2 NOVEMBER 2026 - CLEY, NORFOLK

It was our first outing together for a while, and John had wanted to give Norfolk a go, deciding on Cley, given that the weather conditions were favourable for a touch of sea watching. And so it was that John, Mike and me set out from mine shortly after 0700 hrs.

We were just into Norfolk when John and Mike suggested trying for a winter site for Stone Curlews, apparently seen in previous years by Stephen Patmore (one of our ex-BS birders) in a field utilised as a piggery; but there were none on this occasion, so we continued our journey to Cley.

As we approached the coast, the rain clouds were gathering in increasingly stronger winds, with several spectacular rainbows (occasionally double rainbows, where the colours were reversed - something I’d never seen before) some even appearing across the road right in front of the car, where we could see that there was no pot of gold at the end!); eventually arriving at the old coastguards hut around 10.00 hrs, where there was already a contingent of birders with their scopes pointing towards the waves - which were fiercely large in approaching gale force north-easterlies.

To get to the chase over a period of around two hours, and between many gusty showers, with the winds increasing in strength (it was almost impossible to stand up at times), and with Mike and John joining the throng of birders beneath the shelter provided by the coastguards hut, a spectacular spell of sea-watching was “enjoyed” with a plethora of seabirds - most, though not all - flying bravely into the wind.

There was a huge movement of Kittiwakes - some quite close in; a lesser number of Gannets (mostly juveniles); Guillemots; Razorbills and several Puffins; Eiders and Common Scoters; some Wigeon and Teal; a couple of Pintail with Wigeon; some Little Gulls were seen, though not by me; good numbers of Common Gulls; some Herring and Black-headed Gulls; a lone Mediterranean Gull; some Red-throated Divers; distant Arctic Skuas and a Great Skua were seen by some with scopes; Some, including John got a Pomarine Skua, and he also scoped a distant Sooty Shearwater; a Leach’s Petrel was called out - and John just about scoped it briefly as it arced up from the waves along the beach (though Mike and I missed it); a Grey Phalarope was called out, but Mike was the only one of our party to see it, as it flew quickly westwards along the tideline; I saw an adult female Peregrine Falcon fly over, which John and Mike missed; and we all had views as a Short-eared Owl which came in high off the sea, landing in the fields behind the shelter. In the fields there was a flock of around 100 Golden Plover; 400-500 Brent Geese; and 11 or so Barnacle Geese. We’d already seen a huge flock of Pink-footed Geese earlier in the morning, and Red Kite over the RSPB Visitors’ Centre (which hadn’t yet opened).

As the furore of sea-watching died down, we went east along the coastal road to what is known as the Iron Road, at Salthouse, where - along an exceptionally muddy track - we’d hoped to see some Shore Larks and a small flock of Twite. But we learned that both species had been disturbed by a birder who got a tad too close, and they flew off around 20 minutes before we arrived. A small gathering of White-fronted Geese and a lone Little Egret weren’t really adequate compensation. John thought he’d scoped a singleton Twite on a wire fence - but the views were distant and quite poor in the windy conditions, so he couldn’t be sure. So, it was back to Cley for more sea-watching, which bagged no further species, except that in the lessening winds I was able to try my luck in some photography; though the conditions were still difficult, the results proving disappointingly unsatisfactory.

We had intended to travel east to Kelling, where an Isabelline Wheatear had been seen on the beach, and a Black Guillemot on the sea there too. Also, a couple of Jack Snipe had been seen at Kelling Quag. But the weather conditions were so challenging at Cley, that the chances of seeing these species was likely to be extremely small; so, we let that ride.

We left Cley at shortly after 15.00 hrs, but the journey home was a nightmare - being blighted by two diversions before we even got out of Norfolk, and delays of the M11 entailing a different route via Newport and Stansted. I was home shortly before 1900 hrs; Mike and John, slightly later. But it had been an exceptional days birding ………………… sea-watching is almost always exciting and unpredictable - though not necessarily comfortable; luckily, the squalls experienced today were relatively brief in intensity - the rain showers light in comparison to some we’d encountered on previous visits to Cley. We couldn’t complain.

