Female Hooded Merganser in Christchurch Park, Ipswich

Earlier in the week I had read a post on Facebook (David Quinton, Suffolk Birds, 21 February 2020) with photos of a female Hooded Merganser in Christchurch Park. We decided to take a look to see if the bird was still in the area. As you can see, she was, though the sunlight was intermittent and my photos are little more than record shots. I have read on the internet that the bird was introduced by the park authorities in the hope that this female would mate with a male, but I have not verified this suggestion.

What I do know is that a certain male Hooded Merganser recently went for a waddle down Tavern Street in the town centre, and had to be returned to the Christchurch pond by park rangers. According to the report in The Ipswich Star, the bird is almost certainly not a wild one.

Hooded Mergansers hail from North America, and the female in the photo is the first I have knowingly seen. Having watched a good number of Goosanders and Red-breasted Mergansers in the north of Britain, I was surprised at the small size of the bird in the park.

You can see her ginger 'tuft' in the photo below as she leaves the geese to their rest and heads out alone onto the water.





David thought he saw a Song Thrush in the garden a couple of days ago. I missed it, but was pleased to see this thrush in the park hopping about in the twigs.

The photo below shows one of the Coots we noticed.

There was a large queen Bumblebee on the pussy willow below, but by the time I had focused my camera, she had flown off. Just look at the pollen she left behind.

We noticed a few Manadrin ducks. There are usually some in or around the pond.

Christchurch Park is really very convenient for Ipswich. The church below, St Margaret's, in the town centre can be seen from the park. 

Flowers and blossom are beginning to grace us with their presence. I believe this flower, with its distinctive speckled leaves, is Lungwort or Pulmonaria.



The yew in the photo below is the oldest tree in the park, and has its own sign which explains that yews are among the hardest 'soft wood' trees. The tree is over 14m high and at least 600 years old.

What fascinating bark and trunk structures...

There were several Grey Squirrels darting about and skimming up and down trees. The ground was littered with what looked distinctly like half nibbled chestnuts.

Thomas Wolsey was an Ipswich man...

The picture below shows part of the facade of Christchurch Mansion, which is situated in the park. It was constructed on the 12th century site of Holy Trinity Priory, which failed to survive the Dissolution of the Monasteries under King Henry VIII.

This plaque with the date 1550 rather appealed to me.

My Latin is pretty rusty but if you think along the lines of making the most of your talents, you probably won't go far wrong...

It was good to have made the most of the sunshine...



...and to have enjoyed birdsong from the bushes. The Robin below was looking magnificent.

* * *

The light was fading by the time we reached home, but I was thrilled to find that our single Snowdrop had become a tiny drift...

...and with a very early tulip braving the wind and a hungry Blue tit feeding from the coconut, it began to feel just a little like spring.

Kingfisher Watching - A Walk in the Park

I recall the thrill of seeing my first Bittern from the Bittern Hide (where else?) at RSPB Minsmere. It somehow seemed that bit too good to be true. Then we saw Adders on the Minsmere Adder Trail...

Well, last weekend we paid a quick visit to Holywells Park in Ipswich, and there in the watercourse, by a sign illustrated with a Kingfisher was... a Kingfisher! It was a fairly elusive bird, but as you see, we managed to get a few record shots. I hope we can return with more time. My thanks to David for his photo immediately below. 

There were other creatures about, including the Mandarin duck in the next photo. The stark contrast between light and shade reminded us that we are past the equinox, and already in the season of shorter hours of daylight.

Out in the open at the top of the park there was some real warmth in the sunshine. My eyes alighted on this fluffy mass...

I guess it may be a spider nest, or cocoon, perhaps belonging to a species like the Golden Orb Weaver.

If my hunch is correct (and I have yet to test it out on iSpot), the spiderlings will eventaully disperse by the method known as 'ballooning'. 

It was good to see a fair number of bees about on the colourful plants. 

 

This is the recently renovated Orangery...

These reflections are largely green, but it will not be long before the colours turn to those fiery shades of autumn (or those misty, mellow ones if you prefer the description offered by Keats...). 

A Splash of Mandarin ducks (Aix galericulata, Linnaeus 1758)

I had read that there was a pair of Mandarin ducks in a local pond here in Suffolk, so when we were there on Sunday afternoon, we kept a sharp eye out for these. I had a feeling we were not going to see them, but after a careful survey of the scene, I noticed something bright in the undergrowth on the bank of a small island in the water. I don't know whether the female's beady eye would have caught my attention, but the iridescent shades of the male were unmistakeable.

Aix galericulata, Linnaeus, 1758

I remember these characterful birds from my childhood when we would go to see the ducks at Bradbourne Lakes, designed originally as features in an ornamental landscape. Sadly it looks as though these lakes are now in trouble, but I recall many happy expeditions to see Tufted Duck, Mallard, Shelduck, Moorhen and Black Swan. Tragically Bradbourne Lakes were polluted in 2012 when a company or individual poured a large quantity of oil down a drain.

These fabulous birds are very loyal to their mates. They feature in oriental poetry, such as a poem by the Japanese writer, Tachibana Akemi (橘曙覧, 1812-68), in which the speaker looks out with his partner on a snow scene of these ducks.

You can read more about these birds on the website of the Wildlife Trusts here and on the BirdGuides site here.

The short bill is spatula-shaped. The white tip is called a nail. The male's orange ruff comprises small feathers called auriculars on account of their proximity to the ear. 



I love the seemingly abstract colours and shapes!

This species is not considered under threat, but how tragic that only 1000 pairs now exist in Russia and China due to environmental issues such as deforestation. The ancestors of many of today's Mandarins here in Britain were originally bred in captivity, but became what we might call 'garden escapes'.