North Warren - 25/12/2020

WIGEON (front) PINTAIL (centre) MALLARD (back)

So Christmas comes again, and with time spent with family, what better way to kill that time before the Christmas meal than a morning's ramble around North Warren. North Warren, although overlooked due to its sister reserve up the coast at Minsmere, is a reserve unique to the Suffolk coast, a vast hodgepodge of many differing habitats, home to rare birds. The reserve is a lot more low key than Minsmere, criss crossed by footpaths with a couple of observation points.

GREYLAGS

North Warren is probably the best example of grazing marsh in Suffolk, basically grassland that becomes seasonally flooded in winter. With grazing marshes the majority of the year its dry grassland with little bird interest, but come winter the area becomes inundated with water and the birds flock here in their thousands.

I started in the car park on the edge of Aldeburgh, and took the footpath north through the deserted caravan park, before meeting the old railway line, which cuts through the reserve. The walk along the old line is quite good for birds as it passes through areas of heath and thick scrub. A male BULLFINCH was a decent sighting among the more common smaller birds. A RED FOX was seen slinking away on the edge of some horse paddocks, an animal that's quite common here as they often hunt rabbits out on the heaths.

RED FOX slinking beside some horse paddocks

Soon, through breaks in the scrub, there were views onto South Marsh, the first area of wet grassland. Star bird here was a ringtail (female) HEN HARRIER, quartering the distant marshes, putting the ducks to flight. Its thinner wings and a browny-grey washed  colour distinguished it from the more locally common marsh harriers. This bird probably originated from Europe, rather than the beleaguered population from the UK, as there are no grouse moors on the continent, so birds there are not shot.

There were plenty of DUCKS out on the marshes, mainly WIGEON, a duck which grazes like a goose, but also plenty of PINTAIL, who need wetter areas. North Warren is Suffolk's main location for this elegant duck with several hundred around the various flooded areas. There were plenty of other ducks about, a lot of them hidden in the tussocks of the grasslands.

MALLARD (front) TEAL (centre) WIGEON (behind)

Halfway through the reserve, a footpath crosses the grassland meeting the railway line, which cuts the marshes in two. From now on the grassland is called North Marsh, a concept that's easy to remember. On North Marsh there was less flooding and there were few ducks in this area. However they were replaced, strangely enough, by wild GEESE. The geese consisted mainly of BARNACLE GEESE with several hundred present, all feeding in on long horizontal line, birds originating from the feral population on the continent. With them were maybe a hundred or so WHITE FRONTED GEESE, proper wild geese, North Warren is the primary site for this species in Suffolk, and one of the top in the country.

An area of heath, which at North Warren is more grassy

The scrub around the railway line turns to woodland and eventually comes to the fens, a large area of reedbeds. At this time of year this area is quiet and there wasn't much to see. After that the path wanders out of the reserve and meets Thorpeness, first coming out onto the golf course, and then beside the meare, where in the surrounding alder trees there was a small flock of SISKIN, before eventually coming out on to the holiday village. From here it was a walk along the beach to Aldeburgh, giving good views of the marshes of North Warren as I walked back to the car.

A thoroughly enjoyable morning with lots of birds to see, North Warren really comes alive in winter. Anywhere else in the country it would be a stand out reserve, but being situated on the Suffolk coast means it is often overlooked when compared to its bigger nearby reserves. But with the right timing the reserve can be a great place to see large numbers of birds, and is therefore worth a visit at that time.

The Lower Gipping Lakes - 23/12/2020

Part of the flock of eleven WHITE FRONTED GEESE present today, a good inland record

Having not visited the area for a while, I decided it was time to look at some of the lakes that lie on the river Gipping. Winter is a good time to visit as this time of the year brings in more birds to their waters, with the chance of something unusual. I didn't go as far north as Pipps Ford, my usual focal point, rather I visited the area from Shamford Mere south to Barham Pits.

Sharmford Mere and Causeway Lake

These two small bodies of water are a bit out of the way, as there's no nearby road (as long as you don't count the A14, which forms an eastern boundary). They are both small bodies of water with natural surroundings, Causeway Lake is fished but Shamford isn't. The area is surrounded by cow pasture, and the river Gipping, which was bursting with water.

