MORE BITS AND BOBS FROM TODAY

   Very early this morning walking round to the scrape via west and south hides I came across this Red deer standing on the path next to south hide. We saw each other at the same time but the deer did not immediately run off instead she looked at me as I froze and slowly moved the camera into position for a picture. I managed two photos before she jumped into the reeds beside her and disappeared probably startled by the camera shutter noise.

   Walking along the temporary wader trail I noticed a small flock of Goldfinches feeding on the thistle seeds, as I got closer I could see one bird sitting prominently on top of a thistle that was still in flower and managed to grab a picture before the flock flew up into a tree on the opposite side of the river. Looking at the picture I'm quite pleased with result, the colour of the flower really complimenting the bird and the out of focus background adding to the photo.

   I thought I would include another picture taken on the scrape of some Spotted Redshanks with a few Black Tailed Godwits taken in a better light so you can more easily see the colouration of the Godwits and the dark plumage of the Spotted Redshanks still in summer plumage.

   Finally a couple of pictures taken this evening from SWT Carlton marshes on the scrape they have developed over the last year. The first is a Greenshank looking good in the evening light and the second is a Little Egret coming in to land. 

GREEN SANDPIPER ALONG WADER TRAIL

   This morning I paid another visit to Minsmere in the hope of getting some decent pictures of the migrant waders and so started off at the scrape where the usual suspects were once again too far off for good images. I made the decision to walk along the temporary wader trail trying to locate some less common species like Curlew Sandpipers, several of which had been reported recently. Walking alongside the river Swallows swooped by repeatedly hunting for insects and a flash of iridescent blue signalled a Kingfisher speeding along the waters edge. A multitude of bees and butterflies attracted to the many flowers distracted my attention and I very nearly missed seeing a bird perched on a muddy lump at the edge of the water. Creeping closer, keeping the vegetation between me and the bird I approached to a distance that I could identify it as a Green Sandpiper and then proceeded to photograph it the results of which you can see here.  

A MULTITUDE OF WADERS

   Today at Minsmere was a good example of the number of different species of wader that can be seen at certain times of the year when they are migrating through or from this country. It seems to me that when the birds are passing through in the spring they don't stay long and instead hurry on to their breeding grounds but in the late summer and autumn they seem to hang around here probably restocking their energy levels after the breeding season. On the wader trail I saw several Snipe along with adult and juvenile Redshanks, Common Sandpipers and Wood Sandpipers and a few Black Tailed Godwits still in summer plumage. Below is a photo of 3 Snipe taken at quite a distance hence the poor quality.

   Moving on to the scrape more Godwits could be seen along with 5 Greenshanks, a couple of Green Sandpipers, 2 Sanderlings, several Dunlin and a group of about 20 Spotted Redshank. Also at the back of the scrape I could see 3 Ringed Plovers but they were too far away to see if they were the much less common Little Ringed Plovers. Constantly moving around were varying numbers of Little Gull which seem to congregate here for a few weeks each year after breeding in Northern Europe and Russia. Below are pictures of a Wood Sandpiper and a group of Little Gulls once again both taken at a distance.

WHEATEAR ON IT'S WAY?

   Today whilst walking through the bushes by the sluice at Minsmere I was surprised to come across a Wheatear which was probably starting it's journey south. This is a little earlier than normal for this species which usually starts to leave in August travelling down to Africa mainly at night. The vast majority of birds that breed in this country do so in the north nesting in holes in walls or buildings or sometimes in holes on the ground like old rabbit burrows but a few do breed around here so maybe this bird had just moved to the coast in preparation for its migration. They arrive in Britain in March and April looking much smarter than this bird and often have two or even three broods so their numbers have been maintained in recent years. Often when you see them they are prominently perched on a rock or wall so it was no surprise that when I first noticed the bird it was perched on one of the large concrete blocks in the area of the sluice bushes and is it likely to be the first of many that I will see in the coming weeks.

THE START OF AUTUMN MIGRATION

   Firstly apologies for the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks which has been partly due to me being feeling poorly and also because July and August are usually the quietest months bird wise because many birds are completing their moult after rearing their young and are therefore not active and keeping a low profile from predators. These two months also mark the start of migration back to wintering grounds for a few species indeed in the case of Cuckoos most have already left for Africa and the only ones you are likely to see now are juveniles. Swifts also will very soon disappear from our skies for another 8 months or so followed by many more species in September and October.

