Lockdown eased at Minsmere - 24/9/2020

View to Sizewell along the beach

The last time I visited Minsmere the country was still in fairly strict lockdown. As a result the hides and visitors centre were closed and it was difficult getting to actually see any birds. Since then restrictions caused by the virus has eased somewhat and today's visit found a reserve that was a bit more open. Access to hides and a cup of coffee were all welcome additions to a visit to the best nature reserve in the country.

TEAL

Mid September is the height of Autumn migration, so attention today was turned to WADERS on the Scrape, and PASSERINES (small birds) in the bushes. All it takes is for a rare bird to be led astray by a gust of wind to really liven things up. However the winds today weren't perfect. In Autumn winds from the north and the east are best as they blow in birds from the continent. However, today's winds were blowing from the south-west so although it was pleasant weather to be out and about in, nice and mild, it wasn't so great for bringing in something unusual.

Remains of the abbey

WADER migration has by mid-September peaked, and there wasn't too much activity on the Scrape. The water levels on the Scrape gradually drain over the summer to create lots of muddy margins for waders to feed on. East Scrape was half empty of water and enticed a flock of ten DUNLIN to feed, which held within them two LITTLE STINTS and a SANDERLING. 18 AVOCETS were spread evenly between here and South Scrape, after nesting on the Scrape in summer the birds gradually leave, spending their winter elsewhere. South Scrape was quiet but held two GREEN SANDPIPERS. 

LITTLE STINT, middle bird on the left and a DUNLIN middle bird on the right. TEAL are in the foreground, East Scrape.

West Scrape was completely dried out and held no birds. On East Scrape the numbers of DUCKS had increased quite a lot, with large numbers of TEAL, SHOVELLER and GADWALL arriving to spend their winter months here. There were two GARGANEY asleep on East Scrape. This is a scarce bird, which is our only summer visiting duck and a very rare nesting bird. In spring and summer the males are attractive, but with ducks now in eclipse they resemble a large teal, except for more pronounced stripes on their facial features. In Autumn they tend to stay longer than in Spring, making them easier to catch up with, as they spend long lengths of time in one place.

A flock of GADWALL, East Scrape. An understated duck, they have very pronounced white wing patches

Away from the waterfowl there were many smaller birds in the many peripheral habitats that surround the Scrape. There was a juv BEARDED TIT in the small stand of reeds in front of East Hide, whilst there was a family group in the reeds around West Hide. A KINGFISHER flew down the dyke in front of the Public Viewpoint which was a nice find as they are quite scarce at Minsmere. There were two DARTFORD WARBLERS in the gorse on the beach just behind the Viewpoint, in their usual position, this part of the beach must be the easiest spot in the country to see this beautiful warbler.

DARTFORD WARBLER are unusual for spending all year in their territory, and don't migrate long distances

On the Levels, the large area of wet grassland which stretches from the Scrape down to Sizewell there was a sizable herd of twenty plus RED DEER grazing in amongst the cattle. In winter this area floods, attracting lots of ducks, but after the dryness of summer the area is just grassland, and not very attractive to birds.

Away from the Scrape, the reserve was fairly quiet. The Reedbed Hides were open, from Bittern Hide there wasn't much, even the MARSH HARRIERS were scarce. Island Mere held more, this hide looks over a large lake amongst the reeds, and there was a large flock of GADWALL present. There were two HOBBIES hawking around the reedbeds and mere, sometimes high up in the sky other times swooping down over the water, always the show offs and always entertaining. Also about were two GREAT WHITE EGRETS, this species looking set to colonise Suffolk, it wasn't long ago when I saw my first of these birds at Minsmere.

GREAT WHITE EGRET among the SWANS at Island Mere

An entertaining day at Minsmere, where its always worth a look, and it showed today with a decent haul of sightings, sturdy without perhaps not any stand outs. As it is its good to see the reserve finally open after the lockdown induced by the coronavirus, a place to me that is the best bird reserve in the country (although other people may disagree). With October ramping up the attention is turning away from Summer migrants leaving and towards Winter birds arriving. Hopefully things will become exciting, and as always, I wish you good birding.

OSPREY at Martlesham Creek - 15/9/2020

OSPREYS are among the most legendary of British birds. Returning to breed in the 1950s, after becoming extinct, the RSPB created a whole reserve around them, Abernethy Forest, now their largest property, and sold a million coffee mugs, car bumper stickers and memberships off the back of them. The species had gradually spread naturally along the north and west of the country, and to see them is still a big draw wherever they nest. 

