STONECHATS AND SNOW BUNTINGS

   Monday saw me walking one of my favourite circular coastal routes along the beach from the car park at Dunwich, past the shore pools, out to Westwood marshes and then back along the track to Dunwich village again. The day started in glorious sunshine and as soon as I left the car park a pair of Stonechats appeared flitting from perch to perch and although it was difficult to get close to them I managed to get a few shots which were enough to wet my appetite for a return visit to concentrate on these delightful little birds.

   Moving North with the sea on my right and the marshes and pools on my left the occasional waders were seen which included Redshank, Curlew and Oystercatcher along with the ever present Little Egrets, gulls and swans. About a mile along the coast I spotted a bit of a commotion over one of the shore pools as two Marsh Harriers rose up into the sky and then realized that the cause of this was a beautiful male Hen Harrier hunting over the marshes. Unfortunately the Hen Harrier was too far off for any photographs but as it was the first good sighting of a male this winter it made my day and made me remember how lucky we are in this area to get these increasingly rare birds visit us in the colder months. As far as I know there were only 3 or 4 pairs that bred in England this year and already 2 of the fledglings that were fitted with satellite trackers have disappeared in mysterious circumstances so to see one of these 'grey ghosts' hunting put a renewed spring in my step through the energy sapping shingle I was walking through.

   Just as I reached the point where I would normally turn inland a flock of about 40 birds took off from the marsh and flew along the shingle bank for a couple of hundred yards before settling again. Looking through the binoculars I could see that they were Twite but try as I might I could not approach them close enough for any pictures which was a shame but not totally unexpected as these birds always seem to be flighty. The last time I got close enough for photography was about 4 years ago when they had a regularly topped up feeding station along the shingle which I believe was for survey purposes. It was at this point that I nearly walked onto a group of about 20 Snow Bunting that were feeding just above the high water line and were very well camouflaged amongst the shingle. Crouching down to get a lower field of view I spent the next hour taking pictures of these very confiding birds that carried on foraging at a distance of only about 20 feet from me.

   Regretfully leaving the Snow Buntings I headed inland to find the track that headed back to the village of Dunwich stopping along the way at one of the view points overlooking the Westwood marshes and reed beds where I was lucky enough to see 2 Bitterns flying over the reeds as well as several Marsh Harriers and quite a few geese. Walking along the edge of the forest a Muntjac deer was too quick for me to photograph but looking out towards the marshes I spotted a few Red deer in the reeds at the edge of the marsh. All too soon I was back at the car park where the Stonechats were still putting on a show for a couple of photographers but I decided that the light was getting too bad but I will be back soon.