Landguard Point - 17/11/2021

The Point gives good views over Felixstowe Docks, the largest in the country

Having missed last winter through the pandemic lockdown, this time round I was on the lookout for some wintering specialists. One of those wintering birds was the SNOW BUNTING, a lovely white and brown coloured bird that spends its shorter days on the beaches of Suffolk. So in preparation I've been checking the birding websites, finding out where the birds have been recorded, and preparing a visit. One of those sites was Landguard, so a trip down to the Point was in order, to catch up with these delightful birds.

Cargo ship coming in to port, this is one of the smaller ones

I wish this story had a happy ending, but as is the case of nature watching, things can't be relied on, and, just like at Dingle Marshes last week I dipped on seeing those charismatic little birds. However it wasn't all bad news as I got to see some interesting birds and I always enjoy going to Landguard, there's always a sense of dynamism at the site, I don't know why there just is.

The top of the jetty

Being early winter it was fairly quiet bird-wise at Landguard, the Autumn migration that the site specialises in is now but a fading memory. Today, most of the birds seen today were seen around the periphery of the site. The scattered bushes and open grassland that make up the heart of the reserve were fairly empty. By the café that looks over the docks a GUILLEMOT was on the river. Despite breeding in large numbers up north, they are quite scarce in Suffolk, so this was a nice find. Further south down the Point, where the river meets the sea, on the very end of the site is a disused jetty, which is gradually rotting away into the sea. On there was a PURPLE SNADPIPER, a greyish bird which at a pinch looks a faded purple colour, Landguard is the best place in southern Suffolk to see this bird.

Underneath the jetty, a PURPLE SANDPIPER was at the end

Landguard is the site where I saw my first MEDITTERANEAN GULL, back in the days when it was still a  scarce bird in Suffolk, not the locally common nester it is now.  A bird winters in the area and today was found with the usual BLCAK HEADS scrounging around the car park for some left over scraps from the many people eating in their cars. Med Gulls lack the black wing tips that Black Heads have, as well as more subtle variations making them a good bird for those new to birding to test their skills on.

The remains of a CANADA GOOSE, washed up on the beach

As is usual with Landguard I saw a few birds, but the quality was good. A trip down in winter can feel quite bleak, cold, windswept and birdless, but it wasn't too bad today. However my quest to find some snow buntings still continues, and I just hope that on one, cold, winter's day I hope I may find a flock feeding on some desolate Suffolk beach.

Hazelwood Marshes -13/11/2021

WIGEON (back L) OYSTERCATHCER (C) TEAL (back R)

Once upon a time Hazelwood Marshes was a quiet area of grazing marsh that lay beside the River Alde. However with the floodings of 2013, the river wall was breached and the area was inundated, and when that ended it was deemed too difficult to rebuild and was left. As a result Hazelwood Marshes became an area of tidal estuary, just like the neighbouring river. And its actually a better birdwatching site because of it. You always rely on nature to heal itself, its only when humanity intervenes that things get bad.

Stretches of mud in Hazelwood Marshes full of rich feeding for birds

The Sailor's Path treads its way from Snape down to Aldeburgh, four kilometers long and passing through a large range of habitats, from extensive heaths and woods to lots of wetlands. It was quiet bird-wise as I wound my way down, and it was only when I hit Hazelwood that things really kicked off. On the Marshes the tide was half out and was receding. Near the tide line an extensive area of reeds was growing, this valuable habitat can survive in brackish as well as fresh water. A line of dead birch trees marked the height of the tidal zone, trees that used to grow on dry land before the inundation.

LITTLE EGRET among the dead trees

The hide sits at the top of the Marshes and gives a good lookout over Hazelwood on one side and the River Alde behind on the other. Its the only view of the estuary in the area and a good birdwatching site. The walk to the hide passes one side of the Marshes and there were at least three ROCK PIPIT present beside the path. From an initial look out on the estuary there were plenty of birds on the mudflats. A more advanced look showed up DUNLIN as the most numerous, this small wader fed in large, tight flocks, with a few similar sized RINGED PLOVER among them. There was also a flock of GODWIT and plenty of REDSHANK and CULREW, the latter birds tend to be single or in loose flocks. GREY PLOVER were also present in small numbers and singles of TURNSTONE and OYSTERCATCHER were also around.

