The wheatear and stone curlew were both photographed by Alan...

The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

(RSPB) is a registered charity:

England and Wales—No. 207076, Scotland No. SC037654

The wheatear and stone curlew were both

photographed by Alan Baldry. Let us hope we can get out

again to look for these species before they fly south!

2 ORWELL OBSERVER April 2020

GROUP LEADER’S COLUMN from Tim Kenny

N ote to the Met Office; giving your storms names does not make them

any cuddlier or more welcome. Three straight weekends (Ciara, then Dennis, then Jorge), high winds and cold rain made the attractions of the warm fire and sofa greater than getting out and seeing wildlife. Not that the birds are too keen on the weather either, hunkering down and sheltering and only feeding if they have to. Storms, and indeed weather in general, do have their place for us birders. A storm from the west can blow in something exotic across the Atlantic, like in October 2011 when Hurricane Katia delivered a first sandhill crane to Suffolk. This large bird was tracked down the east coast from Scotland before it roosted for the night at Boyton Marshes. Fortunately I had taken a day off work the following day, a Monday, as had my friend Paul, so there was only one place we were going. At Boyton for first light, we were treated to a flypast of two spoonbills but there were no crowds. A peek through the binoculars revealed hordes of twitchers, about a mile away across a field. We found our way to the correct location and got good, if distant views, of only the fourth record of sandhill crane for the UK. Storms from the east, similarly, have the potential to bring rarities over from the continent, and combined with migration season can get the pulses racing amongst our twitching brethren! In November 2015 I happened to have just bought a new bridge camera and decided to take it to Landguard one lunchtime to practise on common species, like magpies and dunnocks. But the

weather had brought in a pied wheatear, a species whose nearest breeding grounds are by the coast of the Black Sea in Bulgaria and Romania, a first Suffolk record. So I joined the crowds and got to see it, although it was too distant for my new camera. February 2020 though was very much the opposite of the perfect storm (sorry) for birdwatchers. Migration has not yet begun in earnest, and the winds have been coming from the south, resulting in very few vagrant species arriving. Not only this, but there has been a marked lack of winter thrushes such as fieldfares and redwings, due to an unusually warm winter over in their breeding grounds in northern Europe. Moscow did not see its first snow of the winter until 30 December! A green Christmas, or it would be if the Eastern Orthodox Church didn’t celebrate it on 7 January. Why bother flying over Europe if the conditions where you are still allow you to feed, drink, and not freeze to death? There has also been a paucity of the enigmatic waxwing this winter for the same reason. On the few occasions I have managed to venture out, it’s only been as far as my local reserve at Landguard. It’s hosted a couple of snow buntings, a pair of rock pipits, and purple sandpipers. The purple sandpipers are small waders and are seen in small numbers around the east coast during the winter. Typically this species can be found hanging around rocks and sea defences like the individual on page three. It was a very confiding bird, probably due to the biting wind that was blowing across the North Sea that day. Soon they’ll be heading back north

(Continued on page 3)


to the Arctic to breed, before returning in the autumn. And yet, as I write, the start of spring approaches. A warm wet winter is, remarkably, nearly over. It was about this time two years ago we were hit with The Beast From The East which badly hit birds that had started to breed earlier than normal after a mild winter. The Cetti’s warbler, a familiar sound around damp scrub at Minsmere, was reduced from around 100 pairs around the reserve, to an estimated two. Thankfully numbers are recovering; nature always finds a way back if you let it. And here, dear reader, we come to the part which I’ve had to rewrite in light of

recent events. We had such a varied and interesting programme of events for the summer, but all RPSB local group activities have been suspended until September. This total shutdown of all our activities was perhaps inevitable with the increasing spread of Covid-19 as public health and the safety of our members must be our overriding priority. It’s sad that all of those little annual markers in our birding year – Spring Wood Day, nightjar evening, looking for the first migrant waders in July – won’t be happening this year. Still we’re in good company, with the 2020 Olympics being postponed, the first time this has happened in peacetime. I should take a moment to request that everybody should stay at home unless absolutely necessary whilst the virus is

(Continued from page 2)


