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The Lower half of the River Orwell.
Map showing the birding sites on the River Orwell's eastern half.
The above map shows the main birding sites on the lower half of the River Orwell. Though it is possible to walk the whole length of this section it is probably better to do it in stages, using the designated carparks. You could quiet easily spend all day just on this section, especially during the spring and autumn passage periods when there are lots of interesting species to be seen.
The Levington area
 Probably my most favorite area on the Orwell, not only can you do a nice little circular walk, and at any time of year see loads of birds but there is also probably one of the best 'ale houses' on the Peninsular thoughtfully situated at the beginning or the end of your perambulation. Though there is ample car parking behind the pub please don't use this facility unless you are going to patronize the pub during your visit.. Otherwise please use the car park on the map above. The best watchpoint for watching waders at any time of year is from the sea wall on the Levington Lagoon (3) side of the Creek with the best time being from about three hours before high tide. It is also better if the high tide is in the morning as then you have the sun behind you with the obvious attraction of better light. Before you get to the Lagoon itself if you look out over the Orwell an excellent area of mud and salt marsh extends before you often holding a wide selection of waders and ducks and usually Little Egret, I have seen up to six here. The Lagoon itself is good for Green Sandpipers and very occasionally Kingfisher as well as sometimes holding the odd Jack Snipe during the winter. The area of open scrub to the left of the path has held Great Grey Shrike in recent years and you can usually see Stonechat here. Also look out for Short-eared Owls from October through to early April as these birds sometimes put in a appearance if you are lucky.
The circular walk, either starting from the pub or the creek car parks takes you through grassy meadows, a reed bed and along the sea wall where there are excellent views of the River Orwell and its tidal mud flats and the surrounding salt marsh. Though these paths can get rather muddy and slippery at times, especially on the section between the creek and the reed bed they are always negotiable with care. The meadow is botanically interesting with a few spikes of Common Spotted Orchid usually to be seen along the paths in late summer, especially at the bottom of the hill near to the start of the section that goes through the reedbed. The section through the reedbed has the added attraction of a wooden broadwalk and is excellent for reedbed species of birds and the commoner dragonflies and damselflies. The reedbed is also subject to ringing studies, undertaken by Suffolk Wildlife Trust Ranger Mick Wright, and are used to monitor the bird population for the area. These census techniques have produced much relevant data about the biodiversity of the site as well as recording the only Great Reed Warbler known to have visited our area along with one of the few Marsh Warblers. Having left the reedbed continue up the footpath to the river wall and turn left. This route will bring you to the mouth of the Creek where there is a area of salt marsh that is festooned with Common Sea Lavender during the summer. This is a good area to scan the river both up and down stream. From here continue inland between the Creek and the reedbed to the car park or take the left hand path through the Blackthorn bushes to the meadow and uphill across the meadow to the pub. The farmer usually mow's a pathway through the center of the meadow. Please use this or walk round the meadows edge to avoid any unnecessary trampling.
One of the features of the site is the herd of Fallow Deer that can be seen roaming the area. Though they can on occasion be seen at any time of day the best time to see them is late evening/dusk when they often emerge from the wood to the west of the site and feed in the large hay field beyond the reed bed. One of the best places to see them is from the pub benches, preferably with pint in hand.
Species seen regularly in winter.
Great Crested Grebe (on the river), Brent Goose, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Eurasian Teal, Northern Pintail, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Northern Lapwing, Red Knot, Dunlin, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Ruddy Turnstone, Sky Lark, Meadow Pipit, Rock Pipit, Pied Wagtail, Stonechat, Common Blackbird, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Reed Bunting.
Occasional records; Greenshank, Jack Snipe, Short-eared Owl, Common Kingfisher, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers. Fieldfare, Redwing, Mistle Thrush and Brambling.
The Creek at low tide.
Species seen regularly during the summer.
Eurasian Teal, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Little Tern, Common Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Swift, Green and Great Spotted Woodpeckers, Sky Lark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Pied Wagtail, Hedge Accentor, European Robin, Winter Wren, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Blackcap, Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Reed Bunting.
Species seen occasionally during the summer. Marsh Harrier, Hobby,
Species seen during the passage periods (S) = mostly in spring, (A) = mostly in autumn.
Little Egret, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, European Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Red Knot, Sanderling (A), Little Stint (A), Curlew Sandpiper (A), Dunlin, Ruff, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Ruddy Turnstone, Little Tern, Black Tern (S), Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Rock Pipit, White Wagtail, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Northern Wheatear, Common Grasshopper Warbler (S),
Vagrant to scarce species recorded; American Wigeon, Great Bittern, Pacific Golden Plover, Wilson's Phalarope, Richard's Pipit, Marsh Warbler, Great Reed Warbler and Great Grey Shrike.
Loompit Lake.
