Hollesley and Sutton Common - 24/3/2022

 

A COMMON LIZARD enjoying the sun

Whilst birdwatching the wetland area of our countryside leads to instant gratification when it comes to finding birds, its often good to go off track, to look for the birds that inhabit the heaths and woodlands that grow in Suffolk. The birds that inhabit these lands are necessary smaller, and harder to see as they spend a lot of time in cover, and are more widespread, and not looked over by hides. Therefore there is less to see, but often those you do see are good birds, especially those that inhabit Suffolk's heaths. It means going off the beaten track, to explore new areas, to discover an area of the map that's not set up as a nature reserve.

Pine trees on the heath

Heathlands can be difficult to watch as bird densities are low in the scattered heather, when compared to our woodlands, but those that you do see are unique to this habitat. Lowland heath is a globally rare habitat centred on the UK, and Suffolk holds a large proportion of that, and therefore is a refuge for many rare and strange birds.

The pods in this pig farm look like something from a sci-fi film

The heaths at Hollesley and Sutton are huge in extent, they extend for miles, and consist of areas of heath, acid grassland, scattered pine and birch trees, gradually merging into the pine plantations of Rendlesham. I spent a very lovely March day wandering round a large chunk of it. Mid March has the bonus in that the resident birds have started singing, and are easier to see with the lack of leaves on the trees.

The blasted heath, low grass, heather and scattered pine trees

With the large extent of pine trees here COAL TITS were the most numerous bird, but it was to the heathland specialists that I paid the most attention to. On the heaths DARTFORD  WARBLERS were in song, and despite their name, weren't very musical, eliciting a weak scratchy tune. They are moderately recent colonists, having turned up in Suffolk at the turn of the millennium. They are a dark bird, blue-grey on top with a burgundy red underneath, small, with long tails, which are noticeable in flight.

 

A PEACOCK BUTTERFLY, with the warm weather we have enjoyed in March, many butterflies are out on the wing

The reason I came to the heaths was to search for WOODLARKS and especially to hear their song. Woodlark songs are like that of the skylark, their sister species, but is not as complex. It is a rare sound to hear indeed, from a bird that is rare in the country, Suffolk being a stronghold. Unfortunately, for some reason I heard no birds in song, and only encountered one bird, which perched on a tree branch for me to admire. They look pretty much like a skylark, but have a more distinct eye stripe and a black mark on the shoulder of the wing. 

Also Surprising, only a couple of YELLOWHAMMERS were about, usually a common bird of the heaths. Another good bird was a WOODCOCK, typically seen only when I accidently flushed it. Later on when walking through some pine trees I came upon a huge flock of SISKINS, the combined sound of their sighing calls radiating through the wood, although being in the pine trees, I rarely saw any. A bit further on I found a TREECREEPER in a tit flock, a bird I haven't seen a lot of recently.

A FALLOW DEER, a herd of fifteen were on the heath

With the emergence of  Spring a lot of other wildlife was out and about enjoying the warmest days of the year so far. A COMMON LIZARD was a nice find, seen by the MOD compound. I was alerted to a rustle in the bracken and came across the animal, it seemed to be caught, so I let it go free, running off into cover. The heaths are a good spot for a large herd of FALLOW DEER which can be encountered quite often. They seem ok with people as long as no one gets too close. A herd of fifteen animals were seen today, including a male with antlers, who gently moved off through the bracken when I came too close to them.

The Suffolk Coast has so many natural splendours that it almost an embarrassment of riches when it comes to wildlife. What the most difficult decision for a birdwatcher like myself is, is where to go, because there are so many places available to explore. Although the wetlands on the coast are justifiably the most famous places, areas like these heaths, off the beaten track somewhat, can also hold birding goodies found nowhere else. And it shows that these places can exist next to our food producing farmlands, they don't have to compete with each other. It is easy to allow nature to thrive in our countryside, all we have to do is just let it back in.

Minsmere - 17/3/2022

Male SHOVELLER, just look at that glorious beak

With the dawn of spring this year we have had some glorious weather to delight in. OK, so some of the resident birds had already started to sing from early February, and a few flowers have begun to bloom from January, but its in mid March that Spring finally arrives, and it does so with a bang, to fully leave winter well behind. And where better to see this explosion of new life than at Minsmere, surely the greatest nature reserve in the country. All around the reserve, birds were filled with the joy of a new season, celebrating the end of the long hard slog of winter.

