Papermill Reedbed - Winter 2021

GREY WAGTAIL

On some stretches of the river Gipping there are some nice examples of water meadows, old time remnants of a former landscape that once stretched the whole river. Now they are rare, as being close to Ipswich means the Gipping is surrounded by an industrialised landscape, with land put under pressure for development. The area is a man made wilderness of warehouses, train lines, busy roads and housing estates. That makes this small area of countryside extra important for being the last of its kind.

Around 50 trees have been planted along this stretch of the river

I started to visit the area more intensely after a third lockdown was enforced. I decided to concentrate on an underwatched area, somewhere off the beaten track, where little birding has been done, a blank slate so to speak. Its only a short hop away from me, on the border of Ipswich, but yet manages to be people-free, lying as it does between residential areas. This is important to me as I work in a very busy and congested environment, so I really can get away from it all and unwind both physically and psychologically, for which I find birding so important. I visited the area four times in this period and hope to visit a couple of times a month for the rest of the year, unless other things get in the way.

A pair of MUTE SWANS have turned up on the river

The small reedbed, the one used in the title, used to be a Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve, however the reserve has been taken off the website and the info sign has been taken down, so it is designated no longer. The area I visit follows the river Gipping up and down, starting behind a disused factory all the way up to a junction of the A14. The river here is broad and gently meanders. There is the small reedbed that gives the area its name, which is becoming overgrown now. The rest of the area is seasonally flooded pasture grazed by cattle in the summer. A new feature are some trees that have been planted along the entire Gipping, with over fifty in this area alone. This planting was undertaken by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust and the Environment Agency and is a nice feature of the area, as there aren't many trees around here.

WHITE-FRONT, in front, look how tiny it looks next to a GREYLAG

By far the most interesting bird I saw in this period was a EURASIAN WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. The bird was among a small flock of GREYLAGS on a flooded area to the north of the site. To begin with it was lying down in a depression so I could only see the top of its head on occasion as it would move about. Being too far away for a photo, I moved in closer, causing the flock to move and eventually the bird came into view. After that I was able to photograph the bird and the flock got used to me. This winter has seen an influx of white fronts with a lot of birds turning up in places where they have never been recorded before, including some I saw further up the river Gipping in December. This is very unusual behaviour for a bird that is usually site loyal on its wintering grounds. The bird at Papermill is an excellent record for the area, who knows if it has ever been recorded around here before.

                           

Who know if there have ever been another record of white-fronts in this area

Other than that, birdwise the area is fairly quiet, I don't usually see that much on each visit, but as a slice of English countryside its fairly representative. It attracts small numbers of wetland birds and those of the general countryside. Whenever I visit I see a GREY WAGTAIL by the mill, now a block of apartments, with a maximum of three 5/3. There were several singing CETTI'S WARBLERS, a bird which has pretty much colonised every corner of Suffolk. A REED BUNTING sang from the reedbeds, all common birds, but birds that have been sidelined in our countryside.

The river Gipping had completely broken its banks, flooding the meadows on the 29/1

With a winter full of rain and flooding, a visit on the 29/1 saw the site completely flooded. The Gipping had burst its banks, covering the meadows entirely in flood water. The only place free was the tiny parking spot, on a slight rise over the rest of the area. On that day there was a singing MISTLE THRUSH, its haunting call ringing out over the water. A week later I heard a SONG THRUSH, its elaborate song calling out in the gentle air of the countryside. On 5/3 a large flock of 70 REDWINGS were in the tree plantation across the river, a sign of birds on the move, its been a good winter for those birds.

See, interesting birds can turn up anywhere

On one visit, 5/2, I  had a tiny flock of three SISKIN in some riverside alders, not large numbers but a new species for the site, with few trees little birds are quite scarce. Whilst walking up the river I disturbed and put to flight a TEAL from the reedbeds. On the same day a sign of spring was in the air with the arrival of a pair of MUTE SWANS on the same area of flooding as the geese. These birds might be potential nesters and birds which might maybe stay the summer on the river. They were seen again on a later date, this part of the river being quieter it would be a good area for them to nest in. 

LITTLE EGRET on the Gipping

A snapshot of an area of countryside, not particularly special in any way but still fairly interesting. This is an area I don't know well, so I wonder what I'll see over the course of a year, so in some ways its quite exciting (yes I know I'm quite sad). In some ways its important to monitor these areas as being on the edge of Ipswich land is a high value commodity, nature a low one where money is concerned. As a result this will be record of somewhere that may not exist in the future, a museum piece of a land that was lost for wildlife.