Christchurch Park - Winter 2020/21

Christchurch is the crown jewel of Ipswich parks, and one of the best urban parks in the country. An undulating area of parkland, Christchurch forms a large slice of greenery in a built up area. With many old gnarled trees, an arboretum and the Wilderness Pond, Christchurch is an important area for birds within Ipswich. Whenever I'm in town I drop into the park to see the fluctuations in birdlife, and right now it is very much mid winter, with certain areas seeing an influx of birds.

Many birds call this place home, birds which are so used to humans, they have become very tame providing good opportunities for photography. And for a lot of people this park is their main access to nature, whether it be feeding the ducks or taking a photo of Matilda the owl, and for that its very important to spread the value of nature.

There is often a CORMARANT on the fallen tree in the Wilderness Pond

When it comes to birds, the Wilderness Pond is the go-to place in the park. Probably the best bird watching site in Ipswich, this small lake is home to an assortment of mongrel MALLARDS, many CANADA GEESE and of course the MANDARINS. By a mile our most colourful of birds this is the main Suffolk site for this beautiful duck, a naturalised bird from China, that has found its niche, as its the only English duck to nest in trees. This winter the number of mandarins has been quite low with just the three birds present, usually numbers are in the early double digits. The many wooded islands provide safe nesting for the wildfowl on the lake. On the 28/12 a LITTLE GREBE was present, in 2019 this species tried to nest here but failed, so fingers crossed this dabchick will stay for the summer.

MATILDA falling asleep in her hole in the tree

Away from the Wilderness Pond, the park is a large area of rolling grasslands with many old trees. Situated on the top of one of these ancient gnarled sentinels is what is the country's, or maybe even the world's, most famous wild TAWNY OWL. Her name is MATILDA, thought to be the daughter of another famous owl, MABLE. Uniquely for an owl this bird sits up in a hole at the top of a tree in broad daylight, when usually they stay under thick cover. As a result she is very popular and there are often many people congregated under her tree taking photos, which doesn't seem to faze the owl in any way.

The owl is only present in winter, and by mid February had disappeared.

There are several pairs of CANADA GEESE on the Wilderness Pond

The park is home to many of the birds associated with parkland, with the likes of STOCK DOVES, MISTLE THRUSHES and GREEN WOODPECKERS being common. Although present in good numbers being in an urbanised place their numbers are lower than out in the countryside, as they are cut off by the urban desert that surrounds the park, created  by human habitation. Usually a couple of GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKERS start to drum at this time of the year, their rattling sound echoing out across the park.

Winter though still has the country in its grip and on the 17/2 a large flock of 50 REDWINGS were present, at the top of the park, near the playground, feeding on the soft mud. 

This brood of MALLARDS was born in mid November, and surprisingly five have managed to grow to near adulthood.

Urban parks can be very important, not just for wildlife but also for the many people who use them. Christchurch is a very well maintained park, as are most of the parks within Ipswich, the town has a very enlightened attitude to its green areas. Christchurch park is the best place in Suffolk to connect with MANDARINS and TAWNY OWL, a visit in early January is a guaranteed tick for the year list of those species. So expert or beginner, all can appreciate what the town has in this oasis of greenery, and just shows that nature is important for everyone.