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A Suffolk Lane

~ A diary of my life in rural north Suffolk.

A Suffolk Lane

Tag Archives: Minsmere

Highlights from 2016 – Spring

27 Sun Nov 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in art, Days out, music, plants, Rural Diary, Uncategorized, wild flowers

≈ 58 Comments

Tags

bluebells, flour, mill, mill pond, Minsmere, Pakenham Watermill, sculpture, The Albert Memorial, The Royal Albert Hall, The Victoria and Albert Museum, This is How it Feels Inspiral Carpets, wedding, wild flowers

This, as promised in my previous post, is the first of my ‘highlight’ posts in which I will let you know some of the things we managed to do this year and will provide photos and links when and where necessary.

Just after Easter we went to the wedding of my dear friend Wendy and her husband John’s daughter Jennifer to her fiancé David.  The wedding took place in the lovely church of St David in the village of Groes Faen in south Wales.  We were delighted to be included in their family celebration, just as we had been when Jen’s older sister Vicky (my God-daughter) was married a few years ago.  The reception was at the Pencoed House Estate, a beautiful manor house in lovely grounds.  I was fortunate to be seated next to Wendy’s mother-in-law, Rene; she and her late husband Don had been so kind to me and Alice when my first marriage broke up.  I was so sorry to hear that she died just a few weeks ago.  I had been unable to take any photos at the wedding so was very pleased to receive a thank-you card from Jen and David which had photos from their wedding on it.  I have scanned it and chosen one of the photos but it hasn’t come out very well.

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ooOOoo

This next gallery of photos is just a reminder of what we have to look forward to in the  spring!

Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood
Bluebell wood

I love bluebells (Hyacinthoides non-scripta) so I took a little detour on my way home from my mother’s house at the beginning of May so that I could see the flowers just outside the village of Withersdale Street.

ooOOoo

I have mentioned Pakenham Watermill before in my blog.  It is where we go to buy the best wholemeal flour which I use to make bread.

p1000225pakenham-mill

Pakenham Watermill

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The rear of the building.  We visited on a perfect morning in May.

p1000213pakenham-mill

The mill with mill-pond

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There are lots of House martin (Delichon urbica) nests under the eaves

p1000209sculpture-at-pakenham-mill

Bird sculpture in the garden

p1000211pakenham

The mill pond

ooOOoo

At about this time I visited Minsmere RSPB Reserve as I wanted to buy something from their shop.  While I was there I thought I would quickly walk through the woods to see what I could see.

p1000226bluebells-at-minsmere

Bluebells again!

Bluebells
Bluebells
Blue bluebells and white bluebells!
Blue bluebells and white bluebells!
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Common vetch (Vicia sativa)

p1000229minsmere-common-storks-bill

Common stork’s-bill (Erodium cicutarium)

I don’t remember ever having seen this flower before despite it being ‘common’.  The seed-heads can be seen next to the flowers and their shape gives the plant it’s name.

p1000233minsmere-changing-forget-me-not

Changing forget-me-not (Myosotis discolor)

The flowers are tiny and very difficult to photograph.  When they first open they are yellow but soon change to blue.  The plant especially likes to grow on sandy soil.

p1000232minsmere-shepherds-cress

Shepherd’s-cress (Teesdalia nudicaulis)

This is another plant I don’t remember having noticed before, but that is not surprising because it is very low growing and not especially exciting to look at.  You can see a wood-ant (10 mm long) towards the bottom right of the photo which gives you some idea of the size of the flowers which are about 2 mm across – two of the four petals of the flower are longer than the other two.  The seeds are heart-shaped and a few can be seen at the top of the photo.  The leaves in the basal rosette are lobed and can also be seen at the top-centre.  Their shape reminds me of pasta servers.

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Common sorrel (Rumex acetosa) creating red patches on the rising ground. Gorse (Ulex europaeus) can be seen flowering in the bushes on the sky-line.

