63
Birds at North Fambridge in 1956
Notes from my Diary
BY JACK T. FRIEDLEIN
January 3rd. A Sparrow-Hawk chased a lark which flew straight for me. I
clapped my hands and yelled and the lark landed on the grass a few feet
from me. The hawk, with his eyes blazing, swerved past me and away with
quick wing beats. 8th. A flight of Curlews 500 strong passed up-river. 11th.
About 150 Lapwing on the field. Sheld-Duck "laughing" at night over Stowe
Creek. 15th. A Great Spotted Woodpecker working the elm trees. 18th and
22nd. A Tree-Creeper in the elms. 21th. A Blackbird with a pure white head
at the station. 25th. A Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in the churchyard elms.
29th. At 2 a.m. a large flight of geese passed over westwards. Twenty minutes
later they returned and after circling the Stowe Creek reach came straight for
me. There was a brilliant full moon with yellow misty clouds scudding across
from the south-west. I estimated their number to be about 200 and they set up
a clamour which sounded like a lot of "creaking ungreased wagon wheels—a
most remarkable sight! It pays to burn the midnight oil sometimes! 30th.
The Lesser Spotted Woodpecker here again and there were about 500 Curlew
feeding ou our big field. 31st. It turned colder with 11 degrees of frost at
night—the Fieldfares and Redwings appear to be worried and complaining
already.
February 1st. 12 degrees of frost and the birds looked wretched. About
1,000 Lapwing on our field and marsh. 2nd. Snipe are already feeling the
cold and come right up to our house in the hope of getting a tiny strip of fresh
water to feed in. 17th. A Woodcock flew across the road over my head. Redwing
and Fieldfare fareing very badly and dying fast. Europe is in the grip of
winter even as far as the Mediterranean coast. 19th. Several Snipe in cowshed
ditch, quite tame through hunger. 20th. A Woodcock settled in the Old House
garden. 21st. 50 Grey Geese wheeled over the farm and headed north-east with
much clamour. 22nd. Fieldfare and Redwing bodies scattered along the hedge-
rows. A Moorhen impaled and dead on barbed wire by the pond. 23rd. At
9.30 a.m. about 250 Grey Geese flew over me, at no more than 100 feet height,
in brilliant sunshine which was accentuated by the snow on the ground. A
wonderful sight which few have had the luck to see. The geese crooked their
heads on one side to look down at me as I yelled for the others to come out
and see them. They were in perfect bow formation as they passed at great
speed north-eastwards. They appeared to be White-fronts. At 5.30 p.m. they
returned and flew in triangular formation straight across the red sunset and
settled on the mud-flats. At 8 p.m. they passed overhead and out to sea with
much clamour. 25th. A better day, thawing in the sun. Ten Coot are on
the field which they find preferable to the ice-sheeted marsh. The Thrushes
seem well but there are dead Blackbirds here and there. 26th. Twelve Coot
and a Bar-tailed Godwit on the field. Three pairs of Shoveler on the marsh.
March 9th. A solitary Barn Owl flies round the fields every evening before
dusk; it lives at the Hall sheds and has no mate. 11th. A Bittern reported
at Bridgemarsh Island. Three Fieldfare passed overhead. 15th. Snowing
again. 17th. Saw a pair of Tree-Creepers on our elms, the first pair for two
or three years. 24th. About 250 Curlew in the marsh. 26th. Six pairs of
Sheld-Duck on the tide-line. Teal are still here in large numbers.
April 9th. The first Willow-Warbler arrived and was singing in the even-
ing. 10th. I visited the woods and found that Chiffchaffs were in song in the
usual places. The first Swallow arrived at the farm and after dark I found it at