After a bit of a rest from the blog, I have decided to resume work on the page, so hopefully over the next few months I will de able to share more of my images from East Anglia (and a few from further afield) with you.
So watch the site.
And as a start here is a Red deer I came across on a walk over Dunwich heath last week
As a child growing up in Suffolk Bishy barnabee was name we all knew the Ladybird by, and seems to be used in both Norfolk and Suffolk by most people when referring to them. You could actually live in Bishy barnabee way in Norwich or one of the roads off it like Ladybird way or Pollywiggle close, so at least it seems the name will be used in the future in one way if we were ever to stop using it in our everyday language.
But where did the name Bishy barnabee come from? There was actually a Bishop Barnaby who lived in the Fens and was apparently burned at the Stake so could this be a connection to the nursery rhyme which is said to have it’s origins in Norfolk “Bishy Bishy Barney Bee, Fly away home, Your house is on fire, And your children all gone”.
Another theory is the name is believed to be derived from the 16th century Bishop Edmund Bonner who lived from 1500 to 1569 , and was known notoriously as ‘Bloody Bonner’ for his ruthless persecution of Protestants under Queen Mary. Originally A vicar in East Dereham, Norfolk he became Bishop of London in 1539, so again another Norfolk connection.
One last Norfolk ryhme was used by Norfolk girls as the Ladybird was seen as a prophet of love and the young lady would hold the Ladybird in her hand and chant “Bishy, Bishy Barnabee do tell me when my wedding be”.
Whatever the origin of the name Bishy barnabee it seems to have a religious connection be it Bishop Barnaby or the fact that some say it was because the Catholic Bishops wore cloaks of red, the name Ladybird is said to come from ‘Our Lady’s bird’ referring to the Virgin Mary who was thought to always wear a red cloak and the seven spots on the ladybird were the seven joys and sorrows that the Virgin Mary was said to have embroidered on that red cloak.
The connection to the Virgin Mary and her cloak with the seven joys and sorrows would make you think that there was only the one species (7 spot) Ladybird to be found in Great Britain and Ireland, but there are in fact 47 Ladybirds to be found in the British Isles, not all are Red and not all have spots, The 7 spot is the more numerous with 37129 recorded but it is decreasing, followed by the Halequin ladybird a recent addition to our British list from Asia with 34234 recorded and increasing, compare these two species with Nephus bisignatus with 1 recorded, all these records were from the BRC ladybird database for each species (ordered by number of 10km squares) from 1975 to 2015 which can be found in the fantastic book Field Guide to the Ladybirds of Great Britain and Ireland by Helen Roy and Peter Brown, this book gives you all the information you would want for identification of each species ( and you will be please to know all but a handful can be found in East Anglia ), on each species there is a colour plate page with the Adult, larva and a life size and some are tiny, and in case you were wondering Nephus bisignatus the length is 1.5mm-2mm and is black and the one record was in Rye Harbour, East Sussex in 1996.
References
Field Guide to the Ladybirds of Great Britain and Ireland, Roy, Brown and Lewington, Bloomsbury, 2018, ISBN HB: 978-1-4729-3567-0, PB: 978-1-4729-3568-7
As I saw my first Yellow Wagtail of the year this week I thought it might be good to explain a little about them and the ones you are likely to see in East Anglia.
There are three Wagtails you are likely to see, then there are different races, I say three although some would argue the second race of the pied should be classed a separate Wagtail would make it four wagtails you are likely to see.
There are two vagrant Wagtails that occasionally turn up on our shores, the Eastern Yellow Wagtail a rare vagrant from Asia of which there have been around 11 confirmed sightings in the last 100 years, the latest being Winter 2019 in North Norfolk, this male was still there in January of this year.
And another vagrant from Asia the Citrine wagtail, less than 350 records of this wagtail, mainly seen September to October most of which are on the coast or marshy areas so good chance if you are going to see one is in East Anglia.
But enough of the rare birds and lets look at the ones you are likely to see.
