and making themselves obvious, brightening the soul. Unfortunately at the time of writing there is this virus going about that will restrict our enjoyment of the countryside, just at the wrong time, forcing us to stay inside whilst we need the outdoors oh so much more.

 

Hollesley Marshes; Hollesley Heath - 13/3/2020

Early March can be a quiet time to look for birds. The breeding season hasn't quite begun, and winter has run its course. Its a gamble going anywhere, as no place will be at its best. I decided on a whim to concentrate on the Hollesley area, its marshes and its heaths, hoping a medley of habitats would produce birds. However it proved to be the opposite and I didn't see much to be honest.

Hollesley Marshes
The standout birds on the reserve was the large flock of WHITE FRONTED GEESE, over a hundred strong. They were feeding on the grassland behind the scrape before being disturbed and flying on to the scrape. This is a good size flock for the reserve and the time of year, by March most birds would have left, and the marshes are proving to be a reliable place to find them.

View across the scrape to the prison beyond

The scrape still had decent numbers of DUCK present, the majority being WIGEON, but also with a few PINTAIL among the commoner birds. Breeding WADERS have started to turn up, with plenty of LAPWING on territory on the grassy areas the birds tumbling around in the air as they protect their area of land. REDSHANK and OYSTERCATCHERS had all arrived and there were 18 AVOCETS about.
The scrape at Hollesley is different to the one at Minsmere. The scrape here is like a flooded area amongst grassland, whilst the one at Minsmere is made up of many different habitats attracting a lot more birds than here at Hollesley
Walking up to the river wall, and scouting around, there were six GREY SEALS resting on the other side of the river, on the shingle banks of Orford Ness.

 GREY SEALS resting on Orford Ness on the other side of the river

 

Hollesley Heath
After the marshes I played a visit to the heaths. I had a nice long walk through the Hollesley Heath area, through the vast landscape of differing habitats. It was nice to just explore the area, as it is vast, and there are undeniably many birds, its just takes a lot more searching.

 

 

Its the largest block of heath outside the Minsmere area, where large patches of heath jigsaw with areas of farmland and forest. The heath I walked through today was Lower Hollesley Common, a large block of heather.
A lot of the land consists of confier plantations, along with birch woods, and scattered veteran pines. The farmland was made up of cabbages and turf, bright green grass used for gardens and football pitches. It seems a trifle unnecessary to grow turf, its not food, its not nature. To anyone saying farmers grow our food, just think of those fields of turf, intensively grown crops on land that should at least be given over to nature or something.There are no hedgerows in this area, rather there are pine belts, rows of trees that act as shelter, to stop the sandy soil from being blown away.

Unfortunately there weren't many birds about, not the heathland specialists I was looking for. The best sighting was of a herd of DEER. A group of 28 FALLOW DEER on Lower Hollelsey Common, were resting under the shelter of a large, lone pine tree. As we approached the deer became nervous and got up. The herd split in two, one going one side one going another. That meant one of the group came in our direction, stopped went back, undecided, before heading back in our direction again, but this time sprinting fast to outrun us, eventually disappearing into the woods. Its always good to get view of these animals, such a large landscape of here, of many different habitats can support large numbers of creatures. Its when the land is given over to monoculture in intensively farmed areas that wildlife is at a minimum.

 

 

I wasn't too disappointed with the day as I wasn't expecting much to be honest. I don't think any place would have produced any good bird sightings at this time of the year. Sometimes its just good to distance myself from the twitching side of birdwatching and just explore the countryside, with no specific aim.

Winter on the Local Patch

Winter, once a time of bleak coldness and a desolate beauty, formerly a time of little respite for wildlife hanging on in the cold, has now all but disappeared as a season. A season of mild weather has truly confused life on the Patch, with temperatures rarely going below that of a balmy spring's day. Along with this the winter also has the distinction of being very wet, with floods in less dry areas of the country, and with no less than three named storms moving through in February. This confused medley of mild yet unsettled weather, may be something we can look forward to with climate change, or it could possibly be a short term thing, I doubt anyone can decide.

A makeshift bridge over a flooded area

The patch is mainly arable, but being on the edge of town, there are trappings of civilisation. There are several cottages, some farmyards and lots of horse paddocks. The countryside hasn't survived the ravages of intensified agriculture too well, there are few hedges, and they become less and less each year. There are huge arable fields, deserts where nothing can live or grow, except crops. There are few fallow areas which would allow nature to breathe, a couple of unkempt corners, although First Field has been left uncultivated for a couple of years. However this usually means they plan to build houses on it.

The Patch is full of horse paddocks

 

There is one area of ancient woodland, Rede Wood, but it is so small it can't really harbour any woodland birds to any great extent as small populations in small habitats die out easily, The Suffolk Punch Field has permanent pasture with scattered bushes which provides the best bird area of the Patch.