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency have planted over 500 trees along the Gipping.

This is a great move, as it stabilises the river bank and protects against flooding, and trees are great for the environment.

Star birds here today were a flock of 11 WHITE FRONTED GEESE, which were feeding in the cow field which separates the two waters. They are part of a larger national incursion of this species this winter, with many being seen inland. Coastal Suffolk is a national stronghold, but away from those reserves, and inland, the birds are quite rare. A definite first for the area.

There is a large herd of GREYLAG and CANADA GEESE in the area and they were all on Shamford. Also present there were two MUTE SWANS and 42 MALLARDS. Although mallards are our most common duck, this represents a good count for the Mere, made of genuinely wild birds and not escaped farmland birds as you would see on a village pond.

ROBIN

There wasn't much fishing on Causeway Lake today, which meant a decent number of birds were present with 20 TUFTED DUCK, 21 COOT, 5 GREAT CRESTED GREBE and 2 MUTE SWANS. On the river Gipping I heard, but unfortunately didn't see a KINGFISHER, and I saw a GREY WAGTAIL, both very much specialist birds of this river. In the riverside alders a MISTLE THRUSH had started to sing. One of our earliest songsters, they often start singing at the end of December in mild winters.

Barham Pits

Wow what has happened to this site? Since the pits were bought up in 2018, a lot has occurred. Firstly on Barham Pit B they fenced off the site, so you couldn't walk around anymore, with access being restricted to the footpath on the western side. Then they started cutting down all the trees, absolutely decimating the area. The place looks very naked now and not for the best. The footpath stated above has been used as an approach road, so somehow you have to squeeze in tight as a van full of fishing gear drives down it. This winter the path has been made impassable, used by machinery to destroy more habitat, creating an absolute quagmire. Ok, so the site was never that good bird-wise, but its still frustrating to see a place I visit regularly put under such pressure, something that's beyond my control.

Now they have started on Pit A. The small area of reedbed and wet woodland has been bulldozed to leave an area of mud, and they have cut down most of the water side trees. Surely fish need a variety of different habitats to live out their life cycles, but no, apparently what they need are a sterile environment like the one being created here. This is what happens when people who have no idea of looking after the environment, people who think maintenance of nature is to destroy it rather than to work with it. Such a shame, and one that's too common in the countryside.

On Barham Pit A this is what has become of the reedbed

Today, the star bird, and a good one for the area, was a GREAT SCAUP on Pit B. It was the only duck present, except for a couple of mallards. There were also a couple of GREBES and COOT, but the waters were fairly quiet.

Record shot of GREAT SCAUP taken in the pouring rain

An eventful couple of hours spent along the River Gipping. The fact is that a couple of gravel pits can throw up some good birds. Nature is everywhere and sometimes its good to look elsewhere, away from the usual reserves, those underwatched areas, those places where its just you and you alone, because no one else can be bothered with them. That in a part is what birding's all about.

Lakenheath Fen - 16/12/2020

 

Male REEDBUNTING (l) and Male CHAFFINCH (r)

Lakenheath Fen is an inspiring place. What was once carrot fields is now a huge wetland, a huge new area of reedbed as far as the eye can see. An area that used to hold no life is a bustling reserve, home to rare birds like bitterns, marsh harriers and even cranes. What had gone was not lost, nature can return if given the chance. Lakenheath Fen, then, is a beacon of light to a nature depleted countryside.

Female BLACKBIRD

However Lakenheath is also an extremely difficult place to birdwatch. From a bird watchers point of view its really hard to get any views of birds. The acres of reeds that make the reserve so important also has its drawbacks. There is just no way to see what's hiding in the long grass as reedbed birds are notoriously shy. There is no focal point to the reserve, no place at which to see the birds, an area that brings the birds closer to the bird watcher. All the viewpoints look over a long landscape of reeds with views all the way to the horizon. 

What I'm thinking about is like an Island Mere at Minsmere, where a hide overlooks a large lake in the reeds, a great place to see bitterns, hobbies and marsh harriers. But there isn't such a place like that at Lakenheath. So on a windy day in December, all the birds were laying low, and I saw few birds.