Birds on West Scrape

The centre of the reserve has to be the Scrape. Like its name suggests, it is really an area of shallow water "scraped" out of the earth. Located just behind the Dunes, it fluctuates from brackish to freshwater, saltmarsh to reedbeds, littered with lots of stony islands that attracts birds to nest. This habitat was first created at Minsmere, and now, every coastal wetland reserve in the world has a Scrape. A simple habitat that is so attractive to birds.

Pair of BLACK HEADED GULLS on East Scrape

This habitat is so, so attractive to birds, way beyond any other and bird for bird is one of the richest places on the reserve. It is also a great place to see birds, as there is no cover for them to hide in, and Minsmere's Scrape is overlooked by four hides. Probably the bird which nests in the largest number here are the BLACK HEADED GULLS, with several thousand crammed into the islands of the Scrape. Today there had been a large influx since I last visited in February, found especially on East and South Scrape. These birds are very boisterous, always noisy birds, and the sound they make creates a visceral atmosphere, the sound of thousands of birds. As you approach the hides to look over the Scrape, you can really hear these birds, adding to that sense of expectancy, as you ponder what you will see. Strangley, though, only one MED GULL had turned up, a bird that although rarer than the similar black heads, still nests here in largish numbers.

East Scrape

Another group of birds for which the Scrape offers a nice secure home are the WADERS, in particular the AVOCET. Minsmere is famous for this bird, being the starting point for the once extinct bird to recolonise the country. Although a small group had overwintered this winter, there has recently been a large influx, and now over a hundred were present. Numbers always fluctuate year on year so its too early to tell how successful they will be. Pairs of REDSHANK were also newly present on the Scrape and on the Levels, whilst LAPWING constantly tumbled through the air in defence of their territory in the area of grass in front of North Hide. And of course you can't ignore the OYSTERCATCHERS, those black and white, and very noisy squabbling birds, several pairs were making themselves very noticeable. Away from the breeding birds, WADER migration hadn't really started, just the usual birds that I had seen over the winter, DUNLIN, TURNSTONE, SNIPE and CURLEW. The exception was a GREEN SANDPIPER on West Scrape, which must be a migrant.

WIGEON on South Scrape

With the changing of the season, DUCK numbers were much diminished, and there had been a significant reduction in WIGEON and TEAL. A pair of PINTAIL still hung on in South Scrape and a pair of BARNACLE GEESE had turned up. The exception to this exodus was a large influx of SHELDUCK, I guess migrants as these birds only nest at Minsmere in small numbers. There were still plenty of SHOVELLER and GADWALL present, birds which nest at Minsmere in good numbers.

GLOSSY IBIS on the Konik Fields

An unusual sighting today was that of a GLOSSY IBIS feeding in the Konik Fields. These fields are a mix of pools, grassland and reeds, where the reserve's ponies are left to graze in the summer. The bird itself was feeding in the water, oblivious to all the people walking passed. The bird has a primeval look, reminding me of something like a dinosaur, which scientists believe birds descended from. This is my first record for the reserve proper, I saw another bird at Eastbridge, just outside of the reserve's boundary.

Male STONECHAT on the Dunes

Although at Minsmere the larger water birds tend to dominate the birdwatching scene, there was a decent run out of the smaller birds today. Star bird had to go to the FIRECREST which was seen in the Sluice Bushes. Unusually the bird was quite showy, and was easily seen if a little furtive, constantly on the move, and difficult to photograph. As its name suggests it has a fiery mohican and distinct eye stripe. Always a good bird, its usually hard to see, and as a result is actually commoner than you expect. Also along the Dunes, two pairs of STONECHAT had turned up, always such showy birds, they like to flaunt themselves from the top of any branch sticking out into the sky. These birds are probably going to attempt to breed this year in the flowering gorse bushes that cover the Dunes.

Female REED BUNTING

Although birds dominate the show  at Minsmere, other types of wildlife can be found here. By the Sand martin Bank, a group of people had assembled, and intrigued, I went over to have a look. It turned out they were looking at an ADDER, which had slithered itself into a growth of bracken. Only part of its body was seen, it was identified by the distinct diamond shape that snakes its way down the back of its brown body. It still always amazes me that snakes live in the UK, especially venomous ones, as if to give two fingers up to our over industrialised countryside. Also about, three RED DEER were seen grazing the Levels. 

East Scrape, looking towards North Hide

Spring is always my favourite time of year. Birds are on the move, while other birds are in song, creating an exciting and unpredictable time for birdwatching. And everything is done at such a frantic pace as all the birds are aware of their time limits. With somewhere like Minsmere, such a fertile place for birds, spring was rampant, so full on, which creates a good day's birding. Minsmere is such a glorious place to visit, and if you've never visited, what are you doing - go now!

