Birding Braunie

Paglesham and the River Crouch I had it on good authority that a couple of Turtle Doves were to be seen around Paglesham Boatyard. I had never been to Paglesham even though it’s only a couple of miles from work but will now check it on a regular basis. Turtle Doves are a big deal. They have dropped in numbers across Europe by 62% and are a serious concern. The main reaseons are, as always, changes in farming and unsolicited shooting in some Mediterranean countries with Cyprus and Malta coming top of the list. Turtle Doves can be difficult to see. The first thing you get is the soft purring sound coming at regular intervals from dense foliage. The first sounds I got were from Whitethroats and Cuckoos. There were a couple of Cuckoos in the area and one quickly showing atop a line of trees close to the boatyard. Cuckoo The boatyard was busy with Swallows relaying back and forth to nest sites inside boat sheds. behind the sharp chattering of the swallows calls, t...

A quick update from the wilds of South Fambridge. Lots of noise coming from the bushes and trees this morning. Dunnocks, Robins, Blackbirds, Blackcaps and Common Whitethroats all acting out their own version of The Voice (only ten thousand times better). freaked out a couple of Shelduck that had settled down on some small hut by the river to enjoy the warming sunshine. Sorry. Now, left or right? Right takes me to the Grasshopper Warbler and left to buntings, wagtails et al. But it was the clamour of reed warblers that swung it and they were in to the left (try and keep up). The Reed Warblers were playing hard to see but a rather nice Yellowhammer unashamedly displayed in front of me and didn’t even fly off as I set my scope up. Yellowhammer Then, the Yellowhammer was knocked off its perch by a Yellow Wagtail to have its picture taken. If I’d known how popular I was going to be, I’d have sold tickets. I suppose it’s the same bird as the previous one I shot here. Yellow Wa...

It’s sunny! I can go birdwatching in a force 9 gale but when it’s sunny is better. A morning down at good old Rainham Marshes was the plan (no plan really). My routine is to walk along the Thames path to the landfill site and the wander back to the visitor centre and do a steady lap there. The walk along the Thames path at 8:30am meant the sun was nicely behind me giving the best light and viewing conditions a man can get. Rainham, a hotspot for Whimbrel this spring Oystercatcher The foreshore of the Thames had a single Whimbrel , a few Oystercatchers and a few small groups of Shelduck . Overhead, a party of Common Terns argued with each other other something or nothing. From here, I walked through Wheatear alley and not surprising in the least I saw a Wheatear . Fancy that. Northern Wheatear In every clump of reed or dense vegetation, the random chattering of Reed Warblers – they sound as though they are talking to themselves – sounded out. They keep themselves ...

A two centre trip today, starting with Five Oak Lane – a hidden-away area of scrub and grassland adjacent to Hainault Golf Club and then a short trip south east to Rainham Marshes in Essex beside the Thames. Five Oaks Lane is a hidden gem. I love it best for the almost guaranteed Cuckoos and Yellowhammers you will find here at this time. With heavy, leaden skies making it very dark and some seriously waterlogged paths making it foolhardy not to keep looking downat where you walked, looking for these birds was slightly hindered. A pair of Bullfinches  made it easy as they barrel-rolled past my head with the unmistakeable white rump flash easing identification.  Then that unique call of the Yellowhammer could be heard. 'A-little-bit-of-bread-and-no-cheeeeeeese' is what it sounds like but finding the yellow devil was less simple. Some careful scanning of the hawthorn bushes produced a fine male bird. Normally there are around ten birds at this site but this one was the o...

No, not the classic rock hit by the brilliant Steely Dan but that ‘where’s that noise coming from’ call of the Grasshopper Warbler. If you have read my previous post, you’ll know I didn’t have time to locate this Houdini of warblers due to time constraints. Today though, I devoted all my time or at least most of it to finding this little joker and getting a few snaps of it. The weather was just about okay. There was a mizzle but that disappeared and I only had a brisk easterly wind to deal with. Within minutes, a Cuckoo showed along with Blackcaps , Common Whitethroats and a supporting cast of Goldfinches , Chaffinches and Linnets . It wasn’t long before I picked up the reeling of a Grasshopper Warbler . They are very good at throwing their voice and as I went in one direction, it sounded like it was coming from another. Good game this. Needless to say, my extraordinary birding field skills along with the gut instinct of going either one of two ways I found it...

After rains of biblical proportions, it was nice to see a clear sky this morning coupled with a warmish air. This meant I could steal an hour at South Fambridge before beginning the working week. You sometimes get a good feeling about birds in terms of quality and quantity and this morning as I opened the car door I knew it would be good. The air was full of birdsong and small LBJs were hopping from tree to tree – difficult to know where to look as so much was happening. One hour is a long time if you’re stuck in a boring meeting or saddled with someone who just wants to tell you about their new ipad app (probably should point out that I possibly bore people in the same way about birding) But one hour with so much potential like this morning is like a nano second to me. Sunny South Fambridge About five minutes in and the quintessential sound of spring in the shape of a Cuckoo could be heard somewhere across the fields. A quick scan of the tops of the trees and bushes revealed...

There are many famous people I admire, artists, musicians, sports players, political leaders and film stars. The list would be filled with people everyone knows but there would be one person on that list that perhaps would confound most. Guy Taplin. Who’s Guy Taplin? Well, he was one of the finest 20th century observers of birds. His observations weren’t in the form of lists or photographs and he probably didn’t go around chasing rare species. He basically turned driftwood into birds. Guy Taplin I certainly hadn’t heard of him even though I love art and I love birds. It was only when a friend at work gave me his book as a Christmas 'Secret Santa' that he came to my attention. That was some SS, quite special. His life story reads like a roller coaster. He left school at 15 and got sacked from most of his jobs. He destroyed over £2000 of stamps by pouring water into the stamp drawer when he worked at the Post Office. Feigned madness so well to get out of national s...