Accessible from Thorpe Lane from Trimley St Martins car parking is to be found on the side of the bridle path next to Thorpe Common. Please do not drive down the private road into the farms. From the parking area it is approximately a miles walk to the shore of the River Orwell. Please remember that the lake is privately owned and to keep to the footpaths. The shelter belts along the track are reasonably productive with Common Nightingale, Blackcap and Willow Warbler often heard here in the spring. The wood at the bottom of the valley has a resident pair of Tawny Owls which can often be heard at dusk during the right time of year.
Loompit Lake itself is famous for its roost of Little Egrets with numbers usually peaking at c90 birds during the first couple of weeks in September. Birds are however present in lesser numbers throughout the year. The best place to stand is along the sea/lake wall so as you can watch birds coming in from the River Orwell but remember that birds do come in from over the back of the wood. These birds have presumably spent the day feeding on the River Deben. The lake usually holds a nice selection of duck species during the winter months whilst the foreshore can be busy with waders at low tide. The River Orwell is always worth a quick scan as well. The small salt marsh to the west of the lake wall can be good on the rising tide.
The female Ring-necked Duck present at Loompit in January 2007. Photo by Lee Woods.
Trimley Retreat
This is basically a huge tidel 'mud pit' at the moment recently created by the Port of Felixstowe 'to mitigate against habitat loss due to further dock expansion'. Hopefully in the future when the salt marsh establishes itself around the edges and at the western end it will become a important site within the River Orwell complex. It does however suffer from disturbance due to the badly planned footpath that goes round the boarder of the site which, because of the open nature of the site and the number of people that use it, especially at the weekend, tends to have a detrimental effect on feeding birds. It would have been far better if the footpath had remained on the river wall as this would have given enough distance for the birds to feed undisturbed which after all, was the reason why it was created in the first place. Personally I think if a little more thought was given to the project at its conception, and if it hadn't have been dug so deep, especially at the western end where most of the salt marsh has begun to establish itself and if, a few islands had been left for roosting waders at high tide the site would have far more potential than it has at present. I do feel that Trimley Retreat is a opportunity lost as it could have played a far more important role within the Orwell complex than its present state suggests. Having said that it is getting better with time and as food sources have become established more birds are useing the site.
Trimley Retreat from the eastern side. Photograph Paul Oldfield
The best time to bird at The Retreat is during the week days on the incoming tide and is best done when visiting Trimley Marshes Reserve so you can be sitting in a hide for high tide. Wader species seen here are very much the same as you would see at Levington Creek or on Trimley Reserve but in lesser numbers and very few Duck use the site.
Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve.
Ariel photograph of Trimley Marshes with the Retreat (top left). Photographed by Mike Page.
Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve has been in exsistance since 1990 when it was created from farmland by the Port of Felixstowe 'to mitigate against the loss of Fagbury mudflats and salt marsh' due to expansion. The site is now leased out by the Port of Felixstowe to Suffolk Wildlife Trust on a 90 year lease. Initially it is difficult to realise how the creation of what are essentially gravel pits, could ever 'mitigate' against the loss of acres of salt marsh and mudflats who's ecology and bio-diversity would take decades to evolve. However, due to excellent sympathetic habitat management by the Suffolk Wildlife Trust (and Trimleys very own happy band of volunteers) Trimley Marshes is now a very important site both a local scale within the Orwell/Stour estaury complex and on a National basis. The site now plays host to hundreds and in some cases National Important numbers of wintering wildfowl, as was the case this year when for the first few weeks in January the place was covered with Eurasian Teal and Wigeon with lesser numbers of Pintail and Shoveler. It is also a important breeding site for species such as Avocet, Redshank and Common Snipe as well as being a important high tide sanctuary for migrant waders during the passage periods. To this end Trimley has been awarded SSSI status.
Facilities and access
The reserve is perhaps best reached by walking or biking from Searson's Farm which can be reached via Station Road and Cordys Lane in Trimley St Marys. Alternatively if you dont mind the extra walk you can walk down the track from Thorpe Lane and walk along the foreshore of the Orwell and round Trimley Retreat. Birdwatching is from an excellent series of hides inbetween the river wall and the reserve and from a platform over looking the wet meadows. Please do not walk along the top of the river wall as this usually has the effect of flushing most of the birds from the scrapes infront of the hides. There is a visitor center on the reserve with toilets which is manned by volunteers during the weekends and very occasionally during the week.
Species seen during the winter (Late November through to early March)
During the winter Trimley can hold very impressive numbers of ducks with Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Northern Shoveler, Common Pochard and Tufted Duck all present. Common Geese species such as Brent, Greylag and Greater Canada will also be present along with the ever present feral Ross's Goose. Wader species include Eurasian Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Red Knot, Dunlin, Jack Snipe, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Common Redshank and Turnstone. Peregrines are reasonably regular as are Little Egrets.