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Wavy bitter-cress (Cardamine flexuosa) – so-called because it’s stem is wavy rather than straight!

p1000238minsmere

Rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum)

Rhododendron has naturalised and become invasive in many places.  It is unwelcome as it reduces biodiversity and is very difficult to eradicate because it produces new shoots from its roots.  This link speaks more about the plant.

p1000241minsmere-bugloss

Bugloss (Anchusa arvensis)

This plant is very hairy and has interesting wavy-edged leaves.  The flowers are a lovely intense blue colour.

ooOOoo

Elinor wasn’t able to join her art and design group on their trip to London in April so a few weeks later Richard and I took her there ourselves.  We visited the Victoria and Albert Museum and Elinor chose to study the exhibits in the cast works gallery and the sculpture galleries.

Trajan's column - lower

Trajan’s column – lower

Trajan's column - upper

Trajan’s column – upper

Someone took a plaster-cast of the whole of Trajan’s column!  The column is 30 m / 98 ft tall (with the pedestal it is 35 m / 115 ft tall).  Its diameter is 37 m / 12.1 ft.  This cast is now invaluable to scholars because the original column has become very weathered and the figures cannot easily be studied.

p1000255german-medieval-carving

I love this medieval carving from Germany! The details of the knight’s journey are exquisitely worked. There are trees, people and small creatures, buildings, a dragon and a princess to be rescued! It was difficult to get a decent photo because of the reflections off the glass case.  I also forgot to make a note of the artist and couldn’t find the piece when I went on the museum’s website.

p1000256crving

‘A Bishop Saint’ by Sir Alfred Gilbert 1899.  This bishop’s gentle expression appealed to me very much.

p1000257sculpture

‘The Virgin with the Laughing Child’ probably by Antonio Rossellino ca. 1465.  I could look at this statuette for ever! It is so intimate and loving! Look at the way the mother is holding her little boy on her knee with his leg between her forefinger and middle finger, her other hand on his tummy and his hand on hers.

After leaving the museum we decided to walk to Hyde Park and relax there for a short time before catching our train home.

p1000258albert-hall

The Royal Albert Hall – a beautiful building and an excellent concert hall

p1000261albert-memorial

Opposite the Royal Albert Hall is the Albert Memorial

ooOOoo

That’s it for the time being!  I will leave you with my music choice, ‘This Is How It Feels’ by Inspiral Carpets, remembering Craig Gill (drums) who died on Tuesday 22 November 2016

Thanks for visiting!

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All Change!

06 Sun Mar 2016

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, family, Norwich, plants, Rural Diary, trees, walking, weather

≈ 70 Comments

Tags

Crockham Hill, Dog's Mercury, family life, funeral, fungus, House renovations, Kent, lesser celandine, lichen, Lords and Ladies, Minsmere, moss, Norwich Railway Station, Peterborough Mosque, plants, presents, The Fens, trees, Tyrrels Wood, woodland

We have had a very busy few weeks here with very little time for relaxation.  We are all rather tired and stressed and could do with a holiday (or a few weeks at home with nothing to do!), though there is little chance of that just yet.

All the planned work in this first phase of house renovation has been done and we are very pleased with the results.  The new windows, doors and garage doors are looking good and the house and garage are feeling much warmer.  We still have a little sorting out to do in the garage and a few more trips to the tip and charity shops with the things we no longer need.  There is a little room at the back of the garage which had a toilet and wash-hand basin in it which we never used.  We had the plumbing removed shortly after Christmas and Richard painted the room last week.  He has bought some shelves for it and we hope it will be a good storage room for the bird-seed and fruit and vegetables.  It has a window which we hope to brick up and put in a vent in its place.  For now we will put a screen against the window to prevent the light getting in.

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Potatoes chitting on the garage window-sill. Note the new window!