First the Pied Wagtail (Mortacilla alba) and the race yarrellii, is the one most common to Britain, black rump, long black and white tail, black legs, white face, in the Summer a black bib and Winter a black chest band, the male has a Black back and the female dark grey you will have seen this bird walking with a fast run and constantly bobbing it’s tail, can bee seen in large numbers in winter forming evening roosts on buildings like Supermarkets where I guess they are getting the heat from the buildings.
The White Wagtail which is the race alba is a frequent migrant of Continental Europe, grey rump, grey back, white/pale grey on the flanks and belly, sometimes can be confused with females of race yarrellii but can easier to identify in the Spring when the male has a defined line between black nape and the grey back. Unfortunately I do not have any White wagtail images but the female below would give you an idea on colouring to look for in a Male White wagtail the black bib on the front would be more defined into the grey and would extend up to the lower bill
The Grey Wagtail Motacilla cinerea is more associated fast running rivers, mill streams and clean rivers, in the Winter you have more chances of seeing them in the East Anglia where they will visit garden ponds and as I have seen them sewage works where insects are to be found on the filter beds. Do not be fooled by the name as this attractive bird is bright yellow underneath (sometimes mistaken as a Yellow Wagtail), the only wagtail with pale legs and the longest tail, slate grey above and yellow/green rump.
I have used an image of a young Grey Wagtail below, it is just getting the yellow below but this can be very vibrant on the adults in the Summer the male will have a black chin and the female will be white, some may think this young bird could be a young pied, but the main give away is the pale legs only found on the grey wagtail, all the other wagtails the legs are black.
The last wagtail you are likely to see in East Anglia and in large numbers especially near cattle is the Yellow Wagtail Motacilla flava this migrant will start appearing in April and will start to leave us in October, the race that breeds here in the summer is by far the most colourful, the British or Western Yellow Wagtail is race flavissima, Male is green above, Yellow face and underparts, female tends to be grey/ brown/olive above, yellow to buff underneath. They can be found in cereal fields, wet meadows and around cattle, usually seen running between the legs of the cattle as they stir up insects. there are various races of the Yellow Wagtail that you may be lucky enough to see, Blue-headed race flava is a one of the regular seen in Spring, Channel Wagtail which is a hybrid race flavissima/flava, Ashy-headed race cinereocapilla rare, Grey-headed race thunbergi rare, Black-headed race feldegg a vagrant. There is a very good article about Yellow Wagtails and how to identify the different forms in Birdwatch magazine May 2020 – issue 334 https://pocketmags.com/birdwatch-magazine.
Hopefully this has given you an idea of the Wagtails you are likely to see in East Anglia and now is the time you have the chance to see a more rare race, just to give you an idea of your chances a couple of years back whilst I was at work I looked out of the window and counted about 37 Yellow Wagtails all running around the grass following the cattle, I joked with a volunteer we need to find a Blue-headed one amongst them, 5 minutes later I had found one.
References Britain’s Birds, An identification guide to the birds of Britain and Ireland, Hume, Still, Swash, Harrop and Tipling, published 2016 ISBN 978-0-691-15889-1
It may be starting to feel a bit like Groundhog Day with social distancing and only being able to have one period of exercise a day in the form of a jog, cycle or as in my case a walk incorporating the dog’s first walk of the day, but at least we have been blessed with dry and warm weather these past few days. As I said in my blog yesterday my daily route is now becoming bit of a ‘ Local Patch’ with me, however it does amaze me although the route is the same and in cases at the moment so are some of the birds, Sedge warbler, Reed bunting, Whitethroat and I have never had a year where I have seen so many Grasshopper warblers.
But some birds and mammals are only making an appearance now and again, for instance there were no Roe deer today whereas I nearly always see at least two or three, for the second day in a row I saw Barn Owl but this is the only time in these last 14 days that I have seen two individuals, one of them appears to be slightly darker than the other and they were both hunting in separate areas.
The first and lighter of the two Barn Owls was at the 2 mile mark on my route, almost ghost like in the morning light, at first it was ahead of me along the footpath flying low along the bank, twice it dropped down on to the ground, perhaps it had managed to catch a vole?, but it seemed to take off again with out any reward, it then crossed the river and started coming towards me on the opposite bank, as it was almost level with me I had to shield my eyes against the rising sun which highlighted the Owls wing feathers making it all the more ghostly, a mallard drake on the footpath seemed curious as to what the Owl was looking for.
