Spring and Summer on the Local Patch - 2021

LONG TAILED TIT with nesting material

What a strange year its been so far. Are we experiencing the start of climate change, a full on assault of uncontrollable weather patterns which will end up in the destruction of the planet. Or are is this just a blip in an otherwise normal stable planetary system. Maybe we'll look back on this time as a natural wonderland before our countryside dies off from climate change and unregulated industrial farming of our land.

DUNNOCKS nest in decent numbers in the area

Being a place I have visited for over eight years, I have felt this weather anomaly most on the Patch, a series of agricultural and equestrian fields with accompanying hedgerows and trees. The Patch is situated right on the border of North-west Ipswich, just outside of Whitton. Its good walking country with a range of footpaths well trodden by the feet of the many people that live nearby. There's not a main road in sight, something rare in this countryside, especially so close to urban areas. However, despite this, the Patch is not great birding country, as it is mainly agricultural land, with few woods or wetlands. This absence of variety in habitats means I don't really see much in the area, just the usual birds of the countryside.

Close up of VIPERS BUGLOSS which flowers in a small patch in First Field

The Patch is my local patch (obviously) a term used by birders to denote the area they watch on their doorstep. It doesn't matter that there is little bird life, because despite this lack, the few birds I do see feeds into its rich history. And being so close to where I live I can visit it any time, all I have to do is walk down the street and I can access as little or as much as I want of it. In the eight years I have lived in Whitton I have visited the Patch so many times that I know it like the back of my hand. From my garden, I often hear skylarks singing from the nearby fields or have buzzards fly over.

BLACKTHORN in flower, mid March, one of the first flowers of the Spring, growing in the hedgerows on The Patch

Unfortunately having to work more hours at my current job, I have had less time to spend on The Patch, recently, and as a result have not been able to get out there to much extent. With so little time spent here I have decided to meld together the two seasons of Spring and Summer into this one blog.

Looking across Suffolk Punch Field to Second Field in the background

Since I last wrote about the Patch, mid-March, many things have happened in the world. Most obvious of all has been the end of the third lockdown, which this time (hopefully) is an end for good. This has resulted in the world opening up, giving me so much options for birding, and as a result less need to visit the Patch.

A WOOD PIGEON is nesting in a tree where Shakespeare Road meets Old Church Lane

The Patch starts from Old Norwich Road, a nice quiet, rural street which has been restricted to cars, to avoid being a rat run down to Claydon, and as a result is a haven for cyclists and joggers, and walkers like myself. A small way along the road, there is a paddock where horse's graze amongst thick scrub, just before the path leaves the road for the main part of the Patch. Here a cock PHEASANT lords it over his harem of five females; this is the only place where this bird can be found on the Patch, as there is no shooting in the area no birds have been introduced and they exist here entirely naturally in small numbers.

Male PHEASANT

With early Spring in the air, March ended, strangely enough, with record temperatures for that month, as we were hit by heat haze, leading a lot of people to believe that we were in for a hot Spring and Summer; we weren't. The BUZZARDS started to establish their territory on the Suffolk Punch Field, one bird is resident throughout the year with another bird joining it for the breeding season. The YELLOWHAMMERS started singing, joining the already advanced SKYLARKS, who had begun in February. Yellowhammers, although not common are present in decent numbers, and are one of the key farmland birds on the Patch, their song calling out for a "little bread and no cheese".

The old barn at Rise Hall

Then, from April the weather became unusual. On the 5/4 we had snow, a harbinger for what April would be. Frosts were common and the frozen ground continued into early May, far longer than it should do. And then there was the rain, or lack there of. For six weeks, including all of April, it didn't rain. Water levels fell and nothing grew, and there was a real possibility of ecosystem collapse caused by it.

