Can't see the Hawfinch for the trees!

But of all the months when earth is greener

Not one has green skies that are cleaner.

Clean and clear and sweet and cold,

They shine above the earth so old,

While the after-tempest cloud

Sails over in silence though winds are loud,

Till the full moon in the east

Looks at the planet in the west

And earth is silent as it is black.

November Sky/ Edward Thomas.

 10^th November.  Out today doing what I like best and where I feel most relaxed, out with Sam, back from his world travels for a break, birding on a fantastically wonderful autumnal day.  Not too cold, sun, and blue skies with wispy light cloud.  The light was wonderful and typical of such a day.  We arrived at Mitford in search of Hawfinches.  After all of the heavy rains of late the river was fast flowing and the ground wet and muddy, although not as waterlogged as we later found the land nearer the coast.

 It didn’t take long to find the unmistakeable shape of a single Hawfinch high in the tree near to the pathway.  It proved impossible to find others presumably well hidden by the still abundant leaves of the Hornbeams, although we did have one other fly overhead in the direction of an area we had found these birds favour on one off our previous visits.  Some other species seen during our visit included Grey Heron, Nuthatch, a party of Long Tailed Tits, Redwings feeding near to us on the berries, Bullfinch, Brambling and an over flying Sparrowhawk.  Many of the trees still held autumnal colouring but there was clear signs now that winter was not far away.

 Next stop was Widdrington Pool where we didn’t find anything of exceptional note although we did hear of a Hen Harrier being recorded that day in the area.  As per usual it was cold here.  We headed off towards Cresswell Pond and had lunch before visiting the hide but not before having a nice sighting of a flock of Tree Sparrows and seeing Long Tailed Ducks on the pond.

 The parking area at the pond was almost full although the actual hide quiet.  A Kestrel was perched atop of the post on the roadside.  Water levels were surprisingly low and much of the scrape area visible.  Birds seen included four Long Tailed Ducks, Oystercatchers, Lapwings, Golden Plover, Dunlin, Knot, Redshank, Spotted Redshank, Ruff, Curlew, numbers of Common Snipe,  Grey Heron, 6 Little Egrets, Red Breasted Meganser, Great Crested Grebe, large number of Little Grebe, Wigeon, Pink footed Geese, Canada Geese, Greylag Geese and a single Brent Goose.  A Water Rail was heard.  The seasons of wild geese is always exciting, especially on clear crisp days and we saw numerous skeins during the afternoon.  As we drove away from the pond towards Druridge Pools I thought I saw what could have been a Short Eared Owl flying along the edge of the reeds where they joined the pond.  A very flashing moment so I couldn’t be sure.

Little Egret

The rains had ensured that the pools at Druridge were very high and there was little of real interest to note, although thankfully the air was still and it was unusually warm looking from the open hide.  A Stonechat was seen in the dunes.

 By the time we reached East Chevington the sun was blazing and we enjoyed a walk along to the bay where we hoped to see Snow Buntings.  No luck there and in fact it was very quiet and the tide was high.  Sanderling and Pied Wagtails were seen and Sam noted a close in Red Throated Diver which had dived and disappeared by the time I got to look.

 We hadn’t been to East Chevington for some tie so it was good to see those dreadful metal hides have gone.  We refused to use them anyway, as did most birders.  Hopefully the new hides are fire-proofed to protect from the local yobs.  I remember a visitor to the area complaining on one occasion about birders not using the hide, ignorant of the fact that he was the odd one out as few birders with sense ever did.

 The dune area was picturesque today with the sunshine, clear blue sky, the occasional wispy cloud and complete stillness in the air.  I could have had a snooze on the bench in the warm sun at one point but resisted the temptation.  Strangely when I looked at my phots at home, one of the clouds took on the shape of a person.  Creepy or what?

