Quite a day at the reservoir! (1 Viewer)

Well yesterday was quite something, gorgeous weather 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!).

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! 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! :eek!: :-O 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!

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, Mute Swans, plus a Black Swan and a Tufted Duck. All in all a really good day, saw two new species (including what seems to be a fairly rare UK visitor) and 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, so it's grown on a wildlife friendly farm and has only travelled 20-30 miles! :t: Carrying my backpack full of kit and 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.

Glad you like your Aldi scope Fozzy. We haven't got an Aldi near here so I dipped out.
Nice lot of species seen where you went. Super photo's, I like them all, but the Black- necked Grebe is my favourite. I love his red eyes. The Goldeneye pair are super as well.
Not sure about the eight mile walk though, you must be very fit.

Ah, Hanningfield Reservoir. My sister used to live very close to there but itwas before I got interested in birdwatching. She lives in France now, so I don't have a reason to visit. Nice lot of birds.

Pat

A good visit by all accounts Paul. Some cracking birds seen. That Black necked Grebe is rather special. Great to see one this time of year, much beter than seeing 'em in their drab winter garb!
A chap I bump into sometimes, whilst out birding, swears by his Aldi scope. A decent bit of kit by all accounts, and not a 'bank breaker' either.

Thanks Val, Pat and Joe. The Black-necked Grebe was a real treat, not sure if it's right but the BTO and RSPB pages say only around 120 winter in the UK so that's probably one of the rarest UK visitors I've seen. Looking at the winter plumage I probably wouldn't have registered it if it had looked like that, it was the blackness of it that drew my eye but at that distance I couldn't see more than a basic bird shape.

I may well start going to the reservoir regularly so the scope is likely to get a bit of use and eventually may pay a return for it's extortionate cost...

Some more photos...

1. walking up Crowsheath Lane from the bus stop to the reserve
2. one of the paths near the visitor centre
3. walking through Well Wood at the far end of the reserve, surrounded by bluebell plants
4. Great Crested Grebe heading off as I open the hide flap
5. Wood Ants... everywhere!! :eek!:

:-O

Super additional photo's Paul. Fantastic to see the wood ants active again.

I echo Joe, Fozzy. Those Wood Ants are making me itch though.:-O I once got a lot on me.

Yesterday was 'quite something' for you, Paul! What a great day you have reported on. A splendid species list and congrats on the Goldeneye pair and the Black-necked Grebe, the latter I have yet to see.
I just love the photo of the Blackcap singing his head off, it is a super capture, well done!:t: In fact all of your photo's are a joy to view!

I have one of the Aldi scopes (as a spare) and have yet to put ut to the test, so it is good to hear that you are well pleased with it! I wish now that I had bought a nest box camera aswell!
Hope you didn't get bitten by the ants!:eek!:

Thanks for a great read, I shall look forward to further installments on Hanningfield Reservoir!:t:

Hi Paul,

Bah, another one going to the right places and seeing all the things that I'm dipping out on this year so far.

I agree with Val on the photos, B-N Grebe is one that I haven't managed to get yet (I've seen them but ......). Also thank you for confirming that some Blackcaps are already singing, I was pretty sure that I'd heard one yesterday, but just a short burst; you did a lot better.

Bill

Great trip and photos, Paul.
I also tried to take some pics with singing Blackcaps, but I didn't succeed. They are in great number now in Bucharest. We also have a lot of Lesser Whitethroats and Chiffchaffs around here.

Thanks again everyone. The Blackcaps were by far the most vocal bird around the reserve yesterday, closely followed by the Chiffchaffs. The wood ants were all over the place, I saw at least three colonies around the woods. :t: Two badger sets at least in the woods too!

Some more pics (you knew there would be didn't you?)

1. Peacock butterfly
2. Greylags and ducks at the Fishing Lodge (a nice bit of easy birding there!) ||
3. a poor male Chaffinch, I'm guessing suffering from the tri... whatever it is virus looking at his legs
4. Black Swan
5. one of the (blurry) Treecreepers in Well Wood... it was very dark there!

Great day out! I just love those Tufties! They are almost comical. I see a lot on a local lake here and they fascinate me.

Simon Barnes says in his How to be a Bad Birdwatcher book that Tufties are matey, friendly birds but because they're usually quite timid I always think they're a bit stand-offish somehow. They're certainly indomitable bobbing about on the water though! I love to see them but they're not as matey as Mallards, which rush up to see you if there's a chance of a crust or two. ||

Excellent! What a fabulous day out and selection of photos. I really enjoyed this, Paul. Well done on getting local bird seed too, though I don't think I could have carried 6 kilos for half a mile!

Thanks Kits, yes really good to find they sell stuff from the farm and the price of the regular mix is comparable to Wilkinsons so if the birds accept it (they're eating the bargain £1 mix a little slowly but they'd been eating less recently, possibly due to the weather and natural food availability). I may end up mixing the bargain and regular stuff in a big pot, probably will give a better mix but slightly cheaper.

A few more photos from Tuesday, last ones I think.

1. Great Crested Grebe from the hide
2. Greylags on the grazing meadow
3. grumpy Tufted Duck
4. sleeping Greylag Goose at the fishing lodge
5. Greylag in flight on the reservoir

What a cracking, if somewhat tiring day Paul. You managed a great return as far as birds were concerned, and your pics are excellent. Ilike them all, but from a fun point-of-view, I just love the Tuftie in the last batch, with the, 'don't mess with me buddy' look on his face.
Thanks for sharing, Good reading and viewing. As a matter of interest, if you don't mind me asking, what was the cost of the Aldi scope.

Baz.

Baz.

hi Paul

Oh my, what a super report, and those wonderful pictures to go along with the report. A great selection of places to go and birds to see.

The Wood Ants make me bounce about a little. Remember sitting on an Ant hill once and you knew about it for a while after. :eek!:

I love the Black Necked Grebe a lot. That Red eye is something else. Stunning bird

Like what has been mentioned on this thread, The Tufties are really attractive ducks and one can never tire of their antics.

Thank you for sharing your days out. :t::t::t::-O:-O:-O

Regards
Kathy
x

Thanks a lot Baz and Kathy, glad you like hearing about my wanderings.

The Tufties really have a face for looking disdainful, he was giving me the full Victor Meldrew I think! I wouldn't like to sit on a wood ant nest - just having some on my legs left me feeling imaginary ones for some time afterwards.

The Aldi scope was very dear Baz, it cost all of £20! 60mm, 20-60x zoom eyepiece, mini tripod and carry case plus a 3 year warranty. :t:

I missed your new photo's, Fozzy. Brilliant! Love the ducks & the GC Grebe.