This morning on the way to Billericay on the bus, I saw a presumed pair of Common Buzzards perched on a pylon between Noak Bridge village and Barleylands.
Love nature .... act now
After my first spring record (heard only) of Blackcap on my St. Nicholas Church local patch site on the remarkably early date of 25th February 2026 and my first sighting of a male and female together during my visit on 16th March 2026, I had another record this morning.
As I left home at 7:20 a.m., I heard a male Blackcap singing briefly from a hedge immediately adjacent to the block of flats where I live. As with my first spring record, this was a "heard only" record and I failed to see the bird in the dense vegetation.
Love nature .... act now
RSPB Rye Meads in Hertfordshire is a site that is relatively easy for me to visit by public transport: bus to Billericay, train to London Liverpool Street followed by another train to Rye House and then a short walk to the reserve entrance.
Rye Meads is a 58.5 hectare biological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) located in Rye House near Hoddesdon in Hertfordshire. It is one of series of wetlands and reservoirs situated along the River Lea to the north east of London. It is part of the Lea Valley RAMSAR site (a group of internationally important wetland sites) and a Special Protection Area (SPA).
Rye Meads is divided into several areas. North of Rye Road is the Rye Meads nature reserve: the western half of this nature reserve, next to the River Lea in the Lee Valley Regional Park, is managed by the RSPB and the eastern half is managed by the Hertfordshire and Middlesex Wildlife Trust. It also includes a meadow and lagoons owned by Thames Water south of Rye Road which is not open to the public.
I visited the RSPB Rye Meads reserve which includes a visitor centre, trails and a number of hides. The seasonal flooding of a large ancient flood meadow combined with the rich soils has resulted in a mosaic of habitats, consisting of reedbeds, marshy grasslands and fen vegetation plus a number of small lakes and a scrape.
The main target species of my visit today was seeing and photographing a pair of Kingfishers. However, I did visit with some trepidation given the reports of the “Kingfisher Hub” (the dedicated viewing hide) being very busy and the totally unacceptable behaviour of some people, mainly photographers.
As it turned out, RSPB volunteers managed access to the “Kingfisher Hub” and monitored behaviour inside it very well.
Whilst I had excellent views of a single Kingfisher, I did not see the pair or any courtship or mating behaviour as has been seen in recent days.
Other than seeing and photographing a Kingfisher, my main highlight was seeing my first Grey Wagtail of the year, taking my UK year list to 132 species.
During the short walk down to RSPB Rye Meads from Rye House station, I heard 2 singing male Chiffchaffs and a single Cetti’s Warbler. Whilst waiting for my return train, I saw a Red Kite drifting over the station.
I had a very enjoyable visit to RSPB Rye Meads with the following highlights (heard only records in italics): Kingfisher (1), Gadwall (at least 20), Tufted Duck (at least 20), Shoveler (at least 20), Teal (at least 20), Mallard (5), Common Pochard (male), Lapwing (3), Grey Heron (1), Little Grebe (1), Coot (at least 50), Moorhen (at least 10), Canada Goose (12), Black-headed Gull (at least 200), Lesser Black-backed Gull (2), Red Kite (1), Sparrowhawk (1), Kestrel (1), Chiffchaff (4 singing males seen plus 2 others heard), Blackcap (1 singing male briefly heard), Cetti’s Warbler (5 singing males heard), Grey Wagtail (1), Reed Bunting (female)
Here
are some photos from my visit ….
Photo: Kingfisher
Photo: Kingfisher
Love nature .... act now
Date: 19th March 2026
Time: from 8:15 a.m.
Weather: dry, bright/sunny, light wind, 7°C to11°C
It was another beautiful early spring morning for my visit with plenty of bird song.
I focused on the northern section of the site and recorded 20 species of birds including another addition to my 2026 site list: Lesser Black-backed Gull
The notable bird records during my visit were as follows ….
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 1 seen flying over the paddock and 3 seen flying over the northern section of the site
Chiffchaff: 2 singing males seen and another singing male heard, all in the northern section of the site
Chaffinch: 3 seen flying over the northern section of the site
Pied Wagtail: 1 heard calling in flight over the northern section of the site
Green Woodpecker: 1 seen in the tall trees in the northern section of the site
Great Spotted Woodpecker: male heard “drumming” in the northern section of the site
Jackdaw: 1 plus a group of 5 seen flying over the northern section of the site
After my Merlin app claimed Lesser Spotted Woodpecker and Siskin during my visit on 14th March 2026, this morning it claimed Marsh Harrier, Oystercatcher, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe and Linnet! I neither heard nor saw any of these species. Siskin and Linnet are possible over-flying/calling species but the remainder are extremely unlikely if not impossible.
In addition, I had a brief view of a Red Fox in the paddock and another in the northern section of the site plus I saw a Grey Squirrel in the woodland area at the end of the access track from Larkins Tyres and another in the tall trees in the northern section of the site.
Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):
Here
are some photos from my visit ….
Site totals for 2026 to date (2025 and 2024 totals in brackets):
Total species list for the site
Love nature .... act now
The monthly work party for Noak Bridge Nature Reserve took place today which I attended as usual.
Whilst not a wildlife-watching visit, I did record the following ….
Brimstone (male): first of the year along the path from the Eastfield Road entrance and my first
since 2024
Pied Wagtail: first of the year flying over the storage shed area and again my first since 2024
Goldfinch: first of the year, a flock of 5 flying over the storage shed area
Chiffchaff: 3 singing males (1 heard behind Willow Pond, 1 seen around the storage shed and 1 heard west of the storage shed) plus a single silent bird at Meadow Pond (possibly a female)
Moorhen: presumed pair on Meadow Pond
Mallard: male and leucistic female on Puckles Pond
Site totals for 2026 to date (2025 and 2024 totals in brackets):
Total species list for the site:
Love nature .... act now
