PURPLE SANDPIPER
Two birds were present on the jetty at the very tip of Landguard
PURPLE SANDPIPERS are a winter speciality of Landguard in winter
Use to people, the sandpipers came within ten metres of me
RINGED PLOVER
MED GULL feeding on the tide line. Looking like a black headed gull, the med gull has all white wing tips
MAGPIE on the fence to the docks
What was so heartening about visiting Hollesley today, after suffering such a poor winter of so very few birds, was just how many birds were present. Thousands of birds were here, feeding on and around the scrape, creating quite a spectacle, like the wetlands I used to see many years ago, when I had started birding. Although nothing unusual was present it was still good to see such good numbers of our normal over wintering birds.
The visit to Hollesley was an event organised by the Froize pub, Chillesford. Called "Winter Watching" it was a managed walk around the marshes with experienced bird guide John Grant, which ended with a meal at the Froize. The day out was a birthday present for myself a little gift for reaching a milestone in my life. It was a group of seventeen people of various expertise levels, ranging from beginner, to expert, as we trooped the short path round the Marshes. Basically its a short route to the viewing screen which looks over the scrape, before walking to the river wall, where one way looks over the scrape while the other way looks over the tidal estuary.
At the end of the walk, as I was lagging behind the first group, the guide in front gave a beckoning gesture for me to hurry over. As I rushed up, he showed me a nice male PEREGRINE FALCON in his telescope, perched midway up a tree. For a while it lingered before flying off over the marshes, putting thousands of birds in the air when it flew over the scrape, the bird is unmistakably massive when compared to a similar kestrel, with big bulging flight muscles. Being a golden age of birds of prey we live in, other species of raptor were seen today. A SPARROWHAWK attacked the marshes, causing a murmaration of STARLINGS to erupt and reel and knot in the air as a cloud of birds, before the sparrowhawk caught a bird and flew off with its catch. There were plenty of MARSH HARRIERS quartering the marshes, a bird you take for granted over the marshes of Suffolk, but is still a scarce bird; added to that several BUZZARDS were soaring in the air. Birds of prey are really bucking the trend for bird populations and many are increasing due to less persecution.
The scrape was really alive with birds, mainly with DUCKS and WADERS. WIGEON, TEAL, SHOVELLER and PINTAIL, were all present in large numbers the males at this time of year are a riot of colour as they compete for the female's attention. Among the hundreds of GREYLAG and CANADA GEESE feeding on the drier, higher ground, the only other goose species present was a meagre four BARNACLE GEESE, smaller birds, their plumage ranges through the many shades between black and white.
Large flocks of CURLEW were feeding on the wet grassland, a bird that although their decline has been well publicised, their wintering numbers on the marshes of Suffolk have remained stable. LAPWING are one of the few birds to be bucking the general bird population of decline, with their winter numbers actually increasing, and there are thousands present on our wet grasslands. A decent number of SNIPE were present, mainly asleep cuddled up in some tussock, their cryptic camouflage making them difficult to see, and if you spot one, then many more are hiding away.
In and around the scrape there was a decent cast of smaller birds, birds that unlike the waders and ducks, allowed you to get quiet close before flying off. Around four STONECHAT were present around the site, only a partial migrant, these birds had probably spent the summer on the local heaths, but winter out here on the coastal marshes. As is characteristic of this bird, they are usually seen perched at the top of a gorse bush or fence post. The local SKYLARKS were getting frisky with the warmish weather of February, chasing each other around and rising into the sky with their beautiful, grandiose song. They nest in the drier grassland areas that surround the scrape, and despite their decline they are still common birds. There were plenty of REED BUNTINGS around, the males have a characteristic black face, a common bird on the marshes, nesting along the ditches that cut through the lowlands, they are usually seen perched on top of some bush or fence post.
The marshes but onto the River Alde close to where it meets the sea. The river here is an estuary, and is quite wide, and the tide moves quickly as it flows into the sea. On the shingle banks at the mouth of the river, hundreds of CORMARANTS were roosting on the shingle banks. On the other side of the river is Orford Ness, a huge inaccessible shingle spit which stretches for miles. Watching from the other side of the river, several BROWN HARES could be seen on the shingle, often coming all the way down to the rivers edge. Also present over the other side was a CHINESE WATER DEER an introduced animal that has seemed to have found a previously unoccupied niche and is subsequently doing very well for itself. Time will tell whether its a benign introduction or whether its a harmful one. Its a strange animal, the size of a dog, it has no antlers, rather these two big canine which protrude from its mouth.
