A day at the reservoir

Well yesterday was quite something, gorgeous weather was forecast and delivered so I took the bus to Hanningfield Reservoir and spent the day walking around the woods and looking out over the water from the hides. I even took my Aldi spotting scope for a first proper try and it was excellent! Quite a bargain at only £20!

The woods were full of Blackcaps and Robins singing, Chiffchaffs calling, Blue and Great Tits singing and diving in and out of nest boxes, Treecreepers climbing trunks and Green Woodpeckers yaffling. The trees were surrounded by the green leaves of bluebells, which will look amazing when they come into bloom - I'll have to make sure I return for that! I also saw my first Peacock and Brimstone butterflies of the year. The Wood Ants were working hard and I tried to take some photos of them only to find they'd crawled all over my shoes, socks and trousers - I did quite a dance trying to shake them off and would have looked rather amusing but fortunately no-one else was about. The grazing meadows held quite a lot of Greylag Geese, Shelducks and Mallards and a number of Fieldfares and Redwings were still around too, which was interesting to find.

Not so many birds on the water as on my previous visit but there were lots of Greylag and Canada Geese, Cormorants, Tufted Ducks, Great Crested Grebes (I saw six in one spot!), Black-headed Gulls, Coots, Mallards, Gadwalls and some Wigeon. Plus I saw a pair of Goldeneye for the first time and also a Black-necked Grebe, quite a special bird but being a weekday there were few birders around so the only people I could point it out to were a family on a walk. I did add it to the sightings board in the visitor centre though.

The fishing lodge at the far side of the reserve was good as the visitors feed the birds so I got really close to the Greylags, Coots, Mallards, Chaffinches and Mute Swans, plus a Black Swan and a Tufted Duck too. All in all a really good day, two good new species of bird seen and I even managed to get some cheap bird seed from the shop... and even more a bonus the seed is grown on the Essex Wildlife Trust farm near Colchester (Abbott Hall Farm), so is grown on a wildlife friendly farm, has only travelled 20-30 miles and the proceeds go towards the work of the Trust.

Carrying my backpack full of kit plus six kilos of seed the half mile to the bus stop pushed my feet a bit after walking something like 8+ miles through the day but I'm used to that. I went home with a slight headache (which developed into a migraine the next day) but very, very satisfied. I imagine the reservoir will become a regular haunt of mine now that I have finally gotten around to trying out going there by bus.

Black-necked Grebe near Lyster hide

Spring signs

I went out into the garden just now for some air (mmm... brisk!) and noticed the Dunnocks engaging in some singing and wing flicking. There seemed to be three birds in a group and I stood beneath the conifers watching them as they flew about and one kept flying across the conifers right in front of my face (literally only about a foot from my face!) and was moving around in the foliage just next to where I stood - really cool!

...but then I saw him with a beakful of needles and watching him moving through the branches I saw he went to the end of the row and I could see through the gaps to where he was going - a little vertical fork in the branches has become the site for a nest! Spent a bit of time with my binoculars from a distance watching him bringing nest material, arranging it and then sitting in the nest and poking it about and squirming about to bed it all in. I've never seen a small bird building a nest like this so it was an absolute joy to see! No guarantee it will be used as I know male Dunnocks build a number of nests but I've got my fingers crossed there will be another lot of young Dunnocks this summer.

Baby Dunnock in my garden last summer

Marvelously muddy Maldon

I took the early bus to Maldon yesterday, a place I've been meaning to go to for ages. I've not been there since I started birdwatching but heard good things about it so decided the time had come, especially since the winter waders would be sure to start moving on soon.

It was extremely cold and windy on the coast, a very bitter easterly blowing in from the North Sea but the birds didn't seem to mind half as much as I did! I saw over three hundred Brent Geese out at Northey Island, over five hundred Black-tailed Godwits roosting with Lapwings and Shelducks on an island in the basin lake, some Pochard nearby, Reed Buntings calling in the reedbeds, Black-headed Gulls aplenty, Common Gulls, Canada Geese, Mute Swans, lots of Wigeon, Teal, Mallards, Redshanks, Grey Plovers, Turnstones, Dunlin, Oystercatchers, Tufted Ducks and yet more Black-tailed Godwits and Shelducks on the mudflats around the river blackwater, my first ever Knot feeding in a channel near the basin seawall and a Kestrel hovering practically over my head as it searched for prey in the rough ground near the seawall.