 Three species in particular ended our day in style.  First of all the Whooper Swans.  Before we left six of them lifted and flew south calling loudly.  A seventh was late to lift and had to attempt to catch the party.  Second there was the loudly calling Cettis Warbler which we caught sight f briefly as it flew across the reedbeds.  Third was a female Marsh Harrier flying over the reeds at the northern end of the pool before eventually dropping into the reeds.  A Common Buzzard and the largest number of Coots I have seen in a long time were among other sightings.

Whooper Swans

 It was black dark when we arrived home well satisfied with our 7.5 hour day.  A rough count took me to 76 bird species for the day.  I may have missed one or two so near enough 80 species.  Great to feel so tired. 

Trip to Rutland, Suffolk and Norfolk (Part Three)

Suffolk and Norfolk Part Three.

Morning awakes sublime – glad earth and sky

Oer the easts illuminated canopy

 Shade of its makers majesty the sun

Gleams in its living light – from cloud to cloud

Streaks of all colours beautiful run

Words from John Clare’s Sunrise

Whooper and Bewick Swan courtesy of Sam Hood

Day six.  It was a beautiful morning with clear blue sky and temperatures gradually rising.  It reached 17C in the afternoon and it was like summer.  We began the day with a wonderful walk along the coastal path next to Stiffkey Marshes.  The hedges were alive with small passerines including Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Blackbird Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Linnet, Goldfinch and Bullfinch.  Stonechat, Reed Bunting were close by in the low bushes on the marsh and Skylarks sang.  We watched Marsh Harrier, Red Kite and Golden Plover flying over the marshland, and Little Egret, Great White Egret and Grey Heron were present along with waterfowl.  Pink Footed Geese flew overhead.

This morning gave us our best sightings of Brent Geese that were in small flocks all along the marsh and close to the pathway.  This time it was my turn to spend time with my favourite goose species and they weren’t at all disturbed by our walking so close by them.  Eventually many took off in small skeins.  This was truly a wonderfully atmospheric walk in tranquil marshland area with wide open spaces and expansive skyscape which Norfolk supplies aplenty.

Later in the day we visited Warham Hill Fort.  Occupied once by the Iceni tribe, of which I have to admit I know little.  I initially thought it would be a small round area on a small mound.  I was in for a surprise as it is a really large, impressive structure.  Sam has been here in summer and tells me this chalk grassland is then covered in flowers and attractive to butterflies including the Chalkhill Blue Butterfly.  I settled for the fort, the heat from the sun and 10 Common Buzzards in the air together.

Sam at Warham Fort

We stopped off at Wells-next-the -sea which was heaving with folk, it being half-term down there.  A break was taken in a teashop which had a feel of something from the 1940s, not that even I remember that far back.  Our next stop was to be Holkham which was also busy with folk.  We had more Red Kites, Marsh Harriers and waterfowl here, but what we were really after was the Shore Lark.  A walk through the tall Corsican Pines brought us out onto the expansive beach and as we walked the crowds depleted.  It always amazes me that folk come to these places and seem not to walk too far and therefore stay huddled together in droves.  We found the Shore Larks, directions given by a fellow birder helped.  We caught sight of the small flock lifting and so followed them to the feeding position within a very large rope off area.  Very good conservation management.  There was 10 Shore Larks of which we had very good sightings of them on the ground feeding.  Another highlight of the trip.  Neither of us had ever seen this number together.  Another birder joined us and it turned out that he was up from London for the day and from Epping Forest where John Clare was first incarcerated in an asylum, so we had an interesting chat about this.  The guy hadn’t known that Clare had escaped from there and over five days living rough had walked home to Helpston.  Sadly, his freedom didn’t last long as he was placed in Northampton Asylum for the rest of his days, although still able to write brilliant poetry for much of that time,

Mist blankets the sun at Holkham

On the return walk in the late afternoon the mist began to come in from the sea quite quickly.  As we walked through the pines, shafts of sunlight shone down through the mist rather like stage lighting, giving an ethereal feel to the whole area.  We looked for possible Firecrest and/or Crossbill without success, only gaining stiff necks and sighting of tits..