Winter on the Local Patch - 2021/22

 

A small colony of HOUSE SPARROWS lives around the houses on Old Norwich Road

What a dull dreary winter it has been on the Patch, literally in this case as December 2021 was declared the dreariest month in history. Things were pretty quiet bird wise and a walk around the Patch yielded little beyond the usual cast of resident birds. Things weren't helped  by the mild weather, with the occasional frosts the only sign we were living through the coldest months of the year.

                                                                Trees around Rise Hall

January was the driest on record and the stream, usually a raging torrent at this time of year was reduced to a trickle. Birds you associate with winter, such as the WINTER THRUSHES were low on the ground and there was little sign of any cold winter movements. Leaves hung on to the trees and didn't really fall until well into November. With such inconsistences in our seasons it is still too early to predict what impact this will have on our nature, but no doubt it would struggle.

     

                                                                        Singing ROBIN

Every year on the first day of the year, I brave the hangover to go out to do my first birding of the year on the Patch. And despite the fact that The Patch isn't very good for birds, its featureless agricultural land after all, it has a special place for me. It is my entrance into nature, a place on my doorstep, where I can leave the human world for a while. I was not the only one out on the Patch at this time as one farmer was ploughing a field on the first day of the year.

    

                                                        Farmer out on the field on New Years Day

Intresting sightings

Despite all the dreary weather there were still a few decent sightings of birds to be seen. The Patch isn't really great for attracting anything interesting, but every so often something unusual drifts through. The highlight was a RED KITE on 1/3/22, flying high over the Suffolk Punch Field before drifting east over Rise Hall. Red Kites have a very distinct shape, having a forked tail, and its bent wings distinguish it from the local BUZZARDS. This is a bird that although now common across the country is still scarce in this part of the country, this is only my second record for the Patch. However this is a bird that is on the rise, and will probably become as common here as the local buzzards.

   

                                                                Coppice stalls in Rede Wood

Another good sighting was a WOODCOCK at Rede Wood on 16/1. This is an unusual wader in that it prefers woodland to wetlands, and although not rare, the only time you see one is when you disturb one from cover. They are surprisingly large, almost the size of a partridge, but have a distinct shape. This is my third record for the area and the first for Rede Wood, the other two coming from the Suffolk Punch Field.

   

                                                        The Stream is running low this winter

Winter Movements

Winter is usually characterised by the movement of birds forced on by heavy weather. However when winters are so mild few birds are made to move involuntarily. Also with the mild weather less birds are forced into this country from the colder continent, and so linger closer to their breeding grounds. THRUSHES were few on the ground with just the odd single REDWING, with the only flock being one of only eleven on 1/1. The main exception was a flock of 60 FIELDFARE in the arable field that runs along Yellowhammer Hedge on 28/1, which was the only time there was any decent flock in the area.

   

                                                                          GREAT TIT

SKYLARK flocks were exceptionally small this winter only peaking at fourteen on 4/2/22 from Yellowhammer Field. This is another winter, again, where no YELLOWHAMMERS have spent their time on the Patch. Seven or eight years ago there were flocks of at least fifty. I hope they have just wintered elsewhere, rather than indicating a crash in numbers.

   

From Lark Hill a flock of 300 LAPWING flying over fields in the distance on 27/12/21 was exceptional as these birds, or most waders in particular, are rare on the Patch as there are no areas of wetlands there. WOOD PIGEONS are always on the move and flocks of several hundred birds can be seen feeding on the fields, loudly flapping their combined wings in flight when they are disturbed into the air.

   

                                                                    Under the pylons

Signs of Spring

With the mild weather, signs of Spring have begun to appear deep in what is traditionally seen as winter. Bird wise the most obvious signs of Spring are when our resident birds start singing. The first species to make some noise was a GREAT SPOTTED WOODPECKER drumming from the tall trees around Suffolk Punch Field at the end of December.

    

                                                                                BLUE TIT

On 13/1/22 a SONG THRUSH was singing along Fisk's Lane, the path which connects Whitton to Anglia Retail Park, with another singing from the coppice in Rede Wood on 16/1. As its name suggests, this bird is one of our greatest songsters, often belting out its unpredictable tune from a deep thicket. A declining bird it is still common enough, and are mainly found within a dense patch of scrub.

      

                                                                    The Suffolk Punch Field

On 11/2 the first SKYLARKS began to sing, the birds rising high over the arable fields with their intricate and varied song. The arable fields on the Patch still hold a strong population of this bird. Also on the same date in the  Suffolk Punch Field the lonely BUZZARD which spends the whole year around this field on its own, was joined by its mate, to hopefully settle down to breed and raise more young buzzards.