I made a short stop-off at the Queen's Head on the quay and had the pleasure of sitting with a drink sat in the beer garden while watching Teal and Black-tailed Godwits feeding down on the mudflats, although I retreated indoors to warm up before leaving to head along the quayside to Promenade Park. There were lots more Gulls, Redshanks, Wigeon, Teal and Shelducks along the way and on the excellent park pond lots of Mallards, Coots, Moorhens, a couple of Little Grebes, some Tufted Ducks, Mute Swans and a pair of Gadwall too. There were lots of Starlings and Jackdaws about and quite a few noisy Rooks in the trees surrounding the pond, where I could see a few on nests!

I ended up walking about 10 miles (again!) and got the bus home feeling pretty chilled - I was glad I'd warmed up a little in the pub at lunchtime! Excellent day though, the area was crammed with birds so I'll definitely head back there again. It was great to see the Coots running up hoping to get some bread too, something I never see around Chelmsford where the coots can seem quite shy!

Knot on the Blackwater

My feet!

I went for a 10 mile+ walk yesterday morning, although I only intended to go into town! I walked across the Baddow Meads and along the river, watching the Gulls, Magpies and Carrion Crows on the meadow, three or four Goosanders on the river and flying overhead, a few Cormorants heading downstream quite high in the sky and Green Woodpeckers calling from the trees at Barnes Mill. I headed through town watching some Greenfinches in the Alders and at the park listened to Mistle Thrushes singing in the Horsechestnuts near the lake.

Lots of Black-headed Gulls on the lake, plus a few Herring Gulls, Swans, Coots, Moorhens and Mallards, but no Goosanders today. A pair of Dunnocks were moving through the willow trees, one repeatedly calling to the other as it sat on a branch. I carried on along the river up to Waterhouse Lane where I watched around twenty Redwings feeding amongst the fallen leaves, then on into Admirals Park where the flooding had been. The river was back to normal, just a couple of patches of standing water in the depressions amongst the trees left to see. As I walked beside the river I watched the Blackbirds turning leaves and then spotted a Kingfisher speeding along westwards, low over the water.

I paused to sit on a bench next to the water watching the local dogs dashing about and a few Collared Doves flying between the trees before taking the long-distance cycle path that leads to Writtle. I spotted a Jay hiding in a tree, lots of Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, the odd Long-tailed Tit, more Magpies and as I crossed a bridge over the brook I saw a Little Egret circle before dropping down into a neighbouring paddock. I watched it from a gap further along the path and saw it stalk down into the brook out of sight. The path met Lawford Lane at the old bridge and I turned off along a track beside a large field full of Common Gulls and Black-headed Gulls, noisy with the sounds of a nearby football match. At the end of Fox Burrows Lane I crossed the main road to follow the cycle path through the Writtle Agricultural College and on to Cow Watering Lane. I stopped at the large man-made lake on the college grounds to scan the water and shoreline, twenty three Canada Geese, four Tufted Ducks, one Pied Wagtail on the shore and a vast number of Black-headed, Common, Herring and Lesser Black-backed Gulls there.

As I approached Cow Watering Lane I watched a huge flock of Woodpigeons and Stock Doves feeding amongst the crops, taking flight all at once and heading northwards. I went to stand a field gate on the Lane where I'd looked out to see a Cuckoo last summer, the tree where I'd seen it full of Woodpigeons now! I headed back along the track the way I'd come, looking out for Yellowhammers but none to be seen this time. At the main road I turned south and headed to the village green where I sat and had a drink while watching the ducks on the pond. Lots of hybrid Mallards here, ranging from pure Mallard, 'Vicar' ducks, domestic whites and all shades in-between. The resident white goose lumbered around on one of the islands and the Moorhens were having a right old squabble, one in particular getting very short shrift!

After resting I headed back to Chelmsford along Chelmsford Road and along Waterhouse Lane. I turned off along the footpath that leads to the railway line and the Marconi Ponds nature reserve, very quiet and welcome after walking along busy roads for a while. I walked back through Central Park and paused to sit beside the lake again, noting a number of Coots. a pair were persecuting another Coot, chasing it in noisy honking, splashing fury over the water and at one point over the back of a female Mallard!

