1 JANUARY 2026 – A WALK ALONG THE RIVER STORT

Traditionally (weather permitting) I do a walk along the Stort down to Thorley Wash Reserve, not just for the exercise, but to kick-start my birding list for the New Year; and hopefully, to take some photographs too.

On this occasion the weather was fine, with fairly clear skies and sunshine, but with a bracing north-easterly; but at least it was dry. I started out at 9.0 a.m. thinking that three hours should be sufficient time to achieve a good species count. But right from the outset, I could tell I was likely to struggle because, quite frankly, the birds just weren’t around. I’d had something of a clue from the lack of birds in my gardens that morning – just three species in a brief spell of watching from my kitchen window shortly after rising from my bed at around 8.00 a.m. namely, a single Blue Tit; a Collared Dove, and a lone Robin.

So, venturing out, a few Woodpigeons were seen, along with a small group of House Sparrows around the corner from my house - but none of the usual species such as Carrion Crows; Jackdaws; Blackbirds and Starlings. A few Goldfinches were seen overhead, but nothing more until I took the towpath along the Stort in the direction of Southmill Lock, when I saw a lone Blue Tit and a Coal Tit, then my first Mallards and a couple of Moorhens. But surprisingly no other species until I turned at the entrance to Rushy Mead Nature Reserve (managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust) when after a while I spied a single Winter Wren; a few Redwings; a couple of Magpies and more Blue Tits - and that was about it for the Reserve.

Back along the Stort towpath I took a slight detour into Bluebell Wood but it was completely devoid of birdlife, so I turned back to the towpath, walking a few hundred yards without seeing a single bird, until I came to a bend in the river shortly before reaching Twyford Lock, when I heard a loud call that was familiar but I couldn’t quite place it to a particular species, but persevered until in a tree in a someone’s garden (which adjoined the river) and which had a Little Egret perched in it only a week before (and which wasn’t here today) I found what was making the call - a lone Rose-ringed Parakeet, a bird I’d never seen anywhere near this site previously. A Jay flew out of the same group of trees, together with a couple of Magpies, and a Green Woodpecker ‘cackelled’ in the distance. Down at Twyford Lock, the usual Mallards and Moorhens were absent – and so were birds I usually saw along this stretch, such as Long-tailed Tits; Great Tits; Goldcrests and Great Spotted Woodpeckers.

So, crossing the road, I took the gate onto the towpath with the intention of going down to Thorley Wash Nature Reserve (managed by the Herts and Middlesex Wildlife Trust) - and after a few steps located an adult Great Cormorant perched high on a dead tree, managing just the one photograph before the bird was disturbed by a walker's barking dog. I also had a very brief view of a Common Buzzard before that was lost to view behind some trees. A little further along the muddy towpath and there was a flurry of activity as a flock of ‘finches’ alighted in a larch, although I couldn’t identify them until they moved into another larch where the light was more accommodating - they were Eurasian Siskin, a small flock of some twenty or so, with at least two Goldfinches amongst them. In a nearby larch, a large group of about fifteen Redwings were perched with a single male Greenfinch - all three species I’d found hard to see at this location in 2025. A Great Tit and a Robin were also seen here. A pair of Mute Swans - always elegant - were seen here too.

I wanted to walk on, but the conditions became muddier and more slippery, so for me with my walking stick (actually, a Nordic Pole that I’ve been using as support due to a failing right hip) really quiet dangerous - I didn’t relish falling into the river, especially with my photographic equipment - so I decided to turn back and call it a day at that point. On the walk back. I saw a few Jackdaws and a lone Red Kite at Thorley Wedge, just around the corner from my house. I’d managed a paltry 27 species, quite a disappointing species count for the first day of the new year. But I have 364 days left to rectify that, so it wasn’t all doom and gloom!

GREAT CORMORANT

MUTE SWAN

MUTE SWAN

MUTE SWANS - COB AND PEN