LAST FEW IMAGES FROM 2013

   In the last couple of weeks the chances to get out and about have been few and far between mainly down to the lousy weather and very poor light for photography but as I'm sitting here watching the rain beating down on the window and the wind threatening to flatten our fences I thought I would round off the year with a quick look at the few images I did manage to get when conditions allowed.

   I always enjoy my visits to SWT North Cove mainly because so few people get there and I am pretty much guaranteed to get good views of many of our woodland species and last week was no exception. I had Robins, Blue tits and Great tits all perched close to me (see above) and also had glimpses of Siskins, Redpolls, Bullfinches, G S Woodpeckers, Buzzards and a Sparrowhawk. On the way back to the car I saw these two female Pheasants having a disagreement and posturing to each other before the dominant bird won the day and chased off the other.

   On another day I went down to the beach at Covehithe and on the way saw a variety of hedgerow birds including Chaffinches, House Sparrows, Dunnocks, Wrens and another Sparrowhawk. The pig fields were well stocked with various members of the crow family as well as Starlings and numerous Pigeons and on the hill fields beyond were several hundred geese which were a long way off but appeared to be mainly Barnacle and Canada although I couldn't be sure of this. On the beach were 4 Ringed Plovers that were quite flighty but with a bit of patience I managed to get a usable shot of an adult bird shown below.

   Finally on Saturday I went down to Oulton marshes and managed to catch up with the Glossy Ibis that appeared there the previous week. I have included a shot of this bird below taken at distance as it is an unusual visitor to our shores normally found around the Balkans and the Middle East. Having said this quite a few Glossy Ibis have been seen in the last few weeks around the country so there must have been a bit of an influx. At distance it appears to be black but closer views would show a more brown/bronze colouration especially if seen in the sunshine.

CHINESE WATER DEER SURPRISE

   Recently while searching for Bullfinches at SWT North Cove I was walking alongside a water meadow with the wind blowing strongly into my face when I saw a Chinese Water deer buck on the other side of the meadow. After stopping and crouching down behind my camera the buck obviously hadn't seen me and continued to approach across the grass, but eventually he seemed to hear the camera shutter firing and after staring at me for a while bolted across the meadow into the dense vegetation on the other side.

   All of these photos were taken in poor light in the late afternoon so have been enhanced a little to bring out the colour and clarity. I don't know if this particular deer is still around as a deer cull has been taking place over the last few Saturdays so he may have become a victim of this. The cull has been deemed necessary because of the increasing numbers of deer in the lower Waveney valley which is said to upset the ecological balance of the area. In the last 12 months 4 species of deer have seen at North Cove which are: Red, Roe, Muntjac and Chinese Water but I don't know if any of these are exempt from the cull.

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE RIVER

   Following my previous trips to the Walberswick side of the river Blyth today I visited Southwold and made my way round to the harbour car park where immediately I could see several Starlings and Turnstones rummaging around in the debris left by the recent tidal floods. I only moved a few yards before spotting an unusual bird which upon closer examination proved to be a Lapland Bunting which was quite confiding and allowed me to approach and take loads of pictures.

   These buntings are occasionally seen along the east coast during the winter months where they stay before returning to Northern Europe and Greenland to breed. It is thought that they have tried to breed in the north of Scotland in previous years but have not been successful in colonisation. During the summer they will feed on insects, spiders etc. but at this time of the year they rely on seeds from grasses and herbs and indeed this bird spent most of its time picking seeds from the heaps of rubbish left amongst the dunes by the tides.

   Walking a few yards further into the dunes towards the shoreline revealed several Snow Buntings but none of these birds allowed a close approach so I observed them from a distance before returning to the Lapland Bunting where another photographer joined me in enjoying watching this lovely bird. As I said earlier this species is not common and it thought that between 200 and 500 birds winter here most years so its always a nice surprise to see one.

MORE GREY PHALAROPE PICS

   Returned again to Walberswick in the sunshine today to try and get some better pictures of the Grey Phalarope and was amazed to find that the bird did not seem to be disturbed by the heavy machinery being used by the Environment Agency to fix the breaches in the river wall. Unfortunately the bird spent the majority of the time in a reed fringed channel with very few gaps through which to take pictures as can be seen from my efforts below.