The boatyard on Martlesham Creek

To see one in Suffolk is one of those magical moments a bird watcher lives for. Having left its nesting site, it has travelled down here on its Autumn migration. I did know in advance that one was present, the wonders of the internet, but to actually see the bird was a challenge, it wasn't a given. At 10 am at the mouth of Martlesham Creek the bird was seen high over head before lowering down beneath the horizon so I could get a better look at its markings, before it gradually moved north towards Woodbridge. All this took place in maybe five minutes of my time. You wait all your life for these moments and when they happen they are over so quickly. 

Martlesham Creek

I know Martlesham Creek pretty well. When I was young I lived elsewhere in the country, but would come on holidays to Suffolk in a mobile home. The Creek was nearby and we used to go for walks along it. Since I moved to Suffolk and Ipswich I have lived half an hour away, yet never visited. I hadn't been there for twenty years, until the osprey twisted my hand.

Woodbridge from Martlesham Creek

Not much has changed really. It is very much open country, far from any signs of settlement. It moves from arable fields down to tightly grazed sheep fields in the low lying land by the river. Between these fields and the river wall the land had been allowed to be overgrown with reeds. As a result this thin slice of land was heaving with REED BUNTING, its been a long time since I have seen so many of these birds, including somewhere like Minsmere. And this is not in a place that's a nature reserve, there is no protection for nature here, it is merely commercial farmland.

Pair of REED BUNTINGS

From the farmland some steps lead up to the seawall, which looked over the estuary, where a WHINCHAT was present, as usual perched on a bush. In the many TIT flocks, a WILLOW WARBLER and some LESSER WHITETHROAT were present, the willow has become shockingly rare in such a short time frame, when I started birding it was one of the most common summer migrants, but now its a scarce visitor to Suffolk.

    WHINCHAT

The Creek is a little arm off the Deben estuary, all Suffolk's estuaries are rivers, south of Woodbridge. As I coincided the visit to high tide as the best time to see the osprey, there were few WADERS about. There were a couple of TURNSTONE and GREENSHANK about, and a flock of BLACKWIT were feeding in one of the sheep fields.

BLACK TAILED GODWIT resting at high tide

So a little roundup of somewhere I know very well yet hadn't visited for such a long time. Strange really that if the osprey hadn't drawn me down I probably would never have visited the site for even longer. Its a nice location but not really a place for me to bother about really, as there are plenty of better places to go birding in the area. A little harsh maybe but there's only so much time to go birding. Anyway at least the osprey was good, showing birds can really turn up anywhere, so always keep your eyes peeled.

Newton to Crastor - 10/9/2020

 

Dunstanburgh Castle

The walk I did today, my last full day in Northumbria, took in a new, picturesque area of the coast, a ramble from Newton Links to Crastor. The walk took in many sandy bays, rocky headlands and undulating dunes as well as the nature reserve at Newton Pool and the ruined castle at Dunstanburgh. It was a thoroughly enjoyable walk, bracing in the fresh coastal winds. In the end although it was not overly bird filled, it was new country for me, one I relished exploring.

The first bird I saw on the walk, was not one I was expecting. Strangely enough it was a GUINEA FOWL, a female, just randomly on a field edge, far away from any settlement it must be a very lonely bird far from home. A bit further on there was a large flock of 50+ LINNET feeding on an area of farmland just inland from the dunes. A nice bird, linnets are an indicator species for the countryside, if there are flocks of linnets then the area is still bird friendly, when they disappear the area can't support birds.

GUINEA FOWL

To begin with there were some quiet sandy bays in an area known as Football Hole. In the sandy areas, usually out of the way of dog walkers, small flocks of SANDERLING were present, feeding around the tide edge. The sand was separated from each other by rocky headlands which poke out further into the sea. On this habitat I found TURNSTONE, REDSHANK and RINGED PLOVERS, the usual WADERS of this landscape.

SANDERLING

Things became busy around Lower-Newton-by-the-Sea, as it was a centre for tourists, bringing in all the dog walkers and other bird disturbers. Just south of this small village was the National Trust reserve of Newton Pools. As I meandered down I passed a small flash of water in a sheep field. On the edge of this were three sleeping BAR HEADED GEESE, which I guess were escapees from some wildfowl collection. They're usually found in Central Asia, so wild birds would be a bit lost to end up here. Also present were 16 WIGEON, the first of the winter, making this a nice spot for birds. Further down there was a hide which overlooked the pool. Unfortunately due to the virus it was closed, but further along I was able to get a brief glimpse of the pool over a hedge. It was small, but very busy with small numbers of GADWALL, SHOVELLER and TEAL among the usual MALLARDS. The pool was edged by an area of marsh which was grazed by Exmoor ponies, a well looked after little reserve.

