26.03.2022 - Outdoor Meeting : Santon Downham and Lynford Aboretum

Leader: Sue Gale
Reporters: Sue Gale 
On another beautiful blue morning we assembled in the Forestry Commission car park at Santon Downham. The first half dozen to arrive were dispatched along the river bank with Steve Chapman in
charge at 7.45. The earlier the better when it comes to the annual challenge of seeing a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (LSW). In fact, the rest of the group was only 20 minutes behind, and the first lot hadn’t yet seen the bird, although they had seen Mandarin ducks flying along the river. Soon after arrival Emily whispered that she thought she had seen it, and indeed she had! Many of us had reasonable but brief views in a fairly distant tree, of two birds, but they soon flew into the woods at the back. We waited for a while, and then decided to split up again, some of us waiting and hoping the birds would return, those who had seen enough leaving to look for Woodlark. 

While we waited on the riverbank, we saw both other resident woodpeckers, Siskin, Brambling, 5 species of Tit, most pleasingly Marsh Tits, and Stock Doves that may have discouraged the LSWs from returning for a time. But patience was rewarded and a male LSW returned and began
excavating a nest hole in a closer tree. We were able to watch it for some time and several good photos were taken. On the return walk a Stonechat was seen and Reed Bunting.
Under the railway line and we were in Woodlark territory. Soon one was located, singing in a tree by the line. The other group had not seen this one but tracked down another, in Santon Warren, by tracking its singing. So good views were enjoyed by all. Throughout the day Nuthatches were a
constant, noisy, presence and we heard at least two Song Thrushes singing loudly. We all returned to the cars for some well-earned refreshments, and decided to move on to Lynford Arboretum.
Lynford was quite busy, as might be expected on a weekend in good weather, and we couldn’t find the hoped for Firecrest by the car park. However, the feeders inside the arboretum did provide a number of Yellowhammers, including a couple of very bright males, and some Bramblings, along with the usual Tits, Robins and Dunnocks. Kathy was lucky enough to see a Hawfinch here, before the rest of us arrived.
Taking a walk down the hill towards the paddocks we stopped, not very hopefully, to scan a group of tall conifers where a Tawny Owl was known to roost. But this time we were in luck. In a patch of sunshine right at the top of a tree you could see the feathers of the owl’s back. Telescopes were
trained on it and it rewarded us by turning its head and gazing down at us. We were delighted, especially as after a while it moved back into the dense shade and could be seen no more. Nearby we also added Treecreeper to our list. We walked on around the paddocks and back beside the lake.
We had a Mistle Thrush in the paddock and Little Grebe, Gadwall and Egyptian Goose by the lake but no further sign of the Hawfinches. After lunch the group split, some going home, three members heading for Lynford Lakes, and the remaining 7 of us heading for the pig fields near Great Cressenden. We had some idea about where we might find a Stone Curlew, and it took some hard looking and persistence but eventually Emily found one for us.
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Bird list for 26th March at Santon Downham (S) and Lynford Arboretum (L)
(62 species)
Pheasant (S)
Red-legged Partridge (S)
Canada Goose (SL)
Greylag Goose (SL)
Mute Swan (L)
Egyptian Goose (L)
Mandarin Duck (S)
Gadwall (L)
Mallard (SL)
Tufted Duck (L)
Stock Dove (S)
Woodpigeon (SL)
Moorhen (S)
Coot (L)
Oystercatcher (S)
Stone Curlew (GC)
Little Grebe (L)
Great Crested Grebe (L)

Black-headed Gull (L)
Grey Heron (S)
Buzzard (SL)
Tawny Owl (L)
Lesser Spotted Woodpecker (S)
Great Spotted Woodpecker (S)
Green Woodpecker (SL)
Jay (S)
Magpie (SL)
Jackdaw (S)
Rook (L)
Carrion Crow (SL)
Coal Tit (SL)
Marsh Tit (SL)
Blue Tit (SL)
Great Tit (SL)
Woodlark (SL)
Long-tailed Tit (SL)

Chiffchaff (SL)
Blackcap (L)
Goldcrest (SL)
Wren (SL)
Nuthatch (SL)
Treecreeper (L)
Starling (S)
Blackbird (SL)
Redwing (S)
Song Thrush (S)
Mistle Thrush (L)
Robin (SL)
Stonechat (S)
Dunnock (SL)
Grey Wagtail (S)
Pied Wagtail (L)
Chaffinch (SL)

Brambling (SL)
Hawfinch (L)
Bullfinch (L)
Greenfinch (SL)
Linnet (S)
Goldfinch (SL)
Siskin (SL)
Yellowhammer (L)
Reed Bunting (S)
Butterflies
Red Admiral (S)
Peacock (SL)
Brimstone (SL)
Orange Tip (L)
Small Tortoiseshell (L)