We worked very hard to get the house ready for the work and it was worth the trouble we took.  Most of the time there was just one window fitter – a very pleasant, hard-working man who was so proficient and tidy it was a pleasure to have him here.  He let us know which rooms he would be working on during the following day so we prepared by moving furniture and covering everything we could with dust sheets.  While he worked on one room we got the next ready and so we progressed round the house.  He was here for five days and on his last day with us he was joined by a colleague and together they replaced the Velux window in Elinor’s room.  It was unfortunate that the weather wasn’t very nice that day with snow, sleet, hail and rain showers and it took some time for Elinor’s room to warm up again.  We supplied the men with plenty of hot tea to help them keep warm!

I washed, dried and ironed lots of pairs of curtains and also took the opportunity to launder other furnishings too.  I feel I made a good start to my spring cleaning!

Elinor took her two mock maths GCSE exams the same week that we had most of the window work done.  (She is re-taking her maths because the grade she got last year wasn’t good enough).  She also handed in her art project work that she had been working on since Christmas.  She got a pass mark for the art (there are only two marks she could have got – a pass or a referral) and she got a ‘C’ for her maths which has pleased us all.  If she gets a ‘C’ grade when she takes her exams for real in the summer it will mean she has the minimum grade all colleges and employers demand.  She won’t ever have to go to a Maths class again or take any more maths exams.  (A sigh of relief from Elinor!)

DSCN0207Crockham Hill

View from Crockham Hill churchyard.

I now feel I must say how much I appreciated all your kindnesses when I spoke of the death of my aunt – I was most touched; thank-you.  The funeral went very well and was a very satisfying celebration of her life.  It was good to see my brother, sister and all my cousins and their families and to re-visit Kent and Crockham Hill, the village where my Aunt Marie and Uncle Fred lived for so many years.  Aunt Marie had moved away into sheltered accomodation after Uncle Fred died.

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Aunt Marie and Uncle Fred

It was sleeting and snowing as I set off for my brother’s house that morning and that continued until my brother had driven us to the Suffolk/Essex border when the clouds began to break up.  When we got to Westerham in Kent where we stopped for coffee, the sun had come out.  My cousin had arranged a lovely buffet meal for us all after the funeral in The Royal Oak, Uncle Fred’s local pub.

The Fens in Cambridgeshire seen from the window of the train I took to Sheffield.

The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window
The Fens seen from a train window

I travelled to Sheffield by train so that I could see Alice in her production of Agatha Christie’s ‘And Then There Were None’.  The play was excellently performed by all the cast and I enjoyed it very much.  I stayed at Alice’s house overnight and met one of her housemates and also Alice’s cat, Mona.  Alice and I breakfasted in the city next morning before I caught my train back home.

DSCN0221Peterborough

The Mosque in Peterborough seen from the train

DSCN0208Norwich Station

Norwich Railway Station

DSCN0211Norwich Station

These life-size figures stand outside the station and are rather a disparate group.  Admiral Lord Nelson on the left; born in Norfolk and was a great Naval commander during the Napoleonic Wars and was killed during the Battle of Trafalgar – Edith Cavell; born in Norfolk and was executed during WW1 for helping allied soldiers escape from occupied Belgium – Stephen Fry; born in London though grew up in Norfolk and is an actor, writer, presenter, activist and ‘National Treasure’.

I saw quite a lot of my mother during the middle of February as she had a number of appointments to keep ( two hospital appointments in Norwich and two with her local doctor) and a fair amount of shopping to do.  Elinor and I had a meeting at her college to discuss her support needs for her next academic year and to deal with any support problems she has this year. I had been looking forward to Elinor’s half-term holiday but as the window replacement carried on into that week and as we had other duties to perform it wasn’t as restful as I’d hoped.  Elinor had a hair appointment on the Thursday and we had planned to go with her and have lunch out in the city.  Unfortunately, I woke with a migraine and had to spend most of the day in bed.  Richard took Elinor to Norwich and they had lunch in a café.  Richard brought me back a lovely couple of presents.

DSCN0227My presents

My presents!

I love the design on the tote bag!  It is by the artist Amelia Bowman and is a view across the roofs of the market towards the castle. The book is also just what I need for my visits to the churches in the city.

