Tales From An Essex Birder

 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...

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...

 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 ...

 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 ...

 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...

 After a last minute decision to switch location from Leasowe to Frodsham Marsh, me and Marc headed towards Cheshire in the hope of some ornithological goodies. With a myriad of spring specialities on offer at the marsh - Green-winged Teal, Ring Ouzel and Garganey to name a few. All of the following pictures are taken by Marc. Nevertheless, we crossed the bridge over the M56 and arrived at the marsh at about quarter to 3. The first port of call was to be the paddock, which we both scanned to no avail. A few Blackbirds got the heart racing but me and Marc failed to turn one into a Ring Ouzel. Heading left towards the tanks, we carried on in the drizzle to the soundtrack of Chiffchaffs whilst Swallows flew overhead. A distant Marsh Harrier was a good addition to the day's list. After walking up the incline onto the path, we eventually arrived at the number six tank and decided to have a scan. Nothing of note was picked up on the water, however a male Blackcap provided some worthw...

 With a rare afternoon free from the uni grind, I finally got a chance to do some more birdwatching. The looming deadlines of final year has meant that the amount of time spent in the field recently has been thin on the ground. Nevertheless, it was decided that Kent was to be the destination for this afternoon out - Hothfield Heathland being the first port of call. With a long-staying Great Grey Shrike being frequently reported from the site, I thought I'd hedge my bets and have a look for this species - which would be a lifer and only my second ever sighting of a UK shrike. Accompanied by my father, we arrived just after midday and headed towards the heathland - making a beeline for the specific tree in which the shrike was apparently hanging around. Upon arrival, there was no sign of the bird and I was instead accompanied by flittering Chaffinches and Goldfinches as well as the occasional call of a distant woodpecker. Me and my Dad head in different directions - covering more g...