10 JANUARY 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP)  and SURROUNDS

I suspected SCP lake would be frozen, but I decided to go anyway because I was after three species of bird - Rook, Chaffinch and Yellowhammer - that I hadn’t yet seen this year, and they are usually virtually guaranteed, although the latter was extremely difficult to see locally last year.

Passing through Thorley Wedge there was very little evidence of any bird movement, indeed the only birds on show were Woodpigeons and Magpies. Arriving at SCP I could see that the lake indeed was partially frozen, with only a contingent of Black-headed Gulls, a couple of Moorhens, and Mallards obvious. As I approached the boardwalk at the northern end of the lake many more Mallards came into view, with upwards of thirty - considerably more than I’d seen of late - collected mainly in the waters beyond the walkway, which were almost ice-free. On the lake there were two Moorhens trundling around on the ice, and slipping occasionally, with the gulls waiting for members of the public to feed them. A few mallards too waddling around and slipping on the ice.

What I didn’t expect to see - although I was aware they were certainly present around the lake - were Brown Rats, but two (probably juveniles from their slightly furry coats) were scurrying along the boardwalk with no obvious fear of the people feeding the gulls; or me come to that.

Although I didn’t see any Rooks on the periphery of the lake (not even one at the site of the Rookery, which amazed me) I did expect to see them on the ‘maze’ field, but not a single one could be found - the only birds around seemed to be a few Redwings in the hedges, and several Great and Blue Tits; but that was about it.

I crossed the main road (the A114) which was quite busy with Saturday traffic and took the muddy path in the direction of Moor Hall Farm, then on towards Mathams Pit, but initially nothing more than Tits was seen. As I approached a field full of spent root crops, I noticed a huge cloud of what I assumed were finches rise at the far end and take to oaks, but the light was poor, so I couldn’t make out the species, so I attempted to get nearer, but all that achieved was the birds flying further away. Eventually, the flock came back on itself which enabled me to confirm that it comprised mainly Chaffinches (indeed, at around 200 birds, the largest flock I’ve ever seen locally) with at least one Yellowhammer and one Greenfinch amongst them. But I still couldn’t get a decent view in such poor, very grey, light.  I marched on towards Mathams Pit a just a few Redwings and Chaffinches seen in the hedges, then turned onto the wooden bridge leading up to St. James’ Church - with my boots continually weighed down by the sticky clay that clung to my soles.

There were no signs of any Skylarks (perhaps it was a tad too early to expect their jingling song to puncture the air this early in the year) but as I approached a group of commercial buildings next to the church (where I found a puddle or two to partially clear my boots of mud) I noticed a small flock of birds in a hawthorn bush, and as I came nearer I could see that they were all Yellowhammers - at least three males in the whole group of eleven - more that I’d ever seen locally (in most previous years I’d only ever seen two pairs at most in the spring, with just two in the winter months) so I was pleased with the views, even though the light remained very poor indeed, despite signs of clearing skies. There was no sign of the usual Mistle Thrush in the church grounds, so I made my way home, arriving at 13.45 hrs. I’d been out three and a half hours.

SCP ALMOST WHOLLY FROZEN LAKE

BLACK-HEADED GULLS AND MOORHEN ON FROZEN LAKE

MALLARDS GALORE

FRENZY OF BH GULLS AFTER FOOD

BROWN RAT

MOORHEN ON ICE

MOORHEN ON ICE

A FRACTION OF THE FLOCK OF CHAFFINCHES

 

8 JANUARY 2026 – ABBERTON RESERVOIR

This was our first birding trip of the new year and right from the start it seemed from forecasts that we were going to be fighting the weather - the first part of the day being still extremely cold, with light winds, drizzle and fog, followed by heavy rain and strong southwesterlies from about 14.00 hrs. possibly turning wintery by late afternoon - early evening; all courtesy of storm Goretti. So, we set off from mine shortly after 08.00 hrs expecting that we’d likely back home by mid-afternoon.

We had no problems on the road with traffic, but a detour around Coggeshall, meant that we were forced to approach Abberton Reservoir from the Layer de la Haye concourse as opposed to the Layer Breton concourse which was our intended route.