   

                                                                       SNOWDROP

Another sign of Spring was the emergence of flowers with the first SNOWDROPS appearing in the wooded areas in January, followed by yellow WINTER ACONITE by Rise Hall and DOGS MERCURY in Rede Wood in February. The emergence of BLACKTHORN, our first flowering shrub, is always an indicator of the upcoming Spring. This year the first appearance of the delicate white flowers happened very early, in the end of February, they usually appear in the second week of March. DAFFODILS too began to appear in late February, growing particularly strongly in the graveyard surrounding the church.

      

                                                                          DAFFODIL

Also on the 26/2 the first BUTTERFLY of the Spring was seen when a SMALL TORTOISESHELL was in flight along Fisk's Lane. Come mid March it would be joined by other species when the year warms up.

   

                                       There is a flock of FERAL PIGEON along Old Norwich Road

Even the most unlikely of places can still abound in nature. In no other place do I know the changing of the seasons and the wildlife, as well as I do on the Patch. A place as unpromising as an area of agricultural and equestrian fields with their attendant hedgerows doesn't look too good on the surface. But our countryside, no matter how unfriendly to nature, is still a wild place and here the wildlife can still cling on, if only by their finger tips.

Carlton Marshes - 3/3/2022

GREAT WHITE EGRET

Carlton Marshes is the flagship reserve of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, a behemoth of a reserve, created from some useless farmland to form a wetland bursting with wildlife. It forms a big part of the small Suffolk section of the Norfolk Broads, an area of long winding rivers and low marshland, with big skies looming over the sunken landscape.

Female MARSH HARRIER

It has been a while since I last visited the marshes, and several seasons have passed, and the place is very much different. Gone are the lazy cattle grazed pastures, to be replaced by lots of water and flocks of birds. It was a day of winter, yet also the first glimmers of Spring, an inbetween time not quite one not quite the other.

GREY HERON

The focal point of the reserve is Peto's Marsh, a huge area of flooded grassland and reedbeds. The bird flocks were large, with hundreds of LAPWING bouncing into the air at the slightest whim. With them was a small flock of around twenty GOLDEN POLVERS, a bird which cohorts with them in winter times. DUCK numbers were still high, mainly WIGEON, but also with large numbers of SHOVELLER, with smaller numbers of TEAL and GADWALL. Four male PINTAIL were feeding among them. Star of the show, though not the most showy of birds, was a female GARGANEY, a bird which superficially looks like a teal, but has a distinct eye and forehead stripe. A female teal fed nearby and providing comparisons, the garganey was slightly larger, darker and crucially had a dark wing stripe. Garganey are our only summer visiting duck, and with only fifty pairs nesting in the country are scarce birds. This bird is my earliest ever record of this species.

Out on the marshes signs of the upcoming breeding season were in motion with several pairs of REDSHANK returning, a pair of AVOCET, and three noisy OYSTERCATCHERS, whether a pair protecting their territory from an intruder or two aggressive males chasing a female, I'm not sure. A GREAT WHITE EGRET was present flying around the site, at one point confronted by a GREY HERON, to whom he turned his back on. The egret was actually taller than the heron, a truly impressive bird.

The low lying marshes make for good bird of prey country, and today there were large numbers of MARSH HARRIER present quartering low over the landscape. These new marshes have given these impressive birds of prey plenty of land to hunt over. Another reedbed specialist was the BEARDED TIT, heard calling from Peto's Marsh, although unfortunately I didn't see any.

CHINESE WATER DEER

A characteristic sight of Carlton Marshes are the CHINESE WATER DEER found there. Two animals were present on Peto's Marsh, observing me as a I observed it. In full gait it resembles a giant rabbit. It doesn't have antlers, instead it has giant canine extending from its top lip. As its name suggests it originates from China, and naturlaised here having escaped from deer collections, finding a niche for itself in our countryside.

OSPREY on the Blyth Estuary

Driving back down the A12 I decided to stop at the Blyth Estuary for a quick look, and I was glad I did so. Arriving on the river wall I noticed a bird of prey flying in the distance and taking a look was amazed to ID an OSPREY.

MUTE SWAN on the marshes

Its shape and white colour identified the bird immediately, and although it was distant was fairly easy to make out. This was a great find, ospreys are such iconic birds, their history in this country is such a milestone for the conservation movement. I don't have the space to write about it but if you have any spare time I recommend looking up the story of the osprey.

The osprey is a summer visitor and like the garganey earlier, this is my earliest record of this species. On the estuary itself, the tide was low, and not much was around, the usual DUCKS and WADERS, including some AVOCETS. 