 



WILDCAT

 



Birdwatching on the Patch has been difficult purely because this mild weather has confused all avian life. Due to calmer weather on the continent, birds have tended to loiter there, rather than being forced west, to Suffolk, to milder climes. So a lot of birds, like winter thrushes, have become noticeable by their absence. There have been odd flocks, but little to compare to the numbers of yesteryear. It might not mean anything, I mean future harsher winters could lead to bigger numbers returning again, nature is so hard to predict.

 

BLUE TIT

 

Birds on the Patch usually consist of the odd BLACKBIRD, maybe a MAGPIE, a CROW or a GREAT TIT. True farmland birds, such as YELLOWHAMMERS are hanging on by a thread, it was only five years ago I was seeing flocks of fifty, now its just the odd few birds.
It can be tough going when you have nothing to see, a bit demoralising. Its the state of our countryside, that away from the nature reserves birds are present in such low numbers. Surely there is room for both food production and wildlife to live side by side, a sentiment many people wouldn't disagree with. And to be honest it doesn't take much to attract birds, an overgrown hedge, a weedy corner of a field, small things make great benefits. If only the landowners could see what good effects implementing a bit of habitat change could make, human and bird side by side, we would all benefit.

 



Some beautiful BLACKTHORN

 

FINCH flocks are a feature of winter with groups of birds hanging around and then passing through once they have engorged themselves. These flocks are mainly of LINNET and GOLDFINCHES, whilst a flock of 12 GREENFINCHES hung around the hedge in First Field, not something to be sniffed at when the population of this bird has plummeted. On 19 Nov there were a pair of BULLFINCHES by the Pond, a bird that has become scarce again, it was not that long ago when they nested on the Patch.

This is always the first shrub to flower, marking an important time in spring

 

The mild weather has really confused the birds with some SKYLARKS tentatively singing from as early as the 12 Nov on Lark Field and from the 27 Dec SONG THRUSHES had started singing. However this was just a premature thing and the birds soon returned to normal. The second week of March is when the birds, all on queue, start to sing their little hearts out, ready for the breeding season.
A flock of 30 SKYLARKS were in Lark Field, but unfortunately the field had been sown with Autumn crops, so the height of the vegetation will be to high for any larks to nest in come Spring, such is the hardships of intensive agriculture.

 

SNOWDROPS growing in the church cemetery

 



A GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER spends its time on the tall trees around the pond. This is a favoured "drumming" spot where the bird will bang out a tune on a tree to attract a mate. It doesn't nest here, but in the nearby trees around the hall, rather it uses the trees around the pond as a kind of amplifier, making its call echo out over the Patch.

 

With all the heavy rains this Winter, the stream flooded over for the first time in my memory

 

BUZZARDS have spent the winter on the Suffolk Punch Field, with another pair at Rede Wood. These are the apex predator on the Patch, sitting on top of the food chain, mighty lords of the Patch. Along with them there are some KESTRELS which hang around the Suffolk Punch Field, and the occasional SPARROWHAWK moves through without lingering. 

 

Wildlife on intensive farms: a single MAGPIE in a desolate arable field

 

On 28 Feb a male STONECHAT, a new site record, was present on the field behind the sport's centre, an area of open rough grassland. This species is a classic early spring migrant, usually one of the first of the year. Who knows, maybe it will go to the foothills of Scotland, or to the shingle beaches of Minsmere for the summer. This is a good time to be a stonechat, one of the few species of bird to be increasing in our countryside, thanks to the great work gone into restoring our heathlands.

 



Farmer poisoning the land

 

Its not just birds that use the Patch, there are also some records of mammals here as well. These are usually animals passing through this area of countryside, they don't tend to linger due to the lack of habitat. On the 1st Jan, a BROWN HARE was on one of the prarie fields that border Old Norwich Road, whilst three ROE DEER were on the deserted horse paddocks behind First Field on the 7th Feb. I have seen single individuals of the deer before, but this is the first multiple sighting.

 



BLACKBIRD taking a bath in the Pond

 



BLACKTHORN, an indicator of spring, was out extremely early this year, appearing on the 17 Feb. The white flowers that grace our hedgerows, are a celebration of the end of winter. Usually they appear in the second week of March, so being confused by the mild weather they have appeared prematurely. SNOWDROPS were actually late this year, waiting for the snows that would never arrive, and were found in various wooded places, and yellow LESSER CELENDINE were around the wooded areas, another early flower.

 

Stately trees grow beside the Pond

 

The twin threats of intensive agriculture and climate change is having a damaging effect on our countryside. Small popultions due to lack of habitat for food and nesting, means that they can't survive the brunt of what's to come. The thing is that creating the right habitat for our farmland birds isn't difficult, but for some reason there is this psychotic need to have everything in our countryside so clean, so tidy, which is an anathema of nature. Farmers have so much responsibility as custodians of the countryside, more than just producing food. Its not too late, but it soon might be, and we will be the worse off for the disappearance of nature from our fields.