   One of the first groups of birds to start migration are some of the waders that breed in Northern Europe and Russia which include Greenshank, various Sandpiper species, Ruff and Spotted Redshank. A quick hour long visit to the scrape at Minsmere this week resulted in a group of about 20 Spotted Redshank and a few Godwits; the Spotted Redshank differs from an ordinary Redshank in size being slightly bigger and having a longer bill and legs. Also during the spring the adults develop black plumage spotted with white which they moult during the summer to leave an appearance similar to the common Redshank. In the two pictures below you can see the darker individuals who are in the process of moulting to match the others which may be non breeding birds that have spent the summer here in this country or juveniles on their migration. These birds are the forerunners of the mass movement to and from our shores that signal autumn is on the way which is difficult to see in the current weather!

HOBBY FAILURE AGAIN!

   Once again yesterday I found myself at Minsmere on the lookout for Hobbies but the early morning cloud cover didn't bode well at the Bittern hide and indeed it was very quiet apart from the occasional Bittern flying in to feed. Even the normally reliable Marsh Harriers seemed to be absent now that many of the youngsters have fledged and the Hobbies were totally non existent.
   I had to content myself with some nice views of a pair of Water Voles in the dyke to my right who were busy collecting bits of dry grass and taking it back to their burrow presumably to use as nesting material. Also appearing regularly in front of me was a Kingfisher who spent about an hour in total fishing from a branch emerging from the water so I passed the time trying to catch him in the process of diving which was not easy as he was a distance away from me in bad light and was very, very fast. Some of the results are included below but none are really much good and I hope to do better sometime in the future.
   Later in the morning I moved over to the scrape to look for any waders that might have started their migrations after breeding. There were a few Spotted Redshanks around along with the occasional Ruff still in summer plumage. I also spotted a Greenshank and a Green Sandpiper along with the always present Oystercatchers and a good number of Godwits. Most of the gulls and Avocets were absent after the young had fledged which made the scrape seem much quieter than in recent times and was a reminder that July and August are traditionally the quietest months for birds and photography.
   One other thing worth noting was the presence of a very pale, almost white Sand Martin that is known as leusistic which means reduced in pigmentation and not albino. I did spend some time trying to get a picture of this bird but its distance from me and its speed made this difficult along with the camera lens struggling to focus accurately on such a small moving target.

A SHORT TRIP TO MINSMERE

   I didn't get up very early today and with my hayfever playing up made the journey to Minsmere and positioned myself in the Bittern hide in the hope of some decent Hobby images. There were a few Marsh Harriers around along with a couple of Herons and some distant Bittern flights but very few Hobbies and all those were a long way off. I watched two Red deer come towards me along a path in the reed bed then jump across a dyke followed soon after by a Muntjac deer which reached the dyke and then decided to return in the direction it came from.
   After a couple of hours a Bittern climbed up some reeds close to the hide before taking off and I managed to get a sequence of shots as the bird flew. This proved to be the highlight of the morning and with the onset of some serious wheezing from me I decided to head home.

GREAT WHITE EGRET AT CARLTON MARSHES

   For the last 10 days or so a Great White Egret has been in residence on the scrape at Carlton Marshes SWT reserve and I have seen it on a couple of occasions but always at a distance and in bad light so yesterday afternoon with the sun shining I made another trip to spend a bit of time trying to get some better views.

   Unlike its smaller cousin the Little Egret which is now a resident breeder in this country the Great White is most uncommon in England and is usually found in South East Europe. It is a magnificent bird that stands about the same height as a Grey Heron but with gorgeous all white plumage and spends most of its time in the same areas you would find herons feeding on fish, amphibians and small mammals.

   They usually appear to be very shy around people and although easy to spot they rarely come close. I walked around the far side of the scrape so the light was coming from behind me, crouched behind some reeds that border the path and waited. Eventually after a couple of hours the bird approached to within 60 yards or so of me and started to hunt enabling me to get some photos some of which were taken while the bird was shaking it's feathers after preening them. After 20 minutes with the egret somebody else walking along the path caused the bird to take off and return to the centre of the scrape but I was more than happy with the chance to have spent some time close to this beautiful and graceful creature. The appearance of this bird and other waders has justified the decision of the Suffolk Wildlife Trust to create the environment in the south Waveney valley to attract them.