Male BLACKBIRD

The footpath to the Patch leads off from Old Norwich Road, through First Field, an area of exhausted agricultural land allowed to become fallow, that has become overgrown with grasses and flowers. It is amazing how in a couple of years this fallow field has been colonised so readily by flowers. This is most readily shown by its huge colony of PYRAMMID ORCHIDS seen here. The spikes of this lovely purple flower grow amongst the tall grasses, and this year I recorded over 1,100 spikes, which is an amazing total, up from a couple of hundred last year. To think this area is not a nature reserve, nor in anyway managed for its orchids, which makes it quite remarkable there were so many present. Nowhere have I seen anything like this, I always assumed orchids were the occupants of ancient grasslands that have survived that way since the dark ages, not ex arable land that was sprayed and under the plough only a few years ago. And this was all in one small corner of the field, imagine what it could be like if the flower was able to spread across the whole of the land. It just proves how important set-a-side is in our farmed landscape.

PYRAMID ORCHID

Close up of PYRAMID ORCHID

PYRAMID ORCHIDS growing among the grasses

Around the Patch there are areas of rough grassland, those little unkempt pockets where management isn't needed, and this is where you find BUTTERFLIES, though never in large numbers. The brilliant March weather encouraged them to come out early, starting with PEACOCKS on 24/3, followed by BRIMSTONE and SMALL TORTOISESHELL a week later, with MEADOW BROWNS coming out a bit later on with SKIPPERS and BLUES and WHITES flying around as well.

PEACOCK BUTTERFLY, the first to emerge

On 6/4 the first BLACKCAP of the year began to sing, at an early date for this species here. This was from Rede Wood, the only area of woodland on the Patch. Ancient woodland is an extremely important habitat, a haven for more wildlife than the surrounding farmland. Being small and so isolated it doesn't have many specialised woodland birds, but acts as an important home for wildlife in a sea of intensive arable land. Around four BLACKCAPS were singing here, as well as drumming GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER and a second pair of BUZZARD were on territory here. 

PRIMROSES growing at Rede Wood

Rede Wood doesn't have any old trees, but has been woodland as far back as records go. It has a thick understory of young trees and brambles, a sign of a healthy ecosystem, but results in there being none of the big floral displays. Flowers mostly grew around the edges in areas where light can get through the canopy, and flowers included the typical PRIMROSE, DOG'S MERCURY and WOOD ANAMONE found in such woodlands. Rede Wood is hard to get to, a couple of miles of walking, its accessible by road but there's no parking, so I don't get up there enough. Its just the fact that there are more places to explore than there is the time to do it.

WHITETHROAT

I didn't visit the Patch for a lot of April so I missed all the comings and goings, and specifically the first summer arrivals which make birding at this time so interesting, when a bird is first seen in the area, which you can compare over the years. Chiffchaffs first, followed by blackcaps, and then by whitethroats and lesser whitethroats is the usual order of things.

A sea of DANDELIONS growing on First Field in May

In the beginning of May the First Field was carpeted in DANDELIONS. creating a sea of yellow on that land. Later on, in June It would stay yellow, but his time carpeted with HAWKWEED, a slightly taller flower, and then into July it would stay yellow again, this time created by RAGWORTS, an even taller flower. Three different shades of yellow at three different dates in the year, its a testament to how much leaving land to set aside can be so important in a landscape that is so intensively farmed.

HAWKWEED growing in First Field, June

And then on 8/5 we had rain, finally. From then on May would be a soggy inundated month more than making up for the dry April weather. There was little sun, no harbingers of a warm summer, just grey clouds. June would be the same, grey and rainy, and whilst July added some sun, it wasn't the usual summer weather. But with all the rain things grew and the countryside was lush and verdant, an exquisite green in colour. 

RAGWORT growing First Field, July

On 7/5 LESSER WHITETHROATS were singing from the First Field hedge, whilst COMMON WHITETHROATS had returned to the usual haunts. There is an area of hedgerow where a whitethroat in one form or other has been on territory every year for eight years. Its amazing to think this bird or its subsequent generations have been able to hone in on one area every time, every year, returning from Africa, that such a tiny bird can do such things entirely by instinct is absolutely amazing.

