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.