Once back to the car we found the sun almost blocked out by the mist, but as we drove on towards our next accommodation the sky cleared again and the sun shone brightly.  We reached our accommodation at Titchwell just in time to watch hundreds of Pink Footed Geese flying to roost as they drew letters in the sky.  As the sky cleared of the geese it was time for us to once again book into our accommodation.

Mammals seen today, Chinese Water Deer, Muntjac Deer, Brown Hare and Grey Squirrel.

Muntjac Deer seen feeding at Minsmere previos days.  Courtesy of Sam.

Day seven. This was to be our final full day of the trip and it proved to be another clear sunny and mild one.  We found the accommodation to be quite luxurious and the bathroom was larger than many hotel rooms I have stayed in. 

We were early arrivals at RSPB Titchwell and had sighting of Brambling near the feeders area.  Sam spotted a Stoat whilst I was otherwise engaged.  The reserve was very busy today.  We found many waders and waterfowl previously seen and listed already so I won’t bore readers with them again, but instead just stick to the new and most relevant sightings.  It wasn’t lone before we found the Spoonbill and soon found that there were a pair of them, at times on the pool and at other times out on the marsh.  A flock of Knot were seen and Sam picked out Mediterranean Gull and we were surprised we hadn’t seen more of them during the week.  Maybe we just aren’t gull people.  From the main hide we had very good sightings of Water Pipit, so that meant we had three species of pipit today, Water, Meadow and Rock Pipit.

Continuing our walk down to the beach the sea initially looked clear of birdlife, but patience brought us Black Necked Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Long Tailed Duck and Red Breasted Merganser.  Flocks of Sanderling were feeding along the tideline.  Time past quickly at what is a fine reserve.  Before we had a bite to eat we were able to watch a very tame Muntjac Deer almost acting like a pet dog just feet away, obviously so used to the reserve visitors. 

Snettisham was to be the next stop but we called into the woodlands at Wild Ken Hill.  We took a rathe nice walk here in peace and quiet, but there were few birds about in the area we walked.  Locals confirmed that this wasn’t unusual.  However, we did add Nuthatch to our list, one heard calling from high in the trees.  Then it was onto Snettisham.

On arrival I found that at the start of what was going to be a longish walk neither my mind nor my body was very willing.  I was in short, cream crackered.  Even Sam was feeling the pace now and he faced a long drive tomorrow.  We had walked some miles this week.  So we did what two brave Geordies would do, we gave up and decided to head back to the hotel and spend the late afternoon enjoying our accommodation.  Well, we did this, but not without spotting and hearing a Kingfisher.

Us boys in action.  Courtesy of Sam.

After a laze around we felt ready for our evening out.  We were meeting Ptolemy again at Great Walsingham where he has his digs and we were going to eat at the aptly named pub The Dabbling Duck.  A very nice pub where we had an equally nice meal and good chat.  By now it was raining but we didn’t care.  On the drive back to the hotel we had a close encounter with a Barn Owl perched by the road on a fence.  It became the 85^th bird species of our last day, the most we had seen on any one day this week.  Not a bad ending to our trip!

Mammals today were Muntjac Deer, Stoat and Grey Squirrel.

Day eight.  This was our return day.  We decided against stopping of at The Wash as the weather wasn’t brilliant and in truth I think now we were on the way back home we just wanted to get back.  Kestrel, Common Buzzard and Red Kite were among birds seen on the journey.

It goes without saying that my trip with Sam was an excellent one, it helps that we can both be as daft as each other and there is laughter all along the way, but we do know when to keep quiet and enjoy the nature around us and that’s what makes us such a good naturalist duo.  We’d also met some very friendly folk along the way.  Sam is back to work this week and off to the Antarctic again (in the air as I post).  He has a hard life!  Ha Ha.  Before he says anything, I do know he works very hard and long hours on these trips, but what an experience!

Sam's favorite Geese species.  White Fronted.  Courtesy of Sam.

I’ve included a bird list below of species seen during the trip.  Now I thought initially it was 113 species, then I found I’d missed a couple off and it came to 115.  When I counted this list I have become crossed eyed and found 116 so the final number is work in progress.  Either 115 or 116 bird species.  Please feel free to count them and let me know.