The stand of dead birch trees marks the tidal zone

Out on the River Alde the tide was slightly higher, which had pushed the birds nearer to me in the hide. There were thousands of TEAL and WIGEON, and a large herd of 80 MUTE SWANS present, good numbers for this area of the estuary. They lingered mainly on the water just off the tideline. I whiled away half an hour in the hide before walking the Sailor's Path back to Snape. Not a particularly remarkable day, but one of quiet interest, which is what a lot of birdwatching is about.

Thousands of DUCKS and a large herd of SWANS

With such a quiet Winter so far, with so few influxes of waterbirds to our wetlands, it was good to see large numbers present at Hazelwood Marshes today. Estuaries rarely get the accolade that a lot of other birding places receive. Maybe because they can be so distant and birdless at the wrong tide times, maybe because they are a land that is of no use to humans, but they are home to thousands of birds. And when you get the tide times right you can experience some of the greatest bird spectacles in this country. They are truly special.

Dingle Marshes - 12/11/2021

GREAT WHITE EGRET in flight

It seems that Dingle Marshes is not much longer for this world. Situated on one of the most rapidly eroding coastlines in the country, this rich area of reedbed and wet grassland is gradually being eaten away by the sea. When I first visited fifteen years ago, the area was a lot bigger, the shore pools more extensive, so distant I needed a telescope to view. And now the wooded hills behind the marshes, which form the horizon, get closer and closer...

The Shore Pools, home to a SPOTTED REDSHANK and a pair of GREAT WHITE EGRET

This erosion is a natural process, caused by the sinking of the east coast of England, I think because of the ending of the ice age. This process is causing Dingle Marshes, an important area of reedbed and wet grassland, to disappear, and when it eventually gets eroded away, there won't be anything to replace it, as when its gone its gone. This is a problem with other sites along the disappearing Suffolk Coast, so many internationally important bird habitats concentrated in somewhere so fragile.

Looking down the coast to Sizewell B

It was a quiet time along this way of the coast. Dingle Marshes forms the southern tip to the huge Walberswick reserve, a beautiful area of countryside criss-crossed by a large spider web of footpaths, making it good walking country. The walk today started at Dunwich Beach, heading up north along the beach, before heading inland to the huge sea of reedbed at Westwood Marshes, one of the biggest in the country. From there the path treads back to Dunwich around the back of the Marshes through the edges of Dunwich forest, creating a lovely walk.

Where would a visit to the Westwood Marshes be without a photo of the iconic deserted mill

A small number of birds were present on this visit. Bird of the day was a nice SPOTTED REDSHANK on one of the shore pools, among the more numerous COMMON REDSHANK. This is a species that although common in Autumn is quite rare when winter comes around, so it was a good find. A pair of GREAT WHITE EGRETS were about, a very obvious bird these big white herons were among the more common LITTLE EGRETS. Gradually becoming more numerous, Dingle Marshes is the best site on the coast to see this beautiful bird.

GREAT WHITE EGRET on one of the Shore Pools

DUCKS are never very plentiful on the marshes, as there are just a few shore pools on the marshes, but today there was some disturbance from a digger on site. I think the digger was present to do some habitat maintenance, to make these pools better for birds. Quartering the back end of the marshes was a female MARSH HARRIER on the lookout for a meal.

A digger was doing some maintenance work on the Shore Pools, and yes, there wasn't much to photograph today

The beach that forms the eastern barrier to Dingle Marshes can be good for smaller birds. The shingle bank transforms into rough grassland, providing a good feeding site for them. Two female STONECHATS were present as usual perched on top of a gorse bush before flying to the ground before appearing on top again. Various FINCH flocks were around, a few flocks of LINNETS and GOLDFINCHES tinkling in flight. In the huge Westwood Marshes several BEARDED TITS were heard "pinging" the metallic noise of their call carrying over the reed fronds. A beautiful KINGFISHER was seen flying down one of the marsh ditches lovely but oh so brief.

