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A Breydon Water local patch (1 Viewer)

Karl J

Well-known member
Comparing my original 'a Norfolk patch' to the other local patch posts it seems my definition of 'local' is not quite the same as others. So I thought I'd put a bit more detailed bit up about my 'most local area' - Breydon Water, and the walk along the river from Berney back to Yarmouth, which we do on a fairly regular basis. ( Was also a good way of putting my new camera to some practice use )


On the map below I've detailed the area - the dashed line being the Weavers Way footpath, and I've put in some of the more interesting features.


I think many UK birders know the area pretty well, but for those that don't ....... here goes.

Getting off one of the few trains to stop at Berney train station -- A -- on the map, the station platform provides a good place to look out over the surrounding countryside. This area is all part of the Berney Marshes RSPB reserve ( no visitor centre or anything though ) where lots of winter waterfowl come to see out the colder months.

A short walk across the marsh takes you to Berney mill-- E -- where the path meets the river ( and goes past the pub ). This is all a bit of a glimpse into the past; in the mid 1800's this was a busy little area. The mill was been built in about 1860 for the then local cement works, which is now demolished along with some of the other old buildings but there's rubble still laying about in some places. The pub ( still standing - good sense prevailed !! ) was put up for the cement workers, wildfowlers and various other river trades. Later the mill was turned into a marsh drainage pump and now it's just a tourist attraction for the boating holidays / walkers etc. It's had the sails removed for renovation work which is a bit slow but is making obvious progress.

Just past the pub is a small area of reedbed which homes some of the small reedbed birds from time to time. And across the river is Burgh Castle and the old Roman ruins - there's often a Marsh Harrier or 2, and Kestrel around here. This is really the last sight of civilization for a few miles as the path has the river on one side and open countryside on the other.

A couple of miles away -- B--, there is a drainage pump which in itself is pretty featureless but I've seen some good sightings here : a party of Wheatear were about earlier in the year and my only sighting of Buzzard circling high was from here. Yellow Wagtail flock around here as well. A few hundred yards and you come to the abandoned Lockgate mill --- C -- . Built as another marsh drainage pump, the sails blew down years ago and it now stands as bit of a lonely thing out in the middle of nowhere. There is at least a protective cap on top of it but whether or not that means it's in line for renovation I don;t know - but it could do with it !

The bits labelled D on the map are perhaps the main feature of Breydon, the mudflats Up to about a half mile wide & 2 - 3 miles long at low tide ( and completely flooded at high tide ) they're a good place for the waders, gulls & ducks.

In the fields along the way are a couple of pools in the fields -- P -- which are often roosting places for Cormorant, Shelduck, sometimes Little Egret and other ducks, gulls etc.

The old railway yard is sometimes worth a look at, there are bushes & trees between it and the main road. Sometimes something worth looking at, sometimes not.

At the eastern end of the mudflats in summer some large areas of the saltmarsh foreshore turn into a blanket of blue with the Sea Lavender which grows there, hiding many of the muddy pools quite well when it's in full flower. This is probably my favourite area of the whole place, also in the late summer / autumn when it goes to seed there's loads of Goldfinch & Linnet come to feed on the seeds.


And thats it, under the road bridge and you;re in Asda.




And for the technically minded -

Distance ~ 5 miles ( one way )

Habitats - tidal estuary & mudflat, open countryside of marsh / light grazing land, slow river, reedbed, abandoned / waste land

Height of land ~ sea level
 

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Carlos,

Excellent report - you're making me all nostalgic. It's the same when I read ColinJ's posts about the Lowestoft area, I can picture exactly where you are, having lived in the area for 9 years, prior to coming back to 'home' about 5 years ago.

We were just a little way down the road in St Olaves, and we often had a little walk along Breydon Water from Asda. Never made it to Berney Mill, though. We mostly stayed on the Burgh Castle side.
 
Yes, Burgh Castle is another nice place, with a good view across the marshes. The southern shore footpath, (Angles Way, which I haven't marked ) goes along the river to Burgh Castle and is good for cycling along.




*** Edited this post to include the list of birds seen, as of 20.09.03

Avocet
Black-tailed Godwit
Whimbrel
Curlew
Curlew Sandpiper
Common Sandpiper
Wood Sandpiper
Dunlin
Golden Plover
Grey Plover
Knot
Oystercatcher
Ringed Plover
Little Ringed Plover
Greenshank
Redshank
Spotted Redshank
Turnstone
Lapwing

Canada Geese
Egyptian Geese
Greylag Goose
Great Crested Grebe
Little Grebe
Red-necked Grebe
Kingfisher
Little Egret
Grey Heron
Spoonbill
Mute Swan
Mallard
Shelduck
Shoveler
Wigeon
Tufted Duck
Teal
Moorhen
Coot

Goldfinch
Greenfinch
Great Tit
Longtailed Tit
Blue Tit
House Sparrow
Robin
Starling
Blackbird
Jackdaw
Rook
Crow
Magpie
Linnet
Meadow Pipit
Skylark
Pied Wagtail
Yellow Wagtail
Wren
Wheatear
Collared Dove
Town pigeon,( Feral pigeon .... or whatever you want to call it. )
Woodpigeon
Jay
Greater Spotted Woodpecker

Kestrel
Marsh Harrier
Sparrowhawk
Hobby
Merlin

Swallow
House Martin
Swift
Reed Bunting
Reed Warbler
Sedge Warbler
Cettis Warbler - by call
Whitethroat
Willow Warbler

Black-headed gull
Common gull
Greater-blackbacked gull
Herring gull
Lesser-blackbacked gull
Little Tern
Black Tern x 1
Common Tern
Sandwich Tern
Cormorant
Arctic Skua x 1



Which should make 88, maybe not too spectacular and I'm sure an experienced birder would have more than that, but I'm pleased with it. All within walking distance of home.
 