Purple sandpiper at Landguard Point, Felixstowe. Photo by Tim Kenny


MINSMERE DIARIES

4 December Up to 16 avocets remain on the Scrape – unusually high numbers for this time of year. Other waders include up to 20 black-tailed godwits, one or two turnstones and curlews, 30+ snipe and varying numbers of lapwings, while the odd knot and ringed plovers or small flocks of dunlins have also passed through. The high water levels on the Scrape favour ducks, and the regular six species (shelduck, wigeon, gadwall, teal, mallard, shoveler and shelduck) have been joined up to eight pintails and 13 goosanders. Many of the geese have moved to the South Levels or North Warren, but three tundra bean geese that flew south yesterday were notable. The Bewick’s swans appear to have moved on, and the longstaying lone whooper swan has been joined by a family party. After recent peak counts of more than 400 great black-backed gulls, numbers have dropped markedly this week, but

both Caspian and yellow-legged gulls are still seen regularly. Marsh harriers, bitterns, bearded tits, water rails, kingfishers and otters are seen everyday in the reedbed, though bitterns have proved much more elusive than this time last year. Numbers of red-throated divers and great crested grebes have increased offshore, and up to 80 common scoters have been seen. A pomarine skua and four great skuas have been seen, while there were reports of both great northern and black-throated divers over the weekend. The North Bushes continues to be a great place to spot bullfinches, especially in the morning. Other sightings there have included woodcock, redwing, fieldfare, siskin and goldcrest. Elsewhere in the woods, a brief yellow-browed warbler and an elusive Pallas’s warbler kept birdwatchers on their toes for a couple of days, and at least one


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raging. And we have to be ruthlessly honest here and say that going out birding is not essential. All our birding from now until the all clear is sounded is going to be from the confines of our properties. I find it particularly sad that my favourite part of the year, spring, will be going on outside and it’s likely I’ll be missing out on it. I’m sure I’m not alone feeling that. So stay indoors, stay safe, stay well, and I sincerely hope everything will be back to near normality in September.


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firecrest has been seen. A female blackcap is busy eating the apples that have been put outside the visitor centre. Not the waxwings that we are hoping for, a lovely bird, nonetheless. 8 December This week’s highlights include long-tailed duck, whooper and Bewick’s swans, glossy ibis and murmurating starlings. Up to seven whooper swans and six Bewick’s swans have been seen at Island Mere and the Scrape, mostly keeping their distance from one another. Avocets, black-tailed godwits, pintail, the female common scoter and the masses of wildfowl continue to reside on the Scrape, attracting the attention of marsh harriers and peregrines. Offshore a steady passage of gannets have been drifting past heading north, with a large raft of common scoter, a long-tailed duck, several auk species including razorbill, and 40-50 red-throated divers. Redwings, fieldfares and mistle thrushes can be found in the North Bushes, with regular bullfinch sightings. A woodcock was seen on Saturday evening after the starlings had finished their performance on the North Wall, we’ve had in the region of 4,000 starlings recently but numbers are fluctuating. 22 December What’s About Highlights. A look back on the last 12 months in this edition of Minsmere News, including a celebration

of all the hard work put in by staff and volunteers to run this reserve. Minsmere’s Scrape seabird colony goes from strength to strength. Over 3,000 pairs of gulls and terns including the first nesting little terns since 2009 (ten pairs fledged seven young), the most productive year for nesting Sandwich terns since 1977 (50 pairs fledged 28 young), the highest number of nesting common terns since 1974 (200 pairs) and the first ground nesting kittiwakes in Suffolk ever. Thirty-six species of wader were recorded at Minsmere this year, the highest total since 2008. Forty-two species were recorded this decade, the best ten years since the 1980’s. There were reserve record counts for greenshank (65) and wood sandpiper (at least 33). At North Warren, lapwing productivity was possibly the highest ever with 16



Kingfisher. Picture—

Alan Baldry


young fledged from 25 pairs. Two pairs of avocet also attempted to breed. At Dingle, grey herons nested (successfully) for the first time. Cetti’s warblers bounced back to 35 pairs at Minsmere and Dingle (5 pairs last year, and down from 90+ prior to the Beast from the East). Two male Savi’s warblers again held territory at Minsmere. Singing male redstarts increased from one to ten along the woodland trails, and nightingales increased by six singing males. Dartford warblers increased by six nests, including a few in the dunes. Marsh harrier nests increased to ten at Minsmere and three at Dingle Marshes. Around 230 species of bird were recorded at Minsmere this year including reserve firsts: Pacific golden plover, Iberian chiffchaff and Cretzchmar’s bunting. Thirteen species of lepidoptera were added to the reserve list including marbled white, dark crimson underwing, Dewick’s plusia and beautiful marbled. Thanks to survey work by ecologists and our own volunteers we’ve found more species of bee, wasp, snail, fungi and beetle on site, and we’re awaiting news of a potential new fungi species new to science found in the dunes. 19 January With the reserve still recovering from high water levels the Scrape has been the main attraction for the last few weeks, not only for a wealth of wildfowl (double

