Down by the River Deben

 

 

Sutton Hoo (installation inspired by helmet)

We have enjoyed some waterside bird-watching recently at NT Sutton Hoo. These are our sightings (and 'listenings') so far. Merlin, the Cornell bird ID app has helped us along the way. We have found the app pretty reliable, though I suspect it is designed for users in the US. The bird recorded as a 'White Wagtail' was probably a Pied Wagtail.

 

 

3 March

• Avocet (a)
  
• Dunnock
  
• Lapwing
• Long-tailed tit
• Oystercatcher (b)
  
• Treecreeper
• Shelduck (c)
  

9 March

• Buzzard
• Curlew (d)
  
• Goldfinch 
• Great spotted woodpecker
  
• Great tit
• Pied/White Wagtail 
• Pheasant
  
• Redshank (e)
  
• Siskin
• Wigeon
• Plus: (a), (b) and (c)
  

17 March

• Blue tit
  
• Chaffinch
• Magpie
  
• Robin
• Plus: (b), (c) and (d)
  

30 March

• Blackbird
• Carrion Crow
  
• Chiffchaff
• Green woodpecker
• Herring gull
  
• Jackdaw
  
• Rook
  
• Skylark (f)
  
• Wren
• Plus: (b) and (c) 

We also saw a Muntjac:

 

The Oystercatchers in the next photo were on this rampike.

 

1 April 

• Black-backed gull
• Canada goose
• Mallard
• Mute swan
• Song thrush
• Teal
• Plus: (b), (c), (e) and (f)
  

 

36 species in total so far since 3 March. Those with a letter, such as (a), have been seen on more than one occasion. 

 

*

There were quite a few ladybirds, mainly but not exclusively 7-spots, on the Sutton Hoo site and a few butterflies: we noticed Peacocks, Small Tortoiseshells and Red Admirals. We saw a beefly on Saturday, and two shieldbugs this afternoon on the gorse. 

Spot the (Sutton Hoo) Dragon

We returned to NT Sutton Hoo this afternoon and looked in the wood to see how the bluebells are coming along. You can see the green shoots behind Spot the Dragon. Some years we have seen these wonderful flowers attracting Orange-tip butterflies, showing off nature's complementary colours in the best of ways; though I cannot help wondering why there should be such contrast when (surely) camouflage, i.e. a flower and butterfly of the same shade, would afford more protection from predators. 

And by the way, we have at last seen our first butterfly of 2023; a Small Tortoiseshell on 21 March. This seems very late for back in 2004 when we were still living in Swansea, two butterflies alighted on our rockery on a snowy Valentine's Day. I wrote a Haiku to mark the event:

St Valentine’s Day –
butterflies hug the heather,
snow kisses the lawn

Looking across the River Deben to Woodbridge

 

Signs of Spring: Black Lambs at NT Sutton Hoo

We visited these wonderful Hebridean lambs (above and below) at NT Sutton Hoo last weekend when they were a matter of days old. They were gambolling about near the mounds and leaping up in the air. We returned to the site this weekend to see how they were getting on. 

 

The photos above this line were taken eight days ago. The ones below were taken a week later ...

Their shepherd has asked the public to suggest names. Both lambs are females. We sent in our suggestions and it will be interesting to see which names are chosen.

 

 

 

 

Lambs at NT Sutton Hoo, a Late Arrival to Our Feeders ... and Seasonal Signs at SWT Martlesham Wilds

Muntjac at Sutton Hoo (two of three spotted) ...

Lambs! In January! Sheer joy. And lapwings

The wobbly stage ...

Back in the garden ... this semi-regular turned up 24 hours after my count ...

Isn't he handsome?

Time for a bit of argy-bargy. Just look at the barring on the underwing.

Back at Martlesham Wilds ... the Barn Owl's view,

and the view looking in the opposite direction towards the River Deben.

Curlew, but all at quite a distance. Over 15 counted.

The humble, beautiful Daisy.

More snowdrops in Martlesham Churchyard

My first Aconite of 2023 ...

... and my first Crocus.

 

Autumn Sunshine at NT Sutton Hoo

How the season has changed! An abundance of ripe chestnuts

The woods at NT Sutton Hoo, a mix of green and brown

I wonder how many more Darters we will see this year ...

A tiny camouflaged Grasshopper

Spot the Dragon enjoying some mottled sunshine

Looking across the Deben to Woodbridge

 And finally ... 

... we checked the Trailcam today and were delighted to find that the hedgehog had been here on 23 September (and not at 2 or 3 am this time). We stopped putting out the Yora insect-based food a few days ago as it was being snapped up by a cat. But we have replenished the supply tonight; let's hope the hedgehog returns as I suspect its need is greater than the feline's.  

 

NT Sutton Hoo ... or ... If You Go Down To The Woods

Well, it may not have been a teddy bears' picnic, but it was a joy to experience an unexpected encounter with a pair of Muntjac deer as we walked away from the picnic site overlooking the river Deben. The photos were taken with my zoom lens as we had no wish to cause alarm. One of the deer watched us closely, but neither seemed perturbed by our presence.

There were very few small birds about in the wood. We saw crows, gulls and pigeons overhead. I wonder who will gorge on these remaining berries. 

We were looking out over the estuary towards Woodbridge when a Kestrel landed on a bare branch and perched there surveying the scene for a few seconds. 

The Kestrel flying off

Preparing for take-off

Showing its beady eye

Were we friend or foe?

Woodbridge on the far shore

Our sunlit path

Wolf in the woods (for 'wolf' see here ... and for Sutton Hoo wolf purse lid see here)