RAPE growing, Second Field

Second Field had been planted with rape this year, and as a result was a vivid yellow for most of May and June. From Second Field, the footpath traverses River Meadow, a hay meadow, with the Stream, a small drainage ditch which cuts through it. Waterlevels undulate here, drying out this April, whilst filling up with May's rains. From there its a short walk up to Suffolk Punch Field, where the path connects to a cross roads.

Trolley in the Stream

Suffolk Punch Field is an area of permanent grassland with scattered bushes, and a small area of woodland where the local BUZZARDS nest. It is probably the best area on the Patch for birds, particularly Autumn migrants which like the bushes. In this area the footpath networks turns into a spider's web, as paths go everywhere. The entrance to the Field is guarded by a large dead tree, a sentinel of the Patch, a hole in which encourages a pair of BLUE TITS to nest.

River Meadow from Suffolk Punch Field

The Suffolk Punch Field is good for wintering THRUSHES. Towards the end of March the last of them passed through with a flock of 50 REDWINGS regular, with the final spot, of four FIELDFARES on 2/4. Small flocks of MEADOW PIPIT passed through, as well as flocks of WOOD PIGEON.

Suffolk Punch Field

Taking the north path leads to the Prairie Field  a big expanse of arable land, the sort of landscape that dominates the area beyond. This is a good site for HARES, but its lack of hedgerows and being large empty arable makes it poor for birds. Usually I head east to Rise Hall across the Suffolk Punch Field. At the other end of the Field, just before Rise Hall is the Pond, a small bit of water, surrounded by tall trees. It used to have a resident flock of GREYLAG GEESE, but they have seemed to have disappeared recently. Here, and in the tall trees by the Hall is a good spot for GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER, with one usually heard drumming here, the sound resonating across The Patch.

Rise Hall

By Rise Hall, the the route I took passes the Reservoir, which with the Pond is the only wetland on the Patch. A small manmade pool surrounded by trees, sometimes you get the odd wetland bird, but not during this period. SWALLOWS that nest in the abandoned farm buildings by the Hall hawk over here for insects. The water is clear and CARP occasionally break the surface of the water. The chance of catching one of those fish encourages local scallywags to fish here. The landowner is always on the lookout for illegal fishermen, he often accosts me when he sees me standing by the water, and I have to explain I am only looking for birds.

BLUE TIT

Akenham Church is a lonely old building, unused, it sits atop the high ground keeping vigil over the rest of The Patch. Just up from the Reservoir I often take a rest here, sitting on one of the flat tombstones in its grassy yard. Occasionally a ROBIN will perch on a gravestone, enticing me with its pose. Past the church there are more equestrian fields, until we get to Lark Field. This is a big prairie field of monoculture, with some crop or other, on the downside of a hill. It has the bonus of being the best place for SKYLARKS on the Patch. We're not talking large numbers but there are usually flocks of this birds here in winter and plenty of singing birds in Summer. This is a bird that still manages to do fairly well in the local area, but is a bird in decline in the country as a whole.

FOX

From Lark Field I usually head back through some more agricultural land, heading along minor roads, free of traffic. The last area of note is the field behind the sport's centre. This starts at the base of a small hill where some horse fields merge into thick scrub and woodland, nice non intensively used land, sort of what old farms used to look like a long time ago. On the 11/6 I inadvertently disturbed a FOX, slinking though the long grass, he was surprised to see me, although being on the edge of an urban area should have been more used to humans. As I walk up the hill so the signs of civilisation become more prevalent, the countryside peters out and houses, gardens and roads take the place of the the wild. The Patch is now a memory I keep with myself, to last me through the human world, until I can get out again into the countryside.