figures of goosander and pintail), but also the addition of seven whooper swans and a North American green-winged teal. Green-winged teal is an infrequent visitor, but scanning large flocks of teal in winter can sometimes result in a find – look for the bold white vertical stripe on the side, as opposed to the European teals’ horizontal flash of white along the wing . Mixed flocks of tits and finches can be found throughout the woodlands on the reserve, with occasional treecreeper mixed in, though no reports of nuthatch so far this year. A flock of siskin can be found most days in the alders by South Belt crossroads. Plenty of marsh harriers are being seen coming in to roost, most nights around 20, plus a barn owl appearing around North Hide and Bittern Hide at dusk. Merlins have also been reported on the



Sparrowhawk. Picture—Alan Baldry


edges of the reedbed from Bittern Hide and Wildlife Lookout. At Island Mere the Truxor activity doesn’t seem to upset the wildlife, with frequent otters and bitterns – the latter not feeding in front of the hide yet but hopefully will when the water levels drop. A bittern ‘chase’ was seen this week implying courtship activity is beginning, and we’re also seeing similar behaviour in the marsh harriers. Bearded tits are now also being seen and heard more frequently around the reedbeds, as are the Cetti’s warblers. 24 January After a beautiful weekend of sunshine the water levels have now dropped across the reserve, and has already attracted avocets, godwits and lapwings back to the Scrape. The green-winged teal is still on the reserve, but has spent more time on the South Levels this week. A pair of drake goldeneye arrived at Island Mere today, and a red-head smew has returned to its favourite pool near the mound at the pond. Large numbers of wildfowl remain, including more than 250 shoveler. Whooper swans continue to be seen at Island Mere, whilst Bewick’s swans occasionally roost on the scrape and feed in fields near the water tower at Blythburgh. A highlight from last weekend was a reserve record of 36 marsh harriers coming in to roost – an incredible show of success considering that even 10 years ago we were reporting only nine harriers roosting. Some birds have been seen collecting some of the cut reeds in preparation for the nesting season. Other

birds of prey this week include kestrels, sparrowhawks, and a merlin hunting at Bittern Hide. A barn owl has also been seen at dusk quartering in front of Bittern Hide and on the edges of Island Mere. Treecreepers have been very active around the visitor centre and at the South belt crossroads, where a mixed flock of tits and finches can also be found – including more than 50 siskin. Nuthatches have been seen and heard around the Canopy Hide and the Adder Trail. Bitterns have been active in the reedbeds, and although we haven’t heard a ‘boom’ yet, two were seen chasing each other at Island Mere. Truxors have completed their work to cut the reedbeds, and a digger was used to prepare the scrape for the coming breeding season earlier this week. A big thank you to the reserve team and volunteers who have spent this winter working hard to maintain the habitats and improve visibility for visitors around the pond, hides and trails. 2 February We may only be in February, but there are a few signs that spring isn’t far away: blue tits investigating nestboxes in the woodland, a peacock butterfly perched on a sunlit wall and the gentle ‘boom’ of a practising bittern at Island Mere. Marsh harriers have been seen carrying some of the cut reeds from Bittern Hide – so potential nesting not far away too. Otherwise the smew and green-winged teal remain on the Scrape, though both are quite mobile with the flocks of our more ‘regular’ ducks – teal, mallard, wigeon, gadwall, shoveler, shelduck,