I tried to list five highlights of the trip, but there were so many I found it impossible.

An image that sums up a perfect trip.  Courtesy of Sam.

Hope you enjoyed the reports.

Complete Bird List for Trip.

Mute Swan, Whooper Swan, Bewick Swan, White Fronted Geese, Pink Footed Geese, Greylag Geese,  Canada Geese, Barnacle Geese, Brent Geese, Shelduck, Egyptian Geese, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Long Tailed Duck, Goldeneye, Smew, Goosander, Red Breasted Merganser, Grey Partridge, Pheasant, Black Necked Grebe, Little Grebe, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant, Bittern, Little Egret, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Spoonbill, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Water Rail, Moorhen, Coot, Crane, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Knot, Sanderling, Turnstone, Dunlin, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Bar Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe, Ruff, Long Billed Dowitcher, B H Gull, C Gull, H Gull, Med Gull, G B B Gull, L B B Gull, Feral Pigeon, Wood Pigeon, Stock Dove, Collared Dove, Barn Owl, Kingfisher, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Skylark, Shore Lark, Water Pipit, Rock Pipit, Meadow Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Wren Dunnock, Robin, Stonechat, Song Thrush, Redwing, Mistle Thrush, Fieldfare, Blackbird, Cetti’s Warbler, Dartford Warbler, Goldcrest, Great Tit, Coal Tit, Blue Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Bearded Tit, Nuthatch, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Brambling, Linnet, Goldfinch, Greenfinch, Siskin, Bullfinch, Reed Bunting, Snow Bunting.  (115) or is it 116?  

Mammals List.  Red Deer, Muntjac Deer, Chinese Water Deer, Brown Hare, Rabbit, Stoat, Grey Squirrel, Brown Rat and Grey Seal. 

Trip to Rutland, Suffolk and Norfolk (Part Two)

 Day Four.  We weren’t out quite as soon as yesterday morning, but considering it was Sunday we still had an early breakfast and were soon down on the shingle spit south of the town of Aldeburgh and walking along towards the Martello Tower at Slaughden and overlooking the  snake like River Alde.  Benjamin Britten’s Curlew River.  Yes, there are still Curlews present feeding, but probably far fewer than in Britten’s time.  Other waders too such as Redshank, Oystercatcher, Dunlin and Turnstone.  Little Egrets were about and we found Rock Pipit.  We were down there lapping up the quiet atmosphere long before most Sunday walkers were about.  As the morning went on we could hear the Rooks from a rather large rookery across the other side of the marsh and also the church bells from Aldeburgh town.  We had earlier talked of the loss of so many rookeries over the years.

Early morning at The River Alde

Slaughden Village was lost to the sea, but the impressive Martello Tower still stands and is now used for holiday accommodation.  It was built in 1810/12 as protection against Napoleonic invasion.  The narrow spit south of the tower leads to Orford Ness N N Reserve which is closed in winter, but in any case that particular pathway is closed to the public.  Unexploded ordnance I believe.

The Martello Tower

Having enjoyed the peaceful atmosphere of the River Alde area and our early morning walk we made off to the reed-beds and wetland at North Warren slightly north of Aldeburgh.  After a short walk, our big reward was the flocks of White Fronted Geese showing wonderfully well.  These birds always look to me as though someone has taken a paint brush to their bellies.  I know this is Sam’s favourite goose species.  The wetland held numerous waterfowl, but it was the whistling Wigeon which made themselves so evident.  Avocets were present.   As well as the star attraction, the White Fronted Geese, other geese seen today were Pink Footed Geese, Greylag Geese, Canada Geese, Barnacle Geese and Egyptian Geese.

Sadly,  after having enjoyed the walk and the sight and sounds of the waterfowl we needed to say goodbye to Aldeburgh and eventually Suffolk as we were now heading to Norfolk.  For the next two nights we would be staying in the Windmill at Cley, but we had much to do today before thinking of that.  We were going to be spending some time on the Norfolk Broads.

