Pipps Ford - 27/5 & 6/6/2020

For a time that can be seen as historical, not a lot has happened. The era of the coronavirus, is marked by how inactive people have been, a time which is defined by being stuck indoors. As with most activities that rely on travel, birdwatching has been badly effected. Reserves are closed, and for two months now travel has been forbidden. I'm not complaining, because there are bigger things at stake, its just that I miss going out on my little birdwatching adventures so much.
However as lockdown eases, travel is now allowed and reserves are open, although at the moment most hides and visitor centres are closed. This has a big effect for the likes of Minsmere, or Welney, reserves which provide the visitor experience, but aren't allowed to open.

A newly fledged BLUE TIT, on the river by Baylham.

I'm still birding locally at the moment. Pipps Ford as I have said on many previous posts is the best birding site in the area. Being an area of public footpaths and countryside, it is always open, and few people visit, so there's no problem with social distancing and getting infected.

I've always found photographing SKYLARKS really difficult. This is one of the few times I have ever seen one perching.

The area consists of an exhausted quarry, an active quarry, two small lakes, areas of wood and rough grassland, all along the river Gipping. This good selection of habitats means there is usually a lot to see, and occasionally it hosts the odd rarity.

The exhausted quarry at Pipps Ford. This year the area has been able to keep a decent amount of water which has been good for birds.

With the calendar turning to June, the breeding season is well underway. Despite months of incessant sun, the exhausted quarry still holds a good amount of surface water which has been good for water birds. A GADWALL brood of 4 was a good find, as this is a scarce breeding bird away from the main wetlands. There were small numbers of this understated duck around all the areas of water, but no other signs of nesting. There were two brood of GREYLAGS, a brood of COOT, with another nesting and one LITTLE GREBE. WADERS were represented by LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS and LAPWING. Both species were very noticeable, as birds would fly into the air to see off a marauding crow. This is a sign of breeding activity, with the birds protecting their chicks. The chicks however are very difficult to see, as they are very well camouflaged. Breeding waders are scarce inland and away from the coastal wetlands, such as Minsmere.
On the grassland that surrounds the water, there are good numbers of SKYLARKS in what is a small area. They have stopped singing now, but are very active with flights to and from the nest to feed their chicks. They have a very distinctive way of moving their wings in flight and are quite bulky, which distinguishes them from other small birds.

The active quarry

The footpaths network in the area is strong, providing good access to the many different habitats around Pipps Ford. A good place is the active quarry. The path gives good views of the changing landscape here. There were no diggers present today, but there was a bulldozer moving sand out of the way to create a new road for access.
At the moment the active quarry is a deep sided lake with a few islands. There weren't too many birds, except for a pair of TUFTED DUCK and a pair of GREAT CRESTED GREBES, which might be colonists that have failed at other sites.
What is disheartening is the low numbers of SAND MARTINS present. They nest in the shifting sandy cliff faces of the quarry every year, but there seemed to be less about at the moment, hawking low over the surrounding grassland. As they are birds of transitional habitats, their numbers do fluctuate from year to year.

One of the SWANS, with a mallard, on Pippins Lake

Up river from Pipps Ford, Riverside Farm Pit is a small lake surrounded by grass and bulrushes. It has small number of birds and today there was a creche of multiple broods of different sized CANADA GEESE goslings, as well as some young MOORHENS.
Pippins Lake, a larger lake bordered by tall trees, had a SWAN family with five lovely young cygnets, but not much else.

The woodlands are full of young birds at the moment, and it seems to be a good year, although it's hard to tell, from just today's visit. There were flocks of young birds newly evicted from the nest but still dependent on their parents. They would make a lot of noise as they demand to be fed. Those adults still raising young are making food flights and have no time to stop, its a race against time to complete everything in the short summer months.
By Riverside Farm Pit there were three fledged MISTLE THRUSHES in a sheep field, and a juvenile GOLDCREST nearby, the young bird lacking the distinctive head crest of the adults.
A nice spot, just down from Pipps, is where the river passes Baylham Farm Park. Here the river splits in two, and there were masses of young birds in the surrounding mature trees. There was nothing unusual, but the sheer number of birds meant that I had some great photo opportunities, a lot of  the photos on this blog were taken from this site.

The fledged BLUE TITS have yellow face and bellies, which are white on adults.

Sometimes its not about the birds you see, its just enough to see them. With lockdown still in force it has really made me appreciate my feathered friends and the countryside they live in. For several months now, I have been birdwatching my local area, no visitor centres, no hides, no other birders. These are places not manged for birds, yet the birds live here none the less, and I have greater respect for them. They have defined the lockdown period for me.
I must admit I do miss Minsmere though. I mean its the greatest reserve in the country. Maybe when things return to some form of normalcy, I will return. But at the moment I look forward to a morning's birding at Pipps Ford, a more humble destination, but one that still satisfies.