A WANDER ROUND THE LOWER WAVENEY SWT RESERVES

   A cold and frosty Saturday morning saw me at Carlton Marshes reserve just before sunrise equipped with thermals, woolly hat and gloves to go and look at the flooded Peto's Marsh caused the previous weekend by a high tidal serge. This marsh lies on the unprotected side of the new flood defence wall that has been built during the past few months to prevent large areas of the lower Waveney valley from flooding. It is owned by a Dutch concern at the moment and used mainly for agriculture but if it continues to flood on a regular basis then it will not be any good for this and hopefully the owners would consider selling and allow the area to become a wildlife haven during the colder months for ducks, geese and wildfowl and during the summer would make ideal breeding habitat for such species as Snipe, Redshank and Lapwing. Anyway back to my visit and on my way down to Peto's marsh I couldn't resist taking a picture of a Heron perched on a fence post surveying the frosty marshland, not the best picture of a Heron that I have ever taken but I thought it looked good in the surroundings as you can see above. Looking over Peto's marsh you get an idea of the extent of the flooding even though the water levels have lowered by about 3 feet since last weekend and I've also included a couple of shots of various geese that flew over me on their way to the marsh.

   Getting back to the car I moved on to Oulton marshes which turned out to be fairly quiet although I did note several signs of Otter activity on my walk round including tracks and spraint. There were a few Wigeon feeding on the marsh but the only pictures I took were of a pair of Stonechats flitting along the fence line which I managed to get before the snow flurries started and I returned home for a bacon roll and a hot coffee.

   The bad weather soon cleared out in the afternoon and I drove down to North Cove and Castle marshes reserves. North Cove was full of the usual suspects but there was no sign of any Redpoll or Siskins but its always nice to see the commoner stuff as well. It was late afternoon before I made my way onto the river wall at Castle marshes where I could see substantial numbers of Mute swans feeding on the marsh but my attention was grabbed by a Barn Owl perched on a post nearby. I approached slowly and was treated to the sight of the bird hunting along the wall and near marshes where it repeatedly came to perch on fence and gate posts and was oblivious to the clicks of my camera shutter in the growing gloom. On the way back to the car a short glimpse of a Chinese water deer provided the last highlight of a rewarding series of smaller walks during the day.

WELCOME TO 2015

   New years day was a dull and dreary affair and my activity was restricted to a drive around Aldeby and Burgh St Peter looking for possible Barn owl activity and further sites to observe Hares in the coming months. I drew a blank with both of these objectives which, considering the weather, wasn't a surprise but I did spot a Kestrel hovering along the roadside. I pulled up, lowered the windows and turned on my camera but by the time I looked again it had disappeared. Scanning around there was no sign of it and I was about move on when there was movement in the hedge and all of a sudden a beautiful female Kestrel hopped up onto the top and I slowly lifted up the camera and managed a few shots before she took off again.

   The following day was bright and sunny so I made my way over to SWT Lackford Lakes which is normally a good site for wintering ducks as well as its more well known about Kingfishers. Typically for me the day turned out to be quiet on the bird front but I did come across a few Goldeneye on one of the lakes which at one point came close enough as you can see below. The male and female stuck close together but the male did leave her to drive off another male which dared to approach.

   Moving on to another lake I saw a variety of common ducks including Mallard, Teal, Tufted and Pochard. Most of the Pochard seen in the winter have migrated from North and East Europe and Russia although small numbers do breed in this country. The males are brighter in plumage than the females with a mainly grey body with a rusty red head and a bright red eye whereas the females are more of a grey/brown colour. They are usually found in groups and spend much of the time asleep as they feed at night to a greater extent when they dive to feed on plants and small mollusc's and insects. Luckily they approached close to the hide I was in and examples of both male and female can be seen.

2014 THE LAST POST

   The last day of the year dawned with the promise of a fine day so I embarked on a visit to a few coastal sites with expectations high and cameras fully charged. First stop of the day was RSPB North Warren where I was hopeful of seeing some of the winter geese there, and in that respect I did but unfortunately they were all distant and out of effective camera range. The geese included Canada, Barnacle, Greylag and Eurasion White-fronted, the latter of which has a population of about 150 birds on the reserve at the moment and is one of the major flocks of this species to be found in the winter. Luckily some birds did approach close enough for photography and these were the flock of 100 or so Black-tailed Godwits shown above and below.

   From here I moved up to Sizewell where I spent an hour or so walking along in front of the power stations but the wildlife was not really evident and the only photographic subjects were the Meadow Pipits which were flitting amongst the grasses and gorse on the sea front, the results of which can be seen below.

   Next was Dunwich Beach where the Stonechats were still around but getting close to them with all the people out walking over the holiday period was difficult. However I did discover a pair of Skylarks by nearly treading on them as I walked along the bottom of the sea wall, luckily for me they only flew 20 yards or so before landing again and I was able to approach quietly and get some acceptable images.

   The final stop of the day was at Blythborough as the sun was setting in time to see the waders and gulls coming in to roost for the night on the mudflats of the estuary. The light was going and the birds were at a distance so no pictures to show you but it was a nice way to finish the year.

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.

SUNSHINE AND WINTER VISITORS AT MINSMERE

   The weekend at last saw an end to the murk of the last few weeks revealing bright winter sunshine so it was with some optimism that I made my way to Island Mere hide to try and see the regular Otters and Bitterns that have been making appearances there. The early dawn light was fantastic but as the morning wore on it became apparent that the stars of the show were not going to make an appearance so at about 10 am I reluctantly left the hide and walked around the reserve to see if anything else was more cooperative.

   Walking along the path past the flooded konik field I spotted some swans swimming in the shallow water and feeding at the reed edges. Closer examination revealed two of the birds to have yellow and black bills and they turned out to be Whooper swans that have recently returned from Iceland. I wonder if these two swans are the same pair that spent the winter here last year, I certainly think its possible as Whooper swans are known to favour regular wintering sites. I took some pictures of them at close quarters in the bright light but it wasn't until I moved on that I realised that the camera was still set for the murk so consequently they appeared very vivid and I had to tone them down a bit later on the computer.

   Making my way to the shore I walked along the beach and dunes on the lookout for any Snow buntings but there were none to be found, in fact wildlife of any description was very scarce so I moved back inland a little to the North bushes which are covered in berries at the moment. Almost immediately I saw a flock of thrushes moving through the bushes, stopping now and then to gorge on the berry bounty so I manouvered to a position where I was partially hidden and waited for the birds to land on the bushes near to me. As they approached I could see that they were both Redwings and Fieldfares, the latter being much larger as well as more wary but eventually they settled to feed and I managed to get some pictures of them eating the berries.

   Both of these species are winter visitors that breed mainly in Scandinavia, North-east Europe as far as Russia and some in Iceland although there are very small numbers known to have bred in this country, mainly Scotland. As well as the size difference Fieldfares are much greyer in appearance especially on the top half of their bodies whereas the Redwings have a prominant pale stripe above the eye and a reddish flank below the wings. These were super subjects to see and photograph and the way they gorging on the berries the bushes will soon be bare for the rest of the winter and the birds will move on to more productive areas. Finally as I was waiting in the bushes I felt a presence and turning to my left slowly observed a Muntjac watching me from about 20 ft away and managed to get a single shot before it hastily disappeared from view.