pintail (more than 50 now on East Scrape), tufted duck and goosander. Our ‘big white’ birds have also been mobile this week: whooper swans visiting South Scrape or further up the coast at Dunwich, Bewick’s swans in the farmland by the water tower at Blythburgh with bean geese, and great white egrets moving between Island Mere and the Scrape. Double-figures of marsh harriers continue to come in to roost around the reedbeds. The main highlights this week have been the otters, which have frustrated many with their absence for most of the day, but with quite a few lucky souls being treated to some amazingly close views as they’ve fished and played in front of North Hide, Wildlife Lookout, Bittern Hide and Island Mere. 16 February Storm Dennis and Storm Ciara have given us some interesting weather over the last couple of weeks, not conducive to bringing in new rarities or birdwatching in general, still we’ve avoided the worst of it! Our long-staying green winged teal and smew still remain on the Scrape, but pretty mobile. Whooper swans have returned to the pool behind South Hide, but probably not long now before they start heading back to Iceland. Bitterns are not quite in full song, but frequent ‘booms’ rumble from the reedbeds at Island Mere and Bittern Hide, with some good low flypasts in front of both hides and even some brief fishing forays. ‘Snipe Challenge’ continues at Island Mere – at least two are present, if you can spot them! The most notable

sightings in the last week have been the otters, with six present simultaneously at Island Mere on Thursday, and at least two seen there most days in the early afternoon, as well as an ingenious otter at Wildlife Lookout who has been observed herding sticklebacks into the sluice pipe and using it as a net to increase its success! A great white egret has also been seen around the Levels, where hundreds of lapwing are gathering and occasionally spooked by peregrine and marsh harriers. Offshore red-throated divers and common scoter can still be found when it’s not windy or raining. Masses of teal, wigeon, shelduck, shoveler, gadwall and mallard remain on the scrape, with a few dozen pintails looking very smart on East Scrape. Black-tailed godwits and avocets are increasing in numbers, as are the number of black-



Oystercatcher. Picture—Barry Hall


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headed gulls, with a Mediterranean gull appearing several times. Caspian gulls have also been spotted amongst the herring, lesser and greater black-backed gulls. Adapted, with permission, from the newsletter for Minsmere volunteers.


I am sorry that this edition of Orwell Observer is considerably shorter than usual. Although the restrictions imposed by the Government and RSPB did not come into force until after the deadline, these restrictions will severely impact on the amount of material available for the September issue. I have therefore held over an article from April until September for that reason. I am also hoping that members who do not normally provide material will do so for September. We have not produced a paper edition for April and the paper edition for September will only be produced if it is practical to do so.

Thank you—Editor.


TRIP REPORTS from Stephen Marginson

14.12.19—North Warren RSPB Reserve Due to forecast high winds being outside the guidelines for visiting RSPB reserves, this trip was curtailed so that we did not go on the reserve itself. For the few who came, we walked round Thorpeness village, mainly to observe the architecture and buildings of the Ogilvie built holiday village dating back from Edwardian times. Birds noted included groups of jackdaws along with chaffinches, robins, wrens and a flock of house sparrows. Red-throated divers and cormorants were noted offshore. On Thorpeness Mere six goosanders, gadwalls, teal and coots were seen. We then moved down the Thorpeness to Aldeburgh road to the public viewing point. Here we got distant views of the flock of barnacle geese which winter on the marsh along with good views of white-fronted geese, wigeon, teal, pintail and shoveler. The ducks were on the lagoons near the road and offered excellent views. The 70 or so white-fronted geese were at the back of the marsh and also offered great views as they moved around. We finished after an hour or so as the high winds and driving rain arrived. 5.1.20—Manningtree and Mistley Over 20 members attended this popular field trip which was the first of three, covering important sites on the River Stour. This trip was a low tide trip with the vast mudflats being exposed and therefore telescopes were out in abundance. At Manningtree small groups of waders were noted along the

channels and on Hogs Marsh. These included ringed plover, turnstone, oystercatcher, redshank and lapwing. A couple of bar-tailed godwits were also seen. Good numbers of wigeons and teal were also present along with cormorants, little egrets and grey herons. We moved swiftly on towards Mistley. There were few birds on the mudflats but a large group of knots and dunlins were seen moving downstream to new feeding areas. Avocets were feeding along the channel edges along with black-tailed godwits. A grey wagtail was noted in adjacent fields. At Mistley the birding moved into top gear with over 600 black-tailed godwits roosting off the quay and good numbers of goldeneyes and pintails in the channel, providing superb views of these super wintering ducks. Two kingfishers were also watched at length, along with


Stonechat. Picture—Alan Baldry.


little grebes, great-crested grebes and red-breasted mergansers. Large numbers of shelducks, wigeons and teal were out on the mudflats and along the waters edge. After a good time for observation we retraced our steps back to Manningtree, ending an excellent morning's birdwatching.