CLEY BEACH

ROUGH SEAS

JUVENILE GANNET

JUVENILE GANNET

JUVENILE GANNET 

JUVENILE GANNET

KITTIWAKE

RED-THROATED DIVER (or LOON)

RAINBOW OVER THE SEA

 

 

 

 

30 OCTOBER 2026 - MANDARIN DUCK (DRAKE)

A friend of mine mentioned that he’d seen an adult drake Mandarin Duck associating with Mallards, along the River Stort, in the Centre of Bishop’s Stortford Town; so, I duly went along to see if I could find it.

I’d seen an adult drake (albeit in eclipse plumage) along the Stort myself at Walbury Estate just south of Thorley Wash Nature Reserve in May of this year, but it was extremely wary and kept very much in the scrub and was therefore difficult to observe and even photograph; so maybe the bird seen in the Town was the same individual.

I did indeed find the Mandarin which was still associating with Mallards (and one female in particular, seemingly following it around as it swam away), and initially it seemed reluctant to leave the edge of the bank, where I guess it was slightly sheltered. But eventually, as the Mallard moved away, the bird swam out and became fairly easy to photograph as a consequence, with no inhibitions displayed by the Walbury Estate drake.

Its origins are possibly dubious, but the species has spread into the Stort catchment area and indeed has bred quite successfully in the Harlow area, so now could arguably be classed as being ‘wild’ especially as they can remain quite reticent, and very wary. Here is a selection of the photographs taken.

 

 

17 OCTOBER 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK

I admit that I may have been taking the bull by the horns, but it was such a lovely, bright, sunny morning (despite a chilly NW breeze) that I decided to try and stretch my leg muscles and stroll over to Southern Country Park - just for somewhere different to go, other than to the shops; BS Cemetery (to photograph non-existent fungi); a Pharmacist for my Covid jab, or any other Health Service establishment! 

By means of an explanation, I’d recently returned from a spell in hospital following a heavy fall in my garden and a subsequent heart scare, where I was kept in overnight for tests which fortunately proved in the positive - but I was also treated for a toe fracture (a consequence of that fall) which had been X-rayed and which led to a five night stay in hospital waiting for a doctor from the Diabetes Foot Clinic to examine the toe and redress it properly, before being discharged. I’d not done much walking since  so, if I took a slow paced ‘strolled’ to the Park, I felt that I would be okay. And anyway, I needed Nature to ease the stress of the last three weeks or so.

I set off at a little after 0930 hrs, arriving at the north entrance around 10.20 hrs. My first port of call was the walkway at the north end of the lake, but there were hardly any birds to see - just a small flotilla of Mallards, but absolutely nothing else…………… no Coots; no Moorhens, and no Gulls!! I walked over the walkway and down the eastern pathway, with nothing of note to photograph other than the lovely Autumnal hues of the Phragmites, which were exceptionally attractive in the bright, crisp sunlight. There was a brief view of a Red Kite overhead, but nothing else of interest.

There were no dragonflies here, but as soon as I turned west along the southern edge of the lake, I came across a lone Western Willow Emerald Damselfly (an aged male) sunning itself on the leaf of a shrub. From here I walked over to the ‘Old Pond’ possibly expecting another Damselfly or maybe a late Ruddy or Common Darter, but without seeing any. I had more luck when started to walk along the sheltered southern edge of the Chalk Bank, and encountered three male Common Blue butterflies, and at least four Clouded Yellow butterflies (I believe most of them were males) - stragglers from the huge influx in August. I attempted photography, but for some reason the resulting images were spoiled by detritus on the camera sensor, which puzzled me because later images of other things were strangely clear of dust.

I returned to the lake area, then onward across the newly constructed footbridge over the stream near the ‘Old Pond’ and up the hill, alongside the Spring Meadow (which was seemingly devoid of any wildlife), passing the site of the proposed Butterfly Bank (construction of which was well underway), then I took the trail out of the Park, arriving back home shortly after 12.20 hrs.

THE VIEW OVER THE REEDBED

AUTUMNAL PHRAGMITES

PHRAGMITES

COMMON PRIVET ?

