Some post-lockdown trips (part 2)

20th June 2020

En-route to my first site, I saw a Red Kite from the A12 near Witham. This beautiful raptor is steadily expanding its range out from the various re-introduction areas around the UK and I have been fortunate enough to see it on a few occasions already in my home County of Essex. When I first became interested in birds, this was an extremely rare species confined to a very few sites in mid-Wales and very difficult to see. There are now over 1500 pairs in the UK.

EWT Colne Point. Colne Point is a 276 hectare nature reserve located south west of St Osyth managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. It is part of the Colne Estuary Site of Special Scientific Interest, a National Nature Reserve and a Special Protection Area. It is also part of the Essex Estuaries Special Area of Conservation and the Blackwater, Crouch, Roach and Colne Estuaries Marine Conservation Zone. It includes a shingle beach and saltmarsh running along the coastline at the mouth of the Colne estuary.

The main target for my UK 2020 year list here was Little Tern, a bird that I missed seeing entirely in 2019 despite searching at several locations in East Anglia. I spent several hours walking and scanning both the shingle beach and immediately offshore at Colne Point with no success. I did see 8 Oystercatchers, 5 Ringed Plovers and 10 Turnstones along the shoreline, the first 2 species undoubtedly endeavouring to nest on the shingle beach.

I had almost given up on my main target but just as I was about to turn away from the beach to return to the car, I heard and then saw 2 Little Terns fishing just offshore.

Unfortunately I did not get any photos of the Little Terns but here is one of my photos that has been used twice by the Essex Wildlife Trust in their magazine. 

Other notable records: Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Turnstone, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Swallow, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Skylark, Pied Wagtail

21st June 2020

Benfleet Downs. This area in south Essex is also known as Hadleigh Downs and it forms an escarpment overlooking Benfleet Creek and Hadleigh Marshes.  Today it forms part of the Hadleigh Country Park or Hadleigh Castle Country Park which provides walks, cycle routes and bridleways an impressive panorama over the River Thames to the hills of Kent. There are also imposing views of Hadleigh Castle which has been painted by many artists including John Constable in 1892.

The main reason for visiting this site was to see the Marsh Warbler that had been reported regularly in the preceding days in the western area of Benfleet Downs to the east of Benfleet railway station. Although it had previously been reported singing regularly, including the amazing mimicry for which the species is well known, I failed to hear it sing but did hear it call on a few occasions. Eventually, I saw it on 3 separate occasions although only briefly each time as it foraged in the herbaceous vegetation adjoining the small area of reedbeds.

The Marsh Warbler is a rare and very localised breeder in the UK (this was only my second UK record) but it is much more common and widespread in central and eastern Europe (where I have seen it several times).

Although I had very close views of the Marsh Warbler at Benfleet Downs, the fleeting glimpses did not provide any opportunities for photos but here is one of my photos of a singing male at Sânpaul Fishponds, Harghita County, Romania.

Other notable records: Cuckoo (heard only), Reed Warbler, Chiffchaff (heard only), Little Egret, Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, Shelduck, Mallard

22nd June 2020

RSPB Bempton Cliffs. The hard chalk cliffs at Bempton stretch about 6 miles from Flamborough Head north towards Filey and are over 330 feet high at some points. Part of the cliffs is managed by the RSPB. 

Due to the restrictions on travel imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I was forced to cancel my planned annual trips to Wales and north and west Scotland, both of which always include a visit to a seabird colony. 

Therefore, Bempton Cliffs had to be included on this itinerary to get my “seabird fix”. I had already seen most of the seabird species found at Bempton Cliffs during my trip to south west England in the first week of January 2020 so the main target for my UK 2020 year list on this visit was Puffin plus Rock Pipit, both of which I was successful in seeing.

Bempton Cliffs is a hugely impressive location with enormous numbers of nesting Gannets (it is the only mainland breeding site), Guillemots, Razorbills and Kittiwakes plus smaller numbers of Puffins and Fulmars.

The opportunities for photos are incredible and it is no surprise that I took almost 400 photos. I have included a few at the end of this blog post but I will shortly upload many more to my main website. 

This was an exceptionally long day out (480 miles and 8 hours of driving plus 3.5 miles walking at the site) but thoroughly enjoyable and rewarding.

Other notable records: Peregrine, Tree Sparrow, Swallow, Swift, Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Jackdaw

On the way home from Bempton Cliffs, I saw another Red Kite near junction 10 of the M11.

