RSPB Strumpshaw Fen & Buckenham Marshes

An unseasonably warm day, but the perfect weather to go for a pleasant stroll around Strumpshaw Fen. We arrived at around 10 o' clock and were asked by the volunteers at the reception to report back what we had seen. All they'd had so far was a cormorant. Looking out onto the pool, there were a raft of mallard, gadwall and shoveler.

Before we got very far, we were greeted by a very handsome male pheasant which had alighted on a fallen tree trunk. Not the most 'exciting' sighting, but he was resplendent in his winter colours.

We began on the woodland trail and it wasn't long before a flock of softly calling finch-sized birds flew overhead and settled in a nearby tree. They set to work on tweezering seeds out of tightly closed cases. It was a mixed flock of siskin and goldfinches. I am slowly becoming more familiar with the siskin this season, getting used to looking for their unique stripy-ness and their high pitched calls when it flight and perched. Reaching the end of the woodland trail, following an unidentified bird of prey (we never did get a good look at it), we spotted a mistle thrush perched on telephone wires in the neighbouring field. It has been a long while since I've seen one of these handsome birds.


We turned onto the fen trail and began the muddy walk towards Tower hide. We heard a great spotted woodpecker calling in the distance, eventually tracking it down to the top of the tallest branches in the woodland. Walking across large clearings like this always makes me notice Norfolk's big skies, and always makes me question why I would ever live anywhere else.

A robin, dunnock and few blackbirds greeted us along the trail, but it was very quiet. Pausing at a clearing just before reaching the hide, I spotted what I am sure was a water vole swimming between patches of reed. All I could make out was little brown head above the water line, swimming completely silently and with almost no wake, I would have missed it had I not already been looking at something else in the same direction. Apart from this potentially exciting encounter, there was little action even looking out from Tower hide, with the exception of two majestic marsh harriers quartering the reed bed below.


Turning back to avoid too much mud, we headed for Fen hide. Unfortunately, there was little to see here either. We decided that all of the geese, ducks and waders must be at nearby Buckenham Marshes instead, so we headed back to the reception and jumped in the car. On the way, we spotted a young grey heron practicing its fishing skills and a marsh harrier bathing at the edge of a pool.

Wigeon, lots and lots of wigeon is what greeted us at Buckenham Marshes, all softly calling to each other in that charming whistle. A small flock of lapwing showed off their contrasting colours in the afternoon sun as they sailed past in the distance.


Perhaps there were fewer birds due to the unseasonably warm weather, perhaps they are just confused. One volunteer told me that another visitor had seen a marsh harrier building a nest.

To finish the day on another unusual sight, after we arrived home, we were visited by a male kestrel in the grounds of our flat in Norwich. He looked in excellent shape. We've never seen one this close to us before.

Autumnal activities

Gosh, this has been a whirlwind of a first half-term. I have neglected my blog somewhat, but we have been up to some wildlife watching along the way!

Strumpshaw Fen - Sunday 11th October

This trip was significantly more autumnal than our last, but the common darters were still about in clusters, or rather in rows on any fence, bench or gate they could find. In their wake, they left destruction in the form of fragments of other small insects that had clearly been a feast for one or two of them.

It was quite quiet in terms of wildlife when walking the tracks of the reserve, but we stumbled across some drama when we reached Tower Hide. A huge mixed flock of wigeon, shoveler, teal and mallards, with a few lapwings keeping themselves to themselves, were spread across the lake. Wigeon began whistling and the whole raft of ducks and waders lifted as one, circled, then skimmed the water to return. At first, it was hard to see why, but they repeated this performance and we realised there was a marsh harrier gliding in close looking for a snack...

Queen Elizabeth Country Park, Hampshire - Friday 23rd October

This park full of beautiful trees of many varieties felt very autumnal today. The trees were beginning to turn from green to shades of yellow-orange-red. Some appeared to glow in the half light made by the clouds and being deep beneath the upper canopy.

Southsea - Saturday 24th October

An early morning walk full of urban wildlife. I couldn't resist a photo of these starlings on their lighthouse roost, seemingly ignoring the flashing light silhouetting them at times.

Buckenham Marshes

It was a cold, clear day at Buckenham Marshes, with frozen streams and frosty paths. This didn't stop the wigeon in their hundreds though. From stepping foot across the rail line, we could hear their whistling calls and see huge flocks nervously taking off and landing at the slightest shadow overhead. A teal or two were nestled amongst them, looking for security in the flock. Lapwings squared off at each other across the field, and robins laid claim to their territories. Rooks fed together in the fields and took off 'cawing' to the nearest clump of trees as we passed. The odd wren flitted across our path, and a kestrel hovered overhead. A perfect stroll in the winter sunshine.

A hare amongst the wigeons

Only the second time we've ever visited RSPB Buckenham Marshes (not far from our usual RSPB Strumpshaw Fen), and for the second time it was raining. That doesn't seem to put off the residents and migrants though. We hadn't walked far from the car park, when we heard the plaintive whistling of a wigeon. Just off the path, the other side of the stream were a little posse of male and female wigeon. They sat quietly for some time, then one starting making a strange reverberating sound, obviously irritated by his counterparts, and starting snapping at them. We decided to leave them be and carry on towards the single hide.

A hare began trotting, then bolting away from the path, and towards more unseen and unsuspecting wigeon, hiding in a hidden channel. As much as I don't like to anthropomorphise, I'm sure it ran at them intentionally, and for fun, as a huge flock took off, alarm calling, and landed further away on the opposite bank. Their alarm was not helped by a large and solitary marsh harrier flying lazily overhead, seemingly uninterested in an apparently easy meal.

From behind us we heard countless calls of 'jack, jack, jack', and upon turning around, were greeted with the sight of a mixed flock of jackdaws and rooks heading towards the telephone lines. Buckenham marshes hosts a large rookery (according to some sources, the largest in Europe), with tens of thousands of rooks and jackdaws. They settled all along the telephone wires leading from the train platform, and they continued along them for as far as the eye could see.

The final flourish was a flock of lapwings skimming over the ground and water, their wings flashing black and white as they flew and turned.