Birding Braunie

Hmmm? I guess you can see a pattern forming here can’t you? And you’d be right too. Writing a blog was easy when I only ventured out once or twice a month birding but now, as a freelance chappie, I find I have quite a few pockets of time in my week and rather than watch Antiques Road Trip or other such banal TV or even do any housework, I find myself suddenly in a local nature reserve asking myself 'How did I get here?' So my point is, I would have to use the pockets of spare time I have, to write the blogs that record the events of that spare time and thus, I wouldn’t have any spare time to write about anything other than writing non-existent blogs! See? So I save them up for moments like this. The month kicked off in the Lee Valley on a dark mid-morning (a feature of most of my ventures out) and a 2 hour walk around the south part of Fishers Green covering Hooks Marsh and Hall Marsh. I had a low-flying Red Kite over Hooks but failed to focus the telephoto on it. My lens,

I say this at the start of every new year, the first trip out is alway great because every species sighting is a tick for my year. 2016 was no exception. With two bird races kicking off, The Rainham Marshes one created by Howard Vaughan and a smaller more private affair in the Lee Valley with Roy Woodward and Dave Hutley. Lee Valley, particularly around the Fishers Green area held a good number of Lesser Redpolls through January. These were mainly seen around the Longlands Hide occasionally coming to the feeders. A pair of Coal Tits also enjoyed the feeding station while large flocks of Fieldfare and Redwing could be found on the outlying fields. A Lesser spotted woodpecker was also sighted near the hide by my friend Brenda. Lucky lady! Up at Holyfield Farm, regulars included Grey Wagtail , Chiffchaff and a pair of Stonechats , often sighted on the pathway towards the farm. Common Buzzards , Kestrels and a couple of Red Kite were in the area. Nightingale Wood had a good nu