Straight away it was absolutely apparent that the reservoir south of the road here was almost entirely frozen, with hardly a bird on it, except for a couple of Great Egrets and a Carrion Crow, whereas the northern sector was less frozen with isolated groups of Goosander; Wigeon; Tufted Duck; Teal, with the odd Great Crested Grebe; Goldeneye and Pochard. There were a couple of Redshank; Black-tailed Godwits, and Oystercatchers  on the eastern bank, but not much else of note. John picked at least three Red Crested Pochard in his scope and a couple of distant Bewick’s Swans. But we missed out on Black-necked and Slavonian Grebes which had been observed in recent days.

On the way round to the Layer Breton concourse, we looked in at one of the hides at Billet’s Farm, but views of birds were restricted by fog that seemed to be becoming denser by the minute. Regrettably, we just missed a Long-tailed Duck, but there wasn’t a great deal on show here, although once again John came to the rescue with a singleton Mediterranean Gull and a drake Pintail. A female ring-necked Pheasant; a flock of about ten Dunlin, and a flyover Golden Plover helped boost our year lists too.

At Layer Breton virtually the first bird we latched onto was a stunning drake Smew, a species I hadn’t seen here for several years, and despite swimming and diving over a wide area, it kept a reasonable distance from the birders watching it.  There was a lot of activity here as it wasn’t as extensively frozen as from the southern section at Layer de la Haye, but there were many Mute Swans and Egyptian Geese interspersed with Grey Lags; Tufted Duck; Wigeon and other duck species, including a Red-head Smew (a female) which I found near to the left bank, initially ‘hiding’ beneath a fallen tree and which seemed very reluctant to come out at times. A Eurasian Buzzard was seen flying over the frozen waters and was something of a surprise. The southern part of the lake was almost entirely frozen with hardly a bird on it save for Black-headed and Herring Gulls, and I think at least one Mew (Common) Gull. But although there were a few Great Egrets, we saw absolutely no Little Egrets or Cattle Egrets (all of which had bred here); obviously the conditions were too harsh for them here, and they’d moved out to outlying fields; streams and rivulets.

After speaking to a fellow birdwatcher, John discovered that there was a ‘permissible footpath’ nearby where Tundra Bean Geese and White-fronted Geese had been observed of late, so we made a beeline for that, almost immediately connecting with a large flock of 80 or so Egyptian Geese on open fields, and behind them the three Bean Geese. Quite a bit further along, we connected with a large flock of wary Grey Lags with some Canada Geese, interspersed with the Whitefronts - where John scoped at least 14, with a good 100 or so Canada Geese further away. A pair of Stock Doves flew over, and good numbers of Redwings were seen flying out of Hawthorn bushes that lined the path.

We returned to Layer de la Haye concourse - where Mike and I spotted what we initially thought was a second drake Smew swimming around ice-free areas of water - although we soon discovered that the drake at Layer Breton was seen to fly north, so was almost certainly the same bird.

Later, we visited the Visitor Centre and the bird hides there, without seeing much more of interest due to the lack of birds on frozen waters, although two more Bewick’s Swans; a Sparrowhawk; an obliging Green Woodpecker on a wooden fence, and a few small passerines such as Titmice and Starlings were seen. By this time the whole reserve was shrouded in a truly dense fog, which virtually obliterated views of the birds and everything else.

After a welcome Cappuccino we left for home arriving at mine at 15.00 hrs in extremely dense fog, fortunately without experiencing the forecast heavy rain and high winds ………….which came after darkness fell.

A ritual that most of us ‘birders’ partake in is keeping a list of birds seen in any one year. Some are arguably a tad over-zealous in this regard, but I’d like to think that we three don’t take it that seriously. That said getting our lists off to a good start for the year is something probably most birders who keep lists adhere to well, almost religiously - and we are no different.

We achieved up to 32 ‘year ticks’ between us which we all felt was quite an exceptional tally, given the adverse weather conditions - indeed, none of us could recall seeing so much frozen water at Abberton previously, and I’m certain that helped us to some degree.