2.2.20—Shotley and Erwarton Bay The trip to Erwarton Bay on the River Stour was well attended and it was great to see so many present. Unfortunately, a strong southwest wind meant that the birding was not particularly good due to the exposure and chill factors. It also means less of the intertidal flats are uncovered by the tide in these conditions due to the currents circulating in The Stour. The large flocks of grey plovers, golden plovers, knots and dunlins which can be seen in the right conditions

were all absent. All these species are susceptible to wind chill and would have been feeding on the relatively sheltered south shore. The Stour is nationally important for grey plover, dunlin and knot. Anyway, what we did see were small groups of turnstones on the tide line, redshanks and oystercatchers and as the afternoon progressed flocks of Brent geese. These superb birds were noted at close quarters. Good numbers of wigeons and shelducks were also viewed. As the tide came in a few ringed plovers and dunlins were noted. Common gulls were also present in good numbers in the bay. The wind over the tide made for difficult viewing conditions for sawbills and grebes, with only a distant great crested grebe spotted. Thanks to those who came along and braved the wind. Hopefully you will have been inspired enough to visit again in better conditions.


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A fter many delays and setbacks we were finally on our way to Antarctica

and the Falkland Islands. On board the MV Roald Amundsen we left the Chilean port of Punta Arenas on the Straits of Magellan, through the fjord scenery of the Beagle Channel and out into Drake’s Passage with a brief stop on the island of Horn. Apparently my geography teachers were wrong when they taught that the most southerly point of the South American continent was Cape Horn. Horn is actually an island named (and misspelt) after the town of Hoorn in the Netherlands. After landing we climbed up to the monuments to the many that lost their lives in these dangerous waters. We then set sail across Drake’s Passage (called Drake’s Lake by mariners if it is calm) in fine weather before making a landfall in the South Shetland Islands and then sailing down the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsular before the build-up of ice caused us to retrace our course north and west towards the Falkland Islands. The capital Stanley has a timeless feel with its toytown houses, their gardens filled with summer flowers and Christmas trees in the windows. The birding started as soon as we left the airport in Punta Arenas, upland geese were seen grazing in the fields. These, like the only other species of goose seen on the trip – kelp goose, show sexual dimorphism, with both genders having completely different plumage. Both species of geese were seen in Chile and on the Falkland Islands. Before boarding we caught sight of a rufous-collared sparrow feeding in a planter and the first of the three species of shag of the trip, the imperial shag. The Antarctic shag we saw further south and the rock shag

on the Falklands. The Beagle Channel produced our first albatross – the black-browed. These were common throughout our voyage following the ship, and we were able to visit two colonies on the Falklands. The Beagle Channel also produced our first puzzle of the trip – a skua. There are three species – Chilean, brown (also called by some the Falkland skua when seen there) and South Polar, all seemingly identical except to the trained eye, and all very similar to our familiar great skua. In the absence of any expert advice we based our identification on geographical area. Skuas became very familiar birds of the trip especially around the penguin colonies watching for an unguarded chick or egg. We only saw two species of gull on the trip: the kelp gull which was present throughout and the attractive dolphin gull, with its grey plumage, which appeared to have a more northerly range. Two species of tern were seen; the South American and once we reached Antarctica – the Antarctic tern. Crested ducks were seen in Chile and on the Falklands where we also saw the Falkland steamer duck. Once at sea we tried to get to grips with identifying the sea birds. As most followed the ship we got plenty of practice. The next most commonly seen albatross was the light-mantled sooty and we also saw a few grey-headed albatrosses. My target bird was of course the wandering albatross. We were told this was unlikely as because of their huge size (up to 355cm wingspan, the largest of any living bird) they require windy weather to get a ‘lift’ off the water, and we were sailing on Drake’s ‘Lake.’ The wandering albatross and the royal