The Owl carried on North along the river looking for any movement below, it carried on until it reached the railway bridge then promptly turned and headed South again along the river, it paused at times in a slight hover and I watched it disappear along the opposite bank, I have been transfixed by the Owl and it was almost as if someone had turned a volume switch up as I became aware of the Sedge warblers and then a Grasshopper warbler.
This has almost become a daily game now locating the Grasshopper warbler, cup one ear, cover the other (stand on the dogs lead to make him stay) and located, there he was low in the vegetation turning his head from side to side, I am really loving this little warbler and I am wondering if this is a record year for them.
We got to the bridge that goes over a small dyke after locating another Grasshopper warbler, this is the point we turn back (Sammy now anticipates this), on the way back the Whitethroats are singing to my left, the Sedge and Grasshopper warblers to my right, just up ahead the distant call of a Cuckoo but no appearance this morning, we walk back along the path stopping now and then to look, listen and take in the morning as another day gradually wakes up around us, we cross the railway line at the small gated crossing, there are linnets on the path just on the other side of the crossing and a Whitethroat sings in the brambles.
We carry on along the path to the new bridge that takes the Ely Southern bypass over the railway lines and the river, as we emerge from underneath the bridge and walk beside a fenced off area of reedbed there is suddenly an alarmed call from an unseen Water rail and infact all the Sedge warblers have stopped singing, all of a sudden from behind us and to our right a Sparrowhawk flies low lazily over the reedbed to sit in a tree on the other edge. I am now a mile or so from where we turned round and I have retraced our route out and as I look in the distance there is the second, darker Barn owl hunting, almost a copy of the the first Barn owl in it’s pattern of hunting, unfortunately this one is also on the opposite bank and further ahead, but I am able to get close enough to get a photograph before it disappears Northwards over the road and along the river.
All in all another good walk to lift the spirits and face another day in lockdown, it is true that nature does give you a lift and hopefully more people have engaged with the wildlife and countryside close to them and I hope that it continues when all this is over, so I look forward to tomorrow and my daily dose of ‘natural medicine’ via my ‘Local Patch’.
We are now in week 5 of the coronavirus lock down and my daily exercise is the first of Sammy’s walk of the day (He now is down to two, one with me and one with my wife, Sammy is very confused). As we are only allowed to do this one period of exercise I have now found myself doing the same route and back every morning, weather permitting, the thing is I have now found myself making note of everything I see on this route and actually find myself pushing myself to see something new.
In Birder’s terms I unknowingly have now created my own Birdwatching Patch, the whole concept is you regularly visit an area local to yourself throughout the year, ideally one that is not used as a regular bird watching area by lots of other Birdwatchers and you record what species you see in that area, some competitive people actually form a birders patch league and compete on the species of birds they list in their Patch, I guess they announce the winner at the end of the year, some even restrict the area of a Patch to be no larger than 3km. I am afraid I am not that competitive so I will just make a list of the species seen on this walk.
I actually started walking this route on April 9th, and the first bird I saw was a leucistic blackbird (partial loss of pigmentation), that is if I start listing from my front door when I left to my return home which is all part of my ‘patch walk’ route.
Also on this morning I managed to see Wren and Reed bunting, and started to hear my first Sedge warblers of the year then actually saw them later into the walk, this was also the morning of two Barn Owls hunting, as well as keeping a mental note of what I am seeing I also try to take photographs to record as well.
So already on my first day of this route I had added a new bird to my year list, the following day as well as seeing Sedge warblers and Barn Owl again I was able to add Whitethroat to my Year list and a new one for this Patch route, I have found in the last 12 days that I have been able to walk this route (one day was far too wet, so Sammy got a more urban walk), I have been able to add new species mostly birds to my year list and this Patch list.