DRAKE GOLDENEYE

GOOSANDER (F)

GOOSANDER (M)

GREEN WOODPECKER

KERRY (?) SHEEP (near the 'permissible footpath)

SMEW (DRAKE)

SMEW (DRAKE)

 SMEW (DRAKE)

SMEW (FEMALE or REDHEAD)

EURASIAN WIGEON

5 JANUARY 2026 – SPELLBROOK; TEDNAMBURY MARSH and THORLEY WASH

There was a light dusting of snow outside, but otherwise pristine, extremely cold, sunny conditions; just right for a morning’s walk along the River Stort, with the aim of attempting to get as many bird species as possible - to boost my bird list (thus far a rather paltry 29) for the new year.

I chose to take a bus down to Spellbrook, then walk along the towpath, south towards Tednambury Marsh (hoping to connect with Ravens that I saw here for the first time in September 2025); then walk back along the towpath north through Spellbrook and finally Thorley Wash. Rather stupidly, I gave myself about three hours, but in fact I was out for a total just exceeding five - and that was without any resting time whatsoever!!

As soon as reached Spellbrook and crossed the level crossing and reached the bridge over the Stort, I got my first Kingfisher of the year; then a Eurasian Buzzard flew over. Taking the towpath southwards, there were quite a few Redwings flying around – all seemingly quite restless - and a Goldcrest flitting over the catkins of a larch. Nearby, at least three little Grebes were making their way south along the Stort, but were always extremely wary, and were difficult to photograph. And rather surprisingly a lovely drake Northern Shoveler flew past along the river heading back towards Spellbrook - a species I hadn't seen in these parts since December 2014. Then two more Buzzards were seen, but no sign of any Ravens, regrettably.

As I approached the tributary leading to Tednambury Marina, I saw a Fox skulking along a line of reeds out in the open, but I wasn’t quick enough to capture an image with my camera, and it was soon gone. Nearby, a small passerine alighted on a prickle - it was a female Stonechat - a species I don’t ever recall seeing here in Winter. At this point, and all the way to Tednambury Lock, the river was frozen, with a light dusting of snow on the surface, and here I saw a large Roach lying dead on the ice (and in otherwise prefect condition) and wondered how it got there, concluding that it had possibly been left by an Otter as the water froze; I couldn’t think of any other rationale.

I walked past the lock, with Redwings passing over me continually for a while, but turned back at that point, with very little else on show, except for several Blackbirds (all males); a Wren; a couple of Robins, and a few Woodpigeons, and walked back towards Spellbrook and Thorley Wash.

I couldn’t find the Stonechat again, but three Cormorants were perched atop a dead tree as the river coiled north-east, then south again, where I saw a large flock of 30 plus Jackdaws perched in a tree beside the railway (I’ve never seen so many together); then the Little Grebes came into view again, but were as wary as ever, and were extremely difficult to photograph. A Kingfisher gave me a closer, better view before I crossed the road into Thorley Wash.

Across the road just past the weir (opposite Walbury Estate) there were several birds on the river - mainly a few Mallards and Moorhens; three Mute Swans and two Gadwall - the latter are quite rare at Thorley Wash - I’ve only seen the species three times here previously since my first in 2007. I attempted to photograph them and managed a couple of shots, when a cyclist whizzed by on his bike and disturbed the birds, which promptly took to the air, along with four other Gadwall that I hadn’t seen - making six in all (three drakes and three ducks) the largest number I’ve yet recorded here. Along this stretch there was a Grey Heron behind the weir; at least ten Cormorants perched in a dead oak; a Dunnock on the opposite bank; and a lone Common Teal that I observed overhead, which was also a less common occurrence at the Wash. Apart from a couple of Blackbirds and Robins, I didn’t see another passerine until I got onto Thorley Wash Reserve, when I saw two more Goldcrests and a group of four Long-tailed Tits. A little further north along the Stort Navigation a Red Kite was seen briefly, and a lone Little Egret was seen perched in a Larch along the bank, before it too flew off as a dog walker passed by. Approaching Twyford Lock I saw another Fox snuggly resting quietly amongst some dead bramble, but as soon as I lifted my camera, all I managed was a partial image as the animal shot off into the bushes behind. I did feel kind of guilty for disturbing its slumbers.

It had been an interesting walk with me adding 13 new birds for the year - now standing  at 40; but that was insignificant compared to the super birds and mammals I’d seen today. I did feel extremely privileged. But at slightly over five hours out walking in extremely cold conditions, I arrived home very tired indeed.