Having worked up a decent appetite walking the cold, windswept marshes, lunch was spent in the cosy, warm Froize. Food here is always good, even for a veggie like myself, so if you're ever in the area and have worked up an appetite roaming the coastal marshes, give it a go.
On the way back, I stopped off to have a look at the river Deben from Melton Picnic Site, where there were a variety of DUCKS and WADERS, on the mud, where I took some photos. Hollesley Marshes, even when full of birds is very poor for photography, the birds are just too far away and the light is often very poor there.
In the morning when I turned up to the Froize and the guide, John Grant, told us we were going to Hollesley Marshes, my heart dropped. But I was just there a month ago, I thought. I was hoping we would go somewhere off the beaten track to some place not open to the public. But I was pleasantly surprised despite all this. I think this had to be one of the best times I have been to the Marshes and that was something positive to take from the day, considering, how bad things have been recently for birds. Climate change is happening, its devastating our birds, and it wont be long before it affects us.
The annoying thing about twitching is how unsatisfying it can be. Often the bird you've come to see appears briefly, or at a distance, and the only way you know it is that bird is because someone told you it was. Sometimes you wait hours for a look only to get a blink and miss it view. Today's twitch was a LESSER YELLOWLEGS at Minsmere, and having been there for a week or so, the twitch wasn't big, a few birders moving in and out. But it was something I had to see, a destination bird, a rarity. This mislaid visitor from America was the first record at Minsmere for at least a decade, my first here and for Suffolk, a list tick at best.
The bird was on the Levels, an area that begins just south of the Sluice and the Bushes, on and around Lucky's Pool. The Levels, an area off wet grassland, were flooded, and the bird spent its time on some wet land, annoyingly among some overgrown tussocks. I saw the bird in flight, with it white rump, and heard its call, and when I saw it in the open, which wasn't often, it resembled a redshank in shape and size. Two REDSHANK were nearby, which provided some useful comparisons.
As you can see from the photos the visitor from America wasn't even the bird of the day. Minsmere being Minsmere there were plenty of other birds about, enough to make a visit worthwhile without a twitch. Non-rarity bird of the day was a gorgeous male BEARDED TIT, who tamely stayed within a metre of where I stood, allowing me to admire it for an extended time. Although not a rare bird at Minsmere or on the Suffolk Coast, this bird is reliant on one habitat: reedbeds. And not just any reedbeds, but huge reedbeds. They are a pretty bird, all birds are this ginger colour, long tailed in shape, while the male also has a black moustache. Even when you don't see them you can often hear them, with their metallic "pinging" call, and there were at least three or four calling to this bird from deeper in the reedbed.
This being winter, there were plenty of DUCKS about, often dominating the birding scene. Twenty PINTAIL was a good record on South Scrape. Numbers of the usual duck on the Scrape were lower as flooding on the Levels had attracted more birds away to those areas. The Levels were full of WIGEON grazing the grassy areas. During winter a lot of ducks that turn up here for the season often pair up together before travelling back to their breeding grounds. Two male colourful SHOVELLER were competing for the attention of a brownish female, with a lot of head bobbing, and singing out their song, which is kind of like "jib jib". Shoveller are my favourite duck, the beautiful colours of the male, that extravagant bill, and when compared to the commoner ducks are strangely scarce.
Other than an off course American, there were a good range of other WADERS present, a bit of joy for a winter's day at Minsmere. A KNOT was a decent find, although I can see twenty thousand at Snettisham, Suffolk in general holds few of this bird, so seeing one is always a bonus. With the mild weather in the air, signs of Spring were beginning to emerge bleary eyed into the world with twenty AVOCET present, returning from their winter grounds, they will be looking to nest on the Scrape. Twenty DUNLIN were about, some SNIPE in grassy areas in front of North Hide, and five CURLEW on South Scrape were all seen. A GREAT WHITE EGRET was present on the Scrape, a bird I saw on my last visit, which has seemed to taken the area for a home and is staying put.
The sea as seen from Minsmere, can be quiet, but today there were a few goodies. A flock of 450 COMMON SCOTER (someone had counted them) were about, seen further down the coast, near to Dunwich, a long black line of black sea ducks. Several RED THROATED DIVERS were seen flying north, whist a GREY SEAL was also present, but apart from that there were just a few gulls.
All in all a solid winter's day down at Minsmere, with a rarity added into the mix. Places like Minsmere are so rare, so precious, yet even a place like this is at risk. Sizewell C is raising its ugly head, and will get the go ahead, even though its not needed, in fact stupid, but politicians want it so it looks like they are doing something, leaving a legacy at a huge cost.
