David & Margie Carter
Moving West to East… We have recently moved from Brettenham into Stowmarket and in doing so have crossed the border into East Suffolk. We had lived at our previous address for over 40 years and had amassed a decent garden list of over 110 different bird species. Garden sightings over the years have included: Wryneck, Yellow-browed Warbler (on two separate occasions), Black Redstart, Firecrest, Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Waxwing.
Tawny, Barn and Little Owl have all been seen in the garden as well as more exotic species such as Peacock, Guineafowl and Ring-necked Parakeet.
Brettenham is situated in the centre of Suffolk and is the third highest place above sea level in the county, which could explain the number of raptor species we have recorded. We looked out over open farmland with woods in the distance and have seen Osprey, Honey Buzzard, both Marsh and Hen Harrier as well as Red Kites, Buzzards and this year a Montagu’s Harrier fly over.
What will we miss the most? That’s easy: the Spotted Flycatchers that came every year and nested on the house or nearby.
A natural pond in the garden attracted Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail, Teal and Mandarin. Our other sightings included Snipe, Woodcock, Whinchat, Redstart and Stonechat.
Photo: David & Margie Carter
However we now look forward to establishing a new garden list here on the outskirts of Stowmarket and have already had regular visits from Treecreeper, Goldcrest, Marsh Tit and even a Grey Wagtail that dropped in briefly.
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