Field Outing to Orfordness
10th October 2010
By Steve Piotrowski
The 14 members who gathered on Orford Quay were met with dream weather conditions and were in for a day to remember. Easterly winds had buffeted our coast over the previous two days, blowing in thousands of passage migrants and scarcities were there for us to find.! Today, the skies were cloudless, enabling an exclusive, leisurely exploration of this coastal wilderness in comfortably warm sunshine and a refreshing light easterly breeze, far from the madding crowds that would have been packed into other coastal resorts on such a fine day! The peace and tranquillity of Orfordness was there to be enjoyed by us all.
As we grouped together on the island to run through the day’s itinerary, our attention was quickly diverted to a ring-tail Hen Harrier that was quartering the old airfield in front of us. We hurried on across the airfield and noted huge numbers of Teal with Wigeon, three Black-tailed Godwits and a few Curlews on the flooded pools. Meadow Pipits and Skylarks seemed to be everywhere and Bramblings, Lesser Redpolls and several Reed Buntings called as they passed overhead. A second ring-tailed Hen Harrier was located, together with a Marsh Harrier, a Sparrowhawk and at least three Kestrels. There was a great deal of expectancy, but, as we began to search through the wildfowl flocks, they all suddenly took flight, so we scanned the skies to see what had caused such disturbance? We soon located a dark, bulky bird flying just over the river bank, showing brilliant white primary-base flashes, this and its size indicating that it was a Great Skua, a good bird for the day. Just when we thought that we had found the culprit and the wildfowl were circling to alight back on the meadows, a flash of something to our left caused pandemonium amongst the flocks. With so much confusion, it was a struggle to determine just what was happening! We then spotted a large falcon, a Peregrine, which had arrived from nowhere to snatch a Teal in mid-flight, its meal being so heavy that the hunter was forced to take it to ground. We watched the jerking head movements of the Peregrine, as it proceeded to pluck its dinner amongst the long grass. Someone remarked that we were hardly 300 metres from the quay and already we had an impressive tally of birds and had witnessed some of the most spectacular avian events.
As we approached the line of old military buildings, know affectionately on Orfordness as “The Village”, it soon became apparent that we were in for an incredible day’s birding. The sparsely populated brambles and elderberry bushes were alive with Goldcrests and Chiffchaffs and there seemed to be flocks of Song Thrushes and Redwings everywhere. This was active bird migration at its best. We scanned Stonyditch Creek and noted a distant flock of Avocets a group of Curlews feeding on the saltings. Walking on, a noisy pair of Stonechats was flicking on the tops of a line of brambles and good numbers of Blackcaps and Robins were noted. A Whinchat perched on the fence was another scarce migrant for our day list. We then received news that the ringers were processing a good number of birds, so we hastily made our way to the Ringing Room. Here were able to watch the ringers as they processed good number of Goldcests, Lesser Redpolls, Bramblings and Chiffchaffs, this ringing demonstration included a brief introduction to the methods use to age and sex the birds.
Northern Treecreeper, Photo © David Crawshaw
We were also fortunate to be present when the Ringer’s bird of the day was brought in for processing. It was a Northern Treecreeper of the race Certhia familiaris familiaris. The bird showed a more frosty appearance than our native Treecreepers and its ginger rump contrasted with the back colder brown feathers. It was overall less colourful and lacked some of the warmer tones seen on our own Treecreeper (C. f. Britannica), had a pure white supercillium and had gleaming white under-parts. This was only the second Treecreeper of any sort recorded on Orfordness and it was good to be able to examine the subtleties of this race at close quarters. Two distant Common Buzzards were spotted from outside the Ringing Room.
Our next stop was the roof of the Bomb-ballistic Building from where we could scan for Short-eared Owls, but alas with no success. We noted a Redstart en route and several Wheatears around the building. Our lofty perch gave us amazing views of this superb landscape. We noted a group of seven Grey Plovers and a Knot on a distant lagoon and perhaps a third ring-tailed Hen Harrier hunting the beach. We made our way to the lighthouse when another Peregrine flashed in front of us pursuing some of the small passerines that were grounded on the shingle. There was a swift diversion back to the Ringing Room for some of us when we heard news that a Firecrest was being processed with the rest of us proceeding to the lighthouse! Chris McIntyre was at the front of the queue in the ringing room, so he could add this species to his ringing list. He even managed to cadge a lift back to the lighthouse where he could retrieve his lunch! There were several thrushes and Robins around the lighthouse, but the choppy sea was rather quiet bird-wise with just a few Brent Geese passing south. A Common Seal was spotted close inshore, but the sunlight was blinding, so we had little chance of spotting passing seabirds on the horizon. We hastily ate our packed lunches and then made our way towards Pig Pail, which is an area of lagoons adjacent to the BBC World Service building.
