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 sizeable raft of small ducks in the distance turned out to be Black-Necked Grebes - a fantastic start to the day. Carrying on along the causeway towards a flock of closer ducks, an extremely close Goldeneye as well as a raft of Tufted Ducks provided some entertainment. Yet the stars of the show were two Slavonian Grebes showing from point blank range. As someone used to seeing these birds from a distance amidst the sea breakers, I was delighted to get outrageously good views of this species. Next to the Great Crested Grebes these birds look much slighter.
After enjoying prolonged views of the Slavonian Grebes, the cold got the better of us as we got in the car with a much-needed hot chocolate to head towards the Layer Breton causeway - the second location of the day. After emerging from the Mini, I was greeted almost instantly by the sight of 7 White-fronted Geese on one of the causeway's islands - a new bird for my Essex list and a quality species to add to any day list. After enjoying the views of these birds for a while I then turned my attention to the real task at hand. Sure enough, a minute later I picked up one of the reported Smew; a beautiful female showing from fairly close range. Only my third ever sighting of this species and always a delight to see.
Although I had been hoping to catch a sighting of the drake Smew I had to settle for the female as a number of birders on site (including myself) were unable to find the drake that had been associating with the female earlier in the day. After much looking and getting seriously cold, we decided to head to our final location of the day: Copt Hall Farm. I didn't have much time to look seriously for the Great Grey Shrike, however a 10 minute look failed to bear any fruit, perhaps a bird for another day...
2nd Trip - 18/02/2025
This time, a brighter day. With significantly less wind and even a slither of sun, the conditions looked promising for a good outing. Arriving at a casual 1PM once more I had limited time to cover what is a seriously expansive body of water. Once more, the visitor centre was the first port of call and once more I decided to head to the Layer Breton Causeway in search of Smew. This time, no joy. Staring right into the sun, the only birds of note that I could make out were the seven or so White-fronted Geese which, this time, were swimming in the water. On the opposite body of water, only a couple of distant Goldeneye, Goosander and Pochard were to be seen.
After hearing news that the Black-throated Diver had been seen close to the pumping station, my father and I decided that a walk around the reserve was the best course of action. Gwen's hide was the first stop where we picked up the flock of Black-necked Grebes that I had seen the previous trip. This time the view was slightly clearer and closer, I counted nine. I even managed to obtain a record shot!
Satisfied with picking up these birds we continued on to Island hide and then the final hide where I spotted nothing of real note. Although a number of Great White Egrets provided some entertainment - including a close-range individual that. was particularly photogenic.
Despite a lack of uncommon species, it was nonetheless a really pleasant walk with the sun shining it had turned into a rather pleasant winter day. Just as we were heading back to the visitor centre a check of BirdGuides revealed that the Black-throated Diver (which I had been searching for on the reserve) had been spotted from the Lodge Lane viewpoint. Obligingly, we hopped back in the car and did the 10 minute drive plus 15 minute walk to the viewpoint. Cut to half an hour later and my father and I were stood at a rather muddy viewpoint overlooking an expansive area of reservoir. Another birder provided an extra. set of eyes as we both scanned the reservoir for our target bird. After spending much time looking, out of desperation I did the absurd thing of trying to imagine myself as a diver, Where would I spend my time on the reservoir? I came to. the conclusion that it would be near the water pump. Therefore I turned my attention to scanning around the water pump. It took only a couple of minutes of looking in this new direction to find the bird I had been looking for: a Black-throated Diver which was loosely associating with the Great Crested Grebes, an excellent refund verified by the other birder on site plus a lifer to boot! Needless to say I was delighted with seeing this bird in such good light and from a relatively decent distance. The view was not as distant as my record shots suggest!
Before departing, a close fly-by Peregrine was another quality addition to. the day's sightings. Satisfied with our views of the Diver, we set off back towards the car encountering a few birders along the way who informed us that they had just connected with the Great Grey Shrike at Copt Hall Farm. Time for round two. A 5 minute drive and we found ourselves again back in the car park - the sight of the dip two days prior. With the sun shining directly over the Shrike's preferred bushes close to the green barn, it did not appear to be a promising start. This was compounded by the large group of birders on site who had not connected with the. bird for over an hour. While waiting a distant flock of Golden Plover was a nice bonus. Me and my Dad set up camp on a raised platform to scan the myriad of bushes in the hope that the Shrike might show itself. Somewhat miraculously this tactic actually worked as after scanning the back line of bushes the Great Grey Shrike flew directly into view - my second refund of the day and an excellent Essex tick. Getting prolonged enough views to take a quick record shot, the Shrike promptly flew out of view. I swiftly picked it up in another bush and enjoyed yet more views of the bird in several other bushes.
With time running out before the car park was to close at 5, I headed back to the car to finish up another successful day of birding. Gladly the other birders had also seen the Shrike from the car park. Happy days!
Comments
Post a Comment