Male CHAFFINCH

Every bird watcher has a local patch, a special place all of their own and The Patch is very much my own space. Sure I share it with dog walkers and horse riders, but I have not seen any other birdwatchers here. And yes, there is little surprise bird wise here, but this is the place where I can access nature, where I can wash off the stink of urban life, come back to some long suppressed inner need to escape civilisation, to be back in the wild. And that's why this very average place is so very special to me.

Landguard Point - 3/9/2021

Juv PED WAGTAIL, a bird that's common on the Point.

What can I say about Landguard? Not much. On most visits I don't see much, I see more on my Local Patch at times, but what little you see at Landguard is usually interesting. Somehow something unusual turns up and there could be something worth the visit. However today was fairly quiet, birds were few and far between and there's not much to report really, but I enjoy writing blogs so included a post anyway.

RABBITS are common on the Point

Bucking the trend for the summer, this early September has been blessed with some sunny weather. However this glorious weather though good for a day out was not great for birdwatching. Landguard is all about the migrants, and September is a good time for the movement of birds, but this site is reliant on the right kind of weather to bring the migrants in. The right type at this time of year is a nice strong wind blowing from the north and east, to blow the migrants in from the continent, and when adding in overcast conditions can create a fall of lost migrants.

A REDSTART was in the bushes around this building

The best way to describe Landguard is as a desert, a dry land where little grows. The Point sticks out between the sea and the Orwell and Stour rivers, with water on all sides, except for the north where the urban fringe of Felixstowe town and docks provide an artificial barrier. Landguard is shaped like a dog's canine jutting out into the sea, and by sticking out like this it attracts migrants. The site is vegetated shingle, with scattered bushes to the north where they grow around the various crumbling old buildings on the spit. In bushes around the building near the radar a female REDSTART was seen briefly, her red tail flashing as I saw her flight. As you move further south the bushes die out and it opens up as an area of grassland. This is a good spot for WHEATEARS and a male was present today, but that was all, its been a pretty poor Autumn for them so far.

The sandy beaches of Landguard looking towards Felixstowe

There were plenty of birds of the commoner variety, which despite being so plentiful are still just as good as any rarity. Landguard is great for LINNETS with large numbers nesting in the scattered bushes around the spit, and as well there were large numbers of GOLDFINCHES, STARLINGS, and PIED WAGTAILS present on the Point. The wagtails like the open grassy areas to the south.

GULLS following the fishing boat coming into land. Harwich is in the background, across the river

With the Point sticking out into the sea, it is surrounded by nice sandy beaches, where despite the closeness of urbanity were nice and quiet. Feeding on the beach by the groynes were three SANDERLING,  a first record for me at this site, they are waders of sandy mud. The sea was fairly quiet, just some GULLS following the fishing boats.

The docks of Felixstowe seen across the Point, the tall white building is the Radar. Landguard at this point is an open desert.

A quiet time at Landguard, then, but it was worth a try just on the chance there might have been migrants about. Birdwatching at this time is like a gamble, on the chance that the conditions are right enough to attract some migrants. Myself, I like to find my own birds, rather than reacting and waiting for other people to find the rare birds for me, I like going out into the wild and just finding out what's about, common or rare. 

Redgrave and Lopham Fen - 27/8/2021

A large covey of GREY PARTRIDGES were on the approach road to Redgrave

Redgrave and Lopham Fen is perhaps Suffolk Wildlife Trust's most important nature reserve. One of the largest valley fens in western Europe, this reserve protects a habitat that is an extreme rarity in our country. This was my first visit to the reserve and what surprised me was how big the site was, its huge. I'm used to seeing habitats like this as a small parcel of land in some farmland, an afterthought in the countryside. Its amazing how a place like Redgrave could have survived to this day. But then seeing the rural backwater it is in, its surprising how so few have survived, the sheer size of the Suffolk countryside should hold more. As is usual to create a tidy industrialised farmscape, we have lost so much of our natural world, the natural landscape should be full of valley fens, rather than just in a few reserves.