Not only does the Landscape change with Spring advancing and more leaves unfolding on the trees and hedgerows but so the sounds and the light seems to change everyday. Highlights for me so far have been Whinchat, Grasshopper warbler, Common tern and today a male Cuckoo, at first a call then a flypast. My list so far on this Patch route is:
Birds:
Barn Owl
Blackbird
Blue tit
Buzzard
Canada goose
Carrion crow
Cetti’s warbler
Chaffinch
Chiffchaff
Common tern
Coot
Cormorant
Cuckoo
Dunnock
House martin
Kestrel
Kingfisher
Goldfinch
Grasshopper warbler
Great crested grebe
Great tit
Grey heron
Greylag goose
Jackdaw
Lapwing
Linnet
Mallard
Meadow pipit
Moorhen
Mute swan
Pheasant
Red kite
Red-legged partridge
Reed bunting
Reed warbler
Rook
Sedge warbler
Shoveler
Song thrush
Stock dove
Stonechat
Whinchat
Whitethroat
Wood pigeon
Wren
Mammals:
Muntjac deer
Roe deer
I will leave you with a couple more Landscape images
Sometimes you can go a long time and not see a Wren, but these past few days I am seeing my fair share on my walks and in my garden, having said that I only usually see one in my garden but recently I have seen two, obviously this is busy time for all birds as they look for mates, build nests or as some of the early starters are doing feeding young.
The Wren however although small at 9 to 10.5cm seems to be the loudest and the most active. Often low in undergrowth they can be seen in ditches, gardens and sometimes in tops of bushes and trees.
Usually a singing wren will be seen with it’s tail cocked and the body appears to be tensed as it puts all it’s effort into singing, loud and vibrant, it’s song is a warble that is fast and ringing with a little trill at the end. Usually it gives a harsh rattle when it is disturbed or alarmed.
The Wren is widespread in the UK with around 8 million pairs, the interesting thing about this busy little bird is the nest building, the male will construct several nests which are globe-shaped and they can be located in walls, banks, trees, or as in my case this week a bird box, The nest is made from leaves, grass and moss. The female when she has chosen one from the several the male makes, lines it with feathers. A few years back my neighbour had a wren nest in the mouth of a wooden African face mask he had nailed to his fence, the same year I found a wrens nest in my clematis, obviously the female preferred the face mask over my clematis.
As well as using nest boxes for nesting at times Wrens will also use them in the winter for roosting, usually there will be more than one Wren in a box for warmth, the record being for the amount of Wrens found in a nestbox being 60.
All that effort by the male to make several nests may not be all for nothing as he may mate with other females, now considering each female lays up to 6 eggs and both parents feed the young he may have his work cut out especially as they will have two broods in a season.
Most people will also know the Wren as Jenny Wren and I am sure in different regions of the country they are known by other names, but in the book ‘Wild Life in East Anglia’ by W A Dutt, published in 1906 by Methuen & Co., 36 Essex Street W.C. London, he lists all the names the Wren was known by throughout East Anglia which I have listed below:
The Wren aka:
Ground Oven (also Chiffchaff) This may be because of the dome shaped nest
Oven Builder (also Chiffchaff) as above
Stag
Titmeg
Tittereen
Tom tit
The population of Wrens in the country is stable but during harsh winters numbers may fall drastically but they soon bounce back with having two broods a year.
I have had for a while a photo album that belonged to a Great Uncle, he was the brother of my paternal Grandfather, a lot of these photographs were from the First World War and the regiment he served in, but amongst them are images of people from local areas and also some local towns and villages.
The above image is titled in the Album ‘Allenby Own Light Horse’, from what I can make out my Great Uncle was in the ‘Suffolks’ and a few of his images seem to be in Tuddenham and Ipswich, so I am guessing this may be Tuddenham or another village.
I know there is another Tuddenham near Ipswich, Tuddenham St Martin, but from the image above I was able to identify the village in the photographs as Tuddenham St Mary, which is near Barton Mills and Mildenhall also Cavenham Heath National Nature Reserve which is always worth a visit.
The above two images are also just labeled Tuddenham, I do not know if anyone would be able to locate these buildings in the village today, but the top one looks like the houses are fairly new at the time compared to the bottom picture, but what brings this image to life is the two girls in the doorway.
The next photo is again in Suffolk and Christchurch park Ipswich, by the look of the trees it may have been taken in Springtime, certainly interesting to see the dress of the two young girls here.
