FROG FEST – FEB/MARCH 2026

In my wildlife pond in March 2025, I recorded at least 60 individual frogs (most of them ‘paired up’) in an ‘orgy’ of activity the likes of which I’d never observed previously. The noise from the male frogs was quite loud at times, even in the daytime, which was also something I’d never experienced before. There  was a huge volume of frog spawn, but literally all of it disappeared virtually overnight on the 28^th March, and I’ve never been able to establish a viable explanation. Unusually, several frogs remained resident in the pond throughout the summer months, with the last three still in situ when it was completely rebuilt and relined early in November 2025.

Whilst 2026 hasn’t quite reached those heights, the first frogs appeared at least a month earlier than the previous year, culminating in a total of around 21 individuals, and a mass of spawn, even exceeding the exceptional volume of 2025, although hopefully this time, the spawn will hatch into froglets.

A MASS OF FROG SPAWN

FROGS 'HIDING' AMONGST THE NEW STONES

SEXTET

AMONGST THE SPAWN

26 FEBRUARY 2026 – WAXHAM, NORFOLK

John’s Landrover Discovery was away at the dealers awaiting spare parts, so it was a Volvo SUV courtesy car that was providing the transport on this trip, though Mike was unable to join us on this occasion.

We’d decided that a trip to the Norfolk Brecks would be the most suitable venue, but it wasn’t until we were about an hour or so into the journey that John brought up the prospect of revising our course in favour of trying for a Glaucous Gull and an Iceland Gull, which had been seen at Waxham on the east Norfolk coast, the previous day. It was some distance away from the Brecks, but since neither of us hadn’t seen either species for quite some time (19 years for the Glaucous Gull and 21 years for the Iceland in my case) it wasn’t really such a hard decision to make, although of course, neither gull was guaranteed.

Finding an actual road to Waxham beach was quite an achievement, but eventually we took a narrow road near Waxham Barn, which led to a sandy lane where several cars were parked, and where a couple had just returned from taking their terrier for a walk along the beach, and provided us with the relevant info of how to get where we wanted to go. A sandy track through some trees, eventually led to the beach and a substantial sea wall, but there was no sign of any birdwatchers, so we just made our way right along the sea wall, following the coastline on a long line of enormous rock groynes, where John picked up what appeared to be birdwatchers in the far, far distance, where gulls could be seen whirling around the beach. It looked promising, so we continued below the sea wall, but it took an absolute age to reach the birdwatchers - indeed it wouldn’t have surprised me to learn that we’d walked a couple of miles; it certainly felt like it.

There weren’t many birds around, mostly Black-headed; Herring; Lesser and Great Black-backed gulls; with a lone Great Crested Grebe out on the sea; but arguably more interesting were the huge herds of Grey Seals - several hundred strong at least, virtually the entire length of the beach, lined up above the tide line amongst the groynes - which we were certainly not expecting.

The seals comprised both bulls (some of which were huge beasts) and cows, although the smaller ones could well have been pups; but the varying colours of their mottled coats in all hues of black, brown, grey, ginger, and off-white was surprising. And something else came to the fore too……………the stench from the seals was simply acrid in the extreme, though luckily the breeze took the effect away to some extent. Most of the seals happily accepted close encounters with us humans, but some were not so, and slowly galumphed away to the safety of the sea as we passed.

By the time I reached John - who was a considerable distance in front of me most of the time (as I was struggling with an ailing hip and my Nordic stick as support) he gave me the news that neither Gull had been seen (the other birdwatchers had already been at the site most of the morning with nothing positive to report). We waited around for a while before we turned back, but at least we’d learned that one of our intended venues - Lynford Arboretum in the Brecks - was apparently extremely quiet bird wise, so that made us feel a tad happier at choosing to come to Waxham instead; but not by much!

In the meantime, whilst scoping the sea for birdlife, John found a flotilla of twenty or so Common Scoters, though they were very distant and were continually disappearing under the swell, though hardly compensation for missing our gulls I admit.

On the way back - the prospect of another torrid two-mile walk back along the sea wall wasn’t in the least inspiring - I was looking out to sea, when I heard a shout from John, and turned around to see him pointing desperately to the skies, so I knew in my heart that he’d seen the Glaucous Gull, but of course, by the time I reached him, the bird had disappeared! John tried to re-locate the gull, taking a steep flight of steps to the top of the sea wall, to scan the surrounding fields, with nothing positive to report other than seeing five Red Kites. But he remained somehow convinced that the gull would likely return to the original site on the beach, and was eventually proved correct, when by chance he scoped the bird perched on a signpost off in the distance. Luckily for me it stayed in situ long enough for me to get a good enough view through John’s scope, before suddenly it wasn’t there anymore. Elation was the order of the day for a while - though more so for John who had the best view initially as it flew in from the sea over his head!

We decided in vain to try looking for Common Cranes on fields around Hickling Broad, although we did see a couple of Cattle Egrets and a lone Little Egret in fields aligning the winding road.  We also tried for Purple Sandpipers on the rocks at Sea Palling further north along the coast, without success due to the high tide.

It was getting late in the afternoon by then, so we decided to head for home, taking in a welcome cappuccino on the way. It hadn’t been an especially remarkable days birding, but there was no argument that getting at least one of our target species was some achievement given the circumstances. But I confess, the Grey Seals made the day for me, despite their odour!

