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 really 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 lake, 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