One of the highlights of our trip was the finding of a flock of wild swans, 3 Whooper and 19 Bewick Swans which we viewed from the roadside.  For as long as I’ve known Sam he has been keen to see Bewick Swans and this was a lifer for him.  It was good to be able to compare the two species side by side and to see them in numbers.  Sam and I have a great interest in the naming of birds, the Bewick Swan of course named after local man Thomas Bewick.  We know all the history connected to this and I will always look upon Bewick Swan as a species in it’s own right whatever the birding authorities say.

We next moved on to the reedbeds at St Benet’s Abbey.  I was surprised to see the size of the area that this medieval abbey once covered and had we had more time the area would have been worth exploring.  We did see the remains  of the gateway and the attached later Mill.  We found Chinese Water Deer in the surrounding area and of course Marsh Harriers and Common Buzzards amongst a variety of other species.  Water Rail was heard.  After our walk, dehydration and hunger suggested we needed   a pit stop before moving onto Hickling Broad, Stubbs Mill and the raptor roost.

The Windmill at Cley.  Our accommodation.

Today had been the most overcast of our days so by the time we reached Hickling Broad Centre the light was already dim.  I had been once before some years ago but needed to check on the direction of Stubbs Mill.  My request for information brought a very peculiar response from the guy in the centre.  It was if I were asking for the directions to the Holy Grail.  It wasn’t as if I was carrying weapons and in a hoodie, it was simply little old me.  Anyway, I did eventually gain a response, maybe the guy was just tired, and we set of towards Stubbs Mill.  Once at the roost viewing site with a half dozen other folk we spotted a Barn Owl hunting in the distance, numbers of Marsh Harrier and Sam picked up two Common Cranes deep in the reedbed, seen nicely through the scope and for a brief time dancing.  More Marsh Harriers began to fly in.  We left as it began to turn dark and on our return walk had a lovely sighting of a party of five Common Cranes flying in and later calling.  That was certainly another trip highlight.  Brilliant that this species is once more becoming ever more common in England.  We then set off on the hours drive to our Windmill accommodation at Cley.  And very nice accommodation it was.  Our window overlooked the river and reedbeds.

Dinner was taken at the near by pub where, when not eating, we engaged in conversation with a very friendly couple from Norfolk.  They had been out for the day, had a few drinks and so were staying unplanned overnight at the pub accommodation.  Hope they made it to work the next day without too much of a hangover!

Mammals seen today were, Chinese Water Deer, Muntjac Deer, Brown Hare,

Rabbit and Grey Squirrel.

Day five.  Began overcast, but the sun was soon out and the skies clear.

We began the day at Salthouse marshes and we were well rewarded.  The following waders were seen today, most of them if not all at Salthouse.  Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Ruff, Turnstone, Dunlin, Redshank, Black Tailed Godwit, Bar Tailed Godwit, Curlew, Common Snipe and Long Billed Dowitcher.

The Long Billed Dowitcher had been a target bird for us and initially proved difficult to find.  It had we were told been feeding close to the pathway but had been disturbed and flown off.  Eventually we found it in the distance by comparing its size and shape against the accompanying godwits.  On our return walk the Long Billed Dowitcher had returned to its preferred feeding area close to the pathway and allowed close examination.  Have to say thought, the Grey Plover is a cracking bird and we saw more of them late in the day.  Golden Plovers were seen in flight and in number as were the Lapwings that flashed light and dark in the bright sky.

Snow Bunting was another target bird today and as we walked behind the dunes along the pebbled area we were told where to find them and surely enough we did and had very close sighting of 60 Snow Bunting.  Neither of us have ever seen more than this in one flock. Skeins of Pink footed Geese were seen and heard in flight along with many small passerines including Stonechat, Skylark and Reed Bunting.

Kestrel.