PURPLE LOOSESTRIFE ?

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY (M)

A WAY THROUGH

21 SEPTEMEBER 2026 - ROYDON to HARLOW TOWN

Andy Saunders and I had been talking about doing a walk ‘somewhere’ for some time, and this was the day we carried it out. After some deliberation we decided of taking a train to Roydon, then walking back to Harlow Town, partly along the Stort Navigation towpath, then veering off to follow the towpath along the actual River Stort through Hunsdon Mead, Parndon Mead, and on to Harlow Town station.

We caught the train at Bishop’s Stortford that got us into Roydon shortly after 10.00 a.m. then crossed over the level crossing to follow the towpath east along the Stort Navigation, until we reached a gate that took us into Hunsdon Mead. The only things of note along this this part of the towpath were the hordes of Ivy Bees.

Shortly before reaching that point, we’d heard, then saw two Rose-ringed Parakeets; a distant Buzzard, and a single Clouded Yellow Butterfly - but once we reached the gate into Hunsdon Mead, things began to take off in terms of the number of Clouded Yellows seen, it started with a couple of Small Heath butterflies, then one or two Clouded Yellows, then several more moving swiftly over the meadow, until we encountered a pair mating in the lush grass (the first time I’d ever seen a pair in copulation). I (thought I) took several interesting photos until we reached the course of the ‘old’ or actual River Stort when I noticed a warning that ‘flashed’ up in the camera viewfinder (not seen at all whilst taking all my other shots) to the effect that I had no SD Card in the camera, which meant of course that all the shots I thought I’d taken (including those of the mating Clouded Yellows) didn’t in fact exist!! This was especially galling since in normal circumstances my camera wouldn’t allow me to take any photos if a card hadn’t been inserted first. So, where was the 124 GB SD Card I thought I’d inserted before we started out then……………………. well, back on my front room table I guessed!! Fortunately, I did have a few 64GB cards in a wallet in my camera bag, so I loaded one up.

Between that point and Mead Lock we enjoyed a plethora of Clouded Yellows, possibly more than 40 individuals, seemingly the vast majority were females: more than I’d ever seen before at one location. There were a few more Small Heaths, with a sprinkling of Small Whites; a couple of Holly Blues; a possible Common Blue, and a Peacock butterfly. Migrant Hawker Dragonflies were everywhere, in large numbers, with the occasional Common Darter, and a single Emperor Dragonfly. Of the birds, there were good numbers of (Western) Jackdaws and some Carrion Crows; At least two Red Kites at close quarters; two Eurasian Buzzards, and another Little Egret.

We ate our lunches at the lock, then followed the course of the River Stort along the towpath, where Migrant Hawkers abounded - more than I’d ever seen before - with Common Darters (some in tandem) and Common Blue Damselflies well represented too. Every now and then, Cetti’s Warblers sounded out their presence in the reeds, with at least two showing themselves briefly. There were a few Moorhens and Mallards on the river too, and three Cygnet Swans in the lock area. As we approached the end of our walk and Harlow Town station, we began to see Western Willow Emerald Damselflies - some in tandem - in keeping with the recent rise in records along the Stort at Thorley Wash in recent years.

The weather forecast was for clear, sunny skies, and an afternoon temperature of around 22 Degrees C, but it seemed considerably warmer than that at times; and with little shade along the towpath, it became almost unbearably hot, which didn’t suit my demeanour one little bit, and I was ‘flagging’ considerably as we arrived at the station. But we’d enjoyed the walk, nonetheless.

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (probable female)

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (possible male)

COMMON BLUE DAMSELFLY ON LILY SEED POD

CRANE FLY

CYGNETS

MOORHEN

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY (F)

 

19 SEPTEMEBER 2026 - RAINHAM MARSH

The day begun with an abortive trip to try and see a large pod of between 17 and 25 Long-finned Pilot Whales (depending on which report you read) that had been observed in the Thames estuary at Gravesend the previous day (and indeed most of this week too as it transpired). John and I arrived around 9.15 a.m. but with no reported sightings this morning; but we had to give it a go of course.

