However, this area provides year-round interest and the ever-present possibility of a surprise find. I walked from the Wet Dock to the Old Cattle Yard on a mild and cloudy July evening and, despite the fact that the summer is probably the least productive time of year for looking for birds, I saw 19 different species in less than an hour.
 | | Swans in Ipswich Wet Dock |
The Wet Dock is at the head of the Orwell Estuary and following the Gipping Valley inland from there provides a migratory route for birds between the North Sea and the very heart of Suffolk. One of the great things about looking for birds is that you will find them virtually anywhere in the world. This is because birds have three basic requirements: food, shelter and somewhere to breed. So, as long as a particular place can meet at least one of those needs, you're likely to find birds taking advantage of that fact. Whilst the water level in the Wet Dock is kept constant, the lower reaches of the River Gipping are tidal. At high tide, water birds such as mute swans and mallards can swim along and take food from the surface or in the shallows; cormorants and grey herons may visit to catch fish. At low tide the exposed mud attracts wading birds that probe in the mud for worms and molluscs and the exposed vegetation attracts insects, which starlings, wagtails and pipits will feed on.
 | | Feral pigeon at the Wet Dock |
Summer is probably the quietest time of year because many of the water birds and wading birds are nesting elsewhere. This means that you are most likely to encounter a limited variety of typical urban species such as feral pigeons, swifts and starlings, as well as a few water birds such as mallards and mute swans. I saw all of these and a single oystercatcher - a striking black-and-white wading bird with a long orange bill and pink legs - feeding at the water's edge. Spring and autumn are exciting times of the year for birds anywhere because many species are migrating, either north from for the summer or south for the winter. At these times you may well see more species of gulls, the more delicate and graceful common tern and wading birds like common sandpiper. In recent years there has even been a nightingale singing near Princes Street bridge.
 | | Close up of swan and two of the cygnets |
My favourite time of year in this area, however, is the winter. This is because there are larger numbers of birds here, with mute swans, cormorants and perhaps five different gulls being typical. At low tide you may well encounter wading birds such as redshank, which has a long, straight bill and red legs, the smaller, grey looking dunlin, or even a turnstone (doing exactly as its name suggests). From the footpath you may well see grey wagtail or even kingfisher. On winter afternoons you're likely to see the spectacular aerial manoeuvres of large flocks of starlings as they gather before going to roost in the town centre, often with a sparrowhawk in attendance on the lookout for a meal.
 | | Shrubs alongside the Gipping path |
If the weather is very cold, this stretch of the river stays unfrozen, attracting great crested and little grebes, coots and tufted ducks from nearby freshwater lakes and reservoirs. Also, because the North Sea is not that far away, birds driven into the Orwell estuary by very cold or stormy weather may be found in the Wet Dock or along the lower reaches of the River Gipping. Such birds may include divers, the rarer grebes, guillemots and fish-eating ducks like red-breasted mergansers. So, don't be put off by the surroundings. Come down and see what you can find.
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