GREY PHALAROPE AT WALBERSWICK

   Following the recent flood tides a Grey Phalarope has been spotted at Walberswick feeding on the pools and flooded marshes near to the car park. The bird has been very obliging providing photographers with some really close views but unfortunately today was a little more distant so consequently once again the pictures are not of the best quality.

   The Grey Phalarope is an ocean going wader of fairly small dimensions that doesn't nest in the British Isles but instead breeds near the coast in the Arctic where all parental responsibilities are undertaken by the male from incubation, to feeding the young until they fledge. The female will often find another male with whom she will lay more eggs before departing for her wintering grounds. These birds usually spend the winter out at sea in the Atlantic far away from land and it is very uncommon to see an adult bird in this country, most of the ones that are observed including this bird are 1st winter youngsters that have taken a wrong turn or have been blown off course by autumn storms.

 

   These birds can appear very tame probably as a result of the fact that most have never encountered humans because of their remote lifestyle. Certainly this bird ignored the assembled people both birdwatchers and interested locals alike.

PARROT CROSSBILLS AT TUNSTALL COMMON

   A couple of weeks ago a flock of these unusual visitors appeared locally at Tunstall Common and I took the opportunity to go and see them joining many other birdwatchers and photographers not far from the road where the birds had settled in a pine tree feeding from the cones and then retreating to the depths of the tree out of sight.

   These birds differ from ordinary crossbills in having a thicker neck and a heavier bill with a shorter tail and sometimes appear in this country from the continent when food supplies are short. The last major influx into the British Isles occurred in the early 1980's when it is thought that they colonised areas of Scotland and were recorded breeding the following year in another part of Tunstall forest. Hopefully these birds can form part of a breeding colony in the forest as I would think that other birds have arrived in the area but have not been noticed as yet. Other small groups of these birds have been noticed in various different locations most notably at Holt were they have been showing regularly for weeks. This particular group hasn't been seen for a couple of weeks but there is a good chance that they have relocated to another part of the forest many areas of which are not easily accessible to the public.

   The majority of this group were males as can be seen from the orange/red colouration, the females being much greener are harder to spot in the pine foliage. All of the pictures were taken at distance and so are not of the best quality but you can see how they remove the pine cones with their powerful bills.



 

VERY PURPLE SANDPIPERS

   On Saturday with the high tide forecast for about 1 pm I made the trip down to Ness Point in bright sunshine to try and get some good photos of the Purple Sandpipers that winter there. This is one of those birds that look quite dull in cloudy weather and only show the beauty of their feathering in the sunlight, and at high tide the birds come up onto the rocks at the point and can give very close views. There were about 10 birds in the area but most of them were in a position that made photography difficult, one bird however was quite happy to feed within a few feet of a collection of photographers gathered. This bird moved from the rocks down onto the weed covered slopes of the point and only moved away when threatened by a larger wave but would soon return as the water subsided. I spent an hour or so with this bird taking several hundred images which took a considerable amount of time later to go through and sort, a few being shown here which show the pinkish/ purple colours in the feathers in the sun.

NORTH COVE - DAY 2

   Once again yesterday the wind was blowing strongly so I wimped out again and returned to North Cove to try and get some decent pictures of the species that I missed on the previous day. As before the regular woodland birds were in abundance but there was nothing at all unusual so below are photographs of firstly a Coal tit and then a Marsh tit.

   After a while the Muntjac deer put in an appearance and I was fortunate enough to get a reflection shot as the Muntjac doe walked behind the pool and sniffed out the peanuts that I placed there to try and attract the squirrels which seemed not to be interested and preferred the bird seed under the feeder. Later just before I left as the light was failing the buck Muntjac turned up at the end of the clearing and below are pictures of both. As a point of interest Muntjac are the only deer species in this country that don't have a specific breeding time in the year and can produce young at any time, in any season. They are not natural residents of our countryside and were first released in the mid 1800's I think and are often regarded as pests now that they have become so numerous. 

