Yesterday (the 10th) saw my brother David and I make an after work trip over to Cavenham Heath in Suffolk in the company of Alan Shorrock. Our goal was to find the Stone Curlews that gather at this site prior to their southward migration while hopefully avoiding any of the promised showers. When we arrived it was thankfully dry though the light quality in the somewhat gloomy conditions was a bit poor.
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| Osprey. |
We set off with only a vague notion of where we should go as none of us were familiar with the site. Passing through woodland and then heathland as well as past a fairly fragrant pig farm we scanned as we walked hoping to pick up one of the hoped for thick knees. The first highlight was a low flying Osprey, not the fish munching raptor but the American helicopter type thingy which made a fairly low circuit of the site. At least one family party of Stonechats were present though they kept their distance for the most part.
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| Stone Curlews. |
I was beginning to get my first flutterings of pre dip concern when David picked out a couple of flying birds which I was lucky enough to glimpse. A subsequent scan through the scope of the heath revealed at least twenty Stone Curlews feeding amongst the heather. Normally we only see these strange but charismatic waders at Weeting Heath and then in ones and twos, often at distance and usually in heat hazy conditions. To see so many actively feeding and relatively near was a first for me in the UK and I thoroughly enjoyed the spectacle. My photographic efforts were undermined to a degree by the poor light conditions but that did not ruin the experience. Some threatening looking clouds sent us heading off back towards the car in an almost successful attempt to dodge the coming rain shower.
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