Essex Birding

Andrew Jeffery · Status: Offline

RE: Essex Birding

Chris Harper · Status: Offline

Highlights of a few days visiting Essex, staying in Colchester.

Thursday 28th: Drake Canvasback from Abberton Reservoir with 600 Pochard. 2 Greater Scaup.

Friday 29th: Red Breasted Goose near Bradwell on Sea with 2000 Dark Bellied Brent Geese. Also Great White Egret, 2 Marsh Harrier, Peregrine Falcon, Red Throated Diver, Green Woodpecker, 100's of Curlew, Dunlin, Oystercatcher, Redshank, Knot.

At Abberton a redhead Smew, 20 Goldeneye, 4 Goosander, 2 Great White Egre.t

Colchester town a flock of 19 Waxwing near Newcoman Way business park.

Distant record shot of Red Breasted Goose attached

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Saturday 6th June 2015:
Roding Valley Meadows & Nature Reserve, Loughton

2 Kingfishers near the lake
5 Little Egrets
3 Grey Herons
3 Green Woodpeckers near Loughton FC
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
12 Ring-necked Parakeets
1 Grey Wagtail on the brook
6 Blackcaps
3 Chiffchaff
2 Whitethroat
1 Reed Warbler in reeds adjacent to the lake
2 Cormorants over
3 Jays
2 Song Thrush
1 Kestrel
1 Common Buzzard
On the lake:
1 Greylag goose
36 Canada geese
5 Great Crested Grebes
2 Mute Swans with 6 cygnets
Plenty of the usuals too, with many juvenile tits.

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Roding Valley Meadows, Loughton

Similar birds to yesterday with the addition of a Great Spotted Woodpecker
2 Green Woodpeckers
1 Grey Heron
3 Swallows
1 Jay
4 Ring-necked Parakeets

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Roding Valley Meadows, Loughton

1 Little Egret along the brook.
1 Kingfisher accidentally flushed near to the lake
1 Green Woodpecker
5 Ring-necked Parakeets
2 Grey Wagtails
12 Linnets
10 Swallows
5 House Martins
On the lake:
6 Wigeon
1 Great Crested Grebe
6 Gadwall
Lots of the usuals on a nice warm afternoon.

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Roding Valley Meadows, Loughton: Saturday 14th June.

4 Common Tern chasing each other loudly around the lake in the morning.
A pair of Mute Swan with 6 cygents.
6 Great Crested Grebes plus just 1 young one.
1 Sedge Warbler in the Reeds around the lake.
4 Little Egrets
1 Cormorant over
Lots of Coots and Mallards

Along the river Roding:
1 Blackcap singing
Several Common Whitethroat
12 Ring-necked Parakeets seen (more heard)
1 Grey Wagtail
Lots of young Blue and Great Tits along with Goldfinch
2 Greenfinch
No signs of any Green Woodpeckers

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Roding Valley Meadows, Loughton: Sunday 7th October 7am

Good numbers of birds around this morning, on a crisp sunny one.
Many of the usuals and plenty of Jays.
Around a dozen Common Gulls on the football pitches.
1 Little Egret flushed from the brook (twice).
4 Green Woodpeckers
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Ring necked parakeet (others heard)
3 Kingfishers (1 along the brook, 1 along the Roding and 1 across the lake)
1 Bullfinch
On the lake:
10 Shoveler
8 Gadwall
2 Wigeon
250+ Coots
1 Great Crested Grebe
1 Little Grebe
5 Mute swans (4 juvs)
12 Canada Geese
25 Moorhen

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Roding Valley Meadows 1st April 7am

Highlights this morning were my first Blackcaps of the year, with 3 seen. Also 6 Chiffchaff were my first seen this year.
Other highlights:
1 Kingfisher
1 Little Egret
1 Green Woodpecker (many others heard)
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
1 Reed Bunting
4 Tufted Ducks on the lake
2 Grey Wagtails
1 Common Gull
Plus lots of the usuals.

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Roding Valley Meadows 26th February

An hours stroll this morning, turned up the following:
1 Little Egret on the River Roding
2 Green Woodpeckers
2 Fieldfares
1 Redwing
2 Ring-necked Parakeets
20+ Common Gulls and around 150 Black-headed Gulls
Plenty of the usuals

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

Fishers Green 25th February

No sign of the Bitterns this morning, but a pleasant start to the day in any case. Birds seen included:
6 Shoveller
8 Tufted Ducks
4 Pochard
2 Grey Herons
1 Great Crested Grebe
16 Cormorants
1 Sparrowhawk
6 Siskins
2 Jays
1 Great Spotted Woodpecker
Several Green Woodpeckers heard calling.
Plus lots of the usuals.

Charles Farrell · Status: Offline

I also ventured out into Essex yesterday (Sat), originally intending to visit RSPB Vange Marsh, but the train I caught didn't stop at Pitsea and so I got out the following Station, Benfleet.

It turned out not to be a bad thing as the walk around the surrounding area and Canvey Town was surprisingly pleasant and quiet. The majority of the birds were out at the mouth of the creek and but the time I reached there, it was a little too dark to identify some of the waders. There were at least 3 flocks of several hundred mixed waders which regularly took flight, no doubt due in part to the fact that there were Peregrines and a Sparrowhawk hunting out on the marsh. I'm sure that there were Dunlin in there, along with Knot, Redshank and possibly Sanderling, but it wasn't the best light.

What I did see included

2 Peregrine - 1 perched on a post out in the marsh

1 m Sparrowhawk hunting

20+ Curlew

300+ Redshank

100+ Lapwing

200+ Oystercatcher

50+ Wigeon

100+ Teal

Plus of course 1000s of Gull, including a fairly large group of Great Black Backed Gull.

All in all a pleasant afternoon.

Adam Jones · Status: Offline

A quick visit to Fishers Green, Lee Valley yesterday, whilst on a visit to my parents. I was hoping to see a Bittern, with one sighted each day over the previous week, from the hide at the Bittern information centre. It has mainly been seen coming in to roost in the reedbeds around 4pm.
I didn't see one, but did manage some very good views of a Water Rail as it ran towards the hide. It was skulking in the open for close to a minute before dissapearing into the reeds. A few minutes later it gave it's unmistakeable squeal.
Lots of the usual wildowl, with Little Grebe, Shoveler, Gadwall, Great Crested Grebes, Pochard and Tufted Ducks.
Plenty of Cormorants and Lapwings too, as well as Grey Heron.