The river Gipping winds its way through the lands of central Suffolk, a blue vein through a non-descript farming landscape. Industrial development, the creation of lakes and quarries through gravel extraction, has scarred the land, but also in turn, rather unintentially, created a good place for wildlife. Water is the basis of life, and the new pits have provided a home, replacing the older traditional wetlands that occurred by the river.
The area of the river I birdwatch, between Ipswich and Needham Market, is a real hodgepodge of habitats over a large area of country, providing many a place for wildlife. This large variety in the landscape means I'm not stuck with just one place to birdwatch, but can pick and choose different access points to the area, which makes it less boring. The period I've covered here runs from Mid-March to Mid-April, the beginning of Spring. Around this time winter birds are leaving and summer birds are just arriving creating an exciting time for migrants, with the potential for anything to turn up.
Pipps Ford
The best birding site in the Gipping Valley, Pipps Ford is a variety of habitats, ranging from active quarry, open water, woodland to rough grassland. I visited the site on 9/4 a rather uneventful day, but its the first time had visited the site in a while.
The site is well traversed by footpaths giving good views of the different habitats. First up is the exhausted quarry, where ever since I have been coming here the land has been finished from any digging and now lies fallow for wildlife. Today the water levels have been raised much more than usual and is now a shallow pool with emergent trees. Nestled amongst those unindated trees were three COOT nests and one LITTLE GREBE nest, little bundles of sticks with a female bird hunkered down. On the short grassland around the quarry three pairs of LAPWING were on territory, making this the main site for this species in the area.
As the path leaves the exhausted quarry it meets the actual ford on the Gipping, an artificial construction, and then moves north along the river. The path leads as far as Riverside Farm Pit, a small open area of water which had only a pair of COOT and a pair of SWANS, as well of loads of GEESE.
Away from Riverside Farm is Pippins Lake, another small pit, but which is less open, surrounded by trees, a seclusion which stops any disturbance to the birds on the lake. There was a good mix of wildfowl here with seven GADWALL, five TEAL, one TUFTED DUCK, a pair of COOT and a nesting SWAN.
Up from Pippins there is the Active Quarry, the footpath leading up to the back of the working site. It was busy with workers, diggers, bulldozers and a constant stream of trucks. The owners of the quarry are contractually obliged to landscape the quarry for wildlife when the works end. At the moment the quarry looks like a deep lake in the sand, but with several islands on the water, is looking good for birds. This attracted a few wildfowl, with a pair of displaying GREAT CRESTED GREBE and seven TUFTED DUCK around. The muddy edges of the quarry are good for WADERS, today there were a GREEN SANDPIPER and the first LITTLE RINGED PLOVER of the year.
Barham Pits
Way down the Gipping from Pipps is Barham Pits, three fishing lakes straddling the river. This is a fairly industrial area, sandwiched between the A14, various warehouses and industrial lots and the village of Claydon. Its not a great site for birds, but is better in summer providing a home for them to breed. I have mentioned in many past posts how the new owners have destroyed a lot of the old river and lake trees, and areas of reedbeds, so I wont say anything more.
No unusual birds were present, just the usual birds of gravel pits, which is strangely a rare type of habitat in Suffolk. There are three lakes in total and from north to south are: Meadlands, the most northern lake, a small, tree lined pit with a pair of GREAT CRESTED GREBE and a pair of COOT; Barham Pit A had just a pair of COOT. However of interest was the flock of 15 SWALLOWS, on 6/4, my first of the year flying around the water, hawking for insects and also resting on the telephone lines, they were also accompanied by a couple of SAND MARTINS as well.
Barham Pit B is by far the largest lake in the area making up a large chunk of water with wooded islands, although it has been hugely trimmed back by the new owners. There were two pairs of GREAT CRESTED GREBE, a pair of SWANS, with another one on the river, a pair of COOT and a pair of GADWALL. The nesting COOT had already hatched young, the first of the year, with several tiny red-headed chicks poking their heads out of the reedy nests. Of note was a lone EGYPTIAN GOOSE on the 24/3 a rare bird here.
Papermill Reedbed
An area I have been concentrating on this year is the range of water meadows around Papermill Reedbed south of Barham Pits. I have described the area more fully in a previous blog, dated Mar 5 2021, so have a look there to get more information.
I visited the site on the 24/3 and 6/4, but it was fairly quiet on both days. 20 REDWING at the end of March were the last of the year, and where the meadows broadens out to the north of the site a SKYLARK was singing.
North under the overpass of the B1113 and beyond, the river becomes scrubby and held more smaller birds. A pair of BULLFINCHES were a good sight as well as a pair of RED LEGGED PARTRIDGE. You may think the latter record strange, but with no shooting estates nearby, and therefore with no artificial introductions, these birds are quite rare and this is a first record for the area for me.
In conclusion then, a fairly quiet time on the river. Spring has really just begin, so its early days still. Soon the bird migration will speed up, when more summer birds will arrive in the country, flowers will open and butterflies emerge. The river Gipping will attract them all, being a natural highway. This long blue snake provides sanctuary to wildlife in central Suffolk like no other land form does. It will keep attracting wildlife and I will keep visiting to watch that wildlife. Long may it flow.
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