From there I headed into town, picked up a few things for dinner in M&S and some birdseed fom Wilkinsons and slowly wound my way home, feeling rather sore of foot!

Female Goosander

The 'patch list'

Yesterday afternoon I took a walk out to Manor Farm and the fishing lake there, spotting a pair of courting Great Crested Grebes on the lake and a pair of Pochard nearby, a species I'd not seen here before. I thought about this and decided I would start keeping a list of the birds I'd seen in this area, so thought about how to define a 'patch' for the list. Since I regularly walk across the Baddow Meads into Chelmsford town and also over the Baddow Meads and across Manor Farm to Sandford lock it seemed a good idea to include both of those so my local patch follows the river from the town centre (the Meadows shopping centre and High Bridge Road) eastwards to the A12 bypass road bridge and includes the meadows, paddocks and the fields of Manor Farm to the north and south of the river. This gives a reasonable sized area, about two miles long and at the widest about three quarters of a mile across, but still one which is easily covered.

I've been watching wildlife in this area for a couple of years, although some parts I've only started walking in the last few months after some exploration of paths I'd not previously looked at. I intend to add an insect (mostly Dragonflies and Butterflies) list this year too, I watched those a lot last year and it seemed a very good area for both - although further along the river at Little Baddow there are even better pickings with dragonflies like the Scarce Chaser to be seen! In terms of mammals I've not seen that many but they are tricky to see during the day and I have found signs. The ones I know are:

Mink
Rabbit
Grey Squirrel
Bat (low over the river - Daubenton's I think)
Badger (footprints and faeces)
Muntjac (footprints)
Mole (lots of hills!)
Otter (footprints and suspected spraint)
Fox (faeces)

The birds I have seen in this area include:

1. Blue Tit
2. Black-headed Gull
3. Blackbird
4. Blackcap
5. Bullfinch
6. Canada Goose
7. Carrion Crow
8. Chaffinch
9. Chiffchaff
10. Collared Dove
11. Common Gull
12. Common Tern
13. Coot
14. Cormorant
15. Cuckoo
16. Dunnock
17. Feral Pigeon / Rock Dove
18. Fieldfare
19. Gadwall
20. Goldcrest
21. Goldfinch
22. Goosander
23. Great Crested Grebe
24. Great Spotted Woodpecker
25. Great Tit
26. Green Woodpecker
27. Greenfinch
28. Grey Heron
29. Grey Wagtail
30. Herring Gull
31. House Martin
32. House Sparrow
33. Jack Snipe
34. Jackdaw
35. Jay
36. Kestrel
37. Kingfisher
38. Lapwing
39. Lesser Black-backed Gull
40. Lesser Whitethroat
41. Little Egret
42. Little Grebe
43. Long-tailed Tit
44. Magpie
45. Mallard
46. Meadow Pipit
47. Mistle Thrush
48. Moorhen
49. Mute Swan
50. Pheasant
51. Pied Wagtail
52. Pochard
53. Red-crested Pochard
54. Red-legged Partridge
55. Redwing
56. Reed Bunting
57. Reed Warbler
58. Robin
59. Sedge Warbler
60. Skylark
61. Snipe
62. Song Thrush
63. Sparrowhawk
64. Starling
65. Stonechat
66. Swallow
67. Swift
68. Tufted Duck
69. Water Rail
70. Whitethroat
71. Wigeon
72. Willow Warbler
73. Woodpigeon
74. Wren
75. Yellowhammer

The Naze beckons

When I was a kid each summer my parents would take my brother and I to Walton-on-the-Naze on the train for a day trip, unable to afford to travel further afield and my father not one for travelling. It suited us well though and I have very happy memories of those days, playing on the beach, shooting electronic aliens in the arcade on the pier and munching warm doughnuts on the train home. I return occasionally to that seaside town of my youth, although I'd last visited some years ago during a heatwave and although I saw my first ever Oystercatcher at the Naze I returned looking like a lobster!

