A Private Tour to the Brecks today. Early spring is the best time of year to visit this interesting region, with its selection of scarcer or very localised birds. We had a particular target to try to find Lesser Spotted Woodpecker this morning. We succeeded – so if anyone wants to try to see this rapidly declining species then please let us know. That was despite rather disappointing weather today – grey, misty and cool all day (we had been promised sunny intervals!), until it started to drizzle later in the afternoon.
We met extra early this morning, as we were looking for woodpeckers. Yesterday morning, we had seen one here a little after 7am. As we walked down along the path on the riverbank, we flushed a couple of Common Crossbills from the bushes on the edge of the water. They flew up and landed low in the trees ahead of us.
Several Mandarin Ducks flew round through the trees and up and down the river. While we stood and listened, we found a couple of Redwings perched in the trees and a male Brambling flew in and landed in the tops with some Chaffinches. There were lots more Crossbills flying in and out of the trees too.
We could hear several Great Spotted Woodpeckers calling and drumming, and a Green Woodpecker yaffling. After about 45 minutes, we picked up the distant sound of a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker drumming too. It sounded like it was in the trees back along the bank so we started to walk back in that direction.
We hadn’t got very far when we saw the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker fly out of the trees ahead of us. It came past us and appeared to drop down towards the birches further back, but we lost sight of it behind the trees closer to the path. We stood for a few minutes and scanned and listened but it had gone quiet now.
The mission today was mainly about year listing, so we decided not to hang around to see if we could get better views. As we walked back along the river, we cut across and into the edge of the forest. It didn’t take long to find a pair of Woodlarks feeding quietly on the short grass by the edge of the trees.
We normally go looking for Goshawks at this time of the year but the weather was all wrong for seeing them today. It was still a bit early for peak activity too, so we decided to try to catch up with Hawfinches at Lynford next (we would normally go there in the afternoon). While we stopped to get a quick coffee at the Shepherd’s Baa, a smart male Crossbill was singing from the top of one of the larches opposite.
A quick stop at the gate produced a couple of Yellowhammers with the Chaffinches down in the leaves. There were yet more Crossbills and Siskins in the trees above.
When we arrived at the paddocks, there was no sign of any Hawfinches at first. While we stood and scanned the trees in the middle, we picked up a small woodpecker feeding in the branches. Another Lesser Spotted Woodpecker! A female, we had some good views of it through the scope for several minutes before it disappeared round the back of the trees.
This used to be a regular site for Lesser Spotted Woodpecker but this is the first we have seen here for over 10 years. Very interesting that they continue to cling on in the area, possibly in the nearby Stanford Battle Area where there is no access and they could live undetected. Perhaps reassuring that there might still be hope for the species continued survival here.
After all that excitement, it was a little more routine when a Hawfinch appeared in the tops of the trees. On our way back, we stopped again at the gate and had another Hawfinch there, in the top of the trees behind the orchard. A couple of Nuthatches were in the pines behind the Shepherd’s Baa now.
We had a quick drive round next to see some Stone Curlews which had just returned to the fields in the last few days.
It was now 11am, but the weather was still very misty. At least there was a bit more of a breeze now, but no sign of the promised brightness this morning. We made our way over to a high point overlooking the forest just to see if there was any raptor activity. Nothing – not a great surprise given the conditions. Three Woodlarks came up from the field behind and one started singing briefly.
We stayed for about half an hour, then decided to cut our losses. If the weather happened to brighten up this afternoon, which was looking increasingly unlikely, we could always make a quick dash somewhere suitable for Goshawks. We had done very well for all the other Brecks and Forest specialities this morning, so we headed over to Lakenheath Fen.
After a quick break for lunch, we walked out to the Washland Viewpoint. There were lots of ducks out on the water – Wigeon, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal and Tufted Duck. A Great White Egret was over in one corner and a couple of Canada Geese in another. We were secretly hoping there might be an early Sand Martin, but it was not the weather for it today. The cloud seemed to be getting progressively thicker.
As we walked on up the bank, a couple of Greenfinches flew round and landed in the trees behind the photo station. We added Little Egret, a small group of Stonechats, and Marsh Harrier to the day’s list.
Cutting in to New Fen Viewpoint, there were just a few Gadwall, Greylags, Coot and a Little Grebe out on the water. Pressing on to Mere Hide, we were hoping for Kingfisher but we could see from the sightings board that they aren’t coming in at the moment. We decided to continue on to Joist Fen while the weather held.
As we walked on along the track, all the Greylags came up from the paddocks. Then we picked up two Common Cranes flying up too and watched as they dropped down the other side of the railway. We could see one of the warden’s vehicles driving through the paddocks now – they had done us a favour in flushing the Cranes!
Scanning from Joist Fen Viewpoint, there were a few Marsh Harriers up over the back of the reedbed. It was not really the weather for Bitterns today, so we decided to walk back before the rain arrived. Back along the river bank, a Water Rail squealed from the reeds. Just when we thought we wouldn’t see one today, we found a Grey Heron just beyond the Washland viewpoint.
Cutting back to the Visitor Centre, we got back to the minibus just as it started to spit with rain. Apart from the Goshawks, it had been a very successful day in the Brecks, Thetford Forest and the edge of the Fens.