We have managed two short walks; one at the RSPB reserve at Minsmere and the other in Tyrrels Wood which lies to the north of Diss and Harleston in Norfolk.  Neither of the walks were particularly interesting but we were out in the fresh (very fresh and cold!) air and were taking some exercise.

Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
Minsmere trees
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Richard at Minsmere

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Minsmere reedbeds

A slideshow of some small but quite interesting things!

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Our walk in Tyrrels Wood was less pleasant as it was so very muddy and we were disappointed by the state it was in.  There was a quantity of litter in the wood, especially near the entrance and it was obvious that the wood is used by dog-walkers.  We had to watch where we walked!  In this country it is illegal to allow one’s dog to foul a public area and not clean up after it.  I am surprised that a large organisation like the Woodland Trust is happy to leave the wood in this condition.

DSCN0247

The spotted leaves of Lords and Ladies/Jack-in-the-Pulpit (Arum maculatum) next to Dog’s Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)

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Lesser Celandine (Ranunculus ficaria) also with Dog’s Mercury

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Tyrrels Wood

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An ancient coppice stool. This group of trees was once one tree but through repeated coppicing (cutting back the tree to near ground level to let new shoots re-grow) it has become a group of trees with a shared root system.

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The bark patterns on this tree are interesting.

And now for my music selection!  A little trip down memory lane to the summer of 1978 when I was nearly 20 years old and fancy-free.

Thanks for visiting!

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An Autumn Walk at Minsmere.

29 Thu Oct 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in Days out, plants, Rural Diary, trees, walking

≈ 30 Comments

Tags

autumn, fungus, lichen, Minsmere, plants, ponds, RSPB reserve, Suffolk, trees, walking

We took advantage of a dry but cloudy afternoon earlier this week to walk through the woods at Minsmere.  To those of you who don’t know, Minsmere is an RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) wildlife reserve situated on the coast in Suffolk.  We didn’t see many birds, though as the afternoon wore on and the crowds of visitors began to leave we began to hear more birdsong.

IMG_5857Sand martin burrows

The cliff behind the visitor centre with Sand Martin (Delichon urbica) burrows. I’m not sure what the larger holes are – probably rabbit burrows.

We went first to the ponds behind the visitor centre to see if there was any sign of the Bird’s-nest fungus that was discovered there last year.  I looked but didn’t see any though that doesn’t mean it wasn’t there!  I did see some lichen on the decking.

IMG_5852Cladonia  Lichen

One of the Cladonia lichens

IMG_5855Lichen

More lichen was growing on the ground amongst the sparse grass and moss.

We saw lots of fungi on our walk but because of the low light many of my photographs didn’t come out very well and had to be erased.

IMG_5854Fungus

Fungus

IMG_5856Reeds

Reeds in the pond near the visitor centre – mainly Great Reedmace/ Bulrush (Typha latifolia)

IMG_5858Chestnut tree

A bright Sweet Chestnut tree (Castanea sativa)

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IMG_5871The wood

A little pale sunshine filtered down through the trees

IMG_5874Path at Minsmere

I believe the section they have roped off here is where the Adders (Vipera berus) live.

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IMG_5869Bramble flowers

We saw plenty of Bramble flowers (Rubus fruticosus agg.)

IMG_5876The wood

There was dead wood everywhere

IMG_5877Richard and Elinor

Richard and Elinor watching the rabbits on Warren Hill

IMG_5878Warren Hill

Lots of rabbits live here. The birds of prey appreciate this!

IMG_5879Sun through trees

We saw more of the sun as we neared sunset

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Sun on the reeds and rushes

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Minsmere at sunset

IMG_5883The wood

Edge of the wood

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Sunset

IMG_5895The wood
IMG_5896The wood
IMG_5897Perhaps Lesser Water-parsnip

I think this may be Lesser Water-parsnip (Berula erecta) but I am probably wrong.

