WINTERING BIRDS ON THE SUFFOLK COAST
Friday 25th - Sunday 27th February 2022
WINTERING BIRDS ON THE SUFFOLK COAST…
A course on bird identification, open to everyone and taking advantage of all the activity during the late winter period. We will visit some of the best birdwatching sites on the Bawdsey Peninsula to learn about bird characteristics and behaviour. By observing birds closely and listening to their calls, you will become more confident in identifying a wide range of common and scarcer species. The content is also appropriate for anyone wishing to contribute to their Continuing Professional Development (CPD) requirements.
Are you curious to find out more about birds and the habitats in which they occur? If so, this is the course for you. It will help you identify birds by sound as well as sight and you will learn about the unique and specialised habitats that occur in Suffolk.
The Bawdsey peninsula is blessed with some wonderful birdwatching sites that are within easy reach of Bawdsey Hall. An almost unbroken chain of nature reserves stretches along the coast from Benacre Broad in northeast Suffolk, to Landguard Point at the county’s south-eastern extremity. Bawdsey is near to the southern end of this chain and birdwatching sites such as Boyton and Hollesley Marshes, Shingle Street, East Lane ponds, Ramsholt Marsh, Sutton Heath and Upper and Lower Hollesley Common are within easy reach of the Hall.
There should be an array of wildfowl and waders for you to view and the area is renowned for wintering raptors and especially Short-eared Owls that regularly forage at Shingle Street. A Rough-legged Buzzard has wintered on the Bawdsey peninsula in recent years and Marsh and Hen Harriers are almost a certainty.
The Suffolk Sandlings is a beautiful area or prime lowland heath where the beautiful song of the Woodlark (one of our earliest songsters) can be heard and a Dartford Warbler can be spotted. Without doubt, you will have many memories to take home.
The course will involve a series of complementary activities to ensure you become familiar with the identification and behaviour of birds which are seen.
These will include:
· Watching birds from a distance in the various habitats
· Viewing birds in close-up at the Bawdsey Hall ringing site (if bird ringing is able to be arranged)
· Learning the art of fieldcraft
· Learning key visual clues to help you identify species by sight
· Learning key calls to help you identify species by sound
Time will be divided between watching and listening to birds out in the field and working indoors reviewing and revising what has been learned. As many species as possible will be sought out to view in ‘real time’, but there will also be opportunity to use the latest online videos and identification guides to cover those species which may elude us to ensure you have as full a picture as possible.
Song birds are normally most active during the first few hours after dawn, so pre-breakfast bird walks are an important part of the itinerary. The early sessions before breakfast will be around Bawdsey Nature Reserve of the local area.
Weather permitting, we may organise one or more bird ringing demonstrations which will enable you to get really ‘close-up and personal’ with some of the birds. Seeing birds in the hands of experts is an excellent way of understanding the nuances of bird identification and will reinforce the observations you can make through binoculars
COST:
2 nights/3days (Friday- Sunday courses):
£400 per person