It was a dawn start for birdwatching in Walberswick, Suffolk, this morning:
It was very cold: it certainly felt like several degrees minus.
Amongst the rewards was this:
In the relative foreground is my first ever eider duck in the south of England. I expect them in Northumberland, but not in Suffolk. They are magnificent, even in the mist.
And this was amusing:
Not everyone gets turnstones on the seeds they put out for the birds, but this was Southwold harbour.
It was worth getting very cold to be out there this morning, even if the brent geese I had hoped for never put in an appearance.
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I’m sorry that the Brent geese you hoped for didn’t turn out, to be viewed. If I may say so, however, the turnstones and the wonderful eider and, indeed, the view of the cold sunrise, are all delightful; and a welcome respite from the misery of the Westminster scene (your comments on which I also value, by the way).
Thanks
Wow. Eider ducks are still on my bucket list of birds I would love to see. While you are a bit far south for them, I think I’m a bit far north …Glasgow area. But they are easily the most beautiful of ducks, aren’t they?
I always think of them as east coast ducks. I may be entirely wrong. They certainly appear on the Scottish east coast. I know that. They are stunning. It was a moment of quiet(ish) excitement to notice this one. They are stunning birds.
Eider ducks are indeed East coast birds. I saw in Leith docks a few years ago a nursery with two females ‘babysitting’ around ten little ones. Any who tried to go beyond their allotted space were brought back with a sharp honk. Wonderful to watch!
🙂
You’ll also see them and especially hear them on the West Coast of Scotland and the Hebrides.
Excellent
Eiders are a common sight off the East Lothian coast. We did not see any ducks on our visit to the beach yesterday, but there were plenty of geese (probably pink footed) grazing in fields close to the coast. We also get flocks of Whooper swans in the winter, but I have not seen any yet this winter.
We have the whoopers!
Tell them they have overshot!