Spring moves fast

After a long cold miserable winter and the dullest February in 18 years today I visited Sotterley. Saw six Hawfinches at dawn, the Galanthus nivalis flore pleno (double flowered.) were almost over but the Daffodils more than made up for it.

another fishing spot gone.(Childhood Memories of the River Hundred).

The regular pre fishing visits to my local angling shop often produces reports on the local scene. Match weights don’t interest me at all it is the specimen fishing I enjoy. I am an all round angler as much as I am an all round countryside sports writer and Naturalist. My publications are varied as is my angling and planning my next trip is just as exciting as tracking Otters on the upper river Waveney or following the wildfowlers in the middle of a winter storm for those column inches that pay the bills. The information of Chub being caught in the mid reaches of my local river really gets the rods out as does reports of big Pike further downstream. There really is nothing better than your local tackle shop even if you just spend a quid on hooks the chat and the chat is second to none. (you don’t get that from online shops)
Now let’s go back to 1982. Now did my father purposely buy me a fishing set three weeks before the river season opened on June 16th yes readers all! Rivers and still waters, club or private were closed from 15th March to 16th June.
To an almost 13 year old boy the mounting excitement of that magical day was prepared for by reading the angling weeklies and walking the river banks fired with so much enthusiasm for my new sport I would spend hours there. Would the keenness have been there if I went to the river the day I received his lifetime gift. Yes of course but the anticipation of the 16th June was so stimulating I loved it (and still do.) There was nobody to teach me I was alone and as soon as that day arrived I was on my bike, new rod ste up for immediate fishing in hand and straight down to the River Hundred. The Kessingland Angling Club rented that stretch and here I cut my teeth on the fishing. It was my training ground and I landed some nice Rudd, Roach and Tench often by early morning or late evening visits sometimes I would be there all day.
Come the winter months I would fish for Pike catching a 15lb 6oz Pike in the autumn of 1985 with my late best mate Charlie. Soon into adult hood I moved away but the River Hundred never left me. I returned season after season catching a great number of species of many baits often trying out new rigs on the stretch.
Jump to 2010 and while waxing about the River Hundred in the tackle shop I was disappointed to hear that the club stretch has been given up. No more will village kids go down there and fish in safety but may be attracted to those terrible Carp puddles and the commercial angling waters.
These fish may be safe from sporting folk but it was so sad to hear one of my favourite waters was laying fallow for all time.
I have some good news, my nephew, the first in my family has taken up the sport of angling and I hope he will follow in my footsteps as an all rounder. I have witnessed the growth of easy angling in the shape of these holes in the ground and now although another stretch of wild river has been laid low there are still some Rivers and even ponds where monsters lurk.
Although I cannot write about contemporary visits I have enough in the cupboard for anecdotal stories. I hope these will be of interest and remind these Hundred anglers what they are now missing.
Colin.

Cold but bright

A walk around Beccles South produced some fungi that had not really been affected by the cold, These were Lepista inversa seen in two different places. Not much in the flower line has recovered, only the hardy ruderals were present.

a Mahonia aquifolim in flower was a welcome bright addition.

Dark Days afore Christmas

Although the weather is not guaranteed this time of the year my sometimes short field excursions paint a albeit dull picture of our countryside. Even in the Beccles area I have recorded 40 odd plants in flower. last week we had our second frost of the autumn and this Ivy was photographed in our garden.

Determination wins

Since the weather turned bad I was determined to get some of the winter birds that grace our shores. my first challenge was to walk a relatively cold miserable birdless walk to see a flock of wintering Twite. My second trip of the week produced 20 birds crouched below the shingle beach by some old dock plants. Woo hoo! a year tick!

On the way back with the wind behind me i stopped to see and note down Sea Mayweed Tripleospermum maritimum and Purple Glasswort salicornia ramossima

Next stop was Minsmere RSPB to see the Grey Phalarope, which was showing very close to west hide, so another year tick.

Windy Winter

Well I have taken some holiday to do some winter birding, today it has been very windy but I wanted to locate the Sibe Chiffchaff at Sparrow's Nest Lowestoft. On arrival it was sheltered and there was a good flock of Long tailed Tits but the council were blowing leaves around (Unsuccessfully.)and the motor was drowning about any possible Chiffchaff calls. I then moved to Kessingland for the Snow Buntings, No luck I could hardly stand in the wind, but a bonus was c250 per hour southerly passage of Dark bellied Brent Geese and flocks of Wigeon. all flying very close inshore. Looking towards Lowestoft the birds were pushed into the large bowl once the cleared the south Pier. I spent two hours looking out of my mates bedroom window facing the sea in a centrally heated room. The sea was so rough I did see five Duniln too but due to poor vis only the geese and ducks were confirmed.

Dark days afor Christmas

By 11am I was free to walk from Kessingland to the Sluice to collect some flowers and seed of Jasione montana for a biologist in Spain who wanted to extract chromosone numbers from them. I took the binoculars along but other than a single Kestrel over the caravan park and two Skylark on the beach, all was quite. On return I saw a wintering flock of Greenfinches on the beach. Of the flowers the Allium neapolitanum was still flowering in a pavement crack in Church road. Too late now for my WFS diary last day hunt.

Later I saw two adult Mute Swans fly over my parents house and I dipped on the Peregrine at Lowestoft grain silo. Hopefully having three dips the Richards Pipit will remain long enough for me to see on Friday.