A fine day was promised for the 28th of February, coinciding with a promising tide. Having read a little about the good birdwatching on offer at the Naze in winter and after seeing a photograph of Snow Buntings on the beach I decided that I should really make a trip while the winter birds were still around. I rose early and walked the two miles into town to catch the 6:39am train, waiting on the platform ith a cup of black coffee from one of those chain coffee shops, trying not to fall asleep on the bench. At Thorpe-le-Soken I waited for the Walton train and spent the time watching Jackdaws flocking, always a great sight and sound to hear. I pulled into Walton just before 8am and headed out to the overlook to get a first view of the sea and the pier, a tradition I keep whenever I visit. I headed down to the promenade and dug out my binoculars to scan the pier and nearby breakwaters. Lots of gulls but also a single Turnstone out on the breakwater, a species I wanted a close view (and maybe photograph) of since I'd missed out on getting good views at Southend in the autumn.

Walking to the end of the pier was not possible as work was being done halfway out so it was closed, pigeons and a Blackbird being all I saw there, but walking north along the promenade I found a group of young Herring Gulls on the seawall with a few Turnstones amongst them and I managed to carefully approach one of the Turnstones, getting a photo from around 10 feet away. Happy that I'd got what I hoped for I walked on past the swampy grass of Bathurst Meadow that was full of Black-headed, Common and Herring Gulls and turned away from the coast along Hall Lane. At the north end I found the entrance to the footpath looping around the Naze, a nose-shaped outcrop surrounded silty channels, saltmarsh and crumbling cliffs. Negotiating the quagmire at the western end and watching tame Blackbirds and Robins (always a delight no matter how much I see them) I came to the earthen sea wall that surrounds the Naze. To the east the channels and muddy islands in the distance were scattered with birds, Shelducks on the near banks, gulls and other indistinct flocks on the islands. I saw a large flock of Avocets wheeling in the sky over one of the far channels and overhead a flock of Golden Plover flew south-west high over the water. Brent Geese and Redshanks bathed in the large puddles gathered in the fields and on the watery ditches I could see lots of Greylag Geese, Teal, Gadwall, Mallard and large numbers of Coots.

As I turned eastwards the saltmarsh spread out from the sea wall. I could see Redshanks dotted here and there, Shelduck flying overhead and landing in the inlets, Grey Plovers sleeping on the edge of the marsh and Curlews crying their mournful calls into the sky. The sky was grey, occasional glimpses of brightness appearing but quite gloomy... not how I'd thought the weather would be. As I reached the eastern edge of the Naze and turned to head back along the clifftop to the Naze Tower I noticed a few birds down on the beach so I walked over and saw a group of Sanderlings, a wading bird I'd not seen before! I followed them as they foraged amongst the surf and spotted a favourite, a Ringed Plover amongst them. When a heavy wave forced them into the air and the flew off to the north I turned around prepared to climb back up to the path but noticed that now the tide was retreating it was exposing enough beach to walk back that way, something I'd actually never done.

I only walked a short way before the skies cleared and in the warm sunshine I found myself amongst a great gathering of Turnstones, Sanderlings and Dunlin, all feeding on the newly exposed foreshore. I'd seen lots of birds gathered like this at Hunstanton but not close up, yet by kneeling down a little way off and letting them come to me as they worked along the beach I got to within 20 or 30 feet of the Sanderlings and the Turnstones were practically feeding at my feet! I snapped away as the birds fed furiously, mindful to keep my distance from the waterline so that they could pass in front of me without distress, and then noticed a new bird - at least three Purple Sandpipers! One approached and wandered about on the clay boulders feeding busily near where I stood, peering into little pools and pecking at morsels. Further on more Ringed Plovers were feeding and a Grey Plover stood grumpily amongst the fast little Sanderlings before flying off northwards. Everywhere I looked gulls were flying overhead, standing on the beach and floating out on the water but I couldn't identify many - gulls are still a bit of a mystery to me.

At the end of the cliffs I passed the fallen wartime pillboxes and climbed the stairs to walk along the concrete wall south back to Walton, stopping to eat my lunch on the beach steps, throwing the odd lump of bread to the gulls on the beach. Back at the pier I paused to look at the new wind turbines being constructed off-shore on the Gunfleet Sands, took a few photos and then turned away from the sea to catch the train back home.

