28 APRIL 2025 – SOUTHERN COUNTRY PARK (SCP)

I hadn’t been to SCP for a while, so I thought I’d try and see if any migrant birds had come in. Due to mobility issues, it took me just shy of an hour to walk there from my house in Bishop’s Stortford, arriving at 010.00 hours, with the sound of Reed Warbler echoing over the reedbeds, though surprisingly no Sedge Warbler, which I expected to hear first (as they usually arrive earlier). But it took me a while to locate the Reed Warbler to reeds along the boardwalk at the northern end of the lake.

One had to be very patient of course, so once the bird was located, I was ready with my camera, But the Reed Warbler remained stubbornly hidden as its song reverberated loudly over the reeds. Then, suddenly, at the rear of the reedbed, a movement; and then the bird moved to a small willow, where it continued to sing, without revealing itself fully. This went on for around 20 minutes, until the bird moved to the reeds again, but this time much higher up, so I could see the bird properly, and could try and get some decent images through my lens. Eventually, with around 40 images I managed to get some decent results, as the following shots hopefully convey.

Away from the boardwalk (where it didn’t seem likely that Sedge Warblers were in fact present) reedbeds along the eastern edge of the lake revealed another Reed Warbler, with a rather shy Sedge Warbler singing nearby, which eventually showed itself. A male Cetti’s Warbler sang nearby too, though of course, photography just wasn’t on the cards.

Strangely, I didn’t catch the song of any Blackcaps (though surely, they were in), with only the occasional scratching song of Common Whitethroats in places. A single Chiffchaff was heard, but nothing other than a single Robin; Blue Tits; Great Tits, and a single Long-tailed Tit was seen. Rooks and Jackdaws were feeding amongst the Daisies and Cowslips in the wildflower meadow. As the morning progressed and the warm spring sunshine beat down, many Small Whites; Orange Tips and a couple of Large White; a Peacock Butterfly and a single Red Admiral were seen; then later Brimstones became more profuse, which included my very first Brimstone Moth.

I wanted to try for Yellowhammers, which had sadly declined in numbers in recent years; so I made for farm fields towards Mathams Pit (a small private fishing lake) where I’d seen a pair in the past two years, and eventually, was lucky to see a male and a female (though they weren’t paired up) in different locations - although photography was extremely difficult. Up towards St, James’s Church, I was hoping to see Yellow Wagtails and/or Northern Wheatears but was disappointed in that regard. There were no hirundines either, or no obvious movement of Sand Martins observed here in 2024 (though, maybe it was a tad too early in the season). At the Church - where I took a welcome rest on a seat in the graveyard (which was full of delightful spring flowers) I saw an adult Mistle Thrush - the first ‘local’ one I’d seen this year; and nearby my first view this year of a male Blackcap singing vociferously from a hawthorn bush.

So, nothing exceptional in the five hours I was out, but I was really pleased with some of the shots of the Reed Warbler in particular.

REED WARBLER

16 APRIL 2025 - ABBERTON RESERVOIR, ESSEX

John had things to do early on, so we didn’t leave my house until 10.15 a.m. There had been reports of a movement of Arctic and Black Terns, but the reliability at Abberton wasn’t that great, and although John gave us options for birding in the Ouse Fens - for Garganey and Glossy Ibis - Mike and I thought Abberton might be the better option on balance. The weather was bright, with some cloud and sunny intervals, and a moderate to strong south-westerly wind.

Just over an hour later, we were looking out over the expanse of water from the Layer de la Haye causeway, where we could already see numerous terns circling above the water amongst a throng of gulls (the majority Black-headed Gulls), together with some Tufted Ducks; Mallards; Shoveler, and some Great Crested Grebes.

John was scanning the terns with his scope as (through my binoculars) I spied a small tern with greyer wings than the  Common Terns and  gulls around it, which I initially claimed as a probable Black Tern, but Mike has seen the same bird and although he  made the same assumption, quickly corrected it to being an Arctic Tern. But the  bird was extremely difficult to follow as it was continually weaving and circling, occasionally dipping to the surface of the water - presumably catching flies; but it soon  disappeared from view, and I’m not at all sure if John even managed a sighting.

Across the road, looking north over the reservoir, there was little activity of note, but right below where John and I stood, a pair of Little Ringed Plovers were displaying, giving exceptionally close views, and where I was able to photograph the full nuptial process – something I’d never previously witnessed, yet alone photographed.

We could see numerous terns at the Layer Breton causeway from here, and John thought it might be an idea to drive down and try for the Arctic Tern but were unsuccessful in relocating it. There wasn’t  a great happening here either, although there were several male Yellow Wagtails, probably newly arrived; a pair of Yellowhammers (which seemed out of place here); and a pair off Egyptian Geese, with a family of goslings. Opposite, the colony of breeding Little Egrets appeared quite active, with nesting Grey Herons, when suddenly a passing Spoonbill flew in and landed on the edge of the reservoir, clearly looking for nesting material; and was seen to take a bill-full off twigs etc to a nest high above the Egrets nests.

On the way to the Visitor’ Centre - a small group of Black-tailed Godwits flew high overhead - then we stopped awhile at the ‘old road’ to try and see if we could bag a Nightingale, but although there were at least four vociferous males (with another across the main road) none were seen. But it a fantastic experience being so near to singing birds, together with a couple of singing Blackcaps, Robins, tits etc; with a few Small and Large White, and Speckled Wood butterflies.

We attempted viewings from the Hide Bird Hide, but there was little of interest to see, with no sightings of a reported Lesser Whitethroat, although Willow Warblers and Blackcaps were present, then made our way to the Centre for a welcome Cappuccino each, before setting off home.