There were a few people around who had seen the whales in recent days, but without any knowledge of their whereabouts today and with no further information being given out on BirdGuides, where most of our information had been gleaned from. The proprietor of a café on the riverfront told us that he’d seen the Whales on and off for most of the week - indeed, seen mid-river right in front of his café - so we knew we were in the right place, just no whales to be seen. After a while John had an urge for a bacon butty, so I joined him in the café for a butty and a cappuccino too, whilst we waited in case of an appearance by the whales, but with no further news, we decided to call it a day here, and made our way back to his car, with news of the sighting of an Osprey at Rainham Marsh, so we headed in that direction, slightly deflated.

By the time we reached the RSPB Reserve at Rainham Marsh, there was no further news of the Osprey other than that it (or rather they, as two had been seen) had flown westwards. The volunteer lady on the desk said that whilst the Osprey(s) were no longer around, that there were plenty of raptors to be seen i.e. Western Marsh Harriers; Buzzards; Hobbies and a Peregrine; as well as a Whinchat; so, although we hadn’t intended to walk around the reserve - restricting ourselves to the River (the Thames) side, we’d hoped for a relatively interesting walk bird-wise. But it didn’t turn out that way. Although we did (eventually) see a male and female Western Marsh Harrier, and a Buzzard, they were distant views, and we never had a sniff of any Hobbies, or indeed a Peregrine - just a single distant Kestrel. Neither of us wanted to walk as far as the site where the Whinchat had been found (it was a  long way away), so we missed that too. There was little activity we could see as we overlooked the reserve - mostly ducks, and a few scattered Black-tailed Godwits, but little else of much interest. On the river, just a sprinkling of gulls and Shelducks, with Grey Seals and more Godwits on the Kent side of the Thames.

We did see a few Clouded Yellow Butterflies, which occasionally settled, but the strong westerly wind, assured that they didn’t settle for long; other than those, mostly Small Whites and one or two Large Whites too, and one fleeting view of a passing Wall Brown. Dragonflies comprised three or four Migrant Hawkers and a lone Common Darter seen at the entrance.

On the river, and making it’s way upstream, was a Thames Sailing Barge - a flat-bottomed boat with maroon-coloured sails and a sight not regularly seen these days. Although it wasn’t in full sail, it was still an interesting vessel to see, a reminder of times gone by on the Thames.

When we arrived, we saw a young couple seemingly taking photographs of something in the hedges, and on enquiring discovered they were recording Southern Green Shield Bugs - in varying degrees of development (known as ‘Instars’) - a species we’d never encountered previously; and they were fascinating creatures. We had another brief look at these on the way back to the car, before heading home.

Later in the day, we learned that the reason we didn’t see the Whales, was that they were escorted out of the estuary early that morning by a trawler (or similar vessel) in an effort to ensure their safety, as such a large pod so far up the Thames, was certainly unusual and it probably meant that the Whales had lost their way so to speak. Apparently at least one washed up dead at Canvey further down the estuary. But at least (as far as we know) the main pod was likely to have been saved, and back in the open sea. I guess it’s open to question as to whether the pod is seen again in the Thames estuary.

NOTE

There are no pictures of mine as once processed the photos were corrupted when saved (showing up 'pink'). This is a known issue that I'm looking into. Unfortunately, in the process of trying to solve it, when I thought the final photos were okay, I deleted the images on the SD Card - as is my normal practice after saving my images. Regrettably, when I looked at the 'saved' images again to import them into this document, they'd turned 'pink' again, but too late for me to rectify the situation. To compensate I have downloaded a few free images from the internet, just to illustrate the Southern Green Shield Bug and Thames Barge.

SOUTHERN GREEN SHIELD BUG (including Instars)

THAMES SAILING BARGE (similar to the one seen).

  

5 SEPTEMBER 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP)

I didn’t want to exert myself too much after this Tuesday’s marathon 6-hour walk; so, I opted for Southern Country Park. Needing to ensure I arrived in the park in time to catch emerging butterflies and dragonflies, I left home at 9.35 hrs, arriving at the Park at 10.15 hrs - not too strenuous.