SPELLBROOK LOCK - TOWARDS THORLEY WASH

MUTE SWAN AND LITTLE GREBE

LITTLE GREBE

LITTLE GREBE

REED MACE

FROZEN WATERS AT TEDNAMBURY LOCK

FROZEN ROACH AT TEDNAMBURY

CORMORANTS AT WALBURY ESTATE

GADWALL

GADWALL - TWO OF SIX

MUTE SWANS

MUTE SWANS

SOUTH TOWARDS SPELLBROOK

ALONG THE STORT BY THORLEY WASH RESERVE

4 JANUARY 2026 – GARDEN ENCOUNTERS

It was mid-morning, and rather than taking photos through the kitchen window, I ventured out into the cold, frosty beautiful light, and waited for birds to come into the garden by standing still as best I could.

I’d already seen Great and Blue Tits and Robins on the feeders from the window, with a Woodpigeon; two Collared Doves; a Magpie and a lone House Sparrow (although there were several more in my neighbour’s garden). But with a Red Kite wheeling around in the distance too, that was all the impetus I needed to get me outside.

I didn’t have to wait long to see the Kite wheel back into view, though regrettably it didn’t fly over the house, so I had to be content with slightly more distant views, which would have been great through binoculars, but were more challenging through the camera and telephoto lens. But I persevered, despite the freezing conditions (even in the sun) which made it harder to press the shutter ………………… I’d already discovered that gloves are quite useless out in the field so to speak, but also one often finds it difficult to even find where the shutter is, given that you need to keep an eye on the subject through the viewfinder; it’s easier without them!!

After a while, a second Kite came into view – though it proved impossible to get both in the same picture space for photographic purposes. Also, I was hopeful that either one might venture over the house; but that didn’t materialise, so I had to make do with more distant shots. But sooner than I’d anticipated the kites were gone, and I had to turn to the more usual garden fare for my photographs. But the light was so beautifully clear and bright, I was able to take full advantage of the conditions to achieve a some ‘contra-joure’ photos of Blue Tits and Robins, that proved extremely satisfactory indeed.

As well as the birds, the skies were busy with ‘birds’ of another kind ……………….aeroplanes and their attendant vapour trails, that made interesting photographic subjects too in the vibrant light.

So, here is a selection of the better shots.

BLUE TIT

RED KITE

RED KITE

ROBIN 

ROBIN

ROBIN

ROBIN

ROBIN

1 JANUARY 2026 – A WALK ALONG THE RIVER STORT

Traditionally (weather permitting) I do a walk along the Stort down to Thorley Wash Reserve, not just for the exercise, but to kick-start my birding list for the New Year; and hopefully, to take some photographs too.

On this occasion the weather was fine, with fairly clear skies and sunshine, but with a bracing north-easterly; but at least it was dry. I started out at 9.0 a.m. thinking that three hours should be sufficient time to achieve a good species count. But right from the outset, I could tell I was likely to struggle because, quite frankly, the birds just weren’t around. I’d had something of a clue from the lack of birds in my gardens that morning – just three species in a brief spell of watching from my kitchen window shortly after rising from my bed at around 8.00 a.m. namely, a single Blue Tit; a Collared Dove, and a lone Robin.

So, venturing out, a few Woodpigeons were seen, along with a small group of House Sparrows around the corner from my house - but none of the usual species such as Carrion Crows; Jackdaws; Blackbirds and Starlings. A few Goldfinches were seen overhead, but nothing more until I took the towpath along the Stort in the direction of Southmill Lock, when I saw a lone Blue Tit and a Coal Tit, then my first Mallards and a couple of Moorhens. But surprisingly no other species until I turned at the entrance to Rushy Mead Nature Reserve (managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust) when after a while I spied a single Winter Wren; a few Redwings; a couple of Magpies and more Blue Tits - and that was about it for the Reserve.

