Bradfield Woods Spring Visit

Well it's been a while since I have written a piece for the blog, this has been down to my lack of getting out and at times my incapacity....well my good buddy Matt finally dragged my backside out to Bradfield Woods, this wood is one of the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts reserves and it is of great importance with over 300 different species of plants to be seen during different times of the year...

On this visit the woods had an abundance of blue bells and wild garlic showing and as you can imagine the scent from these were very pungent...whilst in one of the meadows in the woods I saw my first ever Water Aven (see photo) these delicate flowers were in abundance and a pleasure to see...mind you one thing I was not pleased to see was plastic bags of dog excreta hanging from branches...oh why do moronic humans do this type of thing, also another thing that was disturbing was the fact that people had trodden down the bluebells...what does this archive.... 

Along some of the drives Orange Tip, Speckled Wood, Large White, Brimstone butterflies were seen along with various damselflies all of were all to sprightly to be photographed...all in all it was a great day to be in the woods....

On our way back home we decided to pay a visit to another Trust reserve, this being Grove Farm, whilst traveling there we spotted a Buzzard hovering beside the small minor road...what a pleasant surprise...whilst at Grove Farm it was plain to see how much we are need of a good drop of rain, the fields were full of deep cracks and the ponds were bone dry....

Well I must sign of now as iv'e an early start in the morning as I'm being taken to Donnington Park to photograph classic car racing....boy that will be far noisy that photographing wildlife...

Seasons Greetings

Following this long cold spell and heavy snow I have not been able to get out with my camera to capture the beautiful snow covered landscapes, so I have had to be content with topping up the feeders in my small Suffolk town garden and photographing the birds through the patio doors...

These feeders have seen an abundance of different birds even Long Tailed Tits have been sitting on the snow covered branches of the Hawthorn tree just outside my computer room window, there have been a constant flight of Blue Tits coming to the feeder stuck on the window, I have even noticed two Field Fares finishing of the last of the Hawthorn Berries...

We all must try hard during this cold spell to put out food for all the birds and small creatures at this time of year as it's pitiful to see them with their feathers all puffed out...

May I know take this opportunity to thank Matt for taking me out during this past year without this help I would not have been able to see so much wildlife let alone photograph it....

Finally may I wish you all the best for Christmas and the New Year...

Phil

A Visit to RSPB Minsmere

Whow what a lovely day we have had here in Suffolk, dispite a strong NW wind the sun shone and this made for an enjoyable few hours at the RSPB flagship reserve at Minsmere.

Matt and I were hoping to photograph some of the many stone-chats that had been seen on the reserve during the past few days, I'm sorry to say this was not possible as there were so many off the red & blue waterproof coat brigade with their children and dogs...I don't know why these people come along to a reserve as they made so much noise all the birds decided to hide deep within the bushes (s0 much for humans observing the country-code).....

Putting that to one side we both enjoyed our stroll around Minsmere especially myself as I have not been that well during the past week, I had the unfortunate shock of having to adjust my lifestyle yet again has I had a very staunch warning from my GP following last Sundays kidney problems. It seems as this was caused by my Type2 Diabetes not being controlled and I had not been sticking to my diet....naughty naughty me...I am now taking this very serious as I was told I was heading in the right direction for kidney failure....now that's something I do not want as that would put an end to my nature jollies...

Despite not getting any decent shots of birds Matt and I did spend time on the receding shingle bank & shore line as the light on the crashing waves was very good for photography...

I must say Matt got so engrossed with photographing the waves whilst standing about two feet from the water line with his trusted Nikon and 500mm lens attached to his tripod he forgot to keep an eye out for any large waves...yes you have guessed what happened a large wave crashed on the shingle, the next thing I saw was Matt dancing in the sea trying not to get wet...oh well he did try but he got wet right up-to his crotch....mind you he was very lucky the Nikon and tripod stayed still and no damage was done....well only his pride was dented....

After this we decided to make our way back to the visitor centre for a hot coffee...well I had a coffee but Matt came out with a big chunk of peanut chocolate cake...he's starting his diet tomorrow...I've heard that before as well...

If you wish to visit RSPB Minsmere there is a £5 entry fee for non members also worth a visit is the National Trust Heath at Dunwich which is just a few miles along the coast, here you may get a glimpse of the large herd of Red Deer that frequent the heath....

A visit to Captains Wood Suffolk

Well it's been a month since I last placed a post on this blog, this was because I have not been very well and have not been able to visit any reserves.

So today I was feeling reasonably OK and Matt picked me up and we went of to Captain's Wood in Suffolk for details of this wood please check out the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts website...We were hoping to see some of the many Red Deer that frequent this beautiful ancient woods but alas non were to be seen amongst the Oak and Silver Birches...

However there were a wide range of fungi to photograph, and to photograph these takes a good deal of patience as it's just not having a problem with getting down to their level that causes problems, it's the fact that you have to do so much tidying up around the actual fungi as there is usually odd bit's of leaves, brambles, nettles around the fungi so these have to be removed to get a good shot.