                                                                        

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER (M)

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER (F)

LITTLE RINGED PLOVER - BEFORE THE MALE MOUNTS FEMALE

MATING LITTLE RINGED PLOVERS

EGYPTIAN GEESE WITH GOSLINGS

LITTLE EGRETS AND HERON COLONY

PIED WAGTAIL (M)

YELLOW WAGTAIL (M)

SPOONBILL COLLECTING NEST MATERIAL

SPOONBILL

SPOONBILL TAKING MATERIAL TO THE NEST

SPECKLED WOOD BUTTERFLY

2 APRIL 2025 - WESTLETON HEATH and MINSMERE (SUFFOLK)

A 7.45 a.m. start from my house and a relatively easy journey saw us (John; Mike and myself) at Westleton Heath at around 9.40 a.m. John had suggested we begin here to try and get Dartford Warbler; Woodlark, and Stone Curlew.

Despite pristine clear blues skies and bright sunlight, there was a moderate to strong NE wind that was deceptively cold. Whilst John heard and then glimpsed a Woodlark atop a Birch, further observations weren’t forthcoming, as the Stone Curlews apparently just hadn’t arrived on migration, although it was only a matter of days perhaps before they were here. But we had much better luck with the Dartford Warblers, where excellent (binocular) views were achieved amongst the blooming bright yellow gorse, where a beautiful summer plumaged male was seen in a nearby Birch (with an accompanying singing Chiffchaff) and a much drabber female nearby. And then on to Minsmere.

The car park at the reserve was moderately full, so the place was not overrun with visitors, so after checking in at the Centre and checking out the sightings board, we made a beeline for the Sand Martin colony where a handful of migrants were soaring overhead but not yet entering the nest-holes. But we were more interested in trying to find any signs of Adders on banks below the colony.

Initially, all seemed quiet, but at the right-hand side of the bank I detected a movement, and suddenly and quite unexpectedly I was staring at a pair of male adders writhing and twisting round each other on the top of a frond of bracken, clearly engaged in the ritual ‘adder dance’ which I’ve never witnessed before. Regrettably, I wasn’t quick enough to get a photograph, but this was only the start of a period of activity the likes of which none of us had experienced previously. In that hour - leading up to midday - we must have seen at least four or five green-coloured adders with at least one black adder and one brown adder - all varying sizes, with at least one that was approaching 3 feet in length. In previous years we’d had good close views of (probably) female adders tightly curled up on the bank, with little if any movement; but these were extremely active – undoubtedly recently aroused from winter hibernation. And it was a truly wonderful, unforgettable spectacle.

At the nearby ponds the only sense of any activity were the whirligig beetles circling on the surface, with no signs of any Large Red Damselflies which we were hoping to see. There didn’t seem to be much activity on the Scrape (according to the sightings board in the visitors’ Centre) so instead, we thought it best to try for a Bittern either from the Bittern Hide or Island Mere Hide, where recent sightings had been reported.

The woodland on the way to the Bitter Hide was extremely quiet, with just the odd calls of Blue Tits and Chaffinches echoed out. A Muntjac deer was munching on vegetation, giving quite close views, and the opportunity for a photo or two. At the Bittern Hide, a climb up a steep wooden stairway brought us to panoramic views across the massive reedbeds into the sun towards the Sizewell Nuclear facility. There wasn’t a lot of activity, other than two-three male Western Marsh Harriers hawking the reedbeds in front of us and where a female joined them temporarily. I managed a few decent shots before the activity subsided.

Suddenly, a Stoat was seen bounding along the grass below the hide, and I managed a token photo before it was lost to view. Minutes later, and a distant Bittern was giving flight views at the back of the reedbeds (though John missed it) but that too was soon lost to view.

We returned to the car to consume our lunches, before attempting more views of the adders - only one obliged properly - before the guys wanted to try and see what was on show from the East Coastal Hide. I wasn’t so keen as I was becoming rapidly exhausted (due to a health predicament which I won’t go into here) but reluctantly - and very slowly - followed, taking the newly installed wooden walkway that avoids the often difficult sandy coastal path.

There was a lot hive of activity on Scrape - lots of Black-headed Gulls; a couple of Lesser Black-backed Gulls and a Herring Gull or two - but surprisingly no Mediterranean Gulls; over 50 Avocets; a small number of Northern Shoveler; a pair of Pintail; several Shelduck; Lapwings sporadically over the scrape; a pair of Oystercatchers; 100 plus Black-tailed Godwits; Gadwall; a lone Dunlin; two Ruddy Turnstone; a single Redshank; a Ringed Plover; a newly arrived Little Ringed Plover; a few distant Marsh Harriers, and a distant Sparrowhawk (which looked small, so was probably a male; a female was to be seen later from the car park).

John and Mike wanted to go on to the South Hide so I left them to it, choosing to make my way back to the pools and the adders - and promptly missed out on seeing at least three Mediterranean Gulls, and a couple of Sandwich Terns. Back at the pools, it was becoming too cool for adders, and the Sand Martins had disappeared - Mike and John soon joined me, but I missed out on a Kingfisher that circled high over the pools before exiting the area.

But I couldn’t complain, I’d increased my yearly birdlist to 101(though still way less than the guys); we’d had a super time watching the adders (definitely the highlight of the day - we all agreed on that); with lovely views of the Dartford Warblers at Westleton Heath. And despite a relatively quiet day bird-wise at the reserve, there was a lot to look forward to here later in the year.

 

ADDER (Black colour form)

ADDER (Brown colour form)

ADDER (more usual Green colour form)

ADDER (Green colour form)

ADDER

ADDER

MUNTJAC

MARSH HARRIER (M)

MARSH HARRIER (M)

MARSH HARRIER (M)

STOAT