The Above image was actually a postcard sent by my Great Uncle to my Great Grandmother, it looks like he may have been in Peterborough as part of his enlistment or training, below is the reverse of the postcard, which actually gives the name and address of where he was staying in Peterborough.
I do not know if it is a bit of black humour on my Great Uncles part but it did seem a bit odd to send your Mother a postcard of a cemetery.
The next image above is a German gun captured by the Suffolks, what I find interesting here is the building, obviously somewhere in Suffolk, perhaps someone would recognise that door or building, I wonder whatever happened to that Gun?.
The Above Photo is my Grandfather and Grandmother, Grandfather died in 1945 after an accident at sea on his fishing boat, but what I like about this image is the landscape, I am going to guess that this was taken at Pulham st Mary, near Harleston in Norfolk as my Aunt ( My Father’s sister ) married into a farming family here, but it is the field they are standing in and the amount of flowers there, a glimpse back at one of the many meadows that we had in East Anglia.
I am going to finish up with images of local people in the album, unfortunately I do not know who they are but someone out there is obviously related to these people and you never know I may have an image of a relative you have never seen before.
And last but not least, My Grandfather
So we are all having to stay at home during this pandemic that is sweeping the globe at this point in time, like me you have more than likely had to cancel trips away, or visiting friends and relatives, perhaps you are missing that nature reserve just down the road which unfortunately can not be classed as essential travel.
Unfortunately this morning was not that great, bit of a damp start so Mine and Sammy’s walk was more urban, so I thought it may be a chance to look back on this months last year and share some East Anglian images of Landscape and Wildlife.
The Above image are of Black-tailed Godwits at WWT Welney, these are the Icelandic race Islandia and most of these birds are in Summer plumage, you will see large numbers of these Godwits in the Winter, whereas in the Summer at Welney there will be the European race Limosa, numbers of this race have been falling over the years so much so that there is Project Godwit which aim is to increase the productivity of black-tailed godwits at the Nene and Ouse Washes so that the population can begin to recover.
The Male Chaffinch above singing his heart out, this image was taken at Leiston in Suffolk, Usually his voice is a ringing ‘pink’ or a more boring sounding ‘suit’ very common resident with around 5 million pairs.
Swallows again in Suffolk, these have more than likely just arrived from their long journey in Southern Africa, it always amazes me that days ago they would have been flying around Elephants catching flies and then after an arduous journey traveling over deserts and seas here they are, looking at the long tail feathers these are more than likely males, ready to impress the female swallows, it seems to be the longer the tail feathers the females are more attracted to the male.
Again taken in Suffolk, a typical Farmland bird always loved seeing these a child cycling around the country lanes of Suffolk, males can be very bright yellow and summer days always seemed to be full of their high metallic song.
Back to Norfolk and WWT Welney where these Common terns are ready to start nesting, another Summer visitor from April to October, numbers in the region of 15,000 pairs, found mostly Coasts, inland lakes and rivers these will have arrived from West Africa.
Cambridgeshire and Wicken Fen, the hobby was one of many I saw that day, scarce Summer migrant usually following the Swallows and Martins to the UK, seen April to September numbers will be around 1,000 to 3,000 pairs. they can be seen as an aerial performer especially when chasing dragonflies.
To finish today here are four of my favourite images of the month in 2019.
As I have been posting images of the landscape and wildlife of social media I have had a few comments that the images were helping people with Identification, it was suggested I should produce a website, but then it dawned on me I had not used my blog for a long time so decided I would put the images on here.
As we are all in lockdown at the moment due to Covid-19 and I like the rest of you are only managing to get out once a day for exercise, this is combined with Sammy’s (my Border Collie or should that be Birder Collie) first walk of the day, (His second and last walk of the day much to his disgust is tea time with my wife) I am trying to make the most of it recording and photographing what I see.
This morning was a bit windy but bright as we headed off for our walk along the river, over the past few days along this route there has been quite a bit of Sedge warbler noise and a few sightings, however a couple of days ago I detected the distant sound of a Grasshopper warbler, on that day I did not see it as they are very elusive. Two days later I heard two calling and the second one was very close although it seemed to be behind me, knowing how they turn their heads as they sing which gives them the ability to almost throw their voice I adopted a tip I was told for locating them, cover one ear and cup the other, sure enough it was not behind but in front almost at 12 o’clock to where I was standing, I strained my eyes looking into the sun but could not find it, then all of a sudden to my left at more 10 o’clock I saw it and managed to get a fleeting image before it ducked down in the vegetation.