One of several good murals around the reserve entrance

Its a long slog covering the reserve. The area is huge and travelling to the different viewpoints means miles of walking. At the centre there were large numbers of birds on the feeders, including a pair of REED BUNTINGS, not your usual garden birds. However as I left the centre that was the last time I saw any birds...

One of the poplar woods. Their shallow roots mean the trees are easily blown down. Being non-native the fallen trees are replace with natural species

Apart from the sea of reeds the other notable habitat on the reserve is the poplar plantations. Planted in the 50s to provide timber to make matchsticks, these woods are the last surviving reminder of what the land used to be. Gradually the trees are getting blown down or dying and are being replaced naturally by scrub, to in turn revert to natural woodland. These areas were the last place nesting place of the golden orioles in this country, a tiny population that never properly colonised the UK. The plantations are not of natural species and don't really provide much interest bird-wise.

The first real feel of the place is provided by New Fen, the first area of reeds created on the reserve, which is a large chunk of reedbed buffeted by poplar woods on three sides and the river on the other. Nothing much was showing in the wind, so leaving here it was another slog down to Mere Hide. This hide overlooks a small pool in an area of reeds. Previously I've seen bearded tits, hobbies and water rail here but today there wasn't anything to be seen, which was the standard for the day.

The view from New Fen. This was the first part of the reserve to be turned to reed

The final viewpoint, Joist Fen, is positioned halfway through the reserve, a couple of miles from the centre. The viewpoint overlooks the rest of the reserve, a huge area of reeds shimmering to the horizon. The problem with this viewpoint is that the only way to see any birds is if they are in flight as the long reeds hide what's lurking beneath. Today there were just a couple of female MARSH HARRIERS about, quartering the area in pursuit of game beneath.

View from Joist Fen, looking over a vast sea of reeds across half the reserve

From Joist Fen the path takes on a loop, returning to the centre. On this part of the walk the path follows the river, a large meandering water snake, called the Little Ouse. This river is the life blood of the area, a  highway for wildlife. Keeping with the theme of the day there wasn't much about, a WATER PIPT and a pair of STONECHAT were on the river back, along with a small charm of GOLDFINCHES.

Male STONECHAT seen along the river

Eventually the path headed to the Washland a large area of seasonally flooded water. Now this is the focal point I have been talking about on the reserve. If they provided  few more areas like this at Lakenheath, then I think it would make it better for birdwatching, and bring in more birders to the reserve. As it was the area was disappointing, as there were no ducks, just a pair of WHOOPER SWAN, with decent numbers of roosting LESSER BLACK BACKED and BLACK HEADED GULLS. A GREAT WHITE EGRET was hunting along the river here, a now normal bird, this reserve has become the county stronghold of the species. Just beyond, a little up the river, there were three CHINESE WATER DEER, an escapee that originates from China, that's found a niche for itself here, and is most welcome. From here it was a short walk back to the centre and the car park, calling it an end for the day.

Pair of WHOOPERS seen on the Washland

So that's it, that's all I saw in today's visit. And trust me that was through a three hour slog around the reserve. Now I support the RSPB totally, and I don't mind walking to eventually see birds, but when there's nothing to see it can be a bit demoralising. What is needed at Lakenheath is a focal point to the reserve, an area where birds can be seen, any birds, which would greatly increase its attractiveness to bird watchers. There are undoubtedly birds present, there's just no way of seeing them. But  as always the RSPB does a great job, that should never be forgotten and in creating this reserve they have done a great service to nature.

Hollesley Heath - 9/12/2020

The heaths around Hollesley and Sutton are a vast stretch of the Sandlings, second in size only to the Minsmere- - Westleton Heath - Dunwich Heath complex. The land covers a sea of heather, punctured by the odd tree, before being chewed up by pine plantations, and then being regurgitated back into heath. Somewhere like this is great, but by being so vast it can be difficult to connect with the birds there. My visit today was to search for an unusual bird, a Great Grey Shrike, a bird that had been reported for a month on the heath, but one that hadn't been reported this week, so I wasn't too sure I'd find it. I haven't been to the heaths for a while so it was good to reconnect with the area and the many birds present.