When sites like these are lost to the sea there is nothing to replace them, these sites are so important just because they are so rare, that there's nothing else like them in the country. In a natural countryside lots of this habitat would remain inland, but in our intensively farmed landscape, it just isn't the case. Its so important that we replace these rich areas for birds because if we lose these, we lose something so  important.

Autumn on the Local Patch - 2021

GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER on a telegraph pole

It now seems that our seasons are melding into each other with nothing telling them apart, except one may be a bit colder or wetter, but not the extremes we had in yesteryear. This year nothing differentiated summer from autumn except the artificial boundaries of our calendars. So July turned to August and nothing changed in the world of The Patch.

View across Second Field to Suffolk Punch Field and the Sentinel beyond

Usually the hottest month of the year, August was dull and grey, full of clouds instead of sun. September briefly baked under a heat haze before joining August and greying out. October was mild but again flushed with plenty of rain. What is a common thread is how similar all these months were, no gradation, no whisper of winter to come.

ROBIN

A feature of this time of year is the FINCH flocks. Both LINNET and GOLDFINCH formed largish flocks, often up to thirty birds, created by post breeding birds that have raised and fledged families on The Patch, the flocks tinckling in the air, with their jerky flight. Smaller numbers of CHAFFINCH and GREENFINCH were present, these two species have had their populations decimated by an avian disease, once common birds that have now declined. On 17/10 a nice male BULLFINCH was present in the Suffolk Punch Field, its melancholy call directing me to its presence.

Some kind  of SPIDER

Autumn migration is characterised by the silent movement of WARBLERS, our summer birds moving south through the country. Suffolk Punch Field usually held the main number of these bird, the scattered bushes in permanent pasture proving attractive. When entering the Punch, I waited and watched for the odd twitch of movement that signifies the presence of a bird, warblers are very secretive and can hide in any cover, no matter how small, they are often given away by their call.

The Sentinel of The Patch which keeps guard in The Suffolk Punch Field

CHIFFCHAFFS were the most common warbler, present throughout this period, often forming part of a TIT flock, the large gathering of birds, mainly tits, that form at this time of year. Chiffchaffs are a bird that has bucked the trend and is actually increasing as a species. WHITETHROAT and LESSER WHITETHROAT were common up to mid September when numbers silently petered out. BLACKCAPS were less common, appearing until early October, whilst there was a couple of GARDEN WARBLERS, your typical Little Brown Job, it has no defining characteristics whatsoever.

The Stream dries out in Summer

The Patch isn't particularly good for unusual birds, but there was a female REDTSART in the Suffolk Punch Field on 8/9, an Autumn migrant. The Suffolk Punch Field is always good for migrating SWALLOWS, the permanent pasture proving bountiful for the bugs they feed on. Largest numbers were on 1/9 when 40 were present, but there was a continuous trickle of birds throughout the period.

A beautiful JAY landed in front of me providing great photos of its beautiful wings

Mid September brings in an influx of JAYS and this Autumn was supposed to be an influx year, but I haven't particularly noticed it on The Patch. This corvid is always such a glorious sight to see, until you hear one and then the spell is broken. In flight they have a graceful movement, couple with round wings and white rump makes a nice sight.

The path through Second Field

MAMMALS are not to common on The Patch as the large number of people who use this countryside (its right on the edge of Ipswich) cause too much disturbance. A nice male ROE DEER was seen roaming through the Prairie Field, whilst on 10/9 a FOX was disturbed from The Suffolk Punch Field, it was hidden in the long grass before being flushed.

Slug

An unusual record of a common bird was this large flock of GULLS, on one date.  On returning home, I encountered hundreds of this bird flying over the edge of Whitton, this huge flock drifting over the houses. Mainly BLACK HEADS, but also with a few HERRING and LESSER BLACK BACKEDS, they all flew at a certain height, just over house level, lingering for a while before drifting further on over Ipswich. They seemed to be flying in front of a weather front, although what caused them to flock in such a manner I do not know.

