Limosa limosa

 

Colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit - Blythburgh, Tuesday 19th August 2025

Still reading rings and reporting colour-ringed birds. I don't stop to be honest. Just a total beast. 

The latest ornithological triumph is this colour ringed Black-tailed Godwit seen on my beloved Blythburgh patch last week. It was colour ringed red with white spots on the left leg and green, black then yellow above the knee on the right leg. 

The bird was ringed in French France during it's birth year back in September of 2023 at a place called Moëze, which is half way down the west coast. 

It has subsequently been sited at Seaforth Nature Reserve, Liverpool in June 2024 and further south (than the ringing site) at L'Aiguillon-la-Presqu'ile, France in July 2024. 

No sightings thereafter for a full year - until some absolute legend picked it up on the Blyth last Tuesday... 

Colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit - Blythburgh, Tuesday 19th August 2025

Colour-ringed Black-tailed Godwit - Blythburgh, Tuesday 19th August 2025

Casarca

In some Buddhist countries and the English County of Suffolk the Ruddy Shelduck is protected because its colour is said to resemble that of a monk's robes and the ginger beard of treasured birder Jonny Rankin.

During migration, Ruddy Shelduck have been recorded flying at heights of up to 6,800m in the Himalayas and up to 1m above sea level in Suffolk.

I have personally seen Ruddy Shelduck 4,170m up at Sela Pass, resting on Sela Lake and looking absolutely awesome.

My friendship group got wind that I had seen the Walberswick Ruddy Shelduck today and insisted I share a photo essay:

 

þrjú hundruð

Just one week ago the Boyton Marshes Black Stork took me to 299 for Suffolk and teetering on the edge of County greatness. I hoped the autumn would tip me into three-ton glory, but was not expecting the target to fall just one week, to the day, later.

There was a slight frustration that I only came back from Blythburgh last night. A few miles and a hours walk from the spot where the Zitting Cisticola, aka Fan-tailed Warbler, was zitting its face of this morning. Still, a quick shower and an hour later I was back and in position, daring to be great…

My three hundredth species in the UK was also an August bird - over the border in dirty Norfolk - a Wryneck at Gramborough Hill, with my much missed mate Mal on 23rd August 2011:

Fast forward fourteen years and the three hundredth for my home county has fallen. My home County will of course always be Durham; Land of the Prince Bishops aka the motherland. But as long as I am trapped in Suffolk, I may as well make the most of it and absolutely smash it…

The top Suffolk lister are in the 380’s so I have work to do if I am going to threaten them. My thinking is, if I pursue my self-found list by simply birding my tits off, the Suffolk list will look after itself via time in the field and the odd twitch, like today’s…

The bird was frequenting the Corporation Marshes section of the Walberswick Suffolk Coast National Nature Reserve. Indulging huge, sky high song flights, all the while ‘zitting’ its head off. With the wind and distance involved I was only picking the call up intermittently - enough to pick the bird out and get some, frankly stunning, record shots:

Do get in touch if you would like a print on a tea towel or mouse mat or something.

There was a good congregation of people and people coming and going the hour I was there. I took a cheeky pap, looking back across the marshes as I walked away:

I also indulged a selfie, to capture the three-ton euphoria. Particularly pleased I wore my WASP t-shirt this morning:

A tatooed madman, I'm hell on wheels


Born a wicked child left alone in the fields


My father was the wind, my mother was fire


Raised by the wolves and I grew up wild