The shrike is a very distinctive bird, being monochrome, but in such the large area it ranges its difficult to pin down a bird the size of a blackbird. The first place I tried was the MOD compound, which has been the most reliable site for the bird over the past month. This is a place of a couple of old army silos overgrown with heather but still fenced off from curious birders. I stayed for an hour here but in the end didn't see the bird and after a failed search I decided to call it off. Such are the cautious optimism and eventual defeats of birding and life. Of a couple of other birders I met, none had seen the bird either, so it has either left the place or is hiding, fed up of being gawked at by men with telescopes.

From the MOD complex I went off for a walk around parts of the large area of heath. Birdwise, the heaths can be bleak and lifeless in winter, but today some of the residents of the heath were showing with a DARTFORD WARBLER and several STONECHAT about. The most interesting of sightings, today, was a flock of six CROSSBILLS, which I saw fly into some single pines when I was out in the thick of the heath. Despite knowing where they landed it was still difficult finding them in the thick pine cover. There were also plenty of smaller COAL TITS about just to confuse things. Eventually I was able to catch a glimpse, this time of a red male. Another bird seemed to carrying a pine cone in its beak, which must have been heavy, probably weighing half as much as the bird. This is one of those birds that conforms to it name, as the ends of the bird's bill doesn't meet but cross over each other, making them able to feed on pine cones. They are a finch, so a mid size song bird, and if you get your ear in have a distinctive call, and handily are a bird of conifers. 

As well as the birds there was a herd of ten FALLOW DEER, resting below a pine tree. This included three bucks with their large antlers. They were fairly wary and ran away as soon as they noticed me, deciding to change directions when they realised they were running into my path, these animals are not the most intelligent. The period we live in is a boom time for deer, with numbers at their highest for a millennium at least. Unfortunately with no active predators other than man, their numbers have become unsustainable, like man's, causing massive damage to the habitats they live in through over grazing. There is no real way to deal with this except by culling, which is unpopular, and is not really the deer's fault, more the fault of man's for messing so destructively with nature.

So in the end a no-show. I would have loved to have seen the shrike, but it in the end it was nice to see a place I have not been to in a while. Hollesley heaths are well off the beaten track, being a huge area it takes a long time to really explore even a small part it. Its a place to get away from people, a place to breath in the fresh air, to escape the noise of traffic and find yourself in somewhere truly wild. Not a lot of places can offer that in our congested country.

Minsmere - 2/12/2020

KONIK PONIES, as much a sight at Minsmere as any bird

With the second lockdown officially ending it was time to head off to a newly reopened Minsmere. One thing I have missed since lockdown, as much as the birds, has been the scones at the café, which are giant doorstops of scrumptiousness, perfect with a coffee before I head off into the reserve. But strangely enough it was only me that was enjoying them at the time. What surprised me as I turned up to Minsmere was that no one else was taking advantage of the newly opened reserve. Fearing it was going to be too busy with people as I arrived on the reserve, it was soon apparent as I drove into the car park, that I would have the reserve to myself, there were no cars present. The same would be the case on the reserve, and I would have the honour of having the hides all to myself. 

Ruler showing the depth of the Scrape, also of use as a perch

The weather today was mild but with a cold tinge to the air to remind you that it was actually December. However a change was in the air as a lot of winter birds have started to arrive from Europe, which could be a harbinger of heavier weather to come, with lots of geese, swans and thrushes arriving in good numbers on the coast recently. And today would provide a good selection of those species, of mid winter birds with a couple of scarcities present today. 

The Scrape crammed full of birds, the water levels are very high at the moment

With Minsmere, the focus of the reserve, and where I begin, is the Scrape. Looked over by four hides, the Scrape is an area of shallow water which stretches from the beach where its brackish, moving inland where the water is fresh, before being swallowed up by the surrounding reedbed. This form of habitat was first pioneered at Minsmere and now every coastal wetland in the world has one. For such a simple habitat it is absolutely amazing for birds. In summer thousands of birds cram onto the islands there to nest creating a great spectacle. In Autumn lots of waders are attracted to the mud that's exposed here often attracting rare birds, and in Winter the place is home to thousands of ducks.