The morning was warmish at around 20 degrees C, and it was sunny and clear, with a moderate northerly breeze, although as I arrived at the Park the skies were beginning to cloud over momentarily. Nothing of any note on the way, but a few Jackdaws (an attractive member of the Corvids family).

There was nobody around - no anglers at the lake, which was unusual (though maybe that had something to do the state of the water, which until recently was covered in duckweed, but now was completely clear, possibly courtesy of recent rains). But there were only a ‘handful’ of Mallards and a couple of Moorhens at the northern end, and as far as I could tell very few dragonflies - half a dozen Migrant Hawkers, a female Southern Hawker, and just two Common Darters. Butterflies around the lake comprised a few Small Whites and a female Brown Argus. At the ‘old Pond’ a couple of Common Darters and a Ruddy Darter, with a lone female Western Willow Emerald Damselfly (I saw none around the main lake at all).

From a distance I could see that part of the Chalk Bank had been mowed, but the southern end remained uncut, so I thought I should at least try for some butterflies, even though the breeze had increased in strength. As soon as I got round to the bank, I saw a single Small White, and with it a Clouded Yellow, which fortunately came towards me and alighted on a dandelion a few feet away, and was relatively easily photographed. And then I saw another, and followed round to the southern end, where it alighted on another dandelion, flitting from one to another for a while until I could get a few shots fired off. But it certainly wasn’t straight forward as the butterfly was moving almost continually at an amazingly fast rate, until it settled, but only briefly. I felt that I’d seen at least three and possibly four individuals - all females - although it’s difficult to quantify as the insects were fast moving and spread out over the Chalk Bank. There were quite a lot of Common Blues too (most were rather worn) with one or two faded Brown Argus, and a single Silver ‘Y’ Moth, which certainly gave me the run-around!

At the Wildflower Meadow (previously known as ‘The Maze’) there was only a small part that had been left unmown - the rest of the field was completely cut, so, the chances of finding any Wasp Spiders was remote indeed, and although I did look hard along the fence line, I failed to connect with any. There were no butterflies here at all either - the field, as far as I could tell, being occupied by a few tiny (unidentified) bee species, a Jackdaw and a couple of Wood Pigeons.

Passing through to one of the exits I could see that most of the open fields had been mown too, so I wasn’t likely to see any more butterflies and dragonflies, so I moved on to the small pond adjacent to St. James’ Church, but the pond was overgrown with tall Phragmites, with hardly any open water, with the only occupiers being a couple of inquisitive Migrant Hawkers.

I took a seat in the grounds of the Church to consume a biscuit and a banana, washed down with water from my flask, then moved off noticing and photographing a huge Chicken of the Woods fungi on a conifer, and then I was homeward bound.

IVY BEE

BROWN ARGUS BUTTERFLY (F)

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (F)

CLOUDED YELLOW BUTTERFLY (F)

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY (F)

CHICKEN OF THE WOODS FUNGI

SYCAMORE LEAF (CONTRE-JOURE) 

EURASIAN JACKDAW

 

 

1 SEPTEMBER 2026 – TEDNAMBURY and THORLEY WASH

I hadn’t been down to the River Stort (Tednambury and Thorley Wash) for a good part of this long hot summer - the intolerable heat did me no favours whatsoever, playing havoc with my diabetes related issues; so, I spent a lot of the time concentrating on the garden and my wildlife pond. But the heat had subsided considerably, so I thought I’d pay Thorley Wash a long overdue visit.

I started out around 0850 hrs, with plenty of water and some light food, and after a 20-minute wait, took a bus down to Spellbrook, arriving shortly after 0940 hrs.

