• Welcome to BirdForum, the internet's largest birding community with thousands of members from all over the world. The forums are dedicated to wild birds, birding, binoculars and equipment and all that goes with it.

    Please register for an account to take part in the discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.
ZEISS DTI thermal imaging cameras. For more discoveries at night, and during the day.

Essex Birding (1 Viewer)

Hythe Lagoon on sat morning, Avocet, Shelduck, Greenshank, Reed Bunting and Sedge Warbler.

Brightlinsea Marsh in the afternoon, not much about apart from fleeting glimpse of a single Hobby and ususal Gulls

Abberton on Sunday, more swifts that I have ever seen in my life, plus loads of Gulls and Common Terns. 2 Hobbies in front of the visitor centre were fun to watch.

3 Yellow Wagtails on the Layer De La Haye causeway plus the ususal.

No birding yesterday as was at a spa day with my wife, was very near to Hanningfield but was not allowed to leave spa to bird it!

Any one else get out in Essex over the weekend?
 
Hythe Lagoons yesterday had 30+ Black-Tailed Godwit, 5 Common Sands. Greenshank, Little Ringed Plovers plus the usual 17 Avocets, Redshank and Shelduck. Cracking views of a Cuckoo as well.

Phil
 
haven't had much chance to get out and about locally due to work and weather but will hopefully manage some this weekend.

Abberton/Old Hall/Mersea are on the agenda................
 
Pretty wet at the Hythe lagoons this PM, soaking in fact!

Usual numbers of Avocet, two Little Ringed Plover, pied wag, one barwit and lots of shelduck. Linnet and reedbunting in the scrub and a few linnet around the dodgey looking warehouses on the walk in.

Jimi
 
Essex waderfest

Anyone wanting to see a decent selection of waders could do worse than Old Hall Marshes at the moment. If you don't have a parking permit you will need to park at the end od the road and walk in but certainly it's well worth it just now.

This morning we had Little and Temminck's Stint, Green, Common, Curlew and Wood Sandpiper, Black and Bartailed Godwits, Redshank, Greenshank, Spotted redshank, Turnstone, Grey and Golden Plovers, Dunlin, Knot, LRP, Avocet and Lapwing. Oh, and Curlew and Whimbrel. Most of the adults still sporting stunning summer plumage.

Supporting cast included Barn Owl and Marsh Harrier.

If past years are anything to go by we can expect Pec any time soon, there has been one very autum as far as I can recall for a while now so fingers crossed.....
 
Hi
This thread doesnt seem to get much input so ill try and keep it going.
This morning at Hanningfield Reservoir: 3 Black necked grebes- showing close in to the RAWL Hide, 2 Black tern, 1 Hobby, 2 Yellow legged gulls- including a huge male, 2 Green Sands and a common sand as well as the usual stuff. Shouldnt be too long until SE Essex gets some good stuff in, possibly this weekend if the Easterly winds that are predicted actually occur!
Cheers
Ben
 
Although I've lived in Chelmsford all my life I've never actually been to Hanningfield reservoir - will have to try and find out the nearby bus routes and actually go!

Have started taking to walking through the Chelmer Valley nature reserve in town in Chelmsford (follows the river north past the riverside retail park - Staples and so-on), which is quite nice. A small area but it has some nice wooded areas with lots of cricket bat willow and white poplar and plenty of dragonflies and birds. Am not yet very good at bird identification (or tree identification! Am working on both, but it's a slow process.) but there are lots of the usuals, like chaffinches, blue tits, blackbirds, wood pigeons, robins, thrushes and I've seen a flock of long-tailed tits (one of my favourites) most visits, green woodpeckers and lots of other small birds and carrion crows.