What an impressive county to birdwatch Suffolk is. And when new ones are created things are even better. However despite more reserves being created, there is still large scale destruction of the countryside, ones that nature reserves can't compensate for. Don't get me wrong, reserves are good, but what we need is for our wider countryside to be managed more in tune with nature.

Minsmere - 24/2/2022

Male MARSH HARRIER

Driving to Minsmere, I enter the fringes of the reserve, passing through the extensive woodlands, layered by growths of brown bracken, under the bare branches of the birch trees. And as I pass these it finally feels that I have arrived at Minsmere and my thoughts turn to what birds I would see. For a late winter's day, I was expecting to see wildfowl, and maybe some something else rare. Minsmere has that magic which soon drags you into its green soul.

Looking across the Scrape from the Dunes

What a tumultuous day it was at Minsmere, a constant conveyor belt of different weather patterns, rain sleet, hail, and sun. But with the mild winter, thoughts of spring are in the air, and with such a warm season we have had it wont be long until our resident breeding birds start to get more active. But despite all this there were still a lot of winter birds hanging around.

MUTE SWAN

Being the last gasps of winter DUCKS dominated the scene, and today there was a good selection of these waterfowl around, birds starting to move as they gear up for Spring. From a rarity point of view, top billing must go to the pair of SMEW on Island Mere, a beautiful monochrome, black and white male, with a more subdued "red head" female. These are proper winter scarcities, ones birdwatchers are constantly on the look for and luckily being ducks they tend to linger so are quiet easy to catch up with. Island Mere was fairly quiet but also held a WHOOPER SWAN, with two pairs of GREAT CRESTED GREBE also turning up for the breeding season. A SNIPE was also present, as usual asleep in the cut reed area in front of the hide.

Looking out across Island Mere

From Whin Hill, at the summit that looks down over the reedbeds, four GOOSANDER, a male and three female, were seen in a pool next to Island Mere as well as a further two WHOOPER SWAN. Unfortunately these birds couldn't be seen close up from the Island Mere Hide, so I only had distant views. Around Island Mere and the Bittern Hide, several MARSH HARRIERS were present, two males and a female, although as yet they haven't started to get geared up for the breeding season.

SNIPE, Island Mere

The Scrape was fairly quiet as disturbance from building work extending East Hide caused a lot of disturbance, so most birds were on South and West Scrape. There was a large increase in SHOVELLER, these birds are moving through as Spring migrants, and a pair of PINTAIL were on South Scrape. The Levels were flooded now and were full of birds, mainly TEAL and WIGEON, while a GREAT WHITE EGRET was seen patrolling a dike there.

An upturned tree among the woodland

A sign of spring was shown by the increase in WADER numbers on the Scrape, birds that are quite scarce in winter. Fifty DUNLIN were on South Scrape, as well as two CURLEW. Breeding waders have started to arrive, with around five pairs of OYSTERCATCHERS present, these constantly noisy and hyperactive birds were full of energy, and are a real feature of the Suffolk Coast. Several RINGED PLOVER had also turned up, a bird that likes to nest on the beach, and on the stony islands of the Scrape. Although the lesser yellowlegs had been reported today I didn't see it among all the ducks and tufts of sedges on the Levels.

COAL TIT

Aside from the bigger, more obvious wetland birds, the smaller birds were quite active and obvious today. Although it feels like spring, its not quite there yet as a season, and the smaller birds have yet to start singing, it wont start for another few weeks. Around the visitor centre the bird feeders attracted a huge number of birds. Such goodies seen were a NUTHATCH, MARSH TIT and several COAL TITS. The nuthatch was very greedy, constantly returning to the bird table, being a slightly bigger bird it bossed the smaller tits to get prime feeding. I wish I could attract that assortment of birds to the feeders in my garden.

The new extension to the East Hide

On the Dunes, among a large cover of gorse, a DARTFORD WARBLER, was seen, and though they are present all year, are tricky to see in the spiky cover. And where there are dartfords, there are also STONECHATS as well, with one male present, as usual showing from a perch. From the reedbeds there would explode the song of the CETTI'S WARBLER in various areas, early singers they often start to sing from late December.

Male CHAFFINCH on the feeders by the visitors centre

A good day's birding at Minsmere, as you would expect. Soon eyes will be turned to spring, when the bird's start to really ramp up. Soon the resident birds will start singing, and soon the birds will start to migrate, and in that season anything is possible, as rarities can turn up anywhere. However today it shows that winter is not quite over, and maybe a surprise may happen over the next month or so.