There’s nothing like an surprising chook to get the heartbeat racing, as I used to be reminded on a latest heat and sunny summer time’s night. I used to be driving my small open-top automotive on a neighbour’s farm to see what I may discover. The farm in query is giant – 1,000 acres – and primarily arable, although a small herd of Redpolls (not birds, however a particular breed of cattle native to Suffolk) are a brand new addition.
What makes this farm particular is the novel method to farming that has been adopted by its proprietor, James Bucher, who’s a convert to regenerative agriculture. Apprehensive in regards to the state of his soil, his farming practices are actually in marked distinction to most of his neighbours. He not ploughs however drills immediately, and tries to by no means have naked soil uncovered. He avoids the pointless use of what he calls “cides” (herbicides and pesticides), and isn’t afraid to innovate with completely different crops. Agro-forestry is new to the farm, with small blocks of timber planted in cereal fields. As well as, he has intensive areas of wild-bird cowl, making this by far the most effective farm for wildlife in my space.
My automotive is about as removed from an off-roader as you may get, however pushed slowly it might probably handle the farm tracks, whereas being convertible makes it ideally suited to be used as a cellular conceal. I hadn’t visited the farm for some time, so was not sure which crops had been harvested, and what I would discover. At first I noticed little. Skylarks breed in good numbers on the farm, however in August after they have stopped singing they’re much much less apparent: I noticed a solitary particular person. There’s a very good inhabitants of Gray Partridges, too, however I found that there was nonetheless numerous unharvested crops, so loads of cowl for the partridges to cover in.
Juvenile Lapwing. The brief crest signifies its age
No chook is extra symbolic of the farmed panorama than the Lapwing. As soon as one of many commonest and most widespread of farmland birds, it has suffered a marked decline within the newest 50 years, so has grow to be an indicator of a wholesome farmland setting. Thus I used to be delighted to see a flock of those good-looking waders feeding on one of many harvested fields. The birds had been extensively scattered, feeding over a broad space, whereas there was a excessive proportion of juveniles within the flock, which numbered round 200 birds. One teen posed properly for my digicam.
Driving on a brief distance, a Wheatear dashed throughout the monitor, flashing its distinctive white rump. This chook, an early autumn migrant, was one I used to be in search of, so this was a minor triumph. It was the earliest Wheatear that I’ve recorded on the farm. Then, a second later, my coronary heart skipped a beat: a trio of Stone Curlews flew low throughout the sector, earlier than touchdown once more within the golden stubbles. Stone Curlews are a Breckland particular, and top-of-the-line birds of my space, so are at all times a thrill to see, particularly when they’re surprising, as these birds had been.
I scanned the sector with my binoculars, looking for extra. Stone Curlews have a cheerful knack of disappearing from view, as they’re masters of utilizing their cryptic plumage to merge with their background. I seemed, then seemed once more, ultimately counting seven birds, although I’m positive that there have been eight altogether. They had been a particularly satisfying discover, as this was the primary autumn gathering I’d seen on the farm. In 2022 a pair nested right here, they usually tried to do once more in 2023, however their chicks had been almost definitely predated.
Stone Curlews sometimes lay two eggs in a clutch. The nest is only a scrape within the floor
I had been proven their 2022 nest by a good friend who screens (beneath licence) Stone Curlews within the Brecks. A few weeks after admiring the eggs my good friend referred to as once more: “Would I prefer to see the chicks?” he requested. “They’re because of hatch tomorrow.” By weighing the eggs, he advised me, it’s potential to foretell nearly precisely when they’ll hatch. I jumped on the alternative. Stone Curlew chicks don’t remain within the subsequent scrape for lengthy after hatching, so this was a one-off alternative.
Younger Stone Curlews, a couple of hours after hatching. They hatched from the eggs proven above
As soon as the younger have left the nest they’re troublesome to watch, because the mother and father are inclined to preserve them in cowl the place they’re troublesome (if not inconceivable) to see. It’s not normally till they’ve fledged which you can uncover how profitable they’ve been. On the finish of the season the birds collect in flocks at plenty of conventional websites. Probably the most I’ve seen in an autumn gathering is 60 people.
Spot the curlew. They depend on their cryptic plumage to stay unseen
Britain’s Stone Curlews are essentially the most northerly breeding inhabitants on the earth – in Europe they’re most quite a few in Spain and France, however they happen as far east at Central Asia and Iran. Because of strict safety the English inhabitants is secure and even growing, numbering round 300 pairs, of which the bulk are to be discovered within the Norfolk and Suffolk Brecks. They favour open countryside the place the vegetation is low sufficient to permit them good all-round visibility. In addition they favor areas with low rainfall and excessive summer time temperatures – the Brecks are one of many driest and (in summer time) warmest areas in England.
A trio of birds – probably a household celebration
Stone Curlews are invariably cautious and troublesome to method, and I used to be by no means in a position to method these birds carefully, even within the automotive. My pictures had been all of birds in landscapes, moderately than portraits of particular person birds. A lot as I might have preferred to have taken some nearer photographs, my pictures do present these fascinating birds as you usually see them, at lengthy vary.
