Birding Braunie

So where did the summer go? Come to that, where did I go? My blogging seems to be flagging which is possibly due to a couple of reasons. 1. I’m a lazy so-and-so and writing a blog can only be fun when I have been somewhere great and seen lots of brilliant birds and stuff, or, 2.  I’m too busy doing other stuff and birding isn’t that important really. Okay, it is important but so many things in life take priority and that’s life unfortunately. I tell myself if I won the lottery (difficult at the best of times but sort of impossible when, like me, you don’t do it) I could/would go birding everyday. But then surely it would stop being fun? I love it when I do get the chance and try to make the most of it as it might be a while before I do it again. This weekend looked promising and even the weather appeared to be on my side (for once). I just had a million and one things to do first. Lots of gardening and DIY needed to be rapidly done on Saturday and even a late meal ...

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...

Remarkably, the only place I haven’t been to is the pub. Saturday’s weather had been glorious and now it was Sunday morning and BST and I was greeted by thick fog. As you can imagine, fog isn’t that clever when you want to watch birds. But I knew the veil of pea soup would lift and burn away as the morning sun warmed the air. In the meantime, I thought it would be better to walk along the river path towards the Concrete Barges – something I hadn’t done for a few years. Concrete Barges There wasn’t much to see on the 2.5 mile walk to the Barges. Aveley Bay was dotted with Shelduck , Redshank and Black-headed Gulls . On the river, Teal and a few Cormorants could be seen. On the path itself, a couple of Linnets and some singing Dunnock s and Skylarks kept me company. Iceland Gull Now I don’t know if you know this but in the past 3-4 months, there has been a higher than usual influx of white-winged gulls. Usually it’s the very large Glaucous Gull that is seen most regul...

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...