Trimley Resere

The Trimley Round up   Number 10     Week ending 18^th August. 

By Anna Alam

‘The best things in life are free’  

 On Monday 13^th August a fantastic summer morning at 5am,when the sun had not yet risen and in the lovely dawn light, 2 young stags just stood and watched me from a short distance. So quiet and with such fragile elegance they glanced and walked back into the trees.  Experiences such as these are hard sometimes to even imagine and they leave forever a lasting memory.

Summer has at last arrived and it appears to be staying for a while.  The grazing cattle and their growing calves are at last enjoying some well-deserved heat and dry weather here at Trimley.

It’s been a good few weeks on the reserve for birds and as migration has started we wait again for our new arrivals, however short their stay on the Trimley reserve.

During the past few weeks there have been some excellent sightings.  Little Egrets have been visiting in increasing numbers and on 12^th August Dave and Ernie counted 39, a fantastic sight to see.  The lovely Black- tailed Godwit, in the region of 50+ have been seen during the day.  However certainly this number increases to over 300 after dark and at roost. This was certainly the case on Wednesday 15^th August.

Other notable sightings include Wood Sandpiper and Ruff and Paul Oldfield early on 18^th August saw 3 Juvenile Spotted Redshank, 2 Greenshank, 4 Green Sandpipers, and 3 Common Sandpipers.  During the week there have been up to 10 Green Sandpipers, 12 Greenshank, 4 Ruff and 5 Spotted Redshank.  

Out on the reservoir hide some of the Lesser-black backed gulls and black-headed gulls we ringed in June can be seen on the rafts where they hatched and where they call ‘home.’ They certainly have grown and now really look like gulls in their juvenile plumage. It is hoped we can keep track of their movements via their rings.

The Swans and Cygnets are doing well and their black juvenile plumage is actually good camouflage in the Trimley waters. They can actually be quite difficult to see even on a sunny day. 

There appears to be quite a ‘hustle and bustle’ going on if you walk to many of the hides. The Greylag Geese and Canada Geese have finished their moults and can now fly to the reserve after being in the refuge of the estuary. After a few weeks of what seemed a very quiet reserve their honking and cackling are back with us, which is a very welcome, and reassuring sound. 

Waders and Gulls however are not the only birds to mention, Passerines are also busy with preparing for migration.  Sedge and Reed Warblers are now making their long journeys back to Africa. Unfortunately Trimley has experienced its lowest number of these species for many years Let us hope that the juvenile birds we ringed this year come back to us again.  Last month – July 15^th we were excited to see another ringed Reed Warbler this time from Lisbon. In April we were lucky to have another from San Sebastian. These are such exciting events and the importance of the reed beds are vital for their survival.

Other birds in very good numbers on the reserve or on the edge of the reserve are Goldfinches and Yellow Buntings with their very distinctive calls. We have also seen some lovely Bullfinches, Whitethroats, Blackcap and Lesser Whitethroats, which has included a good number of juvenile birds.

Over the next week if you come down to Trimley look out for Stonechat and Whinchat who are now making their journeys back to Africa. Also look out for mammals including Water vole and Otter.

Thank you to everyone who visits the reserve and contributes to the observations.