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That is a brilliant run down of your local patch and it shows many good spots like those pools.

The walk you had this eveing is better than watching the Bond movie!
 
I like Carlos reports as, although we are only about 8 miles apart our local patches are so different.

Colin.
 
Very smart Carlos, sounds very different to my patch, the closest we have here is the riverside walk in Wimborne, and I cannot walk very far, and there isn't much of a path for me to use, so I end up too close to the road to have much to expound in that way, and around the back of my place there is only a cluster of fishing lakes, not too bad for birding but none of the terns and plovers, what is a godwit? never seen one, that says it all really.
Carlos, you have some great birds in your area, and I have different great birds in my area, and some of your birds will be so common to you that you find yourself saying " Oh and we have pintails " so common they become an after thought, in the same way as we have buzzards ten a penny here, and green woodpeckers often don't get a mention as they have always been here. Nina.
 
Hi there Nina, you're right about the difference in what's common ... Buzzard is quite rare round here, ( other parts of Norfolk not quite as rare I think but still not 'common' ). Here on the east coast they're only usually seen on migration from what I gather. I've only seen them once. But waders and winter geese / ducks ... quite different. Marsh Harrier is another 'common' sight.

As for the Black-tailed Godwits, they're waders not too dissimilar to Whimbrel, Curlew etc. but with a long straight bill. In summertime some ( not too sure which ones - think it's the males ) have a quite striking red colour to the chest & head. This is the RSPB page about them - http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds/blacktailedgodwit/index.asp?ComponentID=17756&SourcePageID=23376#1
 
Carlos,

I just received the WeBS book for 2000-01 as a reward for my efforts and there is a good report on Breydon Water & Berney Marshes and I have to say I am inmpressed by the birdlife you get in winter! If you can read a copy do so, £30 for the book!
 
Hi Andrew, don;t know if I've read that particular one but have had several from the library, I will look out for it though.

But at times the numbers of ducks & geese is quite staggering, fields full of absolutely 1000's of them. If you're ever up this way in wintertime take a look
 
Hey Carlos, you get the curlew callin in your neck of the woods, Jammy so-and -so, I haven't heard the sound of a curlew for years, I have a bit of a soft spot for them, It's the call that I sorely miss, as they seem to have dissappeared from here, Give them a cuurrllew from me please as the sound is so reminiscent of my childhood. Nina.
 
Yes Nina we have Curlew about. Not too many about right now, Don't know about their call though - hmmm ? - will have to listen out for that. Possibly heard it and not realised what it was.
 
It was named from it's call Carlos, it's a sort of fairly high pitched cuurrrlew sound, if you are musical, it would start about a above middle c and end at about c above middle c, but you'd need to be a musician to know what I'm talking about, so if not "sorry" Nina.
 
Out & about on a wet and windy Breydon Water ( eastern end )early this morning, didn't have time to wait for the high tide though.

Little Egret x 4
Grey Heron x 1
Lapwing
Oystercatcher
Black-tail Godwit ~ 350
Avocet ~ 500
Whimbrel ~ 70
Redshank ... a few
Golden Plover ~ 40
Dunlin ~ 200
Common Sandpiper x 1
Curlew Sandpiper x 1
Greenshank x 1
Knot x 6
Cormorant ~ 20
Starling
Shelduck
Woodpigeon
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Herring Gull
Black-headed Gull
Common Tern ~ 200
Sandwich Tern ~200
Little Tern ~ 10 ( saw ~ 60 on 28.07.03 )

.... alas, no Curlew to listen to !!!
 
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My late brother was the one who really could imitate the call of the curlew, and he used to stand out in the field and call, then listen for the reply that he always got, shame he is no longer with us as he did it better than Percy Edwards, and that did take some beating... Nina.
 
Didn;t see too much about today, not in any way a serious birdwatching trip. 5 minutes on the train to Berney - wandered as far as the mill & river, took a few photo's and got the train back a few hours later.

Sunny, blue skies & hot. A few high clouds & a little breeze


Dragonflies :

Brown Hawker
Blue-tailed Damselfly
Southern Hawker ..... ( edited from Emporer Dragonfly )
Ruddy Darter



Butterflies :

Painted Lady - quite numerous
Small Tortoiseshell
Wall Brown
? Skipper ... not sure which species
Gatekeeper
Clouded Yellow .... was really happy with this, the first time I've seen one. A migrant I believe. Feeding on the clovers of Berney meadow


Birdlife :

Mute Swan
Lapwing
Marsh Harrier x 1 ...female
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Egyptian Geese
Little Egret x 1
Starling
Coot
Kestrel x 1
Swift
Woodpigeon
Goldfinch, quite numerous.
 
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Cheers Colin, don't stay still for long do they. A few mad dashes across the field !

Looking back at my list that Emporer I've edited to Southern Hawker. I wrote both down on my list (as I didn't have my book) to check when I got in & crossed off the wrong one.


Later on there were several Goldfinch & Linnet along with the Starling & gulls on the bushes down by the new power station as well. Not exactly on 'the patch' I guess, but still in Yarmouth
 
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I am lucky to have frequent visits from the emperor but the cats dont go too much on them, they buzz like a Lysander airoplane when they come up close to your ear, and my own kids hate them as they are too much like wasps for them, but I personally love the cheeky little noisemongers, along with the four spot libellula, we do have the common damselflies, both blue and red, but they lead a charmed life with the Marsh frog, common frog and the toad, all using my pond as their home. Nina.
 
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