DAVID'S NATURE BLOG

28 AUGUST 2025 – OLD HALL MARSHES/ABBERTON – ESSEX

Mike and I left it to John to make the decision as to where to go and he suggested Old Hall Marshes near Tollesbury, Essex. I hadn’t been there for many years and was doubtful, given that the walk round was exceptionally long. John said there were two options – a long walk and a short walk, where the latter might suit be better considering the problems with my right hip. I was still a tad doubtful but agreed to try it. He and Mike had visited the site a few weeks ago, and had seen a good selection of birds, so it seemed a reasonable choice. He had checked the tide timetable, with high tide expected around 3.00pm.

We arrived at the car park around 9.00 a.m. in bright, warm sunshine, with a light to moderate SW Breeze. Along the grassy path out towards the Salcott Channel, we kicked up many micro-moths and species of butterfly, including Common Blues; Gatekeeper; Meadow Brown and lots of Small Heaths, with at least eight Migrant Hawker Dragonflies, but little else of note. Birds included a Common Whitethroat; Swallows; a lone Sand Martin; carrion Crows; Rooks; Magpies; a large flock of Goldfinches; and distant Western Marsh Harriers a Kestrel and a Hobby. A trio of Yellow Wagtails around the feet of a sheep, included a bird which had the hallmarks of being a Blue Headed race – which Mike confirmed once he’d researched it once we got home. I did think I had a Clouded Yellow along the path which quickly flew away and disappeared under the dry grassy tussocks in an adjacent field, but I couldn’t claim it unfortunately.

Overlooking the Salcott Channel (which had a reputation for birdlife) we headed east towards the Blackwater Estuary, but as the tide was out, the birds were strewn out along the channel, and in any event were not numerous in numbers. Apart from the ubiquitous Black-headed Gulls; Lesser and Greater Black-backed Gulls (mainly on the far bank) there were several Little Egrets; at least one Curlew; a couple of Grey Plovers; a good number of Black-tailed Godwits, and many Redshanks - but nothing of great note. I picked up a juvenile Wheatear, which was new to me for the year, whilst John scoped a distant Red Kite over the opposite bank, and another Marsh Harrier and Hobby. Butterflies were few and far between up on the bank, comprising mainly Whites and a few Small Heaths, with a sprinkling of Migrant Hawker Dragonflies. Then we turned off the Salcott Channel, to continue along the ‘short’ walk and back to the car.

Almost immediately, we found a Little Ringed Plover on a small pool; and nearby a trio of Muntjac Deer (two adults and a fawn) making their way through a stand of Hawthorns. A few more sightings of Hobby tantalised without giving splendid views. By that time, I was way behind Mike and John but was giving more attention to the dykes which looked excellent habitat for dragonflies, which was difficult to do due to the steep grassy banks. I’d already seen a couple of Ruddy Darters and was looking out for Emerald Damselfly and in particular Scarce Emerald Damselfly which could well have been present at the site; it did look promising.

A fleeting glimpse of a Clouded Yellow butterfly gave rise to some optimism - but was short-lived regarding that species. Suddenly, I found what I was looking for and called Mike back in the hope that he could verify it. But the banks were very steep and quite dangerous and given that I had a walking aid (a Nordic stick) for support I was loathe to try and get closer. But Mike had no such qualms, so I carefully followed him down until I could get close enough to get a reasonable telephoto shot. Mike had difficulty finding the insect at first, but followed my instructions and eventually saw the damselfly, clinging to a single reed that was hanging over the dyke. My view was that it was an Emerald Damselfly (possibly a teneral male) - but viewing the image in the camera, it was difficult to say for sure; and we’d have to wait until we could view the guides before confirming the sighting. But it was new for the year for both of us – probably for John too but wasn’t anywhere close so we couldn’t do anything about that. Other dragonflies seen at this location included a Blue-tailed Damselfly; a male Emperor Dragonfly and a couple of Migrant Hawkers.

Further along the path, I could see Mike looking down into the dyke where the rushes were thicker, but he wasn’t looking at dragonflies, for he’d seen several juvenile Reed Warblers and a probable family of Sedge Warblers seemingly trying to ward off a mammal - possibly a Stoat or Weasel (or a Rat), but that had long gone by the time I arrived on the scene. I missed the Sedges, but there were several (very attractive) juvenile Reed Warblers (possibly as many as six individuals); and when John joined us, he found us a juvenile Bearded Tit too, which was a fabulous bonus. We could hear the ‘pinging’ calls of Bearded Tits, but up to that point hadn’t connected – until John came along!

I missed a pair of Spoonbills flying over the marsh, but got a lovely view of a Hobby, and previously an adult Cuckoo, thanks to a shout from the guys. Later, as we neared the car park, I saw a Great White Egret in flight (which the others missed); and as I caught them up, they had a Greenshank and a Whimbrel in scoped views. A pair of Redshank caused some consternation and discussion as to whether one might have been a Spotted Redshank – and in fact, the jury is still out on that one as Mike has concluded he needs to do more research, before coming to a final decision.

In formation online suggested that Abberton Reservoir had a few waders of interest, so we headed there as soon as we’d partaken of lunch back in John’s car. The weather had been fantastic, but we could see a big cloudbank coming in from the west, and by then the wind had increased dramatically. By the time we left the site, light rain was beginning to fall.

At Abberton - the Layer Breton Causeway (back in bright sunshine with no hint of rain) we saw flight views of at least three juvenile Black Terns in amongst the Common Terns; at least 16 Great White Egrets; with at least 50 Little Egrets spread out over the reservoir; a Ruff; three Green Sandpipers and a Common Sandpiper (but I only realised this bird was present when I processed the photo of about 30 Little Egrets in a tree near to the causeway, with other species of duck - and the Common Sandpiper - below it).

After a very welcome Cappuccino at the Visitor Centre - a solitary Spoonbills was seen at Wigborough Bay, but nothing much else of interest was seen. So, we called it a day. We’d seen a broad selection of species of birds; butterflies - and dragonflies - at Old Hall Marshes and Abberton. So, despite the long ‘short’ walk at Old Hall (which took its toll on me physically - although the guys felt it too) we’d enjoyed our visit enormously.