A Cornucopia Of Sightings – 2 Types Of Deer, 3 Types Of Geese, Ruff & Two Types Of Harrier

Buckenham Marshes – Tuesday 13^th January 2015 

I was really glad of the chance to get out today as Jan only has two days off this week and I have a hospital appointment tomorrow.

We decided to go to RSPB Buckenham Marshes; this reserve like the one at Breydon Water has its own train station, RSPB Buckenham Marshes. This reserve is isolated and a very basic site with just one hide situated in the corner of the reserve under the banks of the River Yare. To get down to the reserve, by car, you have to go across a manned level crossing which goes over the main Norwich to Great Yarmouth line and then you have to go down a single track lane to the hide, with very limited parking at the Hide. The hide itself is very basic providing shelter from the wind and rain, which was much, appreciated yesterday.

The reserve itself is what I should imagine most people who live outside of Norfolk, imagine what Norfolk is like but for those who know Norfolk, it is just one of the many varied landscapes that make up such a diverse County.

We arrived there at about 1.40pm, the temperature was about 7C with light winds and overcast skies with the forecast of heavy showers and a freshening wind and a drop in temperatures. The forecast was absolutely right we had some lashing showers and by the time we left at about 4.20pm the temperature had dropped to 3C.

RSPB Buckenham Marshes

As we drove down the final part of the lane the many dykes and channels off the River Yare were filled with Wigeon and some Shovelers and we could see a small group of European White-fronted Geese with one white Goose which I presume was a Snow Goose morph which has been reported in this location recently.

There were a few birdwatchers and photographers along the lane and at the hide there were two cars and several birdwatchers who were in the process of leaving so for most of the afternoon we had the hide to ourselves except for one hardy soul who walked down the lane in a particularly heavy shower. When she left she walked back up the lane in another heavy shower, there’s dedication for you.

Wigeon

 Our first sight from the hide was hundreds of Wigeon in groups of 50 or so spread out in various locations. It was as I was filming a group of these birds that I noticed a pair of ears in the vegetation on the far side of a pool in front of us. When I zoomed into them I found a Chinese Water Deer laying down getting what little shelter it could from the weather. I got some footage (although it was Jan’s footage that was much clearer and provides the video on our YouTube Channel) of this Deer and it remained in this position for a couple of hours only getting to its feet twice, both times I failed to capture. Shortly after a second Deer appeared a little distance from the first but it wasn’t until we got home that we recognized this as a Chinese Water Deer as well. Chinese Water Deer are quite scarce in the UK as a whole but there are good numbers, particularly in Bedfordshire, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire and these represent 10% of the world’s population. These were two of the three we were to see today.

Chinese Water Deer

It wasn’t much later when Jan spotted a Harrier gliding over the reserve; it was a female Hen Harrier. We later saw two Marsh Harriers pass over the Marshes, which caused great consternation amongst the Wigeon and across the other side of the River Yare there were two Buzzards circling around. There were also plenty of Lapwing and a few Teal among the Wigeon. It was interesting that when a Little Egret (the first of two) appeared the other birds gave it a wide berth.

Little Egret

As the afternoon progressed the showers became more frequent, the temperature dropped and the wind began to increase. About half a dozen Shelduck came down onto the reserve and a little later about 10 waders joined them on the pool. We struggled to identify these birds at first thinking they were one of the Sandpiper family but the intrepid birder who traipsed through the showers thought they were Ruff and when we got home after looking at the videos and comparing pictures we could say that they were definitely Ruff. Although there are a few breeding pairs in the UK the bulk of them breed in Russia and Scandinavia with the majority of them migrating to sub-Saharan Africa in the Winter. These birds are declining at a rapid rate, mainly because of the changes of land usage and the intensification of Farming practices in their breeding grounds. The male Ruff in their breeding plumage is a sight to behold.

Ruff

The light was now beginning to deteriorate and it was getting colder. The Corvids were beginning to gather, Buckenham Marshes is a well known Corvid roosting area where anything up to 100,000 birds gather during the Winter. Swans and Starlings were beginning to fly over the reserve as were several different species of Gulls and then came what we really wanted to see about 30 or so Tundra Bean Geese flew in and amongst them was a second Snow Goose morph quite clearly showing their black wing tips. No one really knows whether these are wild birds or escapees from private collections but we could see two at different parts of the reserve at the same time. We noticed a big bird in one of the trees in the centre of the reserve and overlooking the other birds. At first I thought it was a Barn Owl but when we looked at the very poor pictures later (because of the light conditions) we could see it wasn’t a Barn Owl at all but more likely a Peregrine Falcon looking for a late supper or an early breakfast, maybe.

As the Geese were coming in so also were more and more Gulls coming into roost in the main pool although it was now nearly impossible to identify them. We decided to call it a day and as we closed the observation hatches in the now deserted hide it was almost pitch black and when got outside of the hide we were aware of the increasing number of Corvids passing over. It was now freezing and raining so we didn’t dally too long but long enough to read an amusing poster posted by The Barn Owls for the mess their droppings made in the their favourite roosting place, the shelter at the back of the Hide.

It had been a marvelous afternoon but I think we were both glad to get back in the car and for the heater and heated seats to start to bring us back into the land of the living. As we drove down the lane we were left with the whistles of the Wigeon and a beautiful sunset through the trees. Further along the road we saw three Muntjac Deer disappear into the trees and after we had passed Strumpshaw Fen we saw another Chinese Water Deer enjoying having a lie down while grazing in a road side field. It was only about 50 metres from us but it was now too dark to film. The Deer wasn’t in the slightest bothered about us.

Answer to the quiz next time. Keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.