Male SCAUP (on the left) with a male TUFTED DUCK (on the right)

Out of the DUCKS present the most unusual today was a drake SCAUP, on East Scrape, spending its time with a TUFTED DUCK, providing good contrasting views of both similar species. Scaup are quite scarce in this part of the world with not many recorded each year in Suffolk. PINTAIL are scarce at Minsmere so the 30 odd present was a good total. Lastly a male POCHARD was present, a common bird that's surprisingly rare at Minsmere, so that they are worth noting every time I see one here. As usual there were good numbers of all the usual species, with TEAL in largest numbers. A huge flock of GREYLEGS rose from the Levels to land on the Scrape, barging in and bossing all the other birds about as they are the biggest boys on the Scrape. BARNACLE GEESE have started pairing up in preparation of the breeding season, a species that originated from introduced birds but have now become naturalised and are considered wild.

Pair of BARNACLE GEESE

WADER numbers are low on the Scrape in Winter, because there just aren't the areas of mud to support them. The exemption from this are the LAPWING, with several thousand present, alighting into the air on rounded wings at the least sign of trouble. Of the waders present today there were just singles of DUNLN, TURNSTONE and SNIPE on the Scrape.

KONIK PONIES are given free reign to graze the Scrape

The Levels, a large area of wet grassland south of the Scrape was flooded and had decent numbers of DUCK, mainly WIGEON and GADWALL, and thousands of LAPWING. Scanning low over the fields in pursuit of raptors, I clocked a SHORT EARED OWL flying low parallel to a reedy ditch, on Chapel Filed before grounding. This beautiful daylight flying owl is a scarce visitor to grasslands on the coast, away from their summer breeding grounds on the highlands of Europe. To get a better view, I took the Eastbridge footpath and was awarded with better views as it hunted just above the low horizon. Also briefly present were two RED DEER hinds at the back of the grassland running to cover, Minsmere has the largest lowland population of this species in England and are a real feature of the reserve.

Tank traps looking towards the entrance of East Hide. Minsmere was artificially created in the second world war

The Reedbed Hides consist of two hides that look over the vast sea of reeds. Birds aren't close to hand here, like the Scrape, instead the views range all the way to the horizon, looking over the vast area that makes up the marshes of Minsmere. From Bittern Hide, a viewing area raised on stilts to the height of a tree, there were a couple of MARSH HARRIES, which although nest in summer in large numbers, disperse in Winter, with only one or two left at Minsmere. Surprisingly they were all female. A STOAT was briefly present, running with something black in its mouth, across the access track to the cover of some reeds

Female STONECHAT on the beach

Island Mere is a large lake in the reedbeds, and is usually a good spot for birds, the best place to see reedbed specialists like bittern or marsh harriers. Today there was a gathering of all three species of SWAN. Three WHOOPER, three MUTE and one BEWICKS were all present. The whoopers were typical whoopers, large birds with straight back necks and a lot of yellow on the bill. The bewick's was smaller than the other species with a lot more black compared to yellow on the bill. Bewicks Swans once the most common of the wintering swans, have become quite rare, their numbers are declining rapidly, with few young being raised, so the population is not being replenished. These swan species have arrived in this country with a lot of other wintering species, harbingers of maybe harsher weather.  Also present on the mere were large numbers of GADWALL forming a big flock in the middle of the water.

Three WHOOPER SWANS at the back of Island Mere  

Despite all the good numbers and variety of waterfowl present the numbers of smaller birds were fairly low. The woods at Minsmere can be bleak and lonely, barely any sign of life observable in the snaking branches of the trees. By North Hide a chaffinch and tit flock held a TREECREEPER, doing by its name and creeping up a tree, reaching the top before flying to the bottom of another tree to creep up again. They can't creep downwards. As usual there were several STONECHATS present with one by the North Wall and a pair by the Sluice Bushes.

ROBIN in front of Sizewell B

This is proving to be a decent time for our mid winter birds, those specialist species of harsher climes. I keep saying this but it really does indicate harsher weather to come. Recent winters have been too mild to attract these birds, which meant a lot of them stay on continental Europe, as the birds won't travel far from breeding grounds if they aren't forced to travel by the cold. With our seasons melding into one another, with little difference in the climate, many species of bird have become confused, because, surprisingly, they need harsh weather to tell what season it is. Is this climate change? Who knows, but its obvious something is happening to our weather.