Inside Akenham Church

In the nine years I have been visiting The Patch, Akenham church has always been closed, so on the 1/9 it was a surprise to find it open. Nearby footpaths signs point to "Historic Church", a building situated at the top of the Patch, located near to Rise Hall, it holds a few tombstones, some trees and meadowland.  After passing the place for such a long time it was definitely worth a visit.

Tractor creating bales of straw

When I approached the church a dog came out and started barking at me, but it was all for show as he picked up a tennis ball and dropped it at my feet wanting me to throw it for him. Opened by a local, its a small church as there are few people living locally, there is only the Hall and a couple of farm buildings nearby. With nothing to really differentiate it from any other church, there is not much to write about. Inside, like outside, there was nothing of note, it was just a very plain, whitewashed building. Its been unused pretty much since the 1970s, which is why its always remained locked.

As always there was the supporting cast of extras on The Patch, those birds that I see every time in the area. A BUZZARD is always present flying round The Suffolk Punch Field, its graceful brown upperparts in contrast to its lighter underwings. Both WOODPECKER species are usually present, each one giving itself away by their loud call, the GREEN by its "yaffel" and the GREAT SPOTTED identified by its "chick" call, very distinct and much appreciated birds.                

                      

So the world turns and the seasons arrive and pass, and nature changes to face this cycle. However what has passed for time immemorial may be under threat as seasons become fluid with each other and nothing changes. This is happening too quickly for nature to keep up with, especially in our fragmented countryside where nature lives at the most minimum it can do. The only way to let nature stand up to this threat is by giving large amounts of the countryside over to nature to allow it to breath, rather than confining it to limited nature reserves. Because no matter how good nature reserves are, they are tiny pockets of the countryside, with not enough room to deal with changes. What we need is a landscape dedicated to both nature and food production where we can live in rhythm with nature. Because soon it might be too late and soon we may all play the price.

Lackford Lakes - 27/10/2021

Around forty SNIPE were present on the Slough

Well something is certainly amiss. Looking out onto the empty lakes at Lackford, I wondered where all the birds had gone and with each new lake I visited I really was getting concerned as again and again there were no birds. Never in the all the times I have been to Lackford have I seen such an emptiness, because at whatever season of the year there is usually a large amount of birds that call this place home. Where there should have been thousands of birds, today the numbers barely scraped into a hundred. Is this climate change or merely just some local factor, or really something not worth worrying about, its hard to tell. What is for certain is that this has been the worst Autumn migration in my memory, by a long way.

The Slough, the only lake with any birds on

Only one lake held any birds, the Slough, which is usually the best water on a normal day. Water levels were unusually high, inundating the various islands and spits. DUCK numbers were lower than normal, but still had decent numbers of GADWALL, TEAL, TUFTED DUCK and SHOVELLER, with a few newly returned WIGEON. Perhaps the most interesting sighting on the Slough was the large numbers of SNIPE present, the dearth of other birds making this sighting so unusual. Amongst the cut reeds, and pockets of sedge around forty were present, and those were the ones I saw, and its most likely to be a few more of this secretive species hidden out of view.

GREAT TIT on the Stump

With the crash in water bird numbers, it was heartening to see that the number of smaller birds were holding up. In Ash Carr, the main body of woodland in the reserve, a large TIT flock held GOLDCRESTS, COAL TITS, TREECREEPERS and a pair of NUTHATCH. Someone had put seed out on the Stump, the remains of a fallen tree, which attracted some of these birds down to feed and be photographed. Not birds but also feeding on the seed were some SQUIRRELS and a few MICE, the mice were too quick to be photographed, zooming past, a little flash in the lens.

The new Double-decker Hide is looking pretty good, if only there were some birds about...

I know they're only birds and numbers fluctuate naturally but this is really getting quite worrying. Birds are the barometer of ecosystems, being so visible and being high up the food chain, they are the first sign of things going wrong in our countryside. And with this, for want of a better word, emptiness, something seems to have gone wrong, especially in a place that's so good for birds as Lackford. What's so worrying is how quickly it has come about and it seems we don't have much time left. And with COP26 happening, where people debate over what to do about climate change, maybe its too late, maybe wildlife populations in this country have crashed. And you saw it with the birds first, it won't be long before it happens to us.