  

25 FEBRUARY 2026 – A WALK ALONG THE RIVER STORT TO TWYFORD LOCK

I’d already planned a walk, but the forecast was for exceptionally mild and sunny conditions, although it was a tad chilly to begin with, so I donned a coat - which I took off within 20 minutes in favour of a short-sleeved tee-shirt as it was so warm.

There was very little activity on the river up to Southmill Lock, where I hoped to see a Grey Wagtail or a Kingfisher, but council workers were cleaning the bridge over the weir, so I moved on to Rushy Mead Reserve, and on the way notched up my first Canade Geese to be seen locally this year, and the cackle of a Green Woodpecker somewhere.

Before turning into the reserve I perused the woodland as thoroughly as I could and spied a movement in the larches, which turned out to be a lone male Common Redpoll (the first I’d seen locally for thirteen years) keeping company with several Eurasian Siskins; then a loud almost piercing call of a Nuthatch gave rise to an almost frantic search in the treetops before the said male was found. Despite a crick in my neck, it proved a very pleasing few minutes indeed. Nothing much stirred on the reserve itself, the highlight being a small troupe of Long-tailed Tits and the lovely sight of a Red Admiral butterfly on the newly open flowers of a Blackthorn.

Back on the towpath a pair of Eurasian Buzzards, mewing constantly, soared overhead, then a female Sparrowhawk, both of which I managed to photograph, though it was difficult in the extreme, given the immediacy of the sightings and the fact that the birds were virtually directly overhead.

I took a route through Twyford Lock Fields but apart from a huge swathe of snowdrops and daffodils (the latter yet to burst into flower) there was nothing much on view until I reached the fishing lake at the railway crossing, when I saw up to four Brimstone butterflies (all were males as far as I could tell), which were a welcome sign that spring was just around the corner; then made my way home. 

ASPEN CATKINS

IVY ON BEECH

LONG-TAILED TIT

RED ADMIRAL ON BLACKTHORN (?)

SNOWDROPS ON TWYFORD LOCK FIELDS

EURASIAN SPARROWHAWK

14 FEBRUARY 2026 – SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP).

I was getting stale! I hadn’t been out for a walk for well over a week, largely down to the weather …………it has rained virtually every day for the past two weeks, with little in the way of meaningful sunshine. Consequently, everywhere has been saturated and is now incredibly muddy, and quite slippery and dangerous for us oldies who use a stick (or, in my case a Nordic pole) for support.

So, SCP seemed the logical choice, as place I could avoid the worst of the muddy conditions; and anyway, it was a good place to try and see target birds I hadn’t yet seen locally thus far this year – namely Rook and Nuthatch, which I knew occur there. So, in bright sunlight, with a cold north-westerly, I set my course, passing through Thorley Wedge on the way, which was largely bird-free.

Amazingly, I got both my target species within a few minutes of arriving on the northern outskirts, of the park, so I plodded on, in the hope that one or two more might come my way.

I could see that the reedbed had been cut back of late, leaving some open areas north of the walkway, which might suit birds like the Water Rail, which I knew resident there, although usually they would feed around dusk or very early in the morning, so not always accommodating, to the casual observer. But for the moment, just Mallards; Black-headed Gulls (including a ringed gull); Moorhens and a lone Coot were utilising the space. Some families were feeding the ducks and gulls, so I avoided them.

I hadn’t intended to walk around the lake as it was obvious that, apart from the species already mentioned, there were very few birds around - although there were several Blackbirds and Robins (male Robins were singing heartily, and were very confiding, allowing some decent close-up photography); and anyway, most of the footpaths (except those around the lake itself) were seriously muddy, so I wanted to avoid those areas. Consequently, I turned back in the attempt to get to St. James’ Church via the road - which of course was virtually mud free, except for some puddles, and of course road traffic.

I had another brief view of the Nuthatch (in the same woodland location); a probable Treecreeper (although I didn’t count it as the view was fleetingly brief) and a pair of Stock Doves perched high in a Beech - I believe they are first I’ve ever seen at this location, although they are not at all a common bird locally.

On the way to St. James’ Church, I saw several Jackdaws, most of them paired up, looking quite charming, perched together quietly in the trees, and a Magpie, busily making a nest.

St. James’ Church was a quiet place to sit and rest for a while and take in the lovely array of snowdrops growing amongst the gravestones, but the hoped-for Mistle Thrush eluded me, only a Song Thrush and some Robins and Blue Tits were seen here. Behind the church, the open farmland had been planted with root crops (these looked like turnips) and I had hoped to hear the tinkling songs of Skylarks, but the air was strangely silent in that regard. At that point I made my way back home, with no views of the usual Red Kites I’d seen on recent visits.

SNOWDROPS IN WOODS ON THE NORTHERN APPROACHS TO SCP

OVERLOOKING THE LAKE AT SCP

BLACK-HEADED GULLS

BLACK-HEADED GULLS

COOT

DRAKE MALLARD FILTERING WATER THROUGH ITS BILL

MALLARD PAIR

ROBIN

ROBIN

STOCK DOVES

GOLDFINCH

JACKDAWS

SNOWDROPS IN ST. JAMES' GRAVESTONES

 

 

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