PIED WAGTAIL - the most common or noticeable of the birds out today 

Moving back to the coast path brought the large sweeping vista of Embleton Bay into view, a large, curved stretch of sand, over which loomed the ruins of Dunstanburgh Castle. Being in a fairly touristy spot meant the area was busy, but not in a claustrophobic way, just enough to scare the birds away, so I passed through this area fairly quickly.

As I got to the castle, I came across a flock of  around 100 HOUSE MARTINS, just beneath the walls. The birds had gathered in a large flock and at points would rest on the bracken that grew on the hill beneath the castle. I took loads of photos, thinking I had got the image of the holiday. But as I walked off I realised I had got the camera settings wrong, and hurrying back I found the birds had all gone. They had departed in the space of ten minutes, with not a single bird left, it just brings home the wonders of migration.

HOUSE MARITNS

The final walk from the castle, across a grassy plain was busy with people. I finally finished my walk by ending up at Crastor, a nice little fishing village now a tourist centre.

And so ended my time in Northumbria, a nice little sojourn to an area of the country I really enjoy visiting. Because despite being very touristy, the area somehow has that aura of mystery which keeps the area feeling wild, a bit like Suffolk. However unlike Suffolk it was a place of dramatic landscape, it is also an area that has different birds to what we have here in East Anglia, a very different place. And if things improve then I will most definitely return next year. 

I hope I have conveyed some what in these blogs the feeling of awe and mystery that I have with these connections with nature. It is truly with this connection that I am able see into my soul and feel my way through this world. And I hope you, the reader, enjoy reading these blogs as much as I enjoy writing them. Please keep reading and maybe we too will also have some connection. 

And please leave some comment.

St Abb's Head - 8/9/2020

View of St Abbs from the cliffs

Today's outing was a trip north of the border into Scotland, and to St Abb's Head. This is a Scottish National Trust reserve, looking after dramatic sea cliffs, that fall sheer to the sea. Now a seabird cliff out of season, whilst beautiful in landscape form doesn't hold much ornithological interest. Where three months ago the area would hold tens of thousands of birds, by early September they had gone and now held only the odd FULMAR, JACKDAW and PIGEON. As is obvious this wasn't a trip to see birds, rather a reconnaissance to get a view of someplace I've never been to before.

The trail whilst being spectacular, is only for the fit. It rises from a low point to travel high into the cliffs along a mule track. Its also good to get there early, as I was returning around eleven in the morning, there were hordes of people starting their hike up. As with a lot of our most beautiful and dramatic places in this country, everyone wants a piece  of it. And whose to stop them? Can you deny people access to our most beautiful places?

People come to see the landscape, and the view of St Abb's village from a neighbouring cliff is monumental. The area of cliffs where the seabirds nested is stained white with the guano of the bird's droppings. Just back from the cliffs the land is tightly grazed by sheep, as so much National Trust land is, a landscape poor for wildlife. We often view this kind of landscape as natural, but its as manmade as any in this country. On this cliff top land, the only migrants I was able to get were three WHEATEAR, a bird I was assuming to be common here, but surprisingly wasn't. I have had difficulty finding this bird this Autumn, so I'm hoping it is just me and not news that another bird is in difficulty.

WHEATEAR

The walk takes a lasso shape and stretches behind the cliffs, moving inland. There was this long thin piece of water called Mire Loch, which held small numbers of TUFTED DUCK and COOT, as well as a family party of SWANS. By this loch was a family party of STONECHAT in the gorse. After that the path went all the way back to the car park.

Mire Loch

Today was just a morning's grasp of birdwatching, but enough to broaden my horizons. I now know what to expect if I ever do get a chance to visit again, maybe sometime in the summer's long days. Then I can look for what you want from sea bird cliffs - sea birds. I live in hope. As always stay connected with me and I can share my bird watching tales with you.