Then after taking the shot it's them time for Matt to help me up from the ground as my back has just about locked up...also having a pint of Aspels cider with our lunch didn't help matters...

As you can imagine this ancient wood was starting to change with the autumn colours now starting to show and with the low sitting sun pushing lovely rays of light in through the branches there was a very enjoyable atmosphere being created with grey squirrels running along the forest floor and the autumnal smells of rotting leaves and bracken it was a very pleasant couple of hours and to think in a few months time the whole woods will have taken on a different appearance...then it will be a different atmosphere all together with different subject matter to photograph....

Fungi in the Woods

What a beautiful late summers day we had here in Suffolk today, this weather was ideal for doing fungi photography so Matt and I went of and visited Bradfield Woods once more, this time we were joined by Heidi another Suffolk Wildlife Trust volunteer photographer. This was Heidi's first outing with us two and she soon found out about our sense of humour and the ice was broken...

On entering the woods we were met by the volunteer warden and after introducing Matt & Heidi to him he told us where there were some good species to photograph...we hadn't got far into the woods and we came across a lovely area of wildflowers, this was really unexpected so this was an added bonus...

Whilst crawling on our hands and knees in the woods photographing the various fungi it was great to hear the bird song and to see several butterflies nectering on various plants...yet again Matt was to be seen munching his way through the abundant blackberries on the bushes....of course there was the occasional spit as some were not that sweet....

We all were engrossed with our surroundings in this ancient wood we had forgot to keep an eye on the time, low and behold it was vastly approaching lunch time so we made our way back to the car park...

Whilst making this journey back we came across a mother & father with two young boys who were enjoying the woods and were learning so much from their parents and this is when it really hit home how the Suffolk Wildlife Trust are doing a great job in saving these important woodland for the future generation and I urge you all to help the Trust to purchase the last remaining private part of the woods, this can be done by going to the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts website link for Bradfield Woods and donate to the Bradfield Woods Appeal.....

Once more Matt & I had a great day & I'm sure Heidi enjoyed her first trip out with us too....

Bradfield Woods

Bradfield woods is a working wood that is unique as it has been under continuous traditional coppice management since 1252, fulfilling local needs for firewood and hazel products. It is one of Britain’s finest ancient woodlands and is a glorious haven for wildlife.

Coppice products from Bradfield Wood are still sold today for thatching and hurdle making. Other products sold from the wood include rustic ash poles for garden structures, bean poles, peas sticks, rotted sawdust soil conditioner and firewood.

After reading the above on the Suffolk Wildlife Trusts Website Matt and I decided to pay this historical wood a visit and with autumn approaching we were hoping to see and photograph some fungi. I'm pleased to say we were not disappointed as we soon saw so many different species and both Matt and I managed to photograph these, one thing that did disappoint us was to see that so many fungi had been destroyed, of course this could only have been caused by senseless idiots kicking them over...what did they achieve from doing that!!!

We spent quite awhile photographing the many dragonflies that were resting on the blackberry bushes...oh those blackberries were so sweet, I'm sure Matt will have a belly ache tonight as he was eating so many...

Whilst taking a slow walk though the woods we were hoping to see one of the many red deer, roe deer or spotted fallow but we were unlucky, perhaps we shall have to arrive at dawn to see these.

If any of you are interested in going to Bradfield Woods (shown as Felshamhall Woods on an OS map) the Grid reference on the OS Landranger 155 map is TL 93581 there is ample parking on-site, Both Matt and I enjoyed our visit so much we are already planning another visit.

A return visit to Redgrave & Lopham Fen

Today Matt and I had a return visit to Redgrave & Lopham Fen, although the weather forecast was intermittent showers and dispite the light not being conducive for photography we decided to give the Fen a look.

On arriving we were welcomed by two friendly volunteers in the visitor centre and seeing it was a bit on the nippy side we decided to have a lovely hot mug of coffee before setting off into the rather windy fen.

It wasn't long before we spotted a Munkjac deer, of course he soon scarpered of into the woods that surrounded this side of the fen, we then came across a very sheltered spot and I soon spotted a red dragonfly in a spiders web, the rush was on to photograph the demise of this insect as it was about to be devoured by a spider...I'm pleased to say Matt got the best shot as all mine suffered from camera shake as I only had a 400 lens attached...(see top of the page for Matt's photograph).

Whilst taking a slow stroll around the fen we saw a kestrel going down for it's prey and on one of the lakes we were lucky to see Kingfisher sitting on a post and a lone Egret unfortunately these were to far away to be photographed.

Another sight to see is the wild ponies that wander the reserve, these have been placed onto the reserve by Suffolk Wildlife Trust to manage the grass etc, whilst we were in one of the wooded areas a small group of these ponies were close by.

By now we were staring to get the lunch box syndrome and we headed back to the Visitor Center for another mug of coffee and an Alder Carr ice-cream, whilst making our way back Matt & I spotted a young Fallow Deer.

Just after this the sky decided to turn a nasty grey colour and just as we sat down to have our coffee the heavens opened and that was the end of our day out on the fen...

Despite not having many photographs that were worth keeping on my return both Matt & I had a very enjoyable day...