Eastbridge .............................................................................. Val Lockwood

Field Trip Reports

Val Lockwood

Eastbridge

Sunday 30th April Leader: David Walsh

There was a good turnout for the meeting (19 members and the Leader), which had a relatively early start time of 7am. Those group members who arrived early heard Cuckoo from the car park. David ran through the H&S risks and described the planned route for those new to the area. It was a breezy morning and the wind was cold, so most members put on warm coats before setting off. Even as we were leaving the car park a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew over and we heard a Tawny Owl and soon added Chiffchaff, Goldcrest, Whitethroat and three tit species to the list. Some members at the front of the party were fortunate enough to see a male Bullfinch feeding on the rough heathland area at the top of Saunder’s Hill – we commented on how unusual it was to see a Bullfinch on the ground. There were several other species seen from the hill; those of note were Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Buzzard, two Mistle Thrushes, and an elusive Nightingale was heard singing. As we walked towards the road a Med Gull was spotted flying over the brow of the hill and Skylarks and Meadow Pipits were flushed by gulls and corvids. We pressed on to the other side of the road picking up several other species, and by now the temperature was rising. We saw our first butterfly of the day – a speckled wood. As we walked through the woods a member of the group asked a question about the significance of and need for tree felling on the heath. The Leader asked one of the group to explain this to us all, which he did, following which we spotted an RSPB sign detailing pretty much the same information, resulting in giggles all round! Those who had opted to wear warm coats earlier were beginning to regret their choice of attire when the breeze abated and the temperature rose, along with our expectations of seeing Dartford Warbler. Moving on to Dunwich Heath, those at the front of the party saw two Woodlarks fly up and disappear from view. This worked to our advantage as whilst we were looking for the Woodlark we picked up close views of a Dartford Warbler and Stonechat. A National Trust ranger asked what we had seen and stressed the importance of keeping to the paths especially during the breeding season and we were pleased to hear that there were 33 pairs of Dartford Warblers on the heath. As not much had been reported and time was moving on, we decided to postpone the sea watch until after we had visited East Hide and the public viewing platform. Birds of note that we were pleased to see included Common, Sandwich and Little Tern. Kittiwake and Bar-tailed Godwits were resplendent in their summer plumage and the highlight was being able to compare a beautiful Red Knot with one of the Bar-tailed Godwits as they fed together side by side. The Grey Plovers were also worthy of mention, especially one which was in magnificent summer plumage. Sea watching proved hard and fruitless work so we turned our attention to Lucky Pool and those who hadn’t seen Swifts from East Hide were rewarded with even closer views than had been had previously as they sped over the pool with Swallows and Sand Martins. A