23rd June 2020

RSPB Hollesley Marshes. This reserve near Woodbridge in Suffolk is an area of grazing marsh on the lower reaches of the Alde-Ore Estuary. On my last visit on 3rd June 2020, I saw my first Spoonbill of the year and I again saw one on this visit.

The main target for my UK 2020 year list here was Wood Sandpiper since 2 had been reported regularly in the days preceding my visit. I successfully saw them albeit the view was very distant through my telescope and very hazy due to the hot sunshine. I can not recall any year where I saw Wood Sandpiper before Common Sandpiper and Green Sandpiper, especially given that it is the rarest and most difficult to find of the 3 species. I did see Green Sandpiper later the same day (see below) but I have still yet to see Common Sandpiper, not helped by having no trips to Wales and Scotland.

For the reasons mentioned above, there was absolutely no chance of getting a photo of the Wood Sandpipers but here is one of my photos of one near the Berlevåg and Båtsfjord road junction in Troms og Finnmark in north Norway.

Other notable records: Spoonbill, Cuckoo, Reed Warbler (heard only), Cetti’s Warbler (heard only), Blackcap (heard only), Common Buzzard, Marsh Harrier, Kestrel, Skylark, Reed Bunting, Linnet

En-route to my next site, I had a brief stop in Rendlesham Forest and saw a Woodlark. This was my first sighting of this species this year although I had already heard singing males at SWT Old Lodge in Sussex and NNR Westleton Heath in Suffolk during my trips earlier in the month.

RSPB Minsmere. This reserve has been owned and managed by the RSPB since 1947. The 2,500-acre site includes areas of reed bed, lowland heath, acid grassland, wet grassland, woodland and shingle beach. It lies within the Suffolk Coast and Heaths Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and the Suffolk Heritage Coast area. It is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area and Ramsar site.

This was my first visit to RSPB Minsmere since August 2016 when I went to see the first record of Western Purple Swamphen in the UK .... see here. 

The main target for my UK 2020 year list here was the little less glamorous Sandwich Tern and I successfully saw around 20 along with many hundreds of Common Terns, both species breeding on the “scrape”. However, I also managed to add 2 other species to my UK 2020 year list: Green Sandpiper and Little Gull.

Other notable records: Little Tern, Common Tern, Mediterranean Gull, Kittiwake, Spotted Redshank, Avocet, Black-tailed Godwit, Ringed Plover, Oystercatcher, Common Redshank, Lapwing, Barnacle Goose, Shelduck, Shoveler, Teal, Gadwall, Mallard, Sand Martin, Reed Warbler (heard only), Chiffchaff (heard only)

NNR Westleton Heath. Westleton Heath is part of the best remaining tract of lowland heathland in Suffolk and it is a site that I usually visit every year both in spring and early summer. 

This was my last visit of the day and at this time of year it is usually preceded by a drink and a meal at either the Eel’s Foot Inn in Eastbridge, the Westleton Crown in Westleton or The Ship in Dunwich in order to pass the time whilst waiting for sunset. However, this year there was no pint of Adnams for me given that all the pubs had yet to re-open so I drove in to the picturesque small town of Southwold for some fish and chips.

On my last visit to this site on 3rd June 2020, I added Dartford Warbler to my UK 2020 year list but on this visit at dusk the target was Nightjar which I always hear and usually see. When I arrived in the car park, I realised that I had forgotten to bring insect repellent and a torch with me and therefore the potential for involuntarily giving blood to zillions of biting insects and getting lost on the heath was somewhat high!

As it happened, although there were a lot of insects (there always are on warm and still evenings which offer the best chance for seeing Nightjar), I did not seem to get bitten too many times and I found my way back to the car.

Whilst waiting for the Nightjars, I heard 2 singing male Dartford Warblers but failed to see them in the gathering gloom. I heard 3 or possibly 4 “churring” male Nightjars and occasionally the flight call but unfortunately on this visit I did not actually see any of the birds.

On the return from Westleton to Yoxford on the A12, the headlights of my car enabled me to see a very small Red Fox cub, a timely reminder that my next visit to the area around St. Nicholas Church to see my local Red Fox family was well overdue.

Finally, here are some photos from RSPB Bempton Cliffs, starting with a landscape view ….

Puffins …. 

Guillemots ….

Razorbills …. 

Kittiwakes ….

Fulmars ….

Gannets ….

Herring Gull ....

Jackdaws .... and, no, he's not dead but "anting" ....

💚🦆 🦉 🌼 🌳💚

Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature