Birding Braunie

About a month ago, I saw a friend put an image, an excellent image I might add of a Little Owl on his Facebook timeline. I was intrigued. I hadn’t seen a little owl for some time – probably over 2 years in fact so I was keen to find out where he took the pictures. As it turned out, there were a pair of owls and they were close to my previous home in Buckhurst Hill, Essex. The only slight issue was that the birds liked to hang around a few oaks that surrounded a children’s’ playground. Not a good look if you are over 50 and carry binoculars and a telescope to take pictures! It was clearly an early morning visit that was called for. So at 6.30am I set off the couple of miles it would take to get to the park that was also part of the Roding Valley NR.  Not many people around at 6.40am on a Saturday morning with the exception of a couple of joggers and a cyclist. The play area was empty with only a few magpies loitering about. A ring-necked parakeet squawked overhead warni...

This little sortie into Suffolk...or is it Norfolk...or is it both? I get dizzy travelling that road from the M11 to Brandon, just  a stone-curlew’s throw from Thetford Forest. The signs say welcome to Suffolk, then Cambridgeshire then Suffolk again or Norfolk or somewhere then the screeching of tyres and your passengers fly across the car interior as you nearly miss the entrance to Weeting Heath. Attention! Myself and my accomplice on this particular mission, Brenda, are greeted by a gentleman who reminds me of the bull elephant in the Jungle Book. The khaki shorts, handlebar moustache and general air of a time not out of place in the time of the Raj. I’m being unfair as the 'major' is a calm and caring man who has always been stationed at Weeting since I can ever remember. He talks about a time when he lived in central Africa and I can see it. I could listen to his banter all day but we had come to see the Stone-curlews and hopefully the regular Spotted Flycatcher that fr...

It’s amazing really the quality and quantity of wildlife you can see at Rainham Marshes. An oasis within an industrial desert, Rainham Marshes attracts as good a species as the best reserves in the country. From the endangered Water Vole tucked deep in the reed margins to the irrepressible chattering of a Reed Warbler, wherever you looked there was something to see or hear. A cuckoo called and then flew over the woodland. Common Blue butterflies danced swiftly through the wild rose bushes and damselflies that appear to have more than one reverse gear tease and tangle with each other as they hover over the nettle beds. Most of the wildfowl are now lazy and seem disinterested in the squabbles of the Common Terns on the scrapes. Young coots bob about on the water and the rather weird Marsh Frogs bellow out across the marsh. For me there is no better place to be when the sun shines and the winds abate. Reed Warbler Reed Warbler Female Azure Damselfly Blue-tailed Damse...

...because you’re about to be bombarded. The RSPB reserve at Rainham Marshes has worked hard over the past couple of years to encourage Kingfishers to nest in artificial banks. This year things have worked really well. With electric fencing deterring predators, the birds have been able to nest safely and have now produced young. This means constant trips back and forth with food carried out by both parents. And being creatures of habit, they generally rest up (briefly) on the same perches. But photographing them isn’t as easy as it seems. The hide has a glass front and to keep the birds undisturbed, camouflaged netting has been draped over the glass to hide all the commotion we make when we see these little gems. Enough. In other news, a Grasshopper Warbler reeled away near the Serin Mound and even gave good if distant views early morning. Grasshopper Warbler Female Wheatear Speckled Wood

This year, up to now, I have done all my birding in Essex and Herts. But this week I have managed to slip my chains and abscond down to Kent; Dungeness to be exact. To me, Dungeness is comfort food birding. You know what you’re going to get but Dungeness always chucks in a couple of surprises every now and then. Dungeness sometimes makes you work for your birds. This was such a day. I generally work the Long Pits, Trapping area and Desert first, looking for migrants. There were a few Chiffchaff and Blackcaps calling. Checked every Blackbird for a Ring Ouzel and spent too long chasing Common Whitethroats for a photo with no success. I wandered about aimlessly before deciding to try sea watching instead. This would surely be stacked with goodies. As I approached the Nuclear Power Station’s perimeter, the instantly recognisable call of a Black Redstart filled the air. A rather smart male (they’re always smart) sat squarely on a post waiting for me to get my camera out. ...