AN AUSTRAL SUMMER from Patricia Hall


albatrosses, like the skuas, can look very similar, especially the adult males, unless you get a close view. However, I got very excited when I saw from the lounge, a very large black and white albatross approaching the ship. Caution was thrown aside as we rushed onto the deck minus hat/gloves/coat etc. The bird did not stay around for more than a few minutes before flying off. I went back below decks to collect the necessary to prevent hypothermia and we were rewarded with another brief visit. My suspicions were confirmed, however, when I looked over the ‘official’ species list of the voyage and saw a wandering albatross listed on the date we saw ‘our’ bird. Other birds following the ship included the massive giant petrel which is split into two species northern and southern. Both are very similar and variations in plumage could be down to age, however, for certain identification look at the bill tip colour. You need a very close view. We also saw southern fulmars, cape petrels and prions. Prions are tiny birds seen flying in flocks just above the waves. There are two species – slender-billed and Antarctic. Again almost impossible to separate in the field, however, a similar bird often seen flying with them is the blue petrel which has a white tip to its tail and therefore easier to identify. The smallest petrel seen was Wilson’s storm petrel which I became quite proficient in spotting, unlike the very similar storm petrel of UK waters. Other petrels seen were the white-chinned, seen on the approaches to the Falklands, the Antarctic, seen much further south and

the snowy, seen in the iced-up waters just before we turned north. On leaving the Falklands we saw our only sooty shearwaters of the trip. After the albatrosses the iconic birds of the region are the penguins. We saw our first birds on South Shetland. These were gentoos. Their nests are works of art, built of small pebbles carefully selected for an exact fit. Gentoos are not above theft in pursuit of the perfect pebble for their nest. Gentoo penguins were the most commonly seen in spite of their near-threatened status, and visible in the water, on ice-floes as well as in their colonies in Antarctica and on the Falklands. Chinstrap penguins proved more difficult to see. Bad weather prevented a visit to a colony and our first birds were seen in the waters around



Magellanic penguin.


Deception Island in the South Shetlands on our way north. More were seen at Cape Wild, the site where some of Shackleton’s crew over-wintered under two upturned boats before being rescued. Adelie penguins, famous for taking on a skua menacing some penguin chicks in a BBC documentary, are scarce. We saw some on the ice before we turned north, and a solitary bird which had taken up residence at Vernadsky station, a Ukrainian research post. Vernadsky, in its days as a British research station, owes its fame as the site where the hole in the ozone layer was first detected. Emperor penguins breed in winter and far inland. The occasional bird might be seen on ice floes. I did have a possible sighting based on the information in my field guide that an emperor is more likely than the similar plumaged king penguin (although not similar sized) in Antarctica. Together with the skuas another bird ever-present in penguin colonies is the snowy sheathbill – a bird which has the inevitable task of cleaning up every scrap of organic matter it can find, however distasteful. For other species of penguins we needed to travel to the Falklands. There we saw Magellanic penguins which nest in burrows like puffins, king penguins which appeared to share their colonies with gentoos and rockhoppers which nest amongst the black-browed albatrosses and imperial shags– perhaps for protection. Our visit to the Falklands gave us the opportunity to see some ‘land’ birds. Waders comprised: two-banded plover, black-crowned night heron, blackish and Magellanic oystercatchers (also seen on Horn Island). Passerines

comprised: house sparrow (introduced from Uruguay from whaling ships in 1919), correndera pipit, austral thrush, dark-faced ground tyrant, black-chinned siskin, and the deceptive long-tailed meadowlark. I say deceptive as from the side and back it looks like any other lbj (little brown job). It is only when you get a full-frontal view you realise how wrong you are. Its breast is an amazing shade of cherry-red making our robin look dull in comparison. Where we live we have raptors as ‘garden’ birds, the occasional sparrowhawk, kestrel or common buzzard flying over, but nothing prepared us for the ‘garden’ bird of a Falkland farm. Our last landing was on West Point Island, and after a walk to enjoy some of the magnificent scenery and avian life, we enjoyed tea in the farmhouse garden watched over by as many turkey vultures that could comfortably, or not, sit on the roof. Turkey vultures are a common sight in the skies over the Falklands together with striated caracas which we saw at West Point and on Saunders Island. Wildlife did not just include birds; whales were numerous including the fin, humpback and minke. Elephant and Weddell seals were seen, as well as orca, Commerson’s and Peale’s dolphins. This was thoroughly enjoyable trip. Although not one of the usual dedicated birding tours on one of the smaller ‘expedition’ vessels, we felt we got a flavour of the region and saw many of the iconic species. Thank you to Barry for taking the pictures to accompany this article. We have many more and hope to show them at an indoor meeting.



A trio of penguins. Clockwise

from top left: rockhopper,

chinstrap and

gentoo.