OUT OF THE WIND AT NORTH COVE

   Today I started out with the intention of walking along the coast again but on arrival at Corton and nearly being blown off the cliff I decided that discretion was the better part of valour and retreated to the shelter of the woodland at SWT North Cove. Topping up the feeders at the hide I warmed up with a cup of coffee and waited for the birds to realise that the feeders were not empty any more which only took a matter of a few minutes. Firstly the Blue and Great tits followed by Chaffinches and then Marsh and Coal tits and the odd Robin and Dunnock. Later a Song Thrush put in an appearance along with a Blackbird, a couple of Treecreepers, a Wren and a Goldcrest with a few Pheasants thrown in as well. Pictured here is a nice Blue tit in a clear out of focus background.

   At regular intervals the birds were disturbed by a Sparrowhawk flying through the clearing on the hunt and also a Stoat climbing the trees. Soon enough the Grey squirrels arrived to devour the seeds dropped by the birds and I was fortunate enough to get some good shots of one of the squirrels reflected in a nearby pool which turned out to be my favourite shots of the day. Just before leaving 2 Muntjac deer showed up but by this time the light was fading so the photos I took were not really satisfactory.

GLAUCOUS GULL AT HAMILTON DOCK

   Last Sunday was a pretty gloomy day so I wasn't expecting much luck with the camera as I headed down to North Lowestoft intending to walk along the beach but there were a few people on Gunton cliffs looking for a Dartford Warbler so I joined them for a while. The bird, however was not being very cooperative and although I did see it briefly it was not possible to photograph but then news came through that a Glaucous Gull was at Hamilton Dock so I drove down, found somewhere to park and joined the 20 or so people on the edge of the dock looking at the collection of gulls on the water which included the easily identifiable Glaucous Gull.

   This is a large gull that occasionally winters around the coasts in this country between November and March normally in the juvenile phase of its life, as was this bird. The mottled brown feathering marked out this bird as a 1st winter youngster but the black end to its bill and size made identification positive. These gulls are common in the Arctic, Iceland, Greenland and North America but only a few make it here but as with most gulls they eat pretty much anything they can get and so are often found wherever a good source of food is. In the case here the people on the dockside were throwing food to the gulls so I was able to get some shots of the bird in flight as well as it chased after the snacks. 

FINALLY SOME SNOW BUNTINGS

   Drove over to Minsmere this morning but it was very quiet round the reserve so I walked along the beach from the sluice towards Dunwich cliffs spotting a few Pied Wagtails and Pipits on the way. I was approaching the cliffs before I spotted a tell tale white flash on the shingle which turned out to be two Snow Buntings in the sunshine. At last the opportunity was there to take some good photos in decent light and I spent the next hour or so with these delightful birds following them as they fed on the shingle and in the dunes.

   In the winter there are thought to be in the region of 10,000 birds in this country, the vast majority of which migrate up to the Arctic to breed but a small number breed high in the mountains of Scotland near the snowline amongst the boulder fields. They feed mainly on seeds but will take insects as well and in the winter here they are nearly always only seen on the seashore.

   I have been lucky enough to see a few of these birds in the last weeks but this was the first time there was more than one Snow Bunting on view at the same time and it was by far the best light.

SHORELARKS

   Driving over to Southwold I was hoping to catch up with some Snow Buntings in the gorgeous sunshine this morning but after a couple of hours wandering along the beach I only managed to get a couple of very poor pictures of a bird with an injured leg and a distant view of two Shorelarks which flew over to the town marshes after probably being disturbed by the number of people and dogs on the beach. Shorelarks are spectacular little birds that arrive on the east coast in October and November and remain until March when they return to the Arctic tundra and mountains above the tree line to breed. They are a little smaller than Skylarks but are mainly recognised by the vivid yellow and black markings on the head of the males and the small feathered 'horns' that can sometimes be seen.

   Moving on from Southwold I drove to Kessingland and walked along the beach to Benacre sluice spotting along the way a multitude of Pied Wagtails and Skylarks but about 100 yards before the sluice I came across a pair of Shorelarks. I crept closer on my hands and knees using grassy tussocks for cover and spent the next hour or so photographing these birds at will as there were far fewer people around to disturb them. It is thought that around 200-300 birds winter here in this country so I count myself quite fortunate to have seen 4 birds in one day. In this last picture the bird on the left is showing its 'horns' well as it looks toward me.