SUFFOLK BIRD REPORT FOR 1957. Eighth Annual
Report
RECORDS COMMITTEE : G.
B. G .
W.
H.
BENSON,
PAYN,
F. K.
COBB
A . E . VINE,
{Editor),
F. C.
DR. P. R.
COOK,
WESTALL.
THE year was not a very encouraging one as regards the type of weather likely to bring interesting visitors, or migratory movements on any large scale. The winter was consistently mild and hardweather movements noticeably lacking, numbers of wild fowl were low in consequence. DĂźring the entire Autumn there were only a few days with mildly favourable winds for night migration on any scale. It is therefore rather surprising to find that more species were recorded during the year than in any of the previous seven years. WINTER
Probably because of the mild weather there were January records of Avocet, Curlew Sandpiper, and Little Stint. At the other extreme, not a single Black-necked Grebe was recorded, and only one each of Black-throated Diver, Red-necked Grebe, and Slavonian Grebe. As already stated, duck numbers were lower than usual, and there were no records of Scaup, always the best indication of hard weather. Grey Geese were also down in number, with Whitefronts only at Breydon, where numbers were the lowest for twentynine years, no Grey-lags, and very few Pink-feet. Few Whooper Swans were recorded, and Bewick's, apparently less of a hardweather bird, were in reduced numbers. There were several records of Buzzards, a species more frequently recorded in the County since myxomatosis ; up to four Shorelarks ; an over-wintering Mediterranean Gull; and the winter ended with an irruption of Waxwings during February. SPRING
There were several early records of summer visitors : Wheatears in February, and before March was out, Stone Curlew, Swallow, Sand Martin, Blackcap, Sandwich Tern, Willow Warbier, ChifTchaff, and Sedge Warbier had all been reported. There were two records of Rough-legged Buzzards in March, and in April records of Iceland Gull, Sabine's Gull, and three Kentish Plovers. The latter species was also recorded several times in May and twice in June. Mention may be made here of the attempted breeding of this species at Walberswick in 1952, the first on record for the County. The record was withheld on security grounds in the hope that the birds might return ; unfor-