NEWS FROM LAKENHEATH FEN - from Katherine Puttick

H ello from Lakenheath Fen! It’s a lovely sunny calm day today, which

makes a nice change from the wild windy weather we had for much of February! A few more poplars in each of the woods have come down in the winds, some splitting halfway up creating some lovely jaggy tops, which in time will provide some excellent nesting opportunities for woodpeckers, marsh tits, and dare I say (rather optimistically) willow tits! On days like these, male marsh harriers will be showing off with their aerial sky-dances, and it seems like spring is not far away! Another sign that spring is on its way is an early grunting bittern on 14

Feb, and

a robin who has built a nest in an old teapot near the visitor centre! Reserve management As mentioned in the last article, more reed cutting was done in December, with our friendly digger driver, Pat, from the local Internal Drainage Board finishing off cutting the reed in New Fen South (the reedbed near Mere Hide). He cut all the reed across a similar area to last year, as well as cutting sections of reed along the northern edges of two grazing marshes, and along part of one of our main water carrying drains. A small strip was left for

us to cut with strimmers, and the reed gathered into bundles, which we will then use to re-thatch the viewpoint roofs, which are looking a bit sorry for themselves at the moment! Elsewhere on the reserve, the other digger, driven by Paul, replaced pipes which had become blocked, installed a sluice for better water control in one of the grazing marshes, and cleaned out sections of ditch in another. He also

levelled out a lumpy access bank, and created a ramp onto another bank to allow for easier access with tractor and topper. All of the reed cutting and other digger work was finished by the end of

January, which means much of the potentially disturbing work has been completed in good time for the breeding season. Other jobs we’ve done in the reedbed is removing some mature willows to open up the view from Joist Fen viewpoint towards an area where the cranes often feed when they are here. Environment Agency works We’ve also had various contractors for the Environment Agency on-site, who have been doing quite a bit of work along the riverbank, which is a flood protection


Great white egret . Picture— David Knowles


bank as well as having the public footpath run along the top of it. They have an annual programme of bank works, mostly clearing back shrubs and bushes along the top and sides of the bank. This is done for two reasons. Firstly, so they can actually get a good look at the bank to make sure it is intact and undamaged and secondly to prevent roots, or creatures that make burrows under scrub, from damaging the bank. So although it is done for good reason, it does mean that they remove a lot of habitat for wildlife. To make up for this, (as they did last year) they gave us some more native trees and shrubs (671 to be precise!) that we have duly (with help from the EA and our volunteers) planted mostly in West Wood to continue with the diversification of the wood. We kept a few back to plant around the visitor centre and carpark, just to add a bit more interest. Wildlife A good couple of months for birds of prey, with merlin, peregrine and red kite being seen regularly. The marsh harrier roost had built up to 27 on 18 December, and a rough legged buzzard was seen occasionally through December and into the New Year. Up to six great white egrets were recorded in December. A drake mandarin duck was seen with a flock of greylag geese on 20 November. The most recent WeBS count on 8 February found fairly good numbers of wildfowl (for here) with 143 coot, 171 mallard, 50 shoveler, 89 gadwall, 111 teal and 122 wigeon being recorded across the site. A new cormorant roost, containing up to 47 birds (peak on 23 January) built up at the start of the year in poplars along a drain

at the western end of reserve. This seems to have mostly dispersed now, with only up to 20 now being seen regularly. Seventeen pied wagtails came into roost in the reeds on 12 November, while up to 22 corn buntings were recorded roosting by the big willow near the visitor centre in December. A lone chiffchaff was still present on 7 December, while a blackcap was last seen on 25 November. Three bullfinches were seen in the poplar woods on 3

December – this is quite unusual for us here! There has been quite a lot of crane activity in the last few weeks, with our resident pair now back on-site. Two otters were seen in a reedbed channel at the western end of the reserve on 9 January, and harvest mice, and nests, have been seen throughout all of the areas we have been reed-cutting on, so we know we have a good population here, even though we don’t see them very much!! For more information about the reserve including up-to-date sightings and forthcoming events, please look on the website at www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/lakenheath-fen/ , email us at [email protected] or phone the office on 01842 863400.


http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/lakenheath-fen/

http://www.rspb.org.uk/reserves-and-events/reserves-a-z/lakenheath-fen/



December

Species Site

Siberian stonechat Hollesley Marsh RSPB

Little bunting Wrentham (31)

Glossy Ibis Minsmere RSPB (5), Southwold (15-16)