The following morning the same again, Sedge warblers and Grasshopper warblers calling but only the Sedge warblers were showing. However this morning was going to be better. I was only thinking as I walked along the path there was not much about as there had been previous mornings, was it the fact it seemed to be more cooler and windy?, but I was wrong as I walked along the path the first thing I saw ahead was a Red kite flying from the hedge on my right, then I noticed the Reed warblers singing, the first I had heard this year, not as harsh as the Sedge warbler and as luck would have it there was one to my left.
Along with a Cetti’s warbler and the Whitethroat singing things were looking up, Further along the path near to where I had the sighting of the Grasshopper warbler before it started singing again this time right in front I was sure of it, and after a couple of minutes I found him in a low tussock of grass almost hidden.
Again I managed to get a quick picture before he ducked down and this time I was going to wait, eyes fixed firmly on the Spot he went down, I waited for him to reappear to get another image, but then suddenly he was singing again but where?, not where I had last seen him, he had moved and I missed it, he was now to my right, again I managed to spot him closer than ever and as slow as I could and telling Sammy to not move I managed to get another photo.
Perfect, I could see him moving his head side to side whilst this constant reeling call (Not really a song) was going up and down in volume it seemed at times the nearby Sedge warblers competed with their Scratchy singing but the Grasshopper Warbler overpowered them as his head faced me.
All in all a good walk, with Cetti’s warbler, Grasshopper warbler, Reed warbler, Sedge warbler, Chiffchaff, Whitethroat and Blackcap all singing if not all showing.
Does not seem possible last week saw me on the Suffolk coast and experiencing the last of the Summer with blue skies and 20c, it made the early morning walks along the beach that much more better for seeing flocks of linnets and migrating wheatears.
Looking south from Beanacre to SouthwoldThe first morning I encountered the migrating Wheatears was as I walked from Kessingland to Benacre with Sammy my border collie as we walked around the back of the small lake or Broad as it is known along the footpath amongst the bracken and ling you eventually have the option to get back on the beach which I usually do to head back to Kessingland, this morning as we approached the beach two Wheatear took off from the beach and flew South but for a few metres before one of them suddenly stopped and suddenly started to hover, I had never seen them do this before and was amazed when the second one also joined it and started to hover as well, both were next to each other hovering for a minute or so before flying off south along the beach.
I kicked myself for not having my camera ready to catch the hovering Wheatears, but ensured every time I walked along the beach from that morning to have my camera ready.
Although I never did encounter any more hovering Wheatear, I did see them everyday, from one or two every morning to up to three in the afternoon, some Male and Females and Juvenile obviously all on their migration South.
WheatearEvery morning I saw lots of Swallows and House martins gathering on the telegraph wires on the campsite I was staying, a couple of morning there was panic amongst these birds as a Sparrowhawk would come in from the East with the rising Sun behind it, I saw this happen at about the same time every morning, usually an unsuccessful raid by the Sparrowhawk who always ended this flight by seeking cover in the same tree. One morning I saw a Hobby heading inland from the beach obviously using the same tactic of the rising Sun behind it to surprise prey. These were just two of the dangers the Swallows and House martins are sure to encounter on their migration but hopefully they will survive to return next year.
It was with a heavy heart I had to return home from my few days back home on the Suffolk coast, and all the more tinged with sadness as on that last morning there were no Swallows or Martins on the wires, it was as if we had all managed to enjoy those last rays of Summer and said farewell to our Summer visitors until next Spring, but now as Autumn settles in we can look forward to saying Hello to our Winter visitors as the arrive to enjoy out more ‘Mild’ Winter.
So it only leaves me to share with you a few images of the last Rays of Summer on the Suffolk coast.
Sunrise from Kessingland
Benacre looking North to Kessingland
Kessingland beach
Meadow pipit
Wheatear
Wheatear
East Anglia the Wildlife, Landscape and People. 