Birding Braunie

Love 1 st Jan. Love the idea of a year-long bird race. Love the fact these two things have come together at Rainham Marshes RSPB thanks to Mr H. Vaughan. My 2014 scramble for species fell flat as I couldn’t get ‘out out*’ only just managed an ‘out*’ so ended with 153 species which is well short of average. My team for the bird race is the Wildgoose Chasers. This name has stuck with me for years, ever since I used to team up with my dad and brother and do the Lee Valley Bird Race quite a few years ago now. This BIG YEAR Bird Race for Rainham Marshes is quite a clever way to increase visiting birders and get a better picture of what species hang out on the reserve. My Rainham ritual always starts with a walk along the river towards the Tilda Rice Factory that looms large above the Stone Barges. My first target bird along the initial stretch from the reserve visitor centre was a Rock Pipit . These are usually found amongst the jetsam deposited on the foreshore and I ...

Spent a couple of hours this morning over at Rainham Marshes looking for Wheatears. A few had been seen over the previous couple of days and so I figured there was a reasonable chance I could bag a couple for myself. The Thames river bank by the RSPB reserve is littered with debris, everything you could possible imagine is strewn along the tide line. It is a wonder these beautiful birds want to spend their time in all this mess but clearly it holds a good supply of grubs and caterpillars. Female Northern Wheatear There were I estimated, five  Northern Wheatears along this stretch of the Thames, three males and two females. On the shore itself, Oystercatchers , Curlews and Redshanks piped in spring. A few Reed Buntings and Linnets made themselves heard while a few Meadow Pipits and Skylarks chased around the more grasser areas of the landscape. Male Northern Wheatear I was lucky to get the two shots I did as these wheatear are very flighty right now but in a few w...