Bamburgh, Budle Bay, Seahouses and Beadnall - 6/9/2020

Bamburgh Castle

One of the attractions of Northumberland is the many castles that are present along its stretch of coast. With the area being a battlefield between the English and the Scots, many large fortresses were built and fought over by both side. Of these castles, some are ruins, whilst others remain as private residences. Bamburgh is one of the latter, all polished up and glistening, the building casting a majesty over the area. That is where my interest in castles end, as a part of the general countryside, something wild like its cliffs, I have no passion for suits of armour and bone china, the stuff that lies within.

OYSTERCATCHERS resting on the rocks

I walked along the beach from Bamburgh over to Budle Bay, which is part of the Lindisfarne National Nature reserve, where at the right time a huge area of intertidal mudflats forms, with often vast numbers of waders present. On the other hand at the wrong time its just a large expanse of sand. Unfortunately I visited at the wrong time and it was a big area of nothingness, with few birds.

Inner Farne Island, sometime home of many seabirds, at this time of year an empty rock in the sea

The walk took in busy sandy beaches, rocky points and the bay. The usual WADERS were present and there were several flocks of TERNS resting away from walkers. Out in the bay there were small numbers of WADERS, with a couple of BARWITS and GREENSHANK, the only different species from what I had seen before on the trip.

Budle Bay

Out at sea there were big numbers of TERNS present, the birds nest in the area in large numbers and then spend their time out at sea when they finish, before migrating most of the way across the world. With them was a small flotilla of LITTLE TERNS, very late for this species, which is a late returner, early leaver type of bird and nice to get a view of them in their brief time on this island.

Harkess Rocks

After that walk I laboured on to Seahouses, a nice fishing village where in the right season people can embark on trips to the Farne Islands. Along the way, in a grassy field was a small lake called Monk's House Pool, which held a few Teal and some LAPWING round the edges, but nothing much else. Unfortunately Seahouses was heaving with tourists, staycationers like me, and there was no place to even park, so I headed further along the coast to Beadnall, again another fishing town popular with tourists. There I walked along the bay, a large sweeping expanse of a beach, but with all the tourists, the dog walkers and surfers, there was little room for birds, which was basically the same news from pretty much everywhere I went in Northumberland.

The area is beautiful to behold, but sometimes its hard to fully capture that when there are large numbers of people all competing to take a little bit of Northumbria away with them. It was a Sunday so there was more hustle and bustle than usual, but sometimes it can feel like too much. Its easier to fully appreciate an area when you have discovered it yourself, and not just another selfie among millions.

Berwick-upon-Tweed - 4/9 - 11/9/2020

SANDERLINGS

During my time in Northumbria I stayed in a cottage on the south shore of the Tweed overlooking the city of Berwick on the other shore. It is a beautiful place, historical, with amazing views, and at times looking out of my window it felt like having my own hide looking over the river. A short walk into town beckoned, and it was easy to get to all its amenities. As a city, Berwick is one of the best for wildlife in the country. Situated on the mouth of a major river it provides the perfect viewpoint from which to observe the animals that share this space with us. Berwick is a beautiful city with many ancient buildings, including having the only complete fortified wall in the UK, looked after by English Heritage, so it begs a least a day to look around in itself. Culture combined with birds.

Berwick across the Old Bridge

Just offshore from Berwick an area of splashing water alerted me to them, and realised they couldn't just be gannets. Running upstairs to gather my binoculars I was in time to see a pod of DOLPHINS just offshore. There were a fair few of them breaking the water to splash a tail down, or to rise up to dive down. It was a magical sight, the best one of my holiday, and all seen from the cottage I was staying in. Soon they moved on and disappeared from view, but they always remain in my memories.

CORMORANT

Also offshore there were GREY SEALS, with SANDWICH and ARCTIC TERNS present in large numbers, they cluster off shore as they disperse from their breeding grounds. There were large numbers of GANNETS, the birds when flying would crash down in to the water for fish, creating little splashes, each time they did it I thought I was seeing more dolphins.

The Lighthouse, Berwick

For birds it is the Tweed that is the main focus. This large river at low tide drains away to leave a vast expanse of rocky tidal mud. As I walked the ramparts of the city walls and  then over to the lighthouse, I was able to obtain great views of the birds that feed there. OYSTERCATCHERS, RINGED PLOVER, CURLEW, REDSHANK, TURNSTONE and DUNLIN were all visible from the town.

MUTE SWAN with GOOSANDERS

The most iconic bird of the river is the MUTE SWAN, where a large herd is resident on the Tweed. At times there were different numbers but the most I counted was of 80 birds, at high tide. Also present were large numbers of GOOSANDER, a bird I would see all over the coast, and at this time the males had moulted out of their summer plumage, and now resembled the females. Females of this and like species are called "redheads" for obvious reasons. They were the most common duck in the area present in every coastal place I visited.

