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Shriking Lucky - 06/06/2025

 After moving back to Liverpool - my home away from home - to start a PhD, I have had relatively little time to go birding. However, weaponised by the addition of a car, I now have the freedom of travel without any reliance on public transport. This was exercised on a trip to Burton Mere a few weeks prior which yielded a White Stork (that I refound) as well as Spotted Redshank and Spoonbill. So, when news broke of a stunning male Woodchat Shrike on the Bridgewater Canal in Daresbury, Cheshire, I simply couldn't resist it. With a gluttony of great photos surfacing on Twitter (I refuse to call it X) and the birding seemingly stay put, I hopped in the car with the intention of my first twitch upon returning to Merseyside. Luckily, the journey was short, picking up my good friend Marc on the way also allowed for some top company and some good chats. We soon arrived, after parking up at a local housing estate, we embarked on the walk to the pin point that our trusted BirdGuides had prov...
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Two Trips to Abberton - 16/02/2025 - 18/02/2025

 As usual, Abberton Reservoir has delivered the goods this winter with a gluttony of the season's specialty species on offer in around the reserve currently. Back from Ireland for just under a week, I jumped at the opportunity to go birdwatching at my county's premier location.  1st trip - 16/02/2025 Setting off fairly late to the reservoir with my parents and girlfriend, I had initially intended to have a chilled couple of hours at the reservoir. But, as always this was not the case, I couldn't help but run round the reservoir chasing the less common species. After a jaunt to the visitor centre to learn about the day's sightings, we decided that the first stop was to be the Layer-de-la-haye causeway. In the highly exposed winds, it was seriously chilly as we ventured. out to a central spot on the causeway. Along the way an Egyptian Goose , some Goosander and Goldeneye kept me company. A prolonged scan at first revealed the usual Great Crested Grebes . However, a siz...
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A Wild Goose Chase - 16/01/2024

 I'm really enjoying birdwatching in Essex at the moment. Admittedly this is because my county has had the spoil of all the sightings in East Anglia - the thought of travelling to Norfolk when there is more to be seen in my own county is certainly not an appealing prospect at the moment.  Still revelling in the glory of the Yank pair of Canvasback and Northern Waterthrush which have directed most of the nation's twitchers to Essex, I decided to go for my third lifer in my own county on the trot! After receiving excellent directions from a kind birdwatcher on twitter, a trip to Bradwell-on-sea was in order. Having never visited this reserve before, I really wasn't sure what to expect. It truly felt like I was in the middle of nowhere as I passed field upon field before arriving at Bradwell-on-sea which consisted of - yep, you guessed it - more fields!  As I parked the car and set off on the sizeable walk towards the goose's favoured fields, the bushes initially seemed qu...
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A Tale of Two Owls - 12/01/2024

Revelling in my newfound freedom post essay deadlines I decided on a trip to Abberton Reservoir, my favourite reserve in Essex, in the hope of seeing Smew and some of the other goodies that had been spotted by the throng of twitchers many of whom - after seeing the Waterthrush - descended on Abberton Reservoir. This had resulted in the large expanse of the reservoir being well-covered over the past couple of weeks. I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon and give it a go myself. I arrived casually in the late morning and decided to have a look around the reserve before heading to the various causeways or viewpoints. Before I'd even walked into the visitor centre, I noticed a large number of winter thrushes congregating by the car park, a look in the scope revealed that these were in fact Fieldfare - a lovely start to the day's proceedings.  Fieldfare This was to be the theme throughout the day as the reserve itself revealed a gluttony of winter thrushes. Posing by the bushes o...
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A New Years Yank In Essex - 04/01/2024

 The day was another mundane Thursday. In the midst of writing a uni essay, I had struggled to find time to get out birding and had thus far not ventured out to get my year list kickstarted. However, this was about to change. The previous night, a report on BirdGuides revealed that a Northern Waterthrush had been photographed in a local garden in Maldon - only a half hour drive from my house. Although briefly delighted I had tried to contain my excitement as rarities found in gardens are often either never seen again or access is restricted. Fast forward to the following morning and the news that this mega bird had been seen in a nearby creek immediately set the alarm bells ringing. Initially, I simply hoped it would remain long enough to connect with the bird after the due date of my essay (4 days later). But returning to my work jittery and unable to concentrate after receiving such mega news, I decided to drop everything in an attempt to see the bird. As I fired up the mini for ...
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A Yank in Essex - 19/11/2023

 Yes it has been a long time since I graced the humble little platform of 'Tales of an Essex Birder', however, living abroad in Ireland has somewhat stifled the quantity of birdwatching over the past few months. But what better way to return to the blog with a mega in God's own county Essex. A certain Howard Vaughan (the man largely responsible for nurturing mine and so many other young birder's passions) only went and found a drake Canvasback at Essex's premier reserve - Abberton Reservoir. Being across the channel in Ireland at the time the bird was found, I reluctantly resigned myself to not seeing such a mega rarity one home turf. However, after certain unfortunate events played out a sudden trip to England was on the cards, and after spontaneously booking a flight on the 17th November I suddenly found myself at a certain windy body of water staring at a raft of Pochard. Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself... A prompt half 7 start (early for a student) I found ...
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Rural Raptor Hunting - 17/08/2023

 With a fleeting visit to Yorkshire on the cards due to some family business, I found a free morning to do a bit of birdwatching in a county that I seldom get a chance to visit. After serious consideration, I opted to stay local - deciding on Nosterfield Quarry and Reserve as my location of choice. A recent Osprey that had been lingering around the reserve was certainly an alluring prospect. An early start saw me in the car en route to the location at half 7. Seeing some slightly ominous signage stating that the quarry was not responsible for any damage inflicted on cars, I decided to cover my possessions with the throw I had lying on the back seat. Whilst ensuring the security of any possessions, I noticed a distant Lapwing flock which seemed to have been alarmed by a bird of prey. However, a distant scan revealed nothing of note.  I inferred the birds' disturbance as a sign that I needed to get a move on as my target bird was very likely the cause of this disturbance. After...
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