Being the largest body of freshwater in Suffolk, by far, Alton Water has that tendency to attract unusual birds. However at the same time it there can also be barren, there have been winter days when I've spent hours desperately trying to find something only to end up with distant views of a solitary coot to show for it. Compared to other large bodies of water in the country, like Abberton, just over the border in Essex, it can be quite quiet. However Alton Water is one of the best birding sites near to me, so I'll keep going back, birdwatchers are gluttons for punishment.
Star bird today was a SLAVONIAN GREBE, one of a pair that has been hanging around for a couple of weeks, that had reduced to a single bird after the other one had left. Alton Water has to be the most difficult place to find and see birds anywhere, with large areas of the reservoir completely unwatchable. Viewing places are limited, and the birds dispersed, with no congregations of birds to view. I was told the grebe was at the Tattingstone point on the reservoir, near the large country house, consisting of miles of shoreline, with few viewpoints, pretty vague directions to be sure. I was only able to catch the grebe because I caught hold of a local birder, who showed me where the bird was, directly. It was around the middle of the reservoir, but kept moving which was annoying as the views were from little gaps in the trees, so I had to keep moving viewing points to keep watching the bird. Often called "horned grebes", the slav grebe was in its summer plumage, a copper underbelly, with a black head with distinctive yellow tufts on its ears, the bird was very handsome to look at, as are all grebes.
As is usual with Alton, there were lots of GREAT CRESTED GREBE around, this is the county stronghold for this species. Some strayed near the slav grebe, and the great crested was noticeably bigger and much more slender. Some had already started nesting in the trees growing round the edges of the reservoir, but most were establishing territory and pairing up. Aside from the grebes, other waterfowl were in small numbers, Alton Water is poor for DUCKS, with only a handful of SHOVELLER, GADWALL and TUFTIES scattered about today, birds which may nest in small numbers here. As you would expect there were a few COOT and SWANS on territory, but not in large numbers as you would expect for the size of the lake.
From the northern hides, accessible from Lemon Hill North, four COMMON TERN had arrived, prospecting the rafts put out for them. These artificial nesting sites are created for the terns to nest on, and are surprisingly affective at attracting them, so much so the colony is now the second biggest in Suffolk. Unfortunately BLACK HEADED GULLS had arrived early and had already taken up some of the nesting space, as well as some GREYLAGS, with several already nesting, limiting space for the terns.
As you would expect Alton Water is best known for its waterbirds, but it is also be good for the smaller birds, our songsters. When the reservoir was created woodlands were planted around the edges, and are now reaching a decent age, such that its becoming attractive to nesting birds. The bird I was hoping to see, well hear really, was the NIGHTINGALE, as Alton is one of the county strongholds for this bird. Today I wasn't disappointed as I heard two different males singing, and I had only covered a small proportion of the large area of woodland. One was seen from the main track near the Wonder car park, and another was on the dog's tail near Lemon Hill North. To hear a nightingale is to hear a bird like no other in the country, a sound so exotic it takes you to another place in the world. And then you see the bird, however briefly, and its just a simple brown and white, one of our plainest looking birds. Like a lot of our most iconic birds its population is under threat, and for this one its quite strange. With the boom in the deer population, all the trees in the understory of our forests are being browsed by them, the thick cover that nightingales like. As a result the understory of our woodlands is being left quite bare, unnaturally so as the deer have no predators, and so are free to feed as they like, eating nightingale habitat. And our countryside is now becoming plainer, our most gorgeous of songsters is slowly disappearing, and as a result a bird that has been a key part of our culture, inspiring artists and musicians alike, may soon disappear. It is now restricted to the eastern counties, like Suffolk, and is now concentrated to a few sites, like Alton Water.
A bit of a hit and miss day at Alton, with a bag of goodies, but also lamenting the fact that little else was around. Certain birds were noticeable by their absence. I didn't see any hirundines about, the swallows and martins, when you would expect to see large flocks of them hawking over the water at this time of year. Summer visitors are still not really arriving in the quantities you would expect for April, but this maybe down to other factors affecting migration, such as weather and wind directions. Anyway spring is creeping up on us at what may seem slowly, but before you know it summer will be in full bloom.
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