Editor: Sadly this is Philip’s last article for the Harrier (at least for the time being?) as his growing workload means something had to give - unfortunately it was his regular ‘Looking Back’ articles. As far as I can tell his first ‘Looking Back’ appeared at the close of 2006, and the subsequent 30 contributions form an impressive record - perhaps someone else would like to step into his shoes? So I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Philip on behalf of all SOG members for his sterling efforts with his quarterly salutary reminder of just how many birds have been lost over the last twenty-five and fifty years. Speaking personally it always spurs me on with my conservations efforts. Well done Philip.
Philip Murphy
Looking Back – January to March 1964 and 1989 Selected highlights from the 1964 and 1989 Suffolk Birds reports for the period January to March. 50 years ago In direct contrast with the almost-legendary conditions of early 1963, the weather was generally very mild in the first quarter of 1964 up until mid-March, when colder weather arrived in Suffolk. Hard weather species scarce Given the above information, it is not too surprising to learn that hard-weather species were rather scarce. Only two Smew and one Long-tailed Duck were located. Maximum counts on the Orwell Estuary included only 30 Goldeneye and twelve Red-breasted Mergansers. The peak count of Brent Geese was of up to 500 on the Orwell Estuary; that is well below modern-day totals. Havergate Island attracted 250 Whitefronted Geese and, exceptionally for the 1960s, 40 Greylag Geese. Bewick’s Swans were described as being “exceptionally numerous” – a herd 2 of 149 at Bradwell, 6th March was, at the time, the largest ever recorded in Suffolk.
Unfortunately, the most notable seabird records all involved dead individuals – Leach’s Petrel away from the immediate vicinity of the coast at Henham, late January, Manx Shearwater, Minsmere, 21st February and Puffin, Shingle Street, 13th March.
2 This is just one of several collective nouns for swans, others include ‘a game of swans’, ‘a wedge’ and, my personal favourite, the evocative ‘a whiteness of swans’.
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THE HAR R I ER – M a r ch 2 0 1 4