Having briefly visited the market Town of Holt we looked in at Cley Spy to look at the optical equipment and took the chance to grab a bite to eat at a nearby café.  We then returned to our accommodation at the Windmill and walked from there out to the sea via a lovely walk through the reedbed areas.  By now the sun was out in in a clear blue sky.  Thankfully there was the odd seat available to take a short break.  This was a very rewarding walk that ended as the sunset behind ‘’our’’ windmill.  We had great sightings of a flock 500+ Brent Geese which occasionally lifted, a pair of Grey Partridges, Little Egrets, Grey Heron,   numerous Marsh Harriers, Common Buzzards, a very confiding female Kestrel on top of a post that was not fazed by us at all as we sat and watched it, a Peregrine Falcon in flight and then settled on the ground for a lengthy spell, and we heard the calling of Bearded Tits deep in the reeds.  Flocks of Golden Plover and Lapwing lifted continuously from the reserve, clearly aware of the presence of a Peregrine Falcon.

Welcome sweet eve thy gently sloping sky

& softly whispering wind that breath of rest

& clouds unlike what daylight galloped bye

Now stopt as weary huddling in the west

Each by the farewell of days closing eye

Lines from John Clare’s poem Sunset

We had coincidently timed the walk to catch the sunset behind the windmill.  What an atmosphere.  Unlike in John Clare’s poem there was neither a breath of wind nor any cloud.  We ate early at the pub again and had a relaxing evening.  Relaxing, apart from Sam being locked out of the accommodation.  I was just getting up to go and look for him, HONEST, when he got back in.

Still more to come in Part Three which will include our birdlist.

Trip to Rutland, Suffolk and Norfolk (Part One)

 This is a report of a trip made by Sam Hood and myself.  Long in the planning stage and arranged to fit in with Sam’s commitments to work as ornithologist and world traveller.     We agreed to visit Helpston, the village of the poet John Clare whose work we both admire, and spend time at Rutland Water, the Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust Reserve, prior to moving down to Suffolk and Norfolk.  We set off on day one the 9^{th of} February packed for possible winds, snow, ice and low temperatures.  We found little use for much of what we packed as the weather was spring like throughout.

Sam and I at John Clare's Cottage

John Clare's Cottage

Day one.  We left in good time to allow a few hours at Helpston, finding the likes of Red Kite, Common Buzzard and Kestrel on our journey.  The first of many Red Kite sightings during the week was at Wetherby.   We were soon at Helpston, which name derives from Anglo Saxon, Help being an old English personal name and tun meaning farmstead.  In John Clare’s day it was situated in Northamptonshire, but it is now in Cambridgeshire such are the vagaries of boundary changes.  Our first visit at this delightful village was to St Botolph’s Church which John Clare frequented, and to the man’s grave at which point another Red Kite flew over our heads, at which I feel sure John would have been delighted.  Later we received a very warm welcome from staff at John Clare’s Cottage, and we also had time to visit Lolham Briggs, an area loved by the poet and which inspired a number of his poems, The Flood being a favourite of mine.  Without realising it at the time I have passed this area several times in the past whilst on the London King’s Cross train.

On Lolham Brigs in wild & lonely mood

I’ve seen the winter floods their gambols play

Through each old arch that trembled while I stood

Bent oer its wall to watch the dashing spray

As their old stations would be washed away

(From The Flood by John Clare)

 Lolham Briggs provided us with several bird species which included a distant Peregrine Falcon, Great Spotted Woodpecker (H), Redwing and Fieldfare.  It was soon time to head for Rutland.  On arrival we had time to briefly explore the area around Rutland Water before heading for the hotel and watching the sunset over the water from our hotel room.  A check made by Sam informed us that a Crane had been seen at Helpston today.  No matter that we hadn’t seen it, as we believed we would see this species later in the week.

John Clare's grave.

S

St Botolphs Church stained glass.

