Birding Braunie

The last few weeks have been manic at work mainly due to one particular client and getting any 'before work' birding has been near impossible and very frustrating. This morning I did manage to get an hour at one of my favourite work patches, namely South Fambridge. I was hoping to see my first autumn arrivals like Whinchat or maybe a Black Tern along the estuary or something. Things were pretty quiet but I was glad for the peace and tranquility this site brings. A few Reed Warblers were still croaking out splutterings of notes but rather half-heartedly now. The shoreline had a few piping Curlew and Redshank while in the distance three Black-tailed Godwits probed and prodded the mud for breakfast. The skies were overcast but the air was warm and scented with wildflower and nothing really mattered. I walked high along the seawall path and any movement in the sky was largely due to Woodpigeons. A few of these pigeons came down on a recently harvested corn? field. A much larg...

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...

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...

I know life begins at forty but what happens at fifty? Well I can tell you, nothing bad. Okay, it’s only been one day but what a day it was. Regular readers of this blog will know that I like an early morning wander along the seawall at South Fambridge. So at 7.30am with the sun warming up the chilly early morning air, I took the usual route west. There wasn’t much about. A few skylarks were singing somewhere up in the heavens (not long for me now) and a couple of corn buntings played birds on a wire. Along the river, Brent geese were collecting and getting ready to leave these shores for the summer and the usual waders, oystercatchers, curlews and redshanks added the atmospherics with their echoing calls. On the way back, a few reed buntings flitted about in the narrow reeds that margin the fine strips of water that run parallel to the path. Just before you get to the entrance to the bridleway, there are a few old buildings that have seen better days. There were robins, dunnocks, bl...

Decisions. Got to work at 7am this morning – 2 hours early. Now should I get ahead of the game and knuckle down to some work or should I spend an hour getting some fresh air a bit of needed exercise and do a bit of birding as a bonus? No contest. South Fambridge from the seawall South Fambridge has a lot to offer. A walk along the seawall gives you on one side, the Crouch estuary and on the other arable farmland. Reed Buntings were quite active and singing in the reeds that fringe the farmland fields. Skylarks too were taking to the air but invisible to see against the brilliant blue but bright sky. Reed Bunting On the river Crouch, a single Brent Goose bobbed about amongst the moored boats. But overhead, hundreds of skeins of Brent Geese flew up and down the estuary. Along the edge of the shore, a single Black-tailed Gowit probed the mud surrounded by Wigeon ,   Shelduck and Redshank . On the opposite side, small groups of Dunlin, Golden Plover and Curlews...