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...
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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