KONIK PONIES were first introduced to Redgrave

At Redgrave and Lopham Fen, the Wildlife Trust lacked the manpower to manage the reserve, so Konik Ponies were introduced from Poland, the first time this was done in the country. The ponies are very hardy and suited to living in a wetland environment, and as a result are left to spend their time grazing the fen, keeping the place open and free of tree invasion. This natural management suits the wildlife of this habitat allowing it to thrive. Grazing with Koniks has now been copied in many reserves throughout the country, and most wetlands now have a herd of Koniks, for example Minsmere.

Fenland

Being August things were out of season for wildlife at Redgrave. Most of the flowers have blossomed and most of the birds have raised families and left. However there were a few things about. At least two HOBBIES were present, one on Little Fen and one on Great Fen, separate sides of the fen. Adding to the raptor mix a female MARSH HARRIER was also on Little Fen. There were a small number of DUCK about, a couple of GADWALL on a pool in Great Fen and seven TEAL were seen in flight. 

On the approach road to Redgrave, I saw a GREY PARTRIDGE sticking its head above the crops. On further examination I disturbed it, and put up a whole covey of 21 birds. This is a very large number for this bird nowadays, certainly the largest I have ever seen, which is a shame as it used to be a very common bird. In 2021 there are now one bird for every 10 there were in the 1970s. A bird very much in peril, and shows just how hostile the general countryside has become to birds that once inhabited it.

PURPLE LOOSETRIFE was very much in flower gloriously colouring the fen

Although not many flowers were about, the PURPLE LOOSETRIFE was gloriously in flower, and in one field the DEVIL'S BIT SCABIOUS grew in profusion. The scabious got its name for being a herb to help cuts, old lore that has almost passed from knowledge. 

A field full of DEVIL'S BIT SCABIOUS

This was very much a visit to recce the reserve, to finally see one of the most important wetlands in the country. I knew it would be out of season and didn't expect to see much so I wasn't disappointed with the lack of sightings. Places like these are so important, bursting with life, a lot that's common, some that's rare, all important. These reserves are reservoirs of life in a hostile land, a place from which wildlife can spread once more when the countryside has again become more sympathetic to nature.

Pensthorpe - 25/8/2021

Its a strange thing about birdwatching that often the best nature reserves for photography are not necessarily the best place to watch birds. What am I talking about you may ask? Well Lackford lakes, although enjoyable enough doesn't attract a lot of birds, whilst at Minsmere, a treasure trove of the avian kind, I end up taking the same shot each time, usually of an avocet, teal or gull. And so the same goes for Pensthorpe. As a nature reserve it doesn't compare to the big beasts of North Norfolk like Cley or Titchwell, but it offers a much better opportunity for photography. And that adds another dimensions to birdwatching, a creative one, capturing the visual splendor of birds in a different way.

    MUTE SWAN on the river Wensum

Don't get me wrong a day out at Pensthorpe is very enjoyable. The site is a strange combination of zoo, gardens, playground and nature reserve. The reserve itself is a series of flooded gravel pits, amongst a background of woodland and grassland, set around the chalk stream of the river Wensum. At this time of year, August, these habitats were fairly quiet.

    GREY HERON stalking the WENSUM Wetlands

The usual wildfowl of gravel pits GADWALL, COOT and TUFTED DUCK were scattered around the various lakes. One of the more interesting bodies of water was the Wader Scrape, although with water levels being too high there was no mud exposed to attract that type of bird. Instead, in addition to the usual wildfowl there were a few SHOVELLER around, among the hundreds of GEESE. Also present were some TEAL on the mud around Wensum Wetland, another lake tucked into the bottom corner of Pensthorpe.

    NE-NE, or HAWAIIAN GOOSE, part of the captive population

There were a few  further sightings of interest around the reserve. On Markin's Mere, a KINGFISHER was seen in flight across the water, before perching, distantly on a branch. Around the edges of Wensum Wetland, a GREEN SANDPIPER was feeding on the mud, whilst a GREY HERON stalked the shallow waters behind.