Also saw a flash of a bird I didn't recognise. It was like a smallish crow, black but I saw a white flash just in front of the tail on it's back. Definitely not a magpie shape though, it had a short, slightly spread tail. It was gone so quick though that it could have been anything, or just a regular crow that'd been really poo'd on! I also saw a small, slightly thrush-like bird with lightish-brown back and wings and a pale belly and no spots, looked a bit like a large warbler. Looking around on t'internet and at my bird books I'm wondering if it was a nightingale - it was certainly skulking in the bushes and I found a video of one singing that is VERY much like the bird I saw. Would be cool if it was, haven't seen one before. :t:

Hmm... please excuse the rambling! |:D|
 
Hi,
Im not sure of the bus routes to Hanningfield but Id bet on a bus going somewhere close to the reserve at Hanningfield. Nightingale would be a pretty good bird for Chelmsford have you looked up Garden Warbler too, they are a little smaller and greyer than your description but equally as skulky! As for the crow like bird...im not too sure what to suggest I can think of a few birds that have darkish back with a white area but none of them are particularly crow like ie house martin, wheatear etc. Crows do occasionally have random white feathers. Not sure if thats much help or not but good luck with IDing the birds.
Ben
 
Fozzybear said:
Although I've lived in Chelmsford all my life I've never actually been to Hanningfield reservoir - will have to try and find out the nearby bus routes and actually go!

Have started taking to walking through the Chelmer Valley nature reserve in town in Chelmsford (follows the river north past the riverside retail park - Staples and so-on), which is quite nice. A small area but it has some nice wooded areas with lots of cricket bat willow and white poplar and plenty of dragonflies and birds. Am not yet very good at bird identification (or tree identification! Am working on both, but it's a slow process.) but there are lots of the usuals, like chaffinches, blue tits, blackbirds, wood pigeons, robins, thrushes and I've seen a flock of long-tailed tits (one of my favourites) most visits, green woodpeckers and lots of other small birds and carrion crows.

Also saw a flash of a bird I didn't recognise. It was like a smallish crow, black but I saw a white flash just in front of the tail on it's back. Definitely not a magpie shape though, it had a short, slightly spread tail. It was gone so quick though that it could have been anything, or just a regular crow that'd been really poo'd on! I also saw a small, slightly thrush-like bird with lightish-brown back and wings and a pale belly and no spots, looked a bit like a large warbler. Looking around on t'internet and at my bird books I'm wondering if it was a nightingale - it was certainly skulking in the bushes and I found a video of one singing that is VERY much like the bird I saw. Would be cool if it was, haven't seen one before. :t:

Hmm... please excuse the rambling! |:D|
Click to expand...

could your crow have been a jay although they look bright in the book or a good view in the field in a dark wood a quick glance the most noticeable feature is often the white rump and the tail description fits
cheers
 
Thanks guys. I doubt it was a jay Paul, my brother also mentioned that possibility but it was definitely a black bird with just a hint of white. It was too short a glimpse to be able to give a really good description though... I'll have to keep an eye out in case I see it again. A partial albino crow is the most likely - would be good to get a photo of it if I can.

The garden warbler is certainly also a possible for the 'nightingale', although I remember thinking it looked like a smallish and plain thrush rather than robin and warbler sized. The photos I've seen seem to vary in look a lot, some look very grey-brown and some show quite a warm brown colouring with a white/brown belly. One thing is that I didn't think 'warbler' when I saw it, I distinctly remember thinking it looked 'thrushy'...

I'll probably not really be able to tie it down for sure, but it's nice to think it 'could' have been a nightingale. Would be a late leaver but they certainly are found in Essex and the late migrants leave in September (apparently) so... well, I don't know. I'll stick it on the unidentified but would be nice if it was a nightingale stack*.


*well, that's the only one on it so not really a stack! |:D|
 
Last edited:
Got the Hanningfield Reservoir Velvet Scoter and Abberton Spoonbill in a good 3 hours or so this afternoon. I believe the Spoonbill may have now flown.

Both new birds for me and very nice birds too - the Scoter especially which was a young male just coming into adult plumage - quite a striking bird.

Malvin.
 
A morning at Fingringhoe Wick produced 6 Eider, including a moulting male, not far from the jetty. Also picked up my first Fieldfare and Red Breasted Merganser of the winter, and a couple of Goldcrest.

The place was alive with flocks of Long Tailed Tit, and I also caught a fleeting glimpse of a Bullfinch.

Stopped off briefly at Abberton Reservoir on the way home and saw some very smart male Red Crested Pochard, and plenty of Ruddy Duck, which are always nice to see.