Back along the Stort towpath I took a slight detour into Bluebell Wood but it was completely devoid of birdlife, so I turned back to the towpath, walking a few hundred yards without seeing a single bird, until I came to a bend in the river shortly before reaching Twyford Lock, when I heard a loud call that was familiar but I couldn’t quite place it to a particular species, but persevered until in a tree in a someone’s garden (which adjoined the river) and which had a Little Egret perched in it only a week before (and which wasn’t here today) I found what was making the call - a lone Rose-ringed Parakeet, a bird I’d never seen anywhere near this site previously. A Jay flew out of the same group of trees, together with a couple of Magpies, and a Green Woodpecker ‘cackelled’ in the distance. Down at Twyford Lock, the usual Mallards and Moorhens were absent – and so were birds I usually saw along this stretch, such as Long-tailed Tits; Great Tits; Goldcrests and Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

So, crossing the road, I took the gate onto the towpath with the intention of going down to Thorley Wash Nature Reserve (managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust) - and after a few steps located an adult Great Cormorant perched high on a dead tree, managing just the one photograph before the bird was disturbed by a walker's barking dog. I also had a very brief view of a Common Buzzard before that was lost to view behind some trees. A little further along the muddy towpath and there was a flurry of activity as a flock of ‘finches’ alighted in a larch, although I couldn’t identify them until they moved into another larch where the light was more accommodating - they were Eurasian Siskin, a small flock of some twenty or so, with at least two Goldfinches amongst them. In a nearby larch, a large group of about fifteen Redwings were perched with a single male Greenfinch - all three species I’d found hard to see at this location in 2025. A Great Tit and a Robin were also seen here. A pair of Mute Swans - always elegant - were seen here too.

I wanted to walk on, but the conditions became muddier and more slippery, so for me with my walking stick (actually, a Nordic Pole that I’ve been using as support due to a failing right hip) really quiet dangerous - I didn’t relish falling into the river, especially with my photographic equipment - so I decided to turn back and call it a day at that point. On the walk back. I saw a few Jackdaws and a lone Red Kite at Thorley Wedge, just around the corner from my house. I’d managed a paltry 27 species, quite a disappointing species count for the first day of the new year. But I have 364 days left to rectify that, so it wasn’t all doom and gloom!

GREAT CORMORANT

MUTE SWAN

MUTE SWAN

MUTE SWANS - COB AND PEN

20 DECEMBER 2025 – ALONG THE RIVER STORT TO TWYFORD LOCK

It was a lovely clear, crisp morning and I really didn’t want to give up the chance of some winter landscape photography along the River Stort; and anyway, I hadn’t been out of the house for a week or so - except for minor shopping - so the exercise would do me good, both physically and mentally.

It had been my intention to take a bus to Spellbrook, then walk north along the Stort Navigation towpath, but I just missed the bus, so instead I walked southwards along the towpath to Twyford Lock. It turned out to be a wise move, largely because walking south into the bright sunlight meant that the photography would be considerably more atmospheric than otherwise might have been the case.

I wasn’t expecting much in the way of wildlife - especially given the fact that I was starting out quite late in the morning - around 9.45 a.m.; and indeed that proved to be the case, with (mostly) only birdlife on show, including my first local Eurasian Siskins this year - a small gathering of around half a dozen birds atop some larches at Rushy Mead Reserve (roughly halfway to Twyford Lock); a couple of Little Egrets (one of which was ‘ringed’) perched in trees in different locations; and a flock of about fifteen extremely flighty Redwings. The remaining species made up of various Tits; Robins; Mallards and Moorhens; Crows and Magpies. The only other wildlife was a fleeting glimpse of a (probable) Common Shrew as it flashed across the towpath in front of me.

However, as it turned out, the gorgeous winter light, and wonderful misty conditions combined to provide the wherewithal for me to test my photographic skills, although that wasn’t as straightforward as it sounds, as the light was really quite harsh at times; and anyway, for reasons I wasn’t able to fathom out, my camera settings proved a tad uncompromising when I really didn’t need them to be. So, here is a small selection of the sixty or so images I took.

ALONG THE STORT (NORTH)

APPROACHING SOUTHMILL LOCK

SOUTHMILL LOCK

SOUTHMILL LOCK

SOUTHMILL LOCK

MIST ON THE STORT

BEECH AND GRASSES

MALLARDS

MUTE SWAN

CARRION CROWS

LITTLE EGRET