IMG_5898Lesser Water-parsnip

Here it is again showing its leaves

IMG_5900Pond

One of the many ponds

IMG_5901Fern

A fern

IMG_5903Holm oak

Holm or Evergreen Oak (Quercus ilex)

IMG_5905The wood
IMG_5907The wood
IMG_5909Minsmere

The bracken has turned such a rich colour

IMG_5910The wood

More dead wood

IMG_5914The wood

More colourful bracken

IMG_5915Fungus

The last fungus we saw – in the carpark!

Thanks for visiting!

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Minsmere – 8th May 2015

31 Sun May 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in plants, Rural Diary, trees, walking, wild birds

≈ 37 Comments

Tags

BBC Spring Watch, black slugs, blackcap, bluebells, Common Vetch, crabapple, Minsmere, oak, oak moss, ponds, red campion, RSPB, Suffolk, woods

Elinor took her Art exam over two days at the beginning of May and on the Friday of that week she and I decided we’d go to the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve at Minsmere for a relaxing walk.  Richard was away in Manchester visiting his mother and brother and helping his brother clear his Mum’s house before putting it on the market.

We go to Minsmere very often and know all the walks.  Elinor decided she wanted to walk through the woods instead of going to the shore.  I was hoping to hear a Cuckoo and a Nightingale.  We had a drink and a cake in the café before we set off.

IMG_2203Something on Birch tree Minsmere (640x427)

The first thing we saw was this and I have no idea what it is. Is it a canker, a fungus or is it a nest of some sort? It is on a Birch tree.

IMG_2204Crabapple perhaps (640x427)

We saw this very pretty Crabapple blossom.

IMG_2205Common vetch (640x427)

This is Common Vetch (Vicia sativa)

IMG_2212Red Campion (640x427)

Red Campion (Silene dioica). The wind was blowing quite hard and I found it difficult to get anything in focus.

IMG_2206Pond (640x427)

And this is one of the many ponds at Minsmere.

IMG_2207Pond (640x427)

Another pond.

The weather, which had been quite pleasant in the morning, quickly deteriorated  once we began our walk.  It got quite cold and then a drizzly rain started as you can see by the raindrops on the pond above.  Any hopes of hearing a Cuckoo or a Nightingale evaporated away.

There are Adders (Vipera berus) living on the reserve and we had been hoping to see them.  We were told by another visitor that they were sleeping out in the open but unfortunately, by the time we arrived at the area where they are to be found, the rain had started and very sensibly they had gone under cover.  The area is fenced off for their and our protection.  They are Britain’s only venomous snake.

IMG_2208Reeds and water (640x427)

Reeds and water. We could hear Bitterns (Botaurus stellaris) booming in the reeds but we didn’t see any water fowl at all.

IMG_2209Oak moss (640x427)

There was plenty of Oak Moss (Evernia prunastri) to be seen.

IMG_2211Oak moss (640x427)

It is very attractive with its flat, curled branches. It isn’t moss at all but is in fact a lichenised fungus.

Air quality in the East of England isn’t as good as in the West of the country because the prevailing wind blows across the country, including London, before it gets to us.  We are pleased when we find any kind of lichen as they are often indicators of clean air.

IMG_2210Slugs on dandelion (640x427)

This dandelion plant had a couple of slug visitors.

IMG_2218White bluebell (640x427)

We saw very many white bluebells in the wood

IMG_2223Oak tree (640x427)

An Oak tree (Quercus robur) with new leaves and flowers.

IMG_2221Building for the BBC (640x427)

This is the building that was constructed last year for the BBC Spring Watch team. This is as near as us members of the hoi polloi can get to it. The BBC are currently filming at Minsmere though they weren’t when Elinor and I visited.

The next six photographs are of a male Blackcap (Sylvia atricapilla) that I found singing next to the path.  The photos are not cropped.  This warbler didn’t appear to be at all nervous and at each pause in his song he seemed to look at me to judge my reaction!  He filled his throat with air and used it like the bag on a bag-pipe to sing.

