Nature Reserves: Bluebells at Arger Fen

I believe this is a Buff-tailed Bumblebee

We had been told that Arger Fen was a good place for bluebells, so we decided to see for ourselves. The reserve, not far from Sudbury in Suffolk, belongs to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust. There were wonderful deep swathes of blue flowers, reminding me of the days long ago in the 1960s when we used to dance 'in and out the dusky bluebells' at nursery school in Kent. These days the flowers are a protected species.

We heard a male Cuckoo calling overhead, and sheltered under a tree to listen. Since the early 1980s, Cuckoo numbers have been in decline for about 30 years, and the bird is now a red list species. Having said that, we have heard more Cuckoos so far this year than in practically all previous years put together. We caught a fleeting glimpse of the male this afternoon as he sped through the trees once his song was over.

It was lovely to smell the Wild Garlic wafting in our direction ...

... and there were plenty of Horsetail appearing in the swampy areas ...

... but the Bluebells stole the show. 

Arger Fen is one of only two woodland sites in the east of England to have wild cherry trees, and I kept a sharp eye out in the hope that I would see them. 

Butterflies and Moths: (Not So) Early Butterflies

A rather shabby Peacock, spotted at ...

Minsmere last weekend, taken as the light was fading.

A white butterfly (is it perhaps a male Large White?) also at Minsmere.

The pair of Common Blues in the garden were too quick for me, so here's one I saw last year ...

... and these Small Tortoiseshells were photographed some time ago.
The one I saw last weekend was very bedraggled and had probably emerged from hibernation.

There were plenty of Orange Tips at Minsmere in the sunshine last weekend.
(The one in the photo was in our garden last year)

... and finally, for now, I have seen a couple of (yellow) Brimstones flying about ...

I wonder which species will flutter past me next!

2013 List

1] Peacock
2] Small Tortoiseshell
3] ?Large White
4] Common Blue
5] Brimstone
6] Orange Tip

Nature Reserves: (a Spider on) Carlton Marshes, Suffolk

We enjoyed a walk at Carlton Marshes, near Oulton Broad, on Saturday in warm spring sunshine. The reserve belongs to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, and is linked at one end to the far side of the river by a ferry service from the Waveney River Centre. It was our first visit to the area, and the sound of warbling in the reeds and blackthorn was a delight. 

This teasel caught my eye as it had been eaten by some creature. I soon noticed this Spider. I haven't been able to identify it exactly, but it may be (related to) Xysticus cristatus (and here). I would be grateful for a definite ID!

I would initially have suspected a Crab Spider, but I have discovered that Crab Spiders use their front legs instead of spinning webs to catch their prey. There is a rather prominent piece of webbing in the photo above on the left. There is some helpful information about true Crab Spiders on the Arkive site.

Beautiful Birds: Puffins at RSPB Bempton Cliffs

Those who are familiar with my blog will know how much I like Puffins!

I have been concerned by recent media stories (and here) of declining numbers and of dead and emaciated birds being washed up on our beaches.

We arrived at Bempton Cliffs on 20 April 2013, wondering whether any Puffins would have returned to their nesting sites. It was a cold afternoon, with blue sky and a blustery breeze. I had a job to angle my monopod and to keep the camera still. However, we had only been there a very short time when we saw our first Puffin of the season.

You can see the bird here, eyeing up its burrow on the cliff edge. 

The bird flapped about a bit, but seemed tired.

It was soon time ...

... for a rest.

A few minutes later the bird stood up and surveyed the scene ...

... when lo and behold, there one Puffin ...

... became two.

 It was soon time for a further siesta ...

 ... while the sea raged below the cliff.

An inquisitive Razorbill inspected his new neighbours ...

... deciding that they needed an even closer once over. 

There was a sudden kerfuffle ...

... and two Puffins became three.

I don't know what had happened to the third Puffin's mate ...

... but the pair of birds carried on without much regard for the one on its own. 

I wished I could have been just a bit closer to watch the pair as each partner demonstrated affection for the other.

'Affection' sounds a very anthropomorphic term ...

... and I only use it because I cannot think of a better one. Suggestions on a postcard, please!

I think you can see from this photo how one partner was much larger than the other.

Puffins don't make a lot of noise on the cliff, so I was interested to see this bird opening its bill.

Siesta over, it was soon time ...

for a bit of nest-building. Puffins lay a single egg. You can read about the breeding season here.  

During the time we were out on the cliff, we saw three Puffins (the ones in the photos above) to our left, and this single Puffin (spot the orange feet) in among the Guillemots on our right.

RSPB Bempton Cliffs is a wonderful resource, and the main Puffin viewing areas are pretty accessible. I would love to visit the site once the Pufflings have hatched later in the season.

• Previous post ... my first encounter with the Common Crane

Beautiful Birds: The Common Crane

We have just returned from a few days away on the east coast of England. I will post about Puffins soon, but I thought these Common Cranes deserved an initial mention since it was my first sighting of these birds in the wild.

We knew that the Cranes were about, but we really were not at all sure that they would put in an appearance. However, we had not been sitting quietly for very long when we heard a very distinctive sound. It was unmistakeable, and you can listen to a short (if somewhat muted) recording on the RSPB site here. We find Homer in the Iliad comparing the sonorous call to the noise made by advancing armies. We read that ...

"the Trojans advanced as a flight of wild fowl or cranes that scream overhead when rain and winter drive them over the flowing waters of Ocean."

We watched the birds in a mesmerised state, not sure whether to use the camera or binoculars.

It was fascinating to see the coordination between the wings and the feet. With the help of binoculars, we could just about make out the red patch above the eye.

The Common Crane is very large: in flight it reminded me of a Flamingo. The Crane was once a regular part of the East Anglian landscape, but ceased to breed here way back in about 1600. Place names like Cranfield and Cranmere reflect the presence of these birds in former days.

During our time away, we visited the extensive secondhand bookshop at Blickling Hall, where I bought a copy of Nature in Norfolk: a Heritage in Trust (Jarrold), a symposium volume published in 1976 to mark the 50th anniversary of the Norfolk Naturalists Trust. Eric Fowler's introduction includes a quotation by the seventeenth century diarist, John Evelyn, mentioning cranes' eggs from 'that country (especially the promontory of Norfolk.' Scientific knowledge was increasing rapidly, but concepts of 'conservation' were still two hundred years away.

You can read more about Cranes in the UK here at the Great Crane Project, supported by WWT, RSPB and Pensthorpe Conservation Trust. The Norfolk Wildlife Trust supports the Common Crane along with many other species in its patch. We joined the Trust while we were away, and greatly enjoyed the NWT reserves at Cley, Ranworth and Hickling. 

So why was I keen to see the Common Crane in the wild? Well, it is always exciting to see a new bird, to tick off a 'lifer', but Cranes came to my attention thanks to the wonderful blogging work of Vickie Henderson in the USA. You can see some of Vickie's Sandhill Crane photos here. Samples of her artwork of the rare Whooping Crane can be seen and purchased here.

Oh, and ... if you go down on the marsh today, look out for a big surprise!