Room with a view over Rutland Water,

Day two.  Having had breakfast and packed our gear, we arrived at the Rutland Reserve early in the day and received a warm welcome at the centre.  Neither of us had been to this reserve before and soon become pleasantly surprised at just how grand and well managed the reserve is.  I believe the site now covers around 1,000 acres and there are hides around every corner and we had them all to ourselves.  A pet hate of mine is noisy hides so it was good to find peace and listen only to the calling wildfowl whilst imagining what the area may have looked like prior to the 1970s flooding of the area.  It’s certainly attractive now and a magnet for wildlife.

A special bird here for us both was the male Smew, so infrequent in our own area.  We found five Smew in total, at times the males displaying to the females.  The females are themselves attractive birds and certainly what we are more likely to sight in the Northeast England.  Great Crested Grebes were also there in large numbers, a bird we know a lot about having studied them on our local lake and have given talks to various groups about them.

As we began our walk a beautifully coloured Redwing caught the eye in the bright light.  I don’t intend to list here all the birds we saw on the reserve, but have listed a few to gave a flavour of our visit.  Mute Swan, Egyptian Geese, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Goldeneye, Goosander, Little Grebe, Great White Egret, Grey Heron, Red Kite, Marsh Harrier, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Oystercatcher, Lapwing, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Common Snipe, Reed Bunting, thrushes, tits and finches.

Our next port of call where we were to stay for two nights was Aldeburgh, Suffolk so we had to pull ourselves away from Rutland Water and begin the long drive, much of it on a boring and busy main road.  Once off that road and onto the quieter roads of Suffolk the atmosphere changed completely and we found many old quaint houses and areas of beauty.

My mother, as a 14 year old girl, stayed in Aldeburgh for a year just before the Second World War broke out and I was brought up with tales of how she was able to step out of the house onto Aldeburgh beach, of how villages had been lost to the sea, of the friends she had made there with the fishermen and other folk and tales of the lifeboat service.   It had a significant impact on my mother’s life, and before she died she had told tales of her experience to Sam.  I’ve passed through Aldeburgh twice before, but have never stayed there or had the chance to explore, so I was eager to do this and introduce Sam to the town.

We booked into the White Lion (possibly the oldest secular building in Aldeburgh) which is next to the beach, our room with sea view and only yards away from the famous Tudor Moot Hall, where among many historic happenings, witch trials took place.  Late afternoon was taken up with an exploration of the town, me pointing out the house where my mother had stayed eighty-five years ago and a cuppa and cake in a tearoom.  We ate out that evening, and yes you have guessed, we had fish and chips!  We completed our bird and mammal list before retiring.  Mammals that day had been Muntjac Deer, Brown Rat, Grey Squirrel and Grey Seal.

A wish come true.  Me at dawn on Aldeburgh beach.

Deserted beach at dawn.

Day three.  Our plan today was to make RSPB Minsmere the principal part of the day, but before that we were to carry out a duty.  We were up before dawn and out on Aldeburgh beach and at the tideline in order to watch dawn emerge.  We had the long stretch of beach to ourselves.  To me the visit to Aldeburgh was poignant and none more so than for this vigil.  We spoke little, preferring to listen to the thud and swish of the tide as it met the shingle of the beach.  This sound was only broken by the laughing calling of an odd Herring Gull, a flock of Turnstones calling as they flew  by, and the occasional crunch of shingle under our feet if we moved.  Dim light became brighter under an overcast sky and I imagined Benjamin Britten’s Dawn Sea Interlude playing in my head in what was a superb atmosphere of calm and tranquility.  A beautiful piece of music written by Britten for the Opera Peter Grimes, when Britten lived in Aldeburgh.

Tudor Moot Hall at dawn, Aldeburgh.

We ate breakfast and were soon off to Minsmere, the RSPBs large and premier reserve.  With the view of Sizewell Power station in the background it has a haunting feel at times but it doesn’t spoil the experience.

We had some very special moments here the highlights being three Marsh Harriers displaying directly in front of the Bittern Hide with amazing acrobatic skills as they practised food passing and called, three good sightings of Bittern in the air, our first Whooper Swans of the trip, Great White and Little Egrets in numbers, Green Woodpecker calling, Dartford Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, numerous calls from Bearded Tit with a male seen nicely on the outer reeds.  Sam’s friend Ptolemy (Ptol to his friends) who works in Norfolk joined us for a time and to his credit it was he who found the Dartford Warblers.

