Winter is definitely the best time to visit North Warren for some high quality birdwatching - but don't forget to wrap up warm as any wind with north or east in it will whistle straight through you as it comes in off the North Sea!
We've moved the Suffolk redpoll cattle off the marshes now - they belong to a local grazier and went back to their home farm last week. So now we can raise the water levels ready for the anticipated influx of hundreds of ducks, geese and wading birds.
And the first geese have now returned. About 30 white-fronted geese can be found grazing the marshes, but you may have to search carefully among the big flocks of feral greylag, Canada and barnacle geese. Look out for the five presumed escaped red-breasted geese among the barnacle goose flock too - they were at Minsmere earlier in the autumn.
North Warren was the best place in the UK to see white-fronted geese last year. The peak count even surpassed that at Slimbridge, on the Severn Estuary - probably a reflection of the recent run of mild winters, last year excuded, that has seen fewer geese crossing the North Sea, but choosing instead to stay in the Netherlands and Denmark. By Christmas we expect to see up to 300 white-fronts at North Warren, and hopefully a few of the rare tundra race of bean goose. North Warren is one of the most reliable places to find these much sought-after geese.
Wigeons by Chris Gomersall (RSPB Images)
As the winter progresses, the flock of wigeon grazing on the marshes should increase to more than 2000 birds, with several teals, pintails and shovelers, and more than 1000 lapwings. At high tide on the Alde Estuary, look for roosting flocks of black-tailed godwits, dunlins and ringed plovers on the marshes, while a few ruffs may be among the lapwings and dozens of snipe lie hidden in the grass.
The reedbed is worth a look in winter too, especailly in the evening when marsh harriers and starlings may come in to roost. Bearded tits, bitterns and water rails are worth looking for here.
Along the old railway line, check the tit flocks for coal tits, look out for small groups of bullfinches or lesser redpolls, and listen out for the laughing call of green woodpeckers.
So wrap up warm, pack the flask, and head to North Warren for a winter birdwatching experience to remember. Why not book on one of my wildfowl walks later in the winter?