15. WWT Welney Wetland Centre

It was a bright, cold day as we set out to visit WWT Welney Wetland Centre. Owned by the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, and one of their smallest reserves, this was the first time we had visited this site. It’s a location I’ve wanted to visit for a long time and it did not disappoint with four ‘life species’ today. I had imagined that all of the wildfowl would be far away and difficult to spot, and although this was the case for a few species, on the whole I was wrong.

We started our visit in the main observatory looking out over the main lagoon. Instantly, we had excellent views of whooper swans (life species number one) right next to the glass, the foreground to a huge raft of pochard. There were also a few tufted ducks thrown in for good measure. However, as we had been informed that the swan feed would be at midday, we set out for the half mile walk to furthest hide, aiming to return in time.

Whooper swan

Pintail (group in centre)

Due to flooding, the pathway to ‘Reedbed hide’ was closed, so we walked instead to ‘Friends hide’ in the opposite direction. Here, we watched flocks of pochard, wigeon and a few pintail (life species number two) be put up by a low flying marsh harrier searching for easy pickings. The small quartet of swans in the distance, whose beaks were indistinguishable through binoculars, turned out to be Bewick’s swans (life species number three) when shown to us through a scope by a fellow bird watcher.

It seemed like all the birders and other visitors on site descended upon the main observatory for the swan feed. We watched as two of the three species, mute and whooper, came in close for their supplementary feed. Escaping early to beat the lunch time rush, we watched reed buntings and gold finches from the café, then went straight back out to explore the hides we missed earlier: ‘Lyle’ and ‘Nelson-Lyle’. Here we had good views of the adorable whistling wigeon and a dainty pair of teal, alongside the significantly larger and tricoloured shelduck.

Reed bunting

Teal

Tree sparrows (mostly)

Eventually, we made our way back to the Visitor Centre to partake in the pre-booked hare walk. Whilst we were waiting, we looked out over the fields and wetlands and a solitary tree. This tree soon became a ‘bird tree’, full of tree sparrows (life species number four), with their chestnut heads and dirty cheeks.

Following our guide across muddy fields, we were treated to a number of hares bolting at high speeds (top speeds of 45 mph according to the mammal society). A male kestrel quartered, flocks of fieldfare chuckling lifted when we approached too close and a snipe shot up with its jinking flight.

The day didn’t end there, however, as we set out for home, we passed fields full of hundreds of swans. It would seem these ‘wild swans’ are an almost definite spot from in and around WWT Welney.

14. UEA Broads & River Yare

I often think that we don’t explore this area enough. Within walking distance of our house, we really should take advantage of this wildlife rich area more often. Awake early on a Sunday morning, we took advantage of the (seemingly) bright and brisk weather, and went for a muddy stomp around the UEA broad, a body of water created by quarrying for university building material in the 1970s, working our way back into Eaton along the River Yare.

We started in the woodland ‘behind’ the broad, past the ‘rabbit enclosure’ (a small conservation area used for ecological research) and over the bridge to meet the oncoming onslaught of cold rain and hail. The three great crested grebes, gulls and cormorants seemed a lot less bothered by this sudden downpour than we were. As the sunshine broke back through, we met the boardwalk that borders the River Yare. As we turned, we watched a wren bathe in a shallow pool to the tune of a singing robin. Two kingfishers whistled past us, flashes of orange and blue, one giving chase to the other. Stopping and waiting to see if they would return, we could hear blue and great tits in the trees, watching them nibble at pinky-purple catkins overhanging the mirror of water. My knowledge of tree species is shamefully poor, but I think these may have been alder…

Continuing until the boardwalk became the very muddy path to continue following the river, we were suddenly aware of two bright yellow birds watching us; a pair of siskin, the first I have seen in this area, chatting to each other and quickly flitting out of view. We slipped and slid our way along the river bank, encountering a mute swan using the current to its advantage and putting our slow progress to shame. Eventually, we caught up with her whilst she spruced up her already pristine coat of snowy feathers.

There is an area of land, where, last year, a number of trees were felled, chopped and left as dead wood. Here, a wren played hide and seek with us, searching its way into every nook and cranny in the tangled mess of wood. Here, we also found an excellent ‘bird tree’, with a host of woodland bird species. Watching blue tits and listening to the ‘teacher teacher’ of a great tit, I was suddenly aware of a small brown bird working its way up the bark, a tree creeper. Just when I thought I had spotted another, I realised from the high pitched call and (through the bins) a fiery head, that a goldcrest had joined the fray. This was quickly followed by a pair of nuthatch and a small team of long tailed tits all foraging in the branches.

For whatever reason, that particular tree seemed a great place for all of these woodland birds and I have marked it on my mental map to return to throughout the year.