We found that the hope for Glossy Ibis had flown off, but nevertheless enjoyed the singing of Skylarks as we looked for it off the main area of the reserve.  Other sightings included Barnacle Geese, Egyptian Geese, Pintail, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Grey Heron, Kestrel, Water Rail (H), Black Tailed Godwit, Avocet, gulls including our first Lesser Black Backed Gull of the trip, Great Spotted Woodpecker (H), Stonechat, Goldcrest, tits, Jay, Goldfinch, Siskin, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting.  We enjoyed a nice lunch in the centre which was required after a good bit of walking today.

C

Curlew River stained glass window

We were back in Aldeburgh mid to late afternoon and had time to visit the church and see the amazing Curlew River stained glass window that commemorates Benjamin Britten.  I love stained glass, and this one has such vivid and beautiful colour.  Curlew River is an opera by Britten and although the river is mythical it is based on the River Alde where Britten, who was quite a naturalist, watched Curlews feeding.  We’ll be doing that tomorrow.  We also visited Britten’s grave, where buried next to him is his long-term partner Peter Pears.  Isobel Holst is buried nearby.  Time would not allow for me to search out the graves of families known to my mother such as the Paget’s and the Abbs but we did spend time at the memorial to and graves of lifeboatmen who lost their lives in the tragedy late in the 19^th century.  My mother was a great supporter of the RNLI and I now understand more clearly why.  We also looked at the 18^th century grave of the local surgeon which was of great interest.   We again spent some time in Aldeburgh town and later had a very nice meal at an Italian Restraunt.  We’d managed not to spend cash in the bookshops we visited.

Curlew River stained glass window.

Mammals seen today were Red Deer, Muntjac Deer, Grey Squirrel, Rabbit and Grey Seal.

This is just the beginning, more coming soon.  If your wondering why there is a lack of wildlife images, Sam and I took a conscious decision to relax and enjoy the wildlife without humping cumbersome heavy camera equipment on this trip.

Remembering in my Own Way.

 It’s no coincidence that my blog page features a design of books.  As well as having a great love of nature, like many with similar interests I am a bibliophile.  I have learned over the years to be particular as to what to add to my library and I have two books of which I am very proud to own, both by James Alder.  They are the Birds and Flowers of the Castle of Mey and the Birds of Balmoral. The  former was presented to the Queen Mother and the latter to Her Majesty the Queen.  Whether you are of a left, right or centre political persuasion I think you would be hard indeed not to have found the death of Her Majesty the Queen a sad occasion.  I had my copy of the birds of Balmoral out on the table this week.

Her Majesty previews the artwork

Both books contain some wonderful prints of birds and flowers by James Alder.  There are short introductions in both books and this includes in Birds of Balmoral words from the Queen to James about the conservation work done on the estate of Balmoral of which Prince Phillip had taken a great interest.  The Queen did acknowledge that historically some wildlife was not encouraged on the estate, and of course we all know what that meant.  Let us hope that the numerous gamekeepers on the estate are rather more tolerant these days.

From Court Circular in The Times, June 1998

Anyway, I share one thing in common with royalty, I have both books by James Alder on my shelves.

Whilst I collect books I never kept up a childhood hobby of collecting postage stamps.  On refection I wish I had kept it going, as philately is such a great tool of learning.  I’d been thinking just how much the world has changed during my lifetime lived with Queen Elizabeth being the only monarch I have known.  Many of the political and geographical changes to the world are reflected in my small postage stamp book passed to me as a child by my elder brother.  Who would believe these days that in the 1950s you could purchase a stamp for a halfpenny in ‘old money?’

I’ve included a selection of images of postage stamps which have a natural history theme and which were issued, as were many others, during the reign of Queen Elizabeth 11.

I’ll try and not be such a stranger to my blog.