As we neared the Bailey bridge, which spans Stonyditch Creek, someone spotted a small bird with a whitish throat, pale underparts and rufous tones on its rump and tail. The bird dived into a grassy area on the shingle and then flicked onto the short-cropped saltings where it completely disappeared. Our imaginations ran wild as its behaviour suggested that it could be a rarity! After all, what bird would dive into salt marsh vegetation that was no more that four inches high and then become totally invisible, it had to be a Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, a Lanceolated Warbler or something along those lines? As leader, I gingerly approached the area where the bird was seen to drop, being careful as to where I was treading. The rest of the group watched in anticipation, when suddenly a Reed Warbler popped up, so panic it was over! Well, perhaps next time?
We noted a good assortment of birds during our walk across Kings Marsh with Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Reed Buntings occupying every available bush. The lagoons hosted about 30 Redshanks, two more Avocets, two Green Sandpipers, a few Snipe and up to four Little Egrets. A Barn Owl was disturbed from its roost under the bridge and a Little Owl was perched in full view on the top of a pile of wooden railway sleepers stacked in the BBC World Service compound. We ventured a little further upriver and noted a rather tardy Willow Warbler and a few more Blackcaps. Two Common Buzzards gave excellent views as they perched on one of the radio masts.
In was now mid-afternoon and it was time to return for our boat. Our route again took us past the Ringing Room where we witnessed a few more birds being ringed. The ringers score for the day was approaching 200 new birds caught, so a very busy period for them. By 4.15 pm we were back on Orford Quay and able to reflect on a wonderful day’s birding.
We owe are thanks to the Orfordness Warden, Dave Cormack for ferrying us on and off the island and to WBC members Mike Marsh, Gill Stannard and Dave Crawshaw for allowing us to watch the birds as they were being ringed.
Steve Piotrowski
We were also fortunate to be present when the Ringer’s bird of the day was brought in for processing. It was a Northern Treecreeper of the race Certhia familiaris familiaris. The bird showed a more frosty appearance than our native Treecreepers and its ginger rump contrasted with the back colder brown feathers. It was overall less colourful and lacked some of the warmer tones seen on our own Treecreeper (C. f. Britannica), had a pure white supercillium and had gleaming white under-parts. This was only the second Treecreeper of any sort recorded on Orfordness and it was good to be able to examine the subtleties of this race at close quarters. Two distant Common Buzzards were spotted from outside the Ringing Room.
Our next stop was the roof of the Bomb-ballistic Building from where we could scan for Short-eared Owls, but alas with no success. We noted a Redstart en route and several Wheatears around the building. Our lofty perch gave us amazing views of this superb landscape. We noted a group of seven Grey Plovers and a Knot on a distant lagoon and perhaps a third ring-tailed Hen Harrier hunting the beach. We made our way to the lighthouse when another Peregrine flashed in front of us pursuing some of the small passerines that were grounded on the shingle. There was a swift diversion back to the Ringing Room for some of us when we heard news that a Firecrest was being processed with the rest of us proceeding to the lighthouse! Chris McIntyre was at the front of the queue in the ringing room, so he could add this species to his ringing list. He even managed to cadge a lift back to the lighthouse where he could retrieve his lunch! There were several thrushes and Robins around the lighthouse, but the choppy sea was rather quiet bird-wise with just a few Brent Geese passing south. A Common Seal was spotted close inshore, but the sunlight was blinding, so we had little chance of spotting passing seabirds on the horizon. We hastily ate our packed lunches and then made our way towards Pig Pail, which is an area of lagoons adjacent to the BBC World Service building.
As we neared the Bailey bridge, which spans Stonyditch Creek, someone spotted a small bird with a whitish throat, pale underparts and rufous tones on its rump and tail. The bird dived into a grassy area on the shingle and then flicked onto the short-cropped saltings where it completely disappeared. Our imaginations ran wild as its behaviour suggested that it could be a rarity! After all, what bird would dive into salt marsh vegetation that was no more that four inches high and then become totally invisible, it had to be a Pallas’s Grasshopper Warbler, a Lanceolated Warbler or something along those lines? As leader, I gingerly approached the area where the bird was seen to drop, being careful as to where I was treading. The rest of the group watched in anticipation, when suddenly a Reed Warbler popped up, so panic it was over! Well, perhaps next time?
We noted a good assortment of birds during our walk across Kings Marsh with Chiffchaffs, Goldcrests and Reed Buntings occupying every available bush. The lagoons hosted about 30 Redshanks, two more Avocets, two Green Sandpipers, a few Snipe and up to four Little Egrets. A Barn Owl was disturbed from its roost under the bridge and a Little Owl was perched in full view on the top of a pile of wooden railway sleepers stacked in the BBC World Service compound. We ventured a little further upriver and noted a rather tardy Willow Warbler and a few more Blackcaps. Two Common Buzzards gave excellent views as they perched on one of the radio masts.
In was now mid-afternoon and it was time to return for our boat. Our route again took us past the Ringing Room where we witnessed a few more birds being ringed. The ringers score for the day was approaching 200 new birds caught, so a very busy period for them. By 4.15 pm we were back on Orford Quay and able to reflect on a wonderful day’s birding.
We owe are thanks to the Orfordness Warden, Dave Cormack for ferrying us on and off the island and to WBC members Mike Marsh, Gill Stannard and Dave Crawshaw for allowing us to watch the birds as they were being ringed.
Steve Piotrowski