Purple Sandpiper

Jacks and Crests abound!

On Thursday last week I walked across the Baddow Meads into Chelmsford and found the area around the road bridge to Chelmer Village stuffed with Reed Buntings, Meadow Pipits, Redwings, Fieldfares, Magpies and Starlings. Heading away from town the ground was still covered with snow but the grass here closer to town was mostly clear and so the birds had gathered in large numbers to take advantage of it. The town parks were also full of Redwings, even in the busier areas which these shy birds might otherwise avoid.

Not so much around on the Baddow Meads on Sunday morning after the general thaw, it was pretty quiet there really although I disturbed two Jack Snipe near the road bridge! The first time I've seen those and since I'd seen Snipe in the same area recently too (which had also been first sightings for me) I was pretty pleased to see them here. When I got home I had to look up Jack Snipe in my Collins Bird Guide and then check photos on flickr of them flying to be sure though. It's still possible they were something else, I know my limits with ID, but I'm pretty confident they were Jacks. Certainly not more Snipe - the bill was long, but quite a bit shorter than the Snipe I'd seen there recently, which had amazingly long bills compared to their bodies!

A few Redwings in the trees by the road bridge, nothing like the huge numbers I saw there earlier in the week though. At Springfield Lock I saw there were still a fair number of Tufted Ducks, lots of BH Gulls, Moorhens and Coots, a Cormorant, a number of Little Grebes and, sitting on some low branches nearby, a Little Egret. I spent a little time attempting some recordings on my camcorder (the breeze really shook my dodgy cheap tripod and it was difficult to use it to line up the shots - should have taken my big manfrotto really). Saw a female Goosander but she didn't stay long - there were a lot of canoeists using the river (there's a canoe club nearby) so the birds were rather disturbed.

I walked on up to the automatic sluice, passing a Reed Bunting in a bush and crossing the river at the Essex Record Office and then walking back down to Springfield Lock along the little stub of the canal, still frozen over. I stopped on the bridge there to watch the Little Grebes (looking down on the river from the other side from where I watched the Tufted Ducks/Little Egret...) then walked on along the footpath to Chelmer Village, spotting a Fieldfare flying overhead as I crossed the rough grass. In the middle of the area some trees and bushes held a number of Blackbirds, a female Chaffinch and House Sparrow both wet from bathing, a male Chaffinch and some Magpies.

Through the tunnel under the main road, I spotted a Sparrowhawk flying over the retail park. Then, turning off at the Harvester down Mill Vue Road, I passed Barnes Mill and took the footpath through the horse paddocks ("Morning lads!") to the river and continued east beside the river to Sandford Lock, a Grey Heron standing in the fields off to the south and lots of Great and Blue Tits in the Willows. I could see Cormorants and Gulls flying over the fishing lake at Manor Farm off to the south and decided to head there. I crossed the little footbridge to Sandford Mill Road and took the footpath on the right past the cottages that leads to Manor Farm and the little reservoir there. The reservoir was iced over but I saw a bird fly across to a willow, just a glimpse but it really looked very much like a Kingfisher. Unlikely given the ice and that I've not seen any around Chelmsford for a few months but it did really give the impression of one... very intriguing!

I saw a Wren in the trees as I circled the reservoir, this spot is a favoured territory I think as I often see Wrens in this little area, but otherwise very quiet, no Yellowhammers today. Great to see the tiny Wren had survived the cold though. As I walked along the farm track across the field from the fishing lake I could see sixteen Cormorants at the far bank, many holding out their wings in the sunshine. On the near bank a number of Gadwall were feeding on the field edge, a male Wigeon amongst them (first one I've seen in the local area). Also on and around the lake I could see lots of Coots, Moorhens, BH Gulls, some Tufted Ducks, a Grey Heron, a Little Egret and a pair of Red Crested Pochard! I only recently saw some captive Red Crested Pochards on the wildfowl pond at Blakeney quay but had never seen them in the wild before. I had to take some shaky footage on my camcorder to check at home since they were so far away and having watched it: yes, definitely Red Cresteds!

There were lots of gulls gathered on a nearby field but those were the last birds I really saw on the walk... I headed home very pleased indeed - two lifers and three new species I'd not seen around Chelmsford before.