Birding Braunie

With everything that has happened over the last couple of years, it’s quite something to be able to write about this week long trip up into the Highlands of Scotland. A lot of planning had been put into this by Phil who has plotted practically ever step of the trip we are taking. There are five of us going up for the Heatherlea tour of the Highlands and Skye with three of us, Phil, Brenda and myself starting off from Essex and winding our way slowly but purposely stopping at some strategic sites along the way. We will meet our other cohorts, Kev and Viv at the Mountview Hotel in Nethy Bridge on Saturday evening. Our first port of call was Fairburn Ings. This is a 1,000-acre RSPB nature reserve developed from  the area being flooded regularly by th e River Aire . and  includes a large lake and a number of smaller lakes, ponds and dikes. The area has been the scene of industrial and mining operations for circa 150 years,  and, although the valley floods naturally, the ...

The weather warmed up a little at the weekend and as my Saturday didn’t require me to hit my thumb with a hammer, I sneaked off to Rainham while the lady of the house had her back turned. There had been a few sightings of the wonderful Black Redstart and a couple of migrants in the shape of Northern Wheatears. I had highish hopes........ Didn’t bother with the RSPB reserve as the walk along the Thames river path was probably the best route to take to see migrants. Or so I thought. I walked west towards the stone barges and saw, well, nothing. One small bird flew ahead of me and disappeared – think it was a Linnet but couldn’t be sure. On the Thames a pair of Shelduck honked and small parties of Wigeon and Teal were seen. Further along the path there are a number of jetty/pier type things that have seen better days and are now defunct. A pair of Oystercatchers liked them although I think they had had a falling out. Oystercatchers, not talking The stone barges are the remains...

Spring has arrived. The garden is on the verge of bursting out in blooms of Cherry and Apple blossoms, Daffodils, Camellias and Bluebells. But it’s not what you see that tells you spring is here, oh no, it’s the birds or to be exact, the dawn chorus. For the lucky ones, this heralds in the spring and is a joy to listen to and doesn’t require covering you head with the pillow because it woke you up. Because the weather was so nice, I decided to take a leisurely trip down to Rainham. Although spring has arrived, Rainham still seems to have traces of winter stubbornly refusing to leave. With a 2nd winter Iceland Gull and a single snow bunting around, it was an ideal place to catch a few lingering winter birds as well as catch up with some early spring ones. As with every trip here, I always start with a walk along the Thames path. Always a chance of wheatear or whinchat but not today. Instead, I came across about three water pipit s. The Thames foreshore has always been good for these...

Normally by now, I would have had a couple of trips to Norfolk, Suffolk and Kent apiece under my birdwatching belt for this year. Not by design or dementia (the latter feels too close for comfort) I have missed my regular trips to some great birding hotspots and replaced them with local, 20 minute-away trips. This isn’t because I have reached that sober moment when all that matters is my 'local patch' but more perhaps because, subliminally, I can’t afford the cost of the fuel these 200 mile round trips require. (Cue the violins) Actually, forget the violins – I’m not unhappy. I am in fact lucky. There are some great places close to home that many a birder would travel 100 miles to visit. The whole of the Lee Valley plays host to some great birds. Smew, Bittern, Black-necked grebe, Little ringed plover and Nightingale to name but a few. The Thames Gateway also has some impressive sites too. From The Naze all the way down to Rainham Marshes there are places to see waders, rapto...