The Gipping Valley Lakes - 3/3/2020

 

Sometimes humans can, unwittingly, create artificial barriers to the natural world. An anti-predator fence around Causeway Lake was one such example. Somehow a cob SWAN has manged to get separated from his mate by this fence, where despite being only millimetres apart they were separated from each other. No matter how hard he tried the cob could not find a way through to his mate.

 

I don't know if the swans ever got together again, its not like the swan could just jump over. Being big birds swans tend to need a big runway to get into the air, and the birds were not afforded the space here.

There was a genuine sense of loss here, the swans wanted to be together but just couldn't despite being so close. And despite all his efforts the swan could not just fathom how to get to his mate.
This was just one of the games of nature being played out on the River Gipping Lakes, as hints of Spring hang in the air.

 

 

Riverfarm Lock

 

The river Gipping and its associated lakes are an assortment of small gravel pits and quarries that form a sort of landscape along the river. Its a local patch of sorts, not being that far from where I live, and I visit it once a month. They hold a range of birds, as you shall see, as they form a variety of habitats. As usual there were lots of SWANS, COOTS, GREBES, MALLARDS and GEESE present on the lakes so I won't be mentioning them unless there are any interesting records.

 

Pipps Ford
The excavated quarry was inundated with water, absolutely flooded, which proved attractive to COOT with 13 birds present, all eeking out territories on the water. How long the flooding will last is anyones guess, and could result in coots nests being left high and dry by falling water levels. A LITTLE GREBE was also present, they breed here most years, so this bird is likely a returning nester.

Digger on the active quarry

 



Two GREEN SANDPIPERS were busy flying about, birds of this species pretty much spend all year at this site, disappearing for maybe a month in May, and can usually be found hanging about.
Pippins Lake has had a noticeable drop in duck numbers over the last month, but still held the largest numbers in the area, with 7 GADWALL, 5 TEAL and 4 TUFTED DUCK.

Pippins Lake

 

The active quarry was, understandably, disturbed by machinery digging out the sand. It only had 4 GADWALL and 4 LAPWING as well as a lot of loafing GULLS.

The active quarry

 



Small bird were becoming more active, the most distinct song was the melancholy tune of the MISTLE THRUSH, cutting through the trees and melting my heart with its sadness. A GREY WAGTAIL was by Riverside Farm Lock, a place where they usually nest, so hopefully the bird is a returning breeder to this man made obstacle in the river.

Shamford Mere and Causeway Lake
Surprisingly Causeway Lake held good numbers of wildfowl. Including the tragic swan pair, there were in total 10 SWANS present. 22 TUFTED DUCK were also on the lake along with a female GADWALL, and there were good numbers of COOT and GREBES present, getting ready for the breeding season.

Pair of OYSTERCATCHER on Shamford Mere

 



Shamford Mere held 5 WIGEON and 2 TUFTED DUCK, as well as a large flock of GEESE, over a hundred strong. The mere was flooding over onto the surrounding land, creating little pools which had enticed a pair of OYSTERCATCHER to come down to feed.
A MARSH TIT was in the riverside alders, a species I haven't seen in this part of the Gipping before.

Barham Pits
Things were as usual quiet around these lakes. A small flock of 10 TUFTED DUCK were on Pit A, as well as a LITTLE GREBE, my first record for that lake. GREAT CRESTED GREBES were nesting here and on Pit B.

Pair of GREAT CRESTED GREBES Barham Pits

 



A KINGFISHER was on the river down from GT Blakenham Lock, and a GREY WAGTAIL was over Pit A. Otherwise that was it.

Suffolk Water Park
The long staying BLACK THROATED DIVER was still around, the bird has been here for more than two months now, but had gone missing for a couple of weeks. This has been a great sighting for a bird rare in Suffolk and one that is usually coastal, so spending such a long time on a lake near Ipswich is pretty unexpected.
Otherwise wildfowl were gearing up for the breeding season, with good numbers of birds present.

GREAT CRESTED GREBE

 



One interesting record here was of a female SPARROWHAWK, which chased a DUNNOCK across the water, into a tree where it caught the bird in front of myself and several fishermen. The sparrowhawk, although flustered by the people paying it attention, didn't fly away despite being so close to humans, it continued to eat the dunnock in the tree before our eyes.

Female SPARROWHAWK

 



Despite what I sometimes say, even an area like the River Gipping Lakes can produce a lot of birds. And that's despite it being a quiet time of year. Winter seems to be well and truly over now, and we have Spring, my favourite season, to look forward to, to the birth and renewal of nature, to a time where anything is possible.