I thought I’d try Tednambury first, being near to the date I had a family of Ravens last year; but no joy there - the digital mast was occupied by a Lesser Black-backed Gull. But walking along the towpath, it was obvious that there was little if any bird activity, with no signs of any warblers such as Sedge or Reed, and Chiffchaffs, and no Reed Buntings. A Buzzard and two sightings of a Sparrowhawk lifted my spirits slightly, but otherwise it was empty of birds. Migrant Hawker dragonflies were seemingly everywhere, and I was getting some success in photographing them in flight, but I couldn’t turn any of them into Blue Eyed Hawkers (previously known as Southern Migrant Hawkers) despite some having very blue eyes! I had intended to walk up to Tednambury Lock, but the absence of birds generally - although there was a good movement of Swallows - convinced me to turn back to concentrate my efforts on Thorley Wash.

There was a bit of human activity at Spellbrook Lock, with a group of women taking canoeing lessons, which in my eyes meant that there was unlikely to be much seen along the towpath up to Thorley Wash Reserve, and that proved to be the case. Over the bridge onto the reserve, I was surprised just how overgrown everything looked - especially hops that have invaded the bridge itself, and along the towpath up to it - but there was very little insect activity, although I did find a lone Western Willow Emerald Damselfly, which would have been my first for the year were it not for the three I’d had on my wildlife pond at home! There was no sign of any Water Vole activity in the stream, so I ventured into the open, and in the southern sector of the reserve immediately noticed a couple of birds flying up and catching insects from a dead tree and put the binoculars to my eyes; but I certainly didn’t expect what transpired.

One of the birds alighted on a bare branch, so I trained the binoculars on that, and immediately saw a familiar bird, one that I hadn’t seen at Thorley Wash since September 2011 - on the Essex side of the Stort on the Walbury Estate side; it was a Spotted Flycatcher! But there were two. Both birds were heavily streaked on the crown and breast, so I expected they were juveniles, but neither had streaking on the mantle, so were more likely to be adult birds. There was quite a distance between me and the birds and using the 100-400mm telephoto on the camera, wasn’t going to produce a decent image, so I added the 2x Converter to help in this regard. Luckily, the light was excellent, with variable cloud, so I was able to use a reasonable exposure and speed with the lens; although both birds were extremely active, which made it difficult to focus. But I persisted and eventually managed some decent shots. I also noticed a small warbler, with bright yellow breast and underparts, and which I’ve taken to be a juvenile Willow Warbler, as opposed to a Chiffchaff, which would normally be much duller; the first Willow Warbler I’d seen here for a couple of years.

I hadn’t initially intended to walk around the entire reserve, but I wanted to try for more Willow Emerald Damselflies, so I went ahead. There were quite a few grasshoppers along the path, but they were always too quick for me to photograph, so that was a tad disappointing. Within a short space of time, along a very overgrown pathway, I found my second Willow Emerald, which again took off before I could train the camera on it, but it did at least indicate that they were probably quite abundant on the reserve. I took some refreshment on a seat at the northern end of the reserve, noticing one of several Water Buffalo that had been placed on the reserve for the summer. I also saw two more Buzzards here; but nothing more of any interest.

As soon as I got back at the bridge, and took the towpath north, I began to find more Willow Emeralds, some in tandem, although their numbers seemed a little down on previous years. And then increasingly more appeared along the Essex side of the towpath, which meant that they were always going to be difficult to photograph well, due to the riverine environment……………… I didn’t want to fall into the river!

There were several Azure Damselflies, and a couple of Common Blue Damselflies, but other than the Willow Emeralds, a sizeable number of Migrant Hawkers, and one male Emperor Dragonfly, no other species were seen. I did see a few Small White butterflies; a lone Peacock butterfly; a singleton Speckled Wood; a lovely male Common Blue butterfly; and a Latticed Heath Moth, which was only the second I’d ever seen (and the first for Thorley Wash) so that was pleasing. I also saw a few more of the Water Buffalo, emerging from the overgrown Willow trees - sad to see the reserve in that condition, but it has been an exceptionally dry summer, so maybe that was to be expected.

MIGRANT HAWKER CAUGHT IN FLIGHT

MIGRANT HAWKER AT REST

ADULT MOORHEN

JUVENILE MOORHEN

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

SPOTTED FLYCATCHER

COMMON LIZARD

WATER BUFFALO

LATTICED HEATH MOTH

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLY

WESTERN WILLOW EMERALD DAMSELFLIES IN TANDEM