By Catherine Larner (Classic Boat – May 2022)
Avian Influenza and the Wild Birds of the Deben
By Sally Westwood
It was unusual to see a dead Great Cormorant trapped between the pontoons in a marina, at low tide, on the River Deben. I have also seen a Mute Swan in similar circumstances a couple of weeks ago. It may be that both birds succumbed to Avian Influenza or they may have died of natural causes. The UK is experiencing a large outbreak, the largest recorded outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza which is affecting wild birds, poultry and captive birds1. Avian Influenza is a highly contagious disease in animals and birds stemming from influenza A viruses2. A very small amount of Avian Influenza virus strains can result in a high amount of fatalities in flocks of domestic poultry. Such strains are referred to as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Continue reading
RDA Journal Update
Journal articles are usually published around 5pm on the day. Here are the most recent:
- 22 Mar 24 – Liz Kennedy 1929-2023 – A Tribute
- 05 Apr 24 – Walking the Deben Way: Part 1 – Mickfield to Kettleburgh
- 19 Apr 24 – Dicotyledonous Plants of the local Shingle Seashore
The published articles can be found here.
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COP 27 and beyond – A talk about Climate Change by Lord Deben – Dec 8th
“Carbon Capture” reproduced by kind permission of James Ferguson at the Financial Times
COP 27 and beyond.
What can we do to help reach Net Zero?
A talk about Climate Change by Lord Deben
Thursday December 8th 7pm, Seckford Theatre, Woodbridge
(doors open 6 pm)
Change of speaker – Councillor Richard Rout has kindly stepped in at the last moment to give a talk instead of Lord Deben.
Water Quality on the Deben – some current issues
By Colin Nicholson
Introduction
At a recent River Deben Association (RDA) committee meeting, co-chair Colin Nicholson reported back from a recent visit to Anglian Water’s Wastewater Treatment Works at Martlesham Creek. The committee felt that this information was likely to be of interest to members and should be reported back. (Minutes of the meeting will also be available on the RDA website when they have been formally agreed.) Hence this article via the RDA Journal, which does not claim to be a complete overview of the complex topic of water quality, merely a personal update on matters of current interest and actions taken to gain better information.
As organic matter trickles down over stones it is consumed by bacteria.
Continue readingThe Cormorant
By Sally Westwood
The Cormorant has a distinctive flight outline. Their body is narrow and linear, with outstretched wings. A Cormorant glided past me along the course of the River Deben, descending down to the surface of the water, staring ahead. The bird’s feet, webbed between four toes landed on the water, on stretched out, short legs. Water splashing loudly on impact. The feet touched the water at the base, or heel of the legs, with the rest of the foot held upright, to act as a break to landing. Using their feet like water skis. The extended, raised wings also slowed down the landing, gradually closing as the bird completely crashed on the water. Continue reading
GBR Cadet Sailing Team Training at Shotley Sailing Club
By Neil Collingridge
The Cadet Sailors at the Paying It Forward event.
Adults in the photo are: Melanie More (Kestrel Liners – shipping sponsors), Julia Jones (Golden Duck – event sponsors), Lady Carla Stanley (recent Chair of GBR’s Olympic Sailing Selection Committee).
Photo credit: Kevin Ward.
The preparations for the Cadet World Team going to Australia in December have a particular interest for the River Deben as no less than seven of the thirteen boats competing are from Waldringfield Sailing Club. For the first of three specially organised training weekends they needed to test themselves in unfamiliar waters. Shotley Sailing Club offered hospitality. This is a report from a weekend that was rather special.
Thanks to Yachts and Yachting magazine for permission to republish.
All photos in this article from here onwards are thanks to Andy Stoddart.
The GBR Cadet Sailing Team gathered on the weekend of 15/16 October for the first of their three training weekends ahead of the 2022 World Championships in Australia over Christmas.
Nancy Blackett and the River Deben
By Peter Willis
Nancy Blackett at Woodbridge.
If his log books are to be believed, Arthur Ransome only brought Nancy Blackett into the Deben twice during his four years’ ownership of her.
He kept her on the neighbouring River Orwell, having bought (and renamed) her in 1935 when he and his wife Evgenia moved to the East Coast, from the Lake District, to enjoy the area’s great potential for scenic inshore and offshore sailing. They rented a house, Broke Farm, in Levington, on the Orwell side of the peninsula between the two rivers, and it was to Pin Mill that he brought the south-coast-built 28ft cutter. When he fancied a sail, though, it was usually to the south, and the convenient and attractive Walton Backwaters that he inevitably turned. Continue reading
Deben Fish Survey August 2022
By Richard Verrill
It is well recognised that estuaries provide essential breeding grounds and nurseries for many fish species. They also provide corridors for migratory species. Estuaries provide a very dynamic environment with constant changes in tide, temperature and salinity. Intertidal areas provide particularly important refuge and feeding grounds for small fish.The variety of the shoreline in the Deben provides an abundance of different nursery environments with sandy beaches, shingle beaches, mudflats and salt marsh. Continue reading
A walk through the landscape of the Upper Deben Valley – Brandeston, Monewden and Cretingham
By Sue Ryder-Richardson
Map: OS Explorer 212 TM 251604. Start: Bridleway on Kettleburgh Road at east end of Brandeston village. Distance approx 6.5 miles.
The Upper Deben Valley in August 2022 is biscuit dry. The small rills, the source of this beautiful river above Debenham, are dried, fords and water splashes empty, yet further downstream in the heart of the farming countryside of Brandeston*, Cretingham, Monewden, as if by magic, the Deben has gathered some water, and flows gently through its green, tree lined valley.