Costessey House
Private Estate, Joseph Nichols
When my mum moved down to Norwich in autumn 2011, I had not anticipated she’d live by an area of unspoilt meadows and deciduous woodland on the Wensum Valley. It was begging to be patched, and on my first walk up the lane I knew straight away that it was worthy of patch status.
Costessey House Private Estate is situated between the
villages of Drayton and Old Costessey on the western outskirts of Norwich. One of the most rewarding things about it from
a patching perspective is that it’s more or less entirely private land, so I
have its beauty, its tranquillity, and its birds to myself. As the only birder
allowed on site, I’m left with the responsibility to record everything there, which
is a challenge I embrace and one that Patchwork inspires me to take on even
further this year and beyond.
The patch itself is only accessible to residents of the
cottages via ‘Mill Lane’, which runs all the way to the largest area of meadows
(Drayton Meadows). The cottages, where the patch starts, are based around a barn
and some paddocks which were lucky enough to hold up to 3 Little Owls last summer and were viewable from the comfort of the
living room. Owls are definitely one of
the patch’s consistent strong points, with all 3 of the regular species available
and seen on my first visit this year. A pair of Barn Owls are easy over Drayton Meadows and near to the cottage at
Mill Meadow, which sometimes results in them passing over the front lawn; the
perfect antidote to normally owl-less birding up in Aberdeenshire.
Another winning factor for me about Costessey House Private
Estate is what Alastair Forsyth perfectly describes in his POTD post as
relative rarity. As the sole birder on a private patch, I have independently
established what is locally common or rare on site and discovered its breeding
birds, its every nook and cranny, and by doing so have shaped and given it its
birding ‘identity’. Frankly I’ve found this process more gratifying than any
other previous birding I’ve done and something which has let me form a unique bond
with the area and its birds. As the
patch is basically lacks of pools and water – minus the diverse River Wensum –
the vast majority of ducks and geese are uncommon, as well as all waders. Ironically
I have had more wader species than either of the other two families, with 4 Greenshank over Mill Field and 2 Green Sandpipers over Fishermen’s
Field last year the highlights of 5 species and amongst the better birds I’ve
had on site. Geese are confined to the wintering pair of Egyptians, a couple of
records of Greylags and a single skein of Pinkfeets last October, whilst
ridiculously enough I only scored my second duck species this month, with 30 Teal being a relieving patch first
at Drayton Meadows. Being able to relish
deeply in those first patch Teal or Pinkfeets is something that makes the
birding here lastingly special for me, and equally the thought of when that
Wigeon or that Redshank will finally reveal itself. That lack of expectation
for some of the broadly common species you’d simply take for granted at a
stereotypically decent coastal or inland site, have become a novelty thanks to
the patch.
Habitat wise the patch is surprisingly diverse, mostly owing
to the River Wensum. The most productive areas on site have proven to be
Drayton Meadows, Fishermen’s Trail and Mill Field (opposite the cottages), each
which have the Wensum running through it. Drayton Meadows is the largest area
of habitat on site, consisting of low lying meadows and boggy ground and a
relatively large area of reedbeds and woodland at the back. This is home to most of the patch residents,
as well as a few pairs of Reed Buntings and Sedge Warblers in the summer,
whilst flooded conditions regularly produce Snipe and Hobby was
noted last August. Fishermen’s Trail can be equally productive; a small path
running alongside the Wensum opposite a small area of reedbeds which held Cetti’s Warbler last spring and is
reliable for Kingfisher and Grey Wagtail. Mill Field is far more conditions dependent, but is
susceptible to flooding and can produce good numbers of Larus when this happens, including a patch highlight in the form of
an adult Yellow-legged Gull last
July, as well as the odd wader
species. Dense cover elsewhere on site can potentially hold 7+ species of
warbler in the spring and summer months, with Lesser Whitethroat and Reed
Warbler following close behind Cetti’s as highlights.
To be honest the patch has easily exceeded my expectations, as
the surprising number of waders and highlights such as Yellow-legged Gull and a
total of nearly 90 species have proved. During my two week stay this month, it
really did kick above its weight...
6 Cranes; patch
gold! Picked up over Drayton Meadows on my first day (2nd Feb) they
flew languidly NW over Marriot’s Way, their silhouettes set against the sombre
sky as they continually gained height. Filled with an adrenaline unknown to me,
I hared it down the meadows to try and keep on them. Luckily, they wheeled
around over Old Costessey village, allowing for some distant photos such as the
above, before heading roughly over the cottage in the direction of Taverham at
12:15pm. By 1:30 they had made it to Lynford; surprisingly slow!
I couldn’t ask much more of the patch after that, but the
quality kept on going that week. Flushing a Bittern on 5th February (again from Drayton Meadows) was quite
frankly a patch dream come true. It landed pretty quickly into the reeds at the
far edge so the joy was short lived, and it seemed to have gone the next day. This
was well off the radar, considering there are only two areas of reedbeds on
site, but it proves that the meadows are capable of holding any number of
marshland species and is testimony to the diverse array of species that the
Costessey House Private Estate can hold. Other highlights during my stay were a
first patch Little Grebe at Fishermen’s Trail, a Little Owl on the paddocks and
more regular occurrences of uncommon patch species such as Little Egret due to
flooding.
All that, an untouched, productive little nook, accessible
simply through walking out the front door. Unfortunately I can only work
Costessey House Private Estate occasionally as I live up in Aberdeenshire (I
could’ve chosen Girdle Ness, but Mark is the stalwart there so deserve it far
more than me!). Sporadic patching may well put me at a disadvantage in the
mammoth inland East Anglia mini league, but I’ll work hard to make up for lost
time on site when I can, especially after my Advanced Higher exams when I
should be able to give it a bit of extra welly. In some ways the limited
periods that I have to work the patch will provide the extra motivation needed
to make up for lost time on site, thanks to this challenge. I am glad for now
though with the 60 species I had this time round. For more information/accounts from Costessey
House Private Estate, see here.
Good luck to everyone involved,
Joseph Nichols
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