Scarce or Rare birds seen during the winter
One of the more regular species seen, certainly in recent years has been Water Pipit. This year has been no exception with at least two birds being seen. At least one Great Bittern is usually present but because of the access and viewing points are rarely seen. Other species of note recorded during this period include Great Northern Diver ( on the Orwell), Slavonian Grebe, Bewick's Swan, White-fronted Goose, Ferruginous Duck, Green-winged Teal, Long-tailed Duck, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Merlin, Short-eared Owl, Cetti's Warbler, Bearded Tit and Penduline Tit. A few years ago a Long-eared Owl wintered along Fagbury Bund near the watchpoint over-looking the wet meadows. The hide overlooking the reservoir is open at weekends if there are any voluntary wardens about.
Species seen reguarly during the Spring (Early March through to the first week in June)
Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Grey Heron, Little Egret, Common Shelduck, Eurasian Wigeon, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Common Pochard, Eurasian Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Ringed Plover, European Golden Plover, Northern Lapwing, Little Stint, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Bar-tailed Godwit, Whimbrel, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, Skylark, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Whinchat, Stonchat, Northern Wheatear, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat and Reed Bunting.
Rare or scarce species during the Spring
Garganey, Purple Heron, Eurasian Spoonbill, Red Kite, Common Crane, Temminck's Stint, Stone Curlew, Wood Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Red-necked Phalarope, Black Tern, White-winged Black Tern and Marsh Warbler.
  
Common Birds during the Summer (Second week of June through to second week of July)
Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Greylag Goose, Shelduck, Gadwall, Eurasian Teal, Mallard, Tufted Duck, Kestrel, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Ringed Plover, Eurasian Curlew, Common Redshank, Black-headed Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Herring Gull, Little Tern ( on river), sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Common Swift, Meadow Pipit, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler.
A Blackwinged Stilt turned up on 7th July and remained on site until the 25th of that month in 1991.
Common Birds during the Autumn (Third week of July through to early November).
Birds seen during the first half of the autumn include; Eurasian Teal, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Eurasian Sparrowhawk, Common Kestrel, Eurasian Oystercatcher, Pied Avocet, Ringed Plover, Northern Lapwing, Red Knot, Little Stint, Curlew Sandpiper, Dunlin, Ruff, Common Snipe, Black-tailed Godwit, Eurasian Curlew, Spotted Redshank, Common Redshank, Common Greenshank, Green Sandpiper, Common Sandpiper, Little Tern, Sandwich Tern, Common Tern, Turtle Dove, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Yellow Wagtail, Sedge Warbler, Reed Warbler, Common Whitethroat.
Birds seen in the second half of the autumn (other than the species listed above) include; Brent Goose, Eurasian Wigeon, Northern Pintail, European Golden Plover, Grey Plover, Jack Snipe, Peregrine Falcon, Rock Pipit.
Scarce or rare birds during the autumn.
Greater White-fronted Goose, Pink-footed Goose, Tundra Swan, Whooper Swan, Blue-winged Teal, Slavonian Grebe, Great White Egret, Eurasian Spoonbill, Red Kite, Osprey, Hen Harrier, Montagu's Harrier, Merlin, Spotted Crake, Stone Curlew, White-rumped Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Stilt Sandpiper, Marsh Sandpiper, Wood Sandpiper, Barn Owl, Long-eared Owl, Short-eared Owl, Richard's Pipit, Tawny Pipit, Cetti's Warbler, Bearded Tit,
Adult White-rumped Sandpiper. Photograph by Kit Day.
Fagbury Cliff and Bund
Fagbury Cliff was once famous for the numbers of birds trapped for ringing from 1990 through to 1996 up to the point that the Port of Felixstowe changed its lights. The white glow that could reportedly be seen for many miles out to sea beyond the horizon changed to a orange glow which had a detrimental effect on numbers attracted, some saay becuse it looked like the glow given of by a fire? In its hayday hundreds of migrants were ringed during the main passage periods along with the associated scarce or rare species making appearances in mist nets which enlivened many a busy ringing session. Unfortunatley this is no longer the case.
Scarce or Rare Species recorded in the past. (Numbers in brackets = birds ringed)
Rough-legged Buzzard, Wryneck (4), Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, Blyth's Reed Warbler (2), Marsh Warbler (5), Icterine Warbler (14), Melodious Warbler (1), Subalpine Warbler (1), Barred Warbler (6), Arctic Warbler (1), Greenish Warbler, Pallas's Leaf Warbler (9), Yellow-browed Warbler (9), Firecrest (58), Golden Oriole (1), Red-backed Shrike (1), Serin, White-throated Sparrow and Black-headed Bunting.
Fagbury Cliff is best visited by parking at Searsons Farm as there are no public parking spaces at the dock end of the Bridleway.
Due to further Dock expansion Fagbury Bund now extends from Fagbury Cliff to Trimley Marshes Nature Reserve. The area obviously still attracts a few small falls and often holds sort after wintering species such as Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Goldcrest and Firecrest. At least four pairs of Nightingales breed in the area as a whole and Great Spotted and Green Woodpeckers are often seen. Other breeding species include Reed aand Sedge Warblers (along the ditch) , Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap, Garden Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Bullfinch and Reed Bunting.
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