IMG_2224Blackcap (640x427)

IMG_2225Blackcap (640x427)

IMG_2226Blackcap (640x427)

IMG_2227Blackcap (640x427)

IMG_2228Blackcap (640x427)

IMG_2229Blackcap (640x427)

I was very pleased to get these pictures.

Thank-you for visiting!

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Minsmere – Summer 2014

05 Thu Mar 2015

Posted by Clare Pooley in domestic animals, plants, Rural Diary, trees, Uncategorized, walking, wild animals, wild birds

≈ 28 Comments

Tags

Avocet, beach, Blackthorn sloes, chickweed, Common Reed, common restharrow, Common Sandpiper, Highland Cattle, Konik pony, Lesser Burdock, Lesser Centaury, Marsh Sow-thistle, Marsh-mallow, Michaelmas Daisy, Minsmere, Red Deer, Rosebay Willowherb, RSPB, Sea Kale, silverweed, Spoonbill, Stonecrop, Tansy, Wild Teasel

017The sea (640x480)

The beach at Minsmere. I never tire of photographing waves rolling in to the shore.

This is another catch-up post featuring some photos I took last year.  Richard, Elinor and I visited the RSPB (Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) reserve at Minsmere on the Suffolk coast last August on Richard’s birthday.  We are fairly frequent visitors as it is only a few miles drive from our home.  It is a large reserve and has many different types of habitat – woodland, heathland, shoreline, lagoons and creeks.  Not only does it have many, many species of bird there but it is home to all sorts of other wildlife – insects, mammals, reptiles, amphibians and plants.  Quite often we hardly see any birds at all depending on the time of year and where we decide to walk.  We don’t often go into the hides but on this occasion we did go into one briefly.

003Rosebay Willowherb (480x640)

Rosebay Willowherb (Chamerion angustifolium), a common enough plant, but at the time this was the first one I’d seen that year.

005Red deer (640x480)

Red Deer (Cervus elaphus). This photograph is not cropped and was taken from the causeway path through the wetland going in the direction of the sea. The deer, though wild, was oblivious to the group of admiring humans taking pictures of it while it ate some tasty vegetation. The deer know they are safe here and feel free to go wherever they want.

006Red deer (640x480)

I love the dark edges to their ears and the dark line down their necks.

009Red deer (640x480)

She has such a lovely face! The females are much smaller than the males and are 160 – 210 cm / 63 – 83″ long (not including the tail) and weigh about 120 -170 kg / 260 – 370 lbs.

021Driftwood (640x480)

Driftwood on the beach

019Richard and Elinor (640x480)

Don’t be fooled! They were enjoying themselves really!

022Sea Kale (640x480)

Sea Kale (Crambe maritima)

023Plants on sand dune (640x479)

A variety of plants grow on the sand dunes or shingle dunes as they should be called here!

037Lesser centaury (640x480)

Lesser Centaury (Centaurium pulchellum). Unfortunately I didn’t manage to find any with the flowers open.

033Common Sandpiper (640x480)

I’m afraid you’ll have to take my word for it that this is a Common Sandpiper (Actitis hypoleucos) My camera wouldn’t zoom any closer.

035Duck and Avocet (640x480)

An unidentified duck and an Avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta)

053Spoonbill (640x480)

A Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia)

 

 

 

038Reed (480x640)

Common Reed (Phragmites australis)

039Common Restharrow (640x480)

Common Restharrow (Ononis repens) The sticky leaves are covered in grains of sand.

040Stonecrop (640x480)

Stonecrop (Sedum). I am not sure which Stonecrop this one is.

041Teasels (640x480)

Wild Teasel (Dipsacus fullonum) seedheads

044Teasel flower (480x640)

I managed to find a Teasel still in flower – just!

042Lesser Burdock (640x480)

Lesser Burdock (Arctium minus)

043Burdock flowers (640x480)

Lesser Burdock flowers – the pink-purple florets grow out from between the spiny bracts.