Rough-legged buzzard Bawdsey, Snape (23

Black-necked grebe Felixstowe (7-19), River Orwell (u21)

Great northern diver River Orwell, River Alde, Benacre Broad

Black-throated diver River Orwell

Long-tailed duck River Orwell

January

Siberian stonechat Hollesley Marsh RSPB (u6)

Rough-legged buzzard Bawdsey

Green-winged teal Minsmere RSPB

Shorelark Kessingland

Black guillemot Stour Estuary (15)

Slavonian grebe River Stour (n↑6)

Black-necked grebe River Stour (23)

Great northern diver River Orwell, River Alde, Benacre Broad, Weybread gravel pits (n2)

Black-throated diver River Orwell


Iceland gull Aldeburgh (14)

February

Bonaparte’s gull Landguard NR (25)

Iceland gull Landguard NR (2)

Eastern yellow wagtail Havergate RSPB (4, 7 & 13)

Shorelark Kessingland

UNUSUAL SIGHTINGS IN SUFFOLK OVER THE WINTER from Birdline East Anglia


Date Event Time Meeting Place

10 Sept. Indoor Meeting—Alaska - Bears, Eagles, Killer Whales & More, Derek Howes Wildlife Photographer & Tour Guide. Sponsored by A W Hart Builders

7.30 p.m.

Rushmere St. Andrew Church Hall, The Street, Rushmere, IP5 1DH

Rough-legged buzzard Bawdsey (u8)

Waxwing Carlton Coleville (n6) (26)

Green-winged teal Minsmere RSPB (u25)

Tundra bean goose Hollesley Marsh RSPB (n21) (u5), Trimley Marsh SWT (n2)

Black brant Falkenham Marshes (f12)

Black-throated diver Suffolk Water Park (8-20)

Great northern diver River Alde (u8), Benacre Broad, River Orwell


Slavonian grebe Stour Estuary (n↑4)

Key: n = number, date in brackets after site, f = from, ↑ = up to, u = until, juv. = juvenile, ad. = adult,

For the latest bird news please phone 09068 700 245. Calls to 09068 700245 from a landline or mobile phone cost 65per minute plus telephone company access charge. Service provided

by Birdline East Anglia, for enquiries please call 0330 3336946 or 07941333970. www.birdlineeastanglia.co.uk twitter.com/BirdlineEAnglia

What’s On—Dates for your diary. For details of how to find out more about events please look at website

In line with guidance from the Government and the RSPB, at the time of writing all the activities over the spring and summer are cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The September meeting is only provisional. Please check website for confirmation, and for any new information concerning activities.


If you need to get in touch please contact: RSPB HQ, The Lodge, Sandy, Beds, SG19 2DL Tel: 01767 680551. RSPB Eastern England Regional Office, Stalham House, 65 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1UD Tel: 01603 661662 RSPB Local Group, Leader—Tim Kenny Tel: 01394 809236 e-mail: [email protected]

For more news & information log on to the group website on: rspb.org.uk/groups/ipswich Or find us on Twitter: @IpswichRSPB and on Facebook: RSPB Ipswich Local Group Orwell Observer Editor—Patricia Hall. Tel: 01473 328121 e-mail: [email protected]

Please:-

• Submit articles via e-mail in MS Word or Publisher. Or if not using MS please submit files with a .doc, .docx or .pub file ending.

• For those members without Internet connection please ring the editor or speak to her at a meeting to arrange a suitable way to submit your contribution.

• All suitable material will be included in the electronic edition of the magazine but not all will be included in the paper edition which has, of necessity, fewer pages, and cannot include material that will not reproduce well in black and white.

• Anything which is not completely your own work (including photographs) may be subject to copyright. It is therefore your responsibility to obtain the necessary permission and acknowledge accordingly.

• Respect the deadline which is:-

1 August

Thank you.

Alder Carr Farm

Tel: 01449 720820


If you no longer wish to hear from RSPB Ipswich Local Group, please contact our membership secretary on [email protected] confirming your name and address and stating that you wish to unsubscribe from the RSPB Ipswich Local Group’s communications. For information about personal data use and your rights see: rspb.org.uk/privacypolicy

MIND THE CRUSTACEAN

The best band you’ve

never heard of!

Info: Tim Kenny 01394 809236



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The wheatear and stone curlew were both photographed by Alan...

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