Malvin.
 
Nice. Have been to the Chelmer Valley reserve north of Chelmsford town centre twice this weekend and picked up goldcrest (second time I've ever seen one), redwing (first time!), female bullfinch (first time!), siskins (first time!), great spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, grey heron, pheasant, lots of moorhens, carrion crow, magpies, jays, kestrel, another unidentified raptor (very distant, roughly similar size to the carrion crow that was mobbing it), goldfinch, greenfinch, oodles of house sparrows, long-tailed tits, robins, song thrush, blue tits, great tits, wren, dunnock...

I think that's all. |:D|
 
headed down south into essex today had two cracking male goosanders at a drizzley abberton first thing then went down to rainham marshes and got good views of two serin and a couple of rock pipits on the way home stopped at mistley walls where the tide was very high where we had a bit of a merganser fest i counted at least 40 which means there were probably twice that good numbers of goldeneye and pintail and a slav grebe from the quay
cheers
 
headed down south into essex today had two cracking male goosanders at a drizzley abberton first thing then went down to rainham marshes and got good views of two serin and a couple of rock pipits on the way home stopped at mistley walls where the tide was very high where we had a bit of a merganser fest i counted at least 40 which means there were probably twice that good numbers of goldeneye and pintail and a slav grebe from the quay
cheers
 
Hi guys first time I've contributed to this page anyway glad someones started it. I had a few days back at my old stomping grounds, catching up with an old mate Phil Carter.
Day 1: Tollesbury Wick:
Best bird of the day and quite a surprise was a Whinchat seen near shingle
hills bunker.
4 Marsh Harriers(all female)
2 Red Breasted Merganser
6 Goldeneye
1 female Peregrine
Day 2: Out with Phil and to Hythe Lagoons
1 Avocet
1 Goldcrest
and not a lot else but nice to be down at the old patch after many years. We then went on to Abberton Reservoir where we saw:
1 Smew(male)
6 Goosesander
6 Corn Bunting
Day 3: Tollesbury Wick:
Whinchat seen again,
1 Great Northern Diver seen off shingle hills.
Slav Grebe
3 Marsh Harrier
1 Peregrine falcon(male)
2 Redpoll
Good little trip of birding and doing family thing. Will make sure I contribute next time I'm back in Essex.
 
Saw my first ever Fieldfare at a large apple orchard south of Great Baddow near Chelmsford on Tuesday. Not sure how big their flocks normally get but I reckon there could have been in excess of a couple of hundred Fieldfares there, and the flock was still there this morning. Still seems to be lots of windfall apples for them to eat so am guessing they'll be hanging around for a while.

No idea if this is common-or-garden or not but thought I'd stick it up in case anyone's interested - the location is on Galleywood Road just north of Deadman's Lane, near Seabrights Barn carvery. 51.70871°N, 0.48507°E

There are also a fair number of Goosanders on the little lake at Central Park in Chelmsford town centre - when I went there on the 28th of December there were 19, up from 5-6 the week before, plus a Kingfisher perching on the bank at the north end of the lake.
 
Got over to Chelmsford today for the Goosanders, thanks for your help Fozzybear. 24 on the lake today, 6 males and 18 redheads. They showed well enough but the dismal weather ruined the photography quite badly. I thought it was supposed to be sunny. Also saw the Kingfisher on the lake.
 
Hi I've just found this thread!
Goosanders also in Colchester on the
river between the East Mill and Castle Park
cheers
 

Similar threads

B
Bird Sound ID - Essex - Unable to ID
Replies
17
Views
1K
Buckster
B
rollingthunder
Malaga - last week.....
Replies
0
Views
378
rollingthunder
rollingthunder
Prestdj
mytholmroyd 2024
Replies
13
Views
1K
Prestdj
Prestdj
ClarkWGriswold
Griswold’s UK Birding List 2024
2
Replies
35
Views
2K
Paul Chapman
Paul Chapman
G
  • Article
Timing Is Everything & A Birding Hard Reset
Replies
0
Views
163
Green Sandpiper
G

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)
Back
Top