Birding Braunie

Mud, glorious mud. Sometimes I find myself choosing a site to watch birds that makes it really difficult to watch birds.  The Northaw Great Wood in Herts was a bit like that today. On the plus side; the woodland birds think it’s nearly spring and have begun to be very active; the trees are still leafless and this makes it easy to see anything that moves. Finally, with a lot of fog about, a trip around a wood seemed a good idea. On the down side; the heavy rain recently had turned the trails into mud baths – think sticky baths that checked your every stride; people. People with dogs and or small children. For some reason, dogs and children get carried away by wet slippery mud. Oh and dogs, a special notice to myself. I must stop befriending them in wet and muddy conditions. They leap up to me and leave muddy pawprints all over my trousers. The wood was filled with cacophonic cries and yelps that would have sent all the wildlife running for the hills...if there were any. Northa...

My 2011 ended without having seen on of the most enigmatic birds of the British winter. The small and seemingly delicate Smew visits these shores in wintertime and can be found in a number of southeastern locations usually with uncanny regularity. One such place is Amwell NR, a reclaimed set of gravel pits that sit at the northern end of the Lee Valley, not far from Ware. Nut-freezingly cold Amwell It was a beautiful, crisp morning but the low sun made it difficult to get good views of the wildfowl on Great Hardmead Lake. After a quick scan I went up to Tumbling Bay Lake; not only easier to view birds but also, a better name for a lake if you ask me. Pochard All the usual ducks could be seen here. Pochard, gadwall, mallard and tufted duck mixed with mute swans, coots and moorhens. But it is here that a pair of smew had been reported over the past few days. The drake is easy to see as his brilliant white plumage with fine black lines is like no other bird I know. He was di...

Having a few days off before the Christmas break allowed me to indulge in a bit of last minute birding. And rather than create separate posts for each trip, I am lazily putting all the highlights into one post. 14.12.2011 Amwell Gravel Pits At the northern end of the Lee Valley, Amwell is a good place to find wintering ducks and bittern. Birds seen: siskin, goldeneye, wigeon, shoveler, gadwall, great crested grebe, common gull Great Northaw Wood Ancient woodland in Hertfordshire Birds seen: nuthatch, common treecreeper, coal tit, marsh it, great spotted woodpecker, tawny owl (heard only) Mammals: muntjac deer 17.12.2011 Connaught Water Local lake on the edge of Epping Forest Mandarin duck , Hooded Merganser (unknown origin) Mandarin Duck Mandarin Ducks

Following the blustery day at Rainham Marshes, the following day was calm, sunny and reasonably mild. The plan was to visit Fingringhoe Wick and Abberton Reservoir. Fingringhoe is on the Colne esturary and can attract a range of wintering ducks and waders. There was also still a long-staying Glossy Ibis which eluded me so we’ll skip over that one. Most action came from the esturary. There were 18 r ed-breasted Mergansers on the water with small flocks of Brent geese . Avocets, curlews, knots and dunlins ferried back and forth with redshanks and lapwings adding their voices to the scene. A single Slavonian Grebe drifted slowing up river providing another highlight. Pretty Map Brent Geese Red-breasted Merganser Slavonian Grebe From Fingringhoe Wick, I headed over to Abberton Reservoir. Abberton Reservoir is famous for a slightly different type of bird. In 1943, the RAF used Abberton reservoir as a practice run site for the Lancaster bomber and the bouncing bo...

This is the first of two back-to-back birding trips this week while using up my annual leave. Nothing was going to stop me, not even a little breeze coming in from the SW. Okay, so it was more than just a little breeze, more a mini hurricane to be dramatic. I hedged my bets and opted for the safety of Rainham Marshes. This wasn’t because it’s sheltered because it isn’t. It is however not far to bolt for home if the weather gets too much. The Thames from Rainham Marshes Fuck, it was windy. I walked along the sea wall west towards the landfill site scanning the sea for winter ducks. The wind nearly blew me over a couple of times and viewing through a scope was difficult as the wind turned my eyes to pools of water. Teal and Wigeon bobbed about probably having fun but not sure. The fun ended though when a Peregrine Falcon in the shape of an air to sea missile dived down towards the unsuspecting wildfowl. Luckily, the falcon, probably suffering from the wind in it’s eyes like me...

After four days of cutting branches from a few trees and ridding the garden of every leaf in Woodford, I rewarded myself with a trip to Fisher’s Green in the Lee Valley. The weather had been uncomfortable with that irritating mizzle that soaks you without it feeling like it’s raining. But yesterday was great. Blue skies and a mild, shirtsleeve-ready temperature made for perfect walking conditions. I’d seen enough trees for one week Fisher’s Green is very popular and forms just a small part of the Lee Valley. It is also a strong link in a long chain of reclaimed gravel pits that now act as an important home for a vast array of wildlife including, the growing-in-numbers Otter to the elusive and rare-breeding Bittern I don’t expect to see otters or bitterns although I have seen the bittern here on many occasion. The fact is, the bittern is the shy, retiring type and a bit of a dab hand in the disguise department. Fisher’s Green does everything it can to help you see on...

It’s always a gamble. Deciding the day before about where to go bird-watching is a bit like putting your house on a horse. You can check previous days activity via websites etc. You can try to be all meteorological about it and check wind directions, the chance of fog, rain, low or high pressures over Scandinavia, blah, blah, blah. Or, if you’re like me, you hedge your bets. lady luck for me takes the shape of North Norfolk. The North Norfolk coast can kiss my dice anytime. You just have to never expect to win the jackpot. Holme NOA Nature Reserve I placed my first bet on Holme-next-the Sea. The reserve is a maze of dunes with a belt of pines that faces the North Sea and a magnet for migrants. A 50/50 bet was the Pallas’ Warbler that had made itself at home in the buckthorn for a couple of days. The early morning fog hung low over the sea and dunes and a fine mist dampened the skin but it was unseasonably mild and still. A few early birders were looking for the 'Sibe' ...