Birding Braunie

This is my first blog since the middle of April. This is mainly due to my working life being turned upside down. It is very difficult to get motivated to write the events of a day when your mind needs to focus on other priorities. But slowly things are improving and life as a freelancer does have a few advantages. An example of this my lunchtimes now consist of a walk around a small pocket of Epping Forest photographing butterflies and dragonflies. In the past it would have been a stressed dash to an overpriced sandwich shop along with a million others and straight back to my desk. (I will save the advantages of not commenting for another day as that’s a blog on its own!) So now I have that out of the way, let’s get on with the business as usual. When you volunteer for the Lee Valley Park, what that really means is you are actually volunteering to experience many amazing things and events. From a ticket to the Bird Fair to organised trips around bird reserves such as Frampton Marsh...

Admittedly, I only go there because I promised to. I guess it’s like the last kid to get picked for the football team at school and unfortunately Nazeing Meads had no one going there to do the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS), a survey carried out on key dates through the year to log the numbers of wetland species, so I volunteered. It’s alright really. A few anglers, the odd dog walker (they’re all odd) and absolutely no birders. Why? It’s got plenty to see. Kingfishers, Bullfinches, Redwing , Fieldfare, Goldeneye, Goosanders, millions of Great Crested Grebes and the most Tufted Ducks I ever saw. Cormorant Things seem to have quietened down now as we reach the beginnings of spring. All the Goldeneye have gone and of the 12 Goosanders that were regularly there, only one remains. I guess the others could have been hiding for like a joke or something but that isn’t in their nature. I can see you! I did my normal route watching for any fly over birds that might mess the count up...