Walberswick to Dunwich 10th May 2012

On the 10th May we decided to do a walk from Walberswick to Dunwich which is a common walk of about four and a half miles each way. We were recommended the walk as good for Bitterns and Water Rails were a sure-fire bet. The path is part dirt track, part boardwalk, part woodland path and part cinder track. It starts near the mouth of the Blythe estuary and you walk from the car park between the Corporation and Westwood Marshes and then skirt around the edge of Dunwich Forest and Dingle Marshes and then drops down to the sea at Dunwich. Again the going was muddy due to the recent wet weather and we were led to believe it was going to rain at some point during the day. As it turned out it was a very warm and largely dry day so we ended up a little overdressed. Continue reading

Minsmere RSPB 9th May, 2012

One of Suffolk’s main attractions is Minsmere RSPB reserve. Again we had not been to this site before so wee looked forward to this greatly. There seems to have been nowhere unaffected by the heavy rainfall of recent weeks and Minsmere was no exception. The footpath to Minsmere Levels and Sizewell was under water and the inland path between the visitor centre and The Sluice was also under deep water. The site is so large, however, that we easily filled in our day there  without even getting to these areas. The truth of the matter is that it would probably take two days to cover the site and do it some justice. The main impression we came away with was of the sheer size of the place. Continue reading

Weeting Heath NWT 8th May, 2012

Most of the 7th and 8th May were spent visiting friends for a 60th birthday party in Bury St Edmunds. We stayed at The Angel which was a fantastic, if a little pricey, hotel and definitely the place to stay if we go there again. While we were in Bury St Edmunds we did go for a longish walk across some fields on the 7th but the monoculture did not lend itself to bird life. In fact I think the only bird we saw was a Buzzard. However we departed on the morning of the 8th for Halesworth, a location we thought would make a good hub for other birding outings. We decided to visit Weeting Heath NWT on the way to Halesworth as it is renowned for its Stone Curlews. The drive there was not without bird spotting opportunities either as we saw a Jay, Starlings, a Grey Wagtail, Red Legged Partridge and Egyptian Goose as well as some commoner birds. However our main aim was to try to see Stone Curlew at Weeting Heath. Continue reading

Lakenheath Fen RSPB 6th May 2012

On the second day of holiday we were heading for Bury St Edmunds where we were due to attend a birthday party. It was our plan to go to the Wildfowl and Wetland Trust reserve at Welney – another site we have been meaning to go to for ages. Unfortunately we could not get near the reserve as the road leading to it was under water. We tried to get there a couple of ways but in the end we just have to give up. Even when the road was open there was only the visitor centre itself that was above water so we just weren’t lucky. Instead we decided to go a bit further and go to Lakenheath Fen instead. Lakenheath Fen is famous for its small population of migrant Golden Orioles so we hoped we might get lucky there. As it turned out we did get some new birds for our year list and a couple of lifers as well. But was one of these a Golden Oriole ? More on this later.

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Rutland Water 5th May 2012

We started our ten day holiday to the south and east of England by stopping off at Rutland Water which we had been meaning to visit for some time. We stayed at Finch’s Inn in Upper Hambledon which is situated in the middle of the peninsula that runs into the reservoir. We had rather hoped to go on the rspb organised Nightingale Walk at 11pm in Hambledon Wood. Unfortunately due to lack of numbers and a poor weather forecast this was cancelled at the last moment so our next main reason for visiting was to try to see some of the Ospreys that breed there. Continue reading