    Newly ringed BLUE TIT

Behind the Wader Scrape there was a bird ringing demonstration going on. I arrived a little late and only arrived at the end, but I still got to see a few birds. Apparently its been a poor year, well I can attest to that, but 80 birds were ringed today, a number that beats the rest of the year's entire total. 

    Deer sculpture in one of the gardens

On various lakes and pens around the site there is a large collection of captive wildfowl. Being August and with all the males in eclipse, the ducks weren't as attractive as they could be. When they are in eclipse the males moult out of their breeding season finery and at this time of year resemble the drab, brown females.

    BARNACLE GOOSE, one of the many, half-wild birds that feed on the duck food fed to the captive        birds

Around the captive wildfowl there was a murky gang of half-wild half-escapee EGYPTIAN GEESE and BARNACLE GEESE. They were present in large numbers and thrived because they fed off the grain that children were giving to the captive wildfowl.

    BLACK WINGED STILT in the Wader Aviary

Probably the best collection at Pensthorpe is the Wader Aviary. This is a walkthrough pen where native birds are kept. In here there are waders of course, AVOCETS, STILTS, GODWITS and RUFFS, but also some unusual birds such as BEARDED TITS, CORNCRAKES and TURTLE DOVES birds that are not often kept in captivity. Its a great way to get close to species that would be challenging in the wild and allows for some decent photography.

    EURASIAN CRANE

Another good part of Pemsthorpe is the collection of CRANES. EURASIAN CRANES (our cranes), CROWNED CRANES and MANCHURIAN CRANES, were kept in pens, where public viewing was from a hide, with each of the openings looking over a different species. The Manchurian cranes had two fully grown juveniles with them, so they have bred this year. Maybe captive breeding may work, as a lot of zoos say, with the captive animals eventually adding to native populations of rarer birds. I'm not overly sure, to me zoos seem more like sensible circuses, the animals living in their own filth, being gawked at by the public . 

    Part of the Millennium Gardens

Aside from the nature reserve there are the gardens, most especially the Millennium Gardens. People with an interest in gardens get all serious when I mention them. Created by Dutch gardener Piet Oudolf, at the turn of the millennium, they remain one of the best examples of his work. I don't know much about gardening but they were very attractive at this time of year, with lots of flowers in bloom.

    GREAT TIT

I started the post stating Pensthorpe wasn't great for birds, yet finish the post entirely stating the opposite. Sometimes seeing rare birds and large spectaculars isn't everything in the birding world. You can go to places like Pensthorpe and still get the full wildlife experience, and leave as satisfied as any visit to one of the North Norfolk big reserves. I thoroughly recommend a visit and it is handy that it offers something of interest for pretty much everyone.

 

Titchwell - 24/8/2021

A strange sight of a LITTLE EGRET feeding in rock pools on the tidal edge

With Cley done it was inevitable that I should spend my second day in North Norfolk at Titchwell. Similar to Cley, Titchwell is an expanse of reedbeds, scrapes and beach, that provides a haven for many birds, often attracting some unusual ones. Its a great place for WADERS, and a trip at this time of year usually guarantees a sight of some of the scarcer common species. But with winds not being particularly kind (the sort that would blow a rare migrant off course), and with not much being about in particular, I wasn't expecting much.

TEAL, Freshwater Marsh

Having take nthe bus, I stepped off, outside the reserve, and walked within, with that air of expectation as to what I'm going to see. The footpath through the reserve is one long line which runs perpendicular from the car park, with its visitors centre (and a nice coffee), to the beach. It traverses a succession of habitats that range from woodland around the car park, through reeds, freshwater scrapes, tidal systems, before eventually finishing at the beach and the sea, the natural end point for all habitats on this island.

SWAN, Patsy's Pool, with TEAL and a SHOVELLER behind

As you would expect from this time of year, the reedbed was quiet, the pools holding small numbers of ducks. A GREAT WHITE EGRET was about turning up at different points at the reedbed pools, preferring the deeper water found within the reeds, to the shallower water present further on.

Sleeping AVOCETS, Freshwater Marsh. At this time of year, at this time of day, most birds are asleep.

It wasn't until I got to Freshwater Marsh that things stared getting interesting. This body of shallow water is the best point of the reserve, where mud caused by receding water levels over the summer attract plenty of DUCKS and WADERS. However, recent habitat management has meant large diggers were working here, which has scared away the ducks but the waders didn't seem to mind, even though they kept a safe distance. The habitat management is taking place to create more islands for nesting waders, particularly AVOCETS, and doing it at this time of year results in less disturbance, rather than doing it in the breeding or wintering seasons.

The swanky looking Parrinder Hide, the Freshwater Marsh infront, its just not as cozy as your older hides.

And on Freshwater Marsh there were plenty of AVOCETS lingering from the breeding season, and with the work going on, they will only increase. Also about were usual collection of WADERS you would expect to see on a North Norfolk scrape. These birds will be on Autumn migration, heading away from breeding grounds to their wintering ones. Most populous were RUFF with around 50 present, lots of BLACKWITS and 15 GOLDEN PLOVERS a good number for the time of year. Just as at Cley a CURLEW SANDPIPER was present in a flock of the similar looking DUNLIN, as they always seem to at this time of year, birds often join flocks of similar looking species, I guess because they are just lonely, at a site like this on their own, they just want to make friends.

Recent management work on Freshwater Marsh, creating new islands

Also present on Freshwater Marsh, on the exposed mud before the reeds, was a juvenile WATER RAIL, a common bird of reedbeds, they're just so bloody hard to see! They spend all their time skulking about and never like being away from cover for long. They have a call like a screaming pig, which you hear quite often erupting out of the reeds. 

Diggers working on Freshwater Marsh, creating new habitat

As the path gets closer to the beach it passes a series of tidal pools, designed to reduce the pressures of rising sea levels on the reserve. Volunteer Marsh was looking good and has now become overgrown with saltmarsh, which is good as its fairly new in construction. However, there were few birds on these pools, so it was a further trudge to the beach.

Volunteer Marsh, tidal and now nicely overgrown with saltmarsh

And then it comes on you unawares, the climax of the walk down the reserve, the beach itself. The path walks out on the dunes, and there you are hit by an endless horizon, sand for miles and miles in both direction, with the sea in front of you, making you pine for the safe closeted land of the nature reserve.

WADERS feeding on the beach

On the edge of the sea water WADERS fed, different kinds to the ones found on Freshwater Marsh. Here are the species that enjoy a saltier snack. They particularly enjoyed a mussel bed exposed by the receding tide. BAR TAILED GODWIT, CURLEW, OYSTERCATCHER, REDSHANK, TURNSTONE and SANDERLING were about. The latter are a grey/white colour and run up and down the tide line looking like wind-up toys.

GREAT WHITE EGRET stalking Patsy's Pool

To get away from the beach its the same walk back again to the visitors centre. Just off the main path, back near the car park, a small trail along a boardwalk takes you through reeds until you get to Patsy's Pool, an artificial pool now returned back to reedbed, Here all the WATERFOWL had concentrated, mainly GADWALL, but with plenty of COOT, SHOVELLER and POCHARD. The GREAT WHITE EGRET was also about stalking any fish that happened to be out in the open.

More AVOCET, Freshwater Marsh

A quiet time at Titchwell then, but you can't really expect more. Birds are never very predictable at the best of times, which makes watching them so interesting, if frustrating. August is always low energy, a lazy time of little consequence to the birds. The usual were about, there were no surprise omissions, it was just business as usual. And that is a sort of satisfactory thing to report.