I don't know why I do it, maybe its something masochistic lying deep down in my psyche. A four hour trip, walking and walking, to push myself that little bit too far only to see not a lot. Its Trimley Marshes, a reserve designed to knacker you out. Its three miles from the nearest road so its a long walk. Sometimes Trimley is good, a lot of times its not, and you have to walk far to find out. It doesn't help when you have to do the walking in monsoon like conditions.
Today was alright, that's all, as you would expect from the reserve in the mids of summer and the breeding season. It was a nice walk before the heavens opened. I parked up at Levington Marina, as usual, where there is access to a footpath. However the owners are now cutting off the main footpath with a fence, which may mean there will be no future entry, and could mean finding another parking place. As I arrived the tide was mainly in, but it didn't really matter, being June there were few estuarine birds about. A few OYSTERCATCHERS and plenty of SHELDUCK was pretty much all.
Just out of the Marina is Loompit Lake, an artificial fishing lake, which has nice tree bordered margins, good for wintering and breeding waterbirds. The CORMARANT colony is a feature, although being a fishing lake the owners have been given a license to cull the birds. Only a fraction of the size it used to be, only around 20 nests were occupied. Most of the nests had quite old chicks, these birds start nesting early, the trees underneath have been dyed white by the guano produced by the nests.
The usual wildfowl were about, the odd pair of POCHARD, Loompit and Trimley are the main nesting locations for this species in Suffolk. There was a smattering of TUFTED DUCK, three pairs of GREAT CRESTED GREBE, two SWAN broods, the odd LITTLE GREBE, and loads of GEESE. A YELLOW WAGTAIL was flying about the path, having an altercation with a PIED. Its been a while since I have seen one here, they used to be common, so I'm not sure if this is an oversummering bird or a late migrant.
The walk to the managed retreat was quiet. The Managed Retreat is an area where the sea wall has been allowed to breach some farmland, as compensation for development of Felixstowe Docks. The tide was out but had little new. A HOBBY hunted over farmlands by the Marshes, and a lone BRENT GOOSE was on the river on the other side to the Retreat. One of the last wintering birds to leave, its hard to know if this goose will be an over summering bird, or a late mover.
Finally getting to Trimley Marshes reserve, there's nothing particularly auspicious to greet you. A little sign announces you have made it as you spot the hides on the reserve banks. What differentiates the marshes from the surrounding agricultural land is the water. Hides overlook various pools and a big reservoir, which is a haven for wildlife, as water, although natural is scarce in our general landscape. Farmers love to drain their fields The first bit of water, the Winter Flood, is the focal point of the reserve as its a good spot for migrant waders. Today its was only the breeding WADERS here. There were plenty of AVOCET, LAPWING, REDSHANK and OYSTERCATCHERS here, but no young birds. The next two pools were the SUMMER FLOOD and the PERMANENT LAGOON, which both held large numbers of DUCK, mainly GADWALL, with the odd pair of SHOVELLER and one TEAL. On the Summer Flood was a pair of BLACK SWAN. This bird is a resident of Australia, so the chances of it arriving here naturally are nonexistent, so its obvious they are escapes. Who knows they might hang around and raise a family, colonising this area of the country with more black swans.
The Reservoir was the final destination, a body of water that maintains the levels of liquid on the rest of the reserve. Its a large, reed fringed lake, usually busy with birds, but not really so today. There was the odd pair of POCHARD, with a flock of 15 male present. Most of the wildfowl were like Loompit Lake, with TUFTED DUCK and COOT, one brood each of SWAN and GREAT CRESTED GREBE, as well as some LITTLE GREBE. A CHINESE WATER DEER was feeding on the Reservoir bank, another introduced animal, Britain now has an internationally important population.
It was whilst in the reservoir hide that the heavens opened up, a deluge of monsoon proportions. Checking on my phone how long it would last, I was told it was still sunny with the occasional breeze. It would not let up for the rest of the day. That was the weather that guided me back home, and the path had no shelter at all.
You always go out birding with the hope of seeing something rare. However at this time of year the odds on seeing something unusual are much lower than at other times. It really is a time for breeding birds, a time when birds stay at one site and only move to find food for their young. This lack of migration means less unusual birds are going to turn up. Sure, Trimley is one of the better reserves, with lots of breeding birds, but even so can be trying at times. Its just that long, long walk to see what's about, which can leave you feeling doubly disappointed when nothing much is about.
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