The allotments at Berwick

EIDERS, the county bird of NORTHUMBERLAND, were present in relatively small numbers although they were widely distributed. At this time, having finished breeding, the birds disperse out to sea and beyond and are a bit more scarce. As the breeding season has finished the males moult their white plumage and don a more muted blackish colour, while the females remain brown.

Along the Coast Path

Across the river from Berwick is Spittal, a little sea side village with a promenade and a beach. It was quite nice at the end of a day out to explore this area, a short walk from my cottage. The beach at Spittal, despite being busy with sun lovers, held a small flock of 16 SANDERLINGS, feeding along the shoreline like wind-up-toys. There was also a male WHEATEAR amongst some marram grass, a bird that was surprisingly scarce on this holiday. As I walked further down the beach I was able to reach the coast path, which took me from the village of Spittal, up from the beach to headland cliffs, and rocky coves, where, best of all, I was able to see a female peregrine hunting. 

The viaduct to the west of Berwick

That was Berwick my home in Northumberland. From here I ventured out into the rest of the area, up to Scotland, and further south to the many beautiful areas of the coast. It was here that I had a lot of good wildlife spots and writing this blog, back here in Ipswich, I genuinely miss the place. This is a place I wish to return to, and maybe next year I will get the chance to do so again, to return.

Northumbria - 4/9 - 11/9 2020

Despite being very much a local birder, even someone like myself needs to take a break from the local patch and head off on holiday somewhere. After having three holidays cancelled this year due to the corona virus, I was finally able to bag some away time in the second week of September of 2020. I chose  Northumbria, a beautiful area of the country with cliffs rising up from the sea, picturesque fishing towns and castles standing imperious over the rugged landscape.

For the trip I decided to stay in Berwick-upon-Tweed, a beautiful, small city situated on the mouth of the mighty river Tweed. Having a base here allowed me to visit a range of birding sites throughout the county. Its a good city, full of pubs and restaurants, plenty of things to do when you've finished a day's bird watching.

As it was thousands of other people had the same intention, as with holidays abroad now no longer an option, swarms of staycationers had descended onto the area, and a lot of the charming fishing villages, and walking areas were overrun with people. However, as with most places as you leave the car parks, the cafes and the ice cream vans, the people start to thin out, and eventually you are left on your own able to appreciate the isolation of wildness. However this wasn't the case with Lindisfarne though, where the hordes had arrived and as I was riding a bike at the time had to dodge in and out and through the throng of people who weren't going to move out of my way.

As you probably guessed I came to the area to watch the wildlife which abounds in this county. Northumbria has many sea bird colonies squeezed onto its many cliffs and islands. However, as I came out of season, those same cliffs were deserted except for the odd FULMAR or PIGEON. I was also constantly frustrated with tide times and it always seemed to be low tide every time I visited the many mudflats, and I never quite got to see the multitude of migrating waders. Being a coastal county, on the side that faces Europe, I was expecting decent numbers of migrants to be passing through, and despite my efforts I wasn't able to see that much. A lot of this landscape was eerily empty of wildlife, something I will have to get used to as we descend into the Anthropocene (the view that is held that we living in a period of mass extinction caused by humans). The landscape may still be there, but none of the wildlife will be, an empty countryside as such.

I don't mean to make this holiday seem like a total disappointment, as away from the bird watching I had a very good time. Ok so I'm not the most dedicated of birders, I didn't go from dawn to dusk looking for our feathered companions and some days I didn't do any birding at all. I spent the holiday with people that don't share my hobby and had to spend most of my time wandering alone or visiting some historic site.

I was able to visit St Abb's, in Scotland and many coastal areas around Northumbria. The area didn't have many nature reserves, instead it was a more landscape version of countryside, unobtrusive National Trust sites. Budle Bay I visited but was unable to get the right tide, it was always way out. I shall describe those places in further posts.

Of the, non-birding places I visited were Hadrian's Wall, and the fort town of Vindolanda. And I was able to bike to Lindisfarne. This was the first time I used an e-bike and it was quite nice when going uphill to put the electricity on, and have what feels like double the power in my legs. Cycling the coast path was lovely and I would recommend doing it if you're ever in the county.

This is only an introduction to my holiday. If you fancy taking a deeper interest, I recommend taking a further look into my next posts on my trip which shall describe the birds in detail.