Yesterday morning I took the train to Manningtree and met my brother at the station, originally planning to wander around the Manningtree/Mistley area but when I got to the station I suggested we might want to go along the river to the west, out to Flatford. I'd heard cuckoos there before and since my sighting in Writtle my brother has been saying that he hadn't heard one... he soon agreed when I suggested there was a possibility that there could be some over there!
Before I left the platform I'd seen Chaffinches, Whitethroats, Rooks, Carrion Crows and rabbits and as we walked along the trackway to the river we also saw Swifts, Pied Wagtails, Wrens, Canada Geese, Dunnocks, Blackbirds and more Rooks, this time feeding youngsters in a field. At the river where the path junction takes you left to Flatford we could hear more Whitethroat, Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers (according to my brother... I can't yet id Reedies by their song), and yet more Chaffinches on the posts nearby.
Turning left we could see Rooks flying back and forth, there must be a rookery nearby but I'm not sure where, plus Canada Geese, Grey Herons and Cormorants flying overhead. Sedge Warblers and Reed Warblers were calling from the reeds nearby and on the river we could see Shelducks, Oystercatchers and Mallards. Reed Buntings were flying in pairs from the reeds, sweeping high into the air before plunging down into the reeds again, calling to each other as they flew. Pheasants were heard too, out of sight in the fields to the left, while cows were lowing in the pasture across the river.
As we approached Flatford we could hear a Cuckoo in the distance, lovely to hear one again, particularly now knowing my brother had finally had heard one. We saw lots more Whitethroats and Reed Buntings here, one Whitethroat hunting caterpillars in a hawthorn had six wrigglers in it's beak and was still hunting for more! We sat down at the wooden portage near the mill and watched the ducks on the river, a female steaming along with a trail of ducklings in her wake and two male Mallards coming to us in hope of a little food and nibbling our fingers as we gave them some crumbs from a cereal bar.
At the millpond Swallows were zipping around, flying amongst the buildings, across the water and through a gap in the hedge to the field beyond, coming extremely close to us as we stood on the track! Always a wonderful sight, we spent some time enjoying the spectacle, then walked out a little way along the river path that leads to Dedham, watching more ducks and ducklings, a Great Spotted Woodpecker in the trees and attempting, not very successfully, to photograph the Swallows on the wing. Turning back we stopped at the lock gates to watch a pair of Grey Wagtails flitting around, gathering the many flies that hung above the water and seemingly playing chase with each other. All the time the Cuckoo was calling in the distance and we could hear its calls moving around.
Back along the track towards the concrete river gates we caught sight of the Cuckoo flying from the west behind the Willows, perching in a tall tree out of sight and calling once more. We moved around along a side path that followed the river and managed a few glimpses of the Cuckoo moving about from tree to tree. Lots of Orange Tip butterflies and damselflies and dragonflies too, a really nice spot. Walking back to the river gates my brother spotted some Linnets, Reed Buntings and Whitethroats in the reeds and brambles behind the gates so we spent a little time trying to photograph those before walking back along the path towards the train station, spotting a very distant wader down at the river's edge which I think was a Redshank and also a brief glimpse of a Yellowhammer along the hedgerows.
Sedge Warbler
No comments:
Post a Comment