Lynford Arboretum, Little Cressingham & Threxton – Saturday 7th March
Fieldfare
We did things a little different today, rather than get ready and then go out, we decided to get up early, forego breakfast and then go straight out for about an hour or so. Things didn’t go entirely to plan as we ended up being out for four hours but I think you’ll find it was a very profitable four hours.
We left home at 6.35am, the sun had risen at 6.21am. It was 8˚C, dry but there was a gusty wind. We made our way to Lynford Arboretum to see if we could see the Hawfinches. I would really have liked to have been there half an hour earlier but hey-ho we were the only ones there to begin with. We set ourselves up either side of the gate by the feeders and watched as the birds came into feed. We saw Nuthatch, Brambling, Siskin, Pheasants, Wood Pigeon, Grey Squirrels, Blue, Great, Marsh and Long Tailed Tits. It wasn’t too long before it attracted some bigger specimens, other birders.
If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that I am somewhat over critical of other birders and that I don’t feel too comfortable in their presence. I agree that perhaps we should never have gone to this particular location on a Saturday morning as we knew it would get busy. I am retired so I have all the time in the world and I do realise that birders who work only have the weekends to go watching birds.
When I first began being interested in watching nature before I was 10, one of the first things I learnt was that to see things you sometimes have to prevent them from seeing you, so that in a very elementary way, fieldcraft skills were quite important. Today for many of the modern birders or dare I say “Twitchers” fieldcraft consists of getting as close as possible to the birds, talking and moving about and expecting the birds to come to you. So it was with the birders who turned up at the gate. Set the scope up in full view have a good look around have a chatter and see what they could put in their book.
It was very evident that from the first arrival of a birder the birds got twitchier (pardon the pun) and were far less comfortable to linger at the feed. There was now quite a little huddle at the gates and all sense of quiet expectation had evaporated. There were no Hawfinches so scouts were dispatched to see exactly where they were. Obviously I was far too naïve to think that if we sat quietly largely out of sight that eventually the Hawfinches would come to us!
Eventually the cry went up they were in the treetops about 20 metres further up the lane so with very little finesse scopes were gathered up and the huddle (albeit without me) trundled up the lane and put themselves in full view of the Hawfinches. Needless to say I didn’t get to see them but I was relieved to be able to get away from the melee before it began again. Jan did get a quick look at the Hawfinches but guess what, they soon disappeared to another location.
I was glad to leave and we made our way to the Brook at Little Cressingham. When we arrived it was still a little gloomy but it was nice to be in the open again. The field in front of us and to the side of us had plenty of Fieldfares (well over a 100) and Starlings almost in military formation moving in unison in their search for food. There was a Hare in another field and then Jan spotted a bird on a fence post going back and forth from the ground below in its own search for food, it was a Stonechat. Although Jan got some pictures and footage, because of the distance the quality wasn’t too good. I’ve no doubt any birder worth their salt would have tried to get closer but it was just nice to see the bird doing what it was doing in a relaxed state (the bird and us) and just to enjoy it.
Stonechat
While we were sitting at the Brook and having our coffee we saw plenty of Robins, Great and Blue Tits. On the brook itself there were a couple of pairs of Mallards and Teal and they were joined by a pair of Egyptian Geese, we’ve seen a fair few of these locally this week.
Fairstead Lane
Eventually we made our way north up the lane towards Little Cressingham itself. On the way we saw plenty more Fieldfare, Redwing, Starlings, Skylarks, Chaffinch, Dunnock and our first Buzzard of the day. In the distance over towards Hilborough we could see a Red Kite gracefully circling over some woods, we watched this bird for five minutes and didn’t see it flap its wings once.
Moving round into Fairstead Lane we pulled over to the side of the road and saw a Hare making his way across a newly ploughed field. Jan saw a Stoat making its way along the road towards us before it disappeared into a hedge. We saw more Skylarks jostling for prime position, 4 Yellowhammers, Blue Tit and our second Buzzard which was lazily trying to find a thermal before giving up and going back into the woods. The sun now made an appearance and it was more like a Spring Day with the temperature rising to 9˚C.
We made another stop at The Water Mill at Little Cressingham where Jan spotted her second Stoat crossing the road. We saw another Buzzard here, some Mallard, Blue Tits and House Sparrows. Jan had a little walk around and took some photos of the Mill stream.
It was time to head for home but we decided to go via Threxton. We stopped by the Sewage Treatment Plant opposite All Saints’ Church. To our left by some trees by the farm there was a commotion and lots of Wood Pigeons took to the air, we soon saw why, a Sparrowhawk was moving along the treetops and this was followed shortly by another Buzzard moving to the other side of the church, a mere 200 metres further away we saw another Buzzard this time gliding inches above the ground as if it was about to take some prey. It looked absolutely magnificent before it disappeared behind the church, as we moved forward a Kestrel flew out of the tree. So within 200 metres we had seen a Sparrowhawk, 2 Buzzards and a Kestrel surely a sign of a healthy eco-system. Carrying on down the lane a Leveret (young Hare) came lolloping along the road towards us before it disappeared through the hedge into an adjoining field.
Little Cressingham Water Mill
All in all a very good four hours. Although it didn’t go entirely to plan it shows how fortunate we are to live in an area that is blessed with so much wildlife (shame about the birders though).
Little Cressingham Water Mill
Get out there, if you can, keep your eyes peeled and good spotting.
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