24 JANUARY 2026 - SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP).

I like to think that I do my bit for the RSPB’s Big Garden Watch and submit records for species seen (usually) in my own garden; but this year, since there had been a distinct lack of birds visiting my garden in recent weeks, I decided to try a different venue. I did initially think that Thorley Wash Reserve along the River Stort Navigation would be an excellent choice, as a recent visit in very cold conditions, had produced a good selection of birds; but with all the rain in recent days I just knew that the towpath would be extremely muddy and quite dangerous for me (given that I’m using a Nordic stick for support whilst I’m awaiting hip surgery); so, Southern Country Park would seem a reasonable alternative.

The only downside to doing the Big Bird Watch at SCP is that species must be those that are  observed actually ‘down’ in the site, rather than flying over, and at SCP it must be said that a fair few of the species usually seen are ‘flyovers’; but it was considerably better than the likely tally seen in my garden, so off I went.

On the northern periphery of the park, there is a Rookery which in recent years has declined in terms of the birds actually nesting there, but as Rooks nest early in the year, I should see a few birds preparing to breed; but in fact I saw not a single one, and indeed I wasn’t even destined to see any in the vicinity of the old ‘Maze area which is now a fenced off designated ‘flower meadow’ and where one would normally be guaranteed to see Rook and Jackdaws feeding. But not on this occasion. There were around fifteen Jackdaws around the residential home next to the Rookery, but no actual Rooks - most disappointing.

A Wren alighted on the fence of a private house beneath the Rookery, and that stayed long enough for me to get a couple of photos, but I wasn’t so lucky with a Blackbird feeding on Cotoneaster berries in the same garden, which would have made an excellent composition. A couple of Blue Tits; a single Great Tit; several Magpies, and some Woodpigeons were the only other birds seen before reaching the northern entrance to the park.

A line of Black-headed Gulls on the roof of a house opposite the lake made an interesting picture too, but the place seemed extremely quiet, with no birdsong whatsoever, at first. But there were plenty of people, mostly dogwalkers, which for didn’t exactly bode well for the morning.

From the boardwalk at the northern end of the lake, a single Moorhen, a lone Coot, and a few Mallards, were the only species seen, with no sign of the large number of gulls seen recently when the lake was partially frozen. Round by the ‘Duckfood’ dispenser - a bad move in my view since it surely encourages rats - and sure enough a Brown Rat was making occasional forays under the dispenser for food, although it did make for rather interesting photos, due in no small way to the attractive ripples in the water as the rat swam around the nearby reedbed.

To the southern end of the lake a Robin was singing heartily, and in the distance the musical notes of a Song Thrush, so as the thrush was new to me for the year, I set off in search of it; but that wasn’t as easy as it sounds. No, the thrush gave me the run-around; but then it flew into a thicket on the lakeshore, from where it continued to sing loudly, before after a long, hard search, I finally located the bird properly and was able to get just the one photo before it flew away. A single Goldfinch was twittering away in a nearby hawthorn.

High up overhead, a Red Kite circled over the lake, and nearby a group of three Eurasian Buzzards circled too, then disappeared rapidly, with two being seen perched in a distant Oak. A couple more sightings of a Red Kite in a slightly different area of the park, was likely to be of the same individual, and although I took several photos, the bird/s were much higher in the pristine blue sky than I’d usually seen the species. A pair of Grey Squirrels were seen, probably in foreplay, before I disturbed them.

In total I managed just 17 species, with some major misses including Chaffinch; Redwing; Rook; Long-tailed Tit; Grey Heron, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker - virtually all of which I see on a regular basis here in winter.

WINTER WREN

BROWN RAT

BROWN RAT

COOT

MOORHEN

RED KITE

EURASIAN BUZZARDS

GREY SQUIRRELS

SONG THRUSH

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