045Tansy (640x480)

Tansy (Tanacetum vulgare)

046Tansy (640x487)

Little yellow buttons!

 

047Konik pony (640x480)

Konik ponies – primitive ponies from Poland – are used by the RSPB as they are very hardy, thrive on rough grazing and tolerate wet conditions.

048Konik pony (640x480)

I couldn’t get a shot of the pony’s face –

049Konik pony (640x480)

– no matter how I tried!

 

 

050Elinor and Richard (640x480)

I am always getting left behind!

051Elinor and Richard (640x480)

And this is what happens when I catch up!

054Marsh Sow-thistle (480x640)

Marsh Sow-thistle (Sonchus palustris)

055Michaelmas daisy (480x640)

I believe this is Michaelmas Daisy rather than Sea Aster, unfortunately

058Chickweed (640x480)

Chickweed (Stellaria media)

059Marsh Mallow (480x640)

Marsh-mallow (Althaea officinalis)

060Sloes (640x480)

Ripening sloes on the Blackthorn trees (Prunus spinosa)

062Silverweed (640x480)

Silverweed (Potentilla anserina) so called because the leaves are covered in silvery, silky hairs that catch the light and shine like silver.

061Highland Cattle (640x480)

The RSPB also use black Highland cattle to graze the marshes

 

We will no doubt be visiting the reserve again very soon.  I read that they have discovered some Common Bird’s-nest fungi there recently and I would like to see it.

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A Visit to Minsmere

26 Mon May 2014

Posted by Clare Pooley in plants, Rural Diary, walking, wild birds

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Avocet, BBC's Springwatch, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Bittern, Cuckoo, greylags, Highland Cattle, marshes, Minsmere, Mute Swan, Nightingale, Oystercatcher, Pop-Up Café, Rabbit, RSPB, Sand martin, sea, Sea Kale, Sluice, tank traps, The Scrape, Whitethroat

For several weeks I have been wanting to re-visit Minsmere.  Minsmere is a bird reserve run and owned by the RSPB (the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds) to which all four of us belong.  Minsmere is also the RSPB’s so-called ‘flag-ship’ reserve – the biggest and best in the country and we are lucky enough to live just a few miles from it.  There were three main reasons why I wished to go to Minsmere – I hadn’t been there for ages and missed it – I wanted to hear a nightingale again and there is usually a nightingale to be heard there at this time of year and lastly – I had heard that the BBC would be filming their Springwatch programmes there for the next three weeks starting on Monday 26th May and I wanted to go before they arrived.

R has been on annual leave this last week so we decided that we should go to Minsmere on Friday afternoon.  E and I had a very early start on Friday – up at 6.15am for me and 6.30am for her as she had a hospital appointment to go to in Norwich at 8.30am and we needed to leave the house at 7.15am to get there on time.  When that was over E decided she would like to do some shopping for books so we called in at Waterstones and she made a couple of purchases.  We then went to HMV to look at DVDs etc. and then we had lunch in a coffee shop.  We returned home via Beccles for more shopping.  Fortunately the weather had stayed dry for all of our journey.

R and I had a hot drink and a chat while I rested after my busy morning and then we set off.  There was a slight shower of rain as we drove there but it had all cleared away by the time we had parked the car in the carpark.  We decided to go towards the sea first and walked past the wildlife ponds near the Visitor Centre.  There is a sandy cliff behind the visitor centre where Sand Martins nest each year.  The Martins were very busy nesting and catching insects, flying low over our heads.  We were very pleased to hear a Cuckoo calling all the time we were there.  We hadn’t heard one for some years.

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The rabbits on the reserve have no fear of humans

The path starts off over heathland and then carries on towards the sea on a raised bank through water meadows and marshland.

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On our right to the south is Sizewell ‘B’ nuclear power station with Sizewell ‘A’ behind it.

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On our left are the Coastguard Cottages on land owned by the National Trust.

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This is looking back along the path we had just walked.  It has recently been re-laid and covered with gravel.  Crunching along these paths is a noisy business and all the birds disappear as soon as anyone steps onto them.  A lot of damage was done here during the storm surge in December and in the high winds and flooding during the winter; the RSPB have worked very hard trying to put things right again.  They also like to make as much of the reserve accessible to the disabled as possible – and – the BBC are filming one of the country’s most popular programmes here so it must look really neat and well cared for!

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The entrance to the beach.

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The dunes at the top of the beach.

At last we got to the sea.  The sky out at sea looked very threatening but overhead was bright and sunny.

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This is looking north towards the town of Southwold.  The lighthouse was flashing its light so conditions and visibility at sea mustn’t have been good.  I tried to get a photo with the light from the lighthouse shining but couldn’t.

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Sea Kale growing on the beach

These are tank traps that were put here at the beginning of the Second World War.  If there had been an invasion it was hoped these might hold up the tanks for a while. There are many mementos of wartime in Britain, especially round the coast.

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PD James’ book ‘Unnatural Causes’ is set here on the Suffolk coast.  One of characters in the book dies a most unpleasant death in one of the hides along the beach.

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The sandy path that runs between the dunes and the reeds of the reserve.  We had walked by the sea for a while but an extremely stiff and cold onshore breeze was blowing so I escaped to the warm shelter of this path.

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Bird’s-foot Trefoil growing at the side of the path.

We went into one of the hides further along the beach and sat and looked inland across the Scrape at the birds nesting, eating, wading and getting on with their lives on the reserve.  The hide we were in had been damaged some time over winter and had no roof but as the weather was so lovely it didn’t matter much.  The birds were aware of our presence and didn’t get too close.  We were still able to see a lot through binoculars but we weren’t able to photograph much.

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These are greylags with goslings.

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An Oystercatcher.

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A poor photo of an Avocet.  You can almost see its long upturned bill!

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Mute Swans and other waders, ducks and gulls.

We eventually decided to move on and left the beach by another gate further south from the one we’d entered by.  There is a sluice there.  Water levels are monitored all the time.  The Scrape and lagoon need to have enough water in them but water levels must not get too high.  The RSPB works with other groups such as the owner of the nuclear power station and the National Trust to maintain flood defences.

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Views over the marshes.

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A photo of a Whitethroat singing from the top of a bush. We couldn’t get any closer I’m afraid so it’s not very clear.

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Highland cattle are used for marshland grazing.  They also use (or used to use) Konic Ponies for the same purpose.

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We walked back towards the woods on the noisy path listening to Sedge Warblers and Whitethroats and many more birds along the way.  We saw that the whole reserve was wired for sound.  There were cables everywhere and cameras attached to nest boxes and every now and then we came across one or two people working in ditches and under bushes trying to fix something.  In the woods we also found a Pop-Up Café.

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This was run by an enterprising East European couple.  R and I had the best coffee I’ve ever had.  It cost us £5.00 for two coffees which is very expensive for Suffolk but we did get two free pastries with it.  The girl put a pretty pattern on the top of mine.

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After eating our pain au chocolat and drinking our coffee we walked a little way up into the wood and sat listening to the birds.  We heard a Bittern ‘booming’ which we were pleased about but unfortunately we weren’t able to hear a nightingale.  It was becoming late by this time and we decided to go home.  The BBC is only filming on Mondays to Thursdays so I may go back next Friday and just walk round the wood and try to hear the nightingale.  A and I walked here a few years ago listening to one singing and we even saw it too.  When I first moved to Suffolk in 1988 I lived in Halesworth and I used to be able to hear nightingales singing all night from the Folly on the edge of the town.  Sadly there are fewer Nightingales about and I haven’t heard one for about four years.

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I talk about what it's like living in a quiet part of Suffolk. I am a wife, mother and daughter, a practising Christian and love the natural world that surrounds me. I enjoy my life - most of the time!

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