Visit to Noak Bridge Nature Reserve – 13th April 2026

Date: 13th April 2026

Time: from 8:30 a.m.

Weather: sunny, light wind, 8°C to 10°C

Having recorded my first Lesser Whitethroat of the year at my St. Nicholas Church local patch on 12th April 2026, I was hoping for the same at the reserve this morning.

Unfortunately, I failed to even hear the rattling song of this summer migrant but I did record 3 further additions to my 2026 site list: Sparrowhawk, Collared Dove and House Sparrow.

The notable bird records during my visit were as follows ….

Sparrowhawk: 1 seen flying across the path between the storage shed and the Eastfield Road entrance and into the wooded area around Willow Pond

Collared Dove: 2 seen flying high south over the path between the Spanish Steps and the storage shed and another seen on the ground near the bench by the Spanish Steps before flying off into the adjacent residential area

House Sparrow: male heard calling and eventually seen in the hedge adjacent to the path near the storage shed

Blackcap: very evident across the reserve now with 3 singing males seen, another 2 singing males heard and a female seen

Chiffchaff: very evident across the reserve now with 2 singing males seen, another single bird seen and a presumed pair seen in the trees around Meadow Pond

Moorhen: presumed pair seen on Willow Pond

Mallard: male seen flying south high over Meadow Pond

In addition, I had a brief view of a Reeves’ Muntjac at the back of Fox Pond (another first record of the year) plus 4 Grey Squirrels: 1 in the wooded area near the Spanish Steps and the storage shed, 1 in the trees adjacent to Meadow Pond and 2 in the trees adjacent to Meadow Pond.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Sparrowhawk

Collared Dove

House Sparrow

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Moorhen

Mallard

Blue Tit

Great Tit

Robin

Wren

Blackbird

Woodpigeon

Magpie

Jay

Carrion Crow

Reeves’ Muntjac

Grey Squirrel

Here are some other photos from my visit ….

Photo: male Blackcap

Photo: male Blackcap

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Blackbird

Photo: Dark-edged Bee-fly

Photo: Nursery Web Spider

Photo: Nursery Web Spider

Photo: Seven-spot Ladybird

Photo: Bee sp.

Photo: Bee sp.

Photo: Bee sp.

Photo: Greater Stitchwort

Photo: White Dead-nettle

Photo: White Dead-nettle

Photo: Dandelion

Photo: Blackthorn

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Visit to St. Nicholas Church and surrounding areas – 12th April 2026

Date: 12th April 2026

Time: from 8:30 a.m.

Weather: dry, sunny, moderate wind, 9°C to 11°C

It was sunny but chilly for my visit this morning, especially given the brisk wind.

I walked the complete site this morning and recorded 19 species of birds with some excellent sightings. These included 2 additions to my 2026 site list: Willow Warbler and Lesser Whitethroat

Lesser Whitethroat is a species that I record at the site every year during the spring and early summer but I only recorded Willow Warbler for the first time in 2023. It is a particularly elusive species and, whilst a singing male is very distinctive, I have only actually seen it on a single occasion in 2024.

The notable bird records during my visit were as follows ….

Willow Warbler: singing male heard in the scrub and wooded area behind the pond in the northern section of the site but typically mobile and unseen

Lesser Whitethroat: brief view of a singing male as it flew from one bush to another in the northern section of the site adjacent to the paddock

Blackcap: at least 6 singing males and an alarm calling bird heard across the site with a single male seen in the northern section of the site

Chiffchaff: at least 5 singing males and a calling bird heard across the site but none seen

Green Woodpecker: 1 heard calling in the eastern section of the cemetery

Great Spotted Woodpecker: 1 heard “drumming” briefly in the northern section of the site

Jackdaw: 3 seen flying high over the northern section of the site in a northerly direction

As I arrived in the northern section of the site, I quickly spotted a Red Fox which was largely obscured by vegetation. I think this was the same animal that closely watched me during my last visit on 2nd April 2026!

Photo: Red Fox

In addition, I saw 3 Grey Squirrels, 2 in the wooded area at the end of the access track from Larkins Tyres and another in the eastern section of the cemetery.

Finally, it was good to see a few Bluebells emerging in the churchyard.

Species recorded during this visit were as follows (heard only records in italics):

Willow Warbler

Lesser Whitethroat

Blackcap

Chiffchaff

Green Woodpecker

Great Spotted Woodpecker

Blue Tit 

Great Tit

Robin

Wren

Song Thrush

House Sparrow

Goldfinch

Jay

Jackdaw

Magpie

Carrion Crow

Woodpigeon

Herring Gull

Red Fox

Grey Squirrel

Site totals for 2026 to date (2025 and 2024 totals in brackets): 

Birds = 36 (50) (49)

Mammals = 3 (4) (3)

Butterflies = 0 (23) (17)

Dragonflies and damselflies = 0 (11) (11)

Reptiles = 0 (0) (0)

Amphibians = 0 (0) (0)

Total species list for the site 

Birds = 70

Mammals = 8

Butterflies = 26

Dragonflies and damselflies = 14

Reptiles = 1

Amphibians = 0

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Record from home - Stock Dove

Prior to leaving home for my visit to my St. Nicholas Church local patch site, I noticed a small pigeon or dove at 7:40 a.m. perched on the roof of one of the houses opposite where I live.

It certainly wasn't a Woodpigeon which I regularly see and which are much larger. I initially thought it was one of the feral pigeons that I also see but a quick look through binoculars confirmed that it was a Stock Dove. Unfortunately by the time I had got my camera out of my bag, the bird had been disturbed and had flown off.

I do record Stock Dove occasionally on my St. Nicholas Church local patch site but this was a totally unexpected record in the immediate vicinity of where I live.

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Trip away from SS15 – RSPB Canvey Wick, Canvey Island, Essex – 9th April 2026

This morning, I had my usual early April visit to RSPB Canvey Wick, primarily to try and record spring/summer migrants, in particular Nightingale.

Canvey Wick is a former landfill site and the location of a proposed oil refinery on Canvey Island in Essex. The site closed in the 1980s and then lay derelict for years. It became a liability for the former landowner, East of England Development Agency (EEDA), and, along with Natural England, they approached the Land Trust to help find a sustainable exit strategy for the land to provide high quality open space next to land identified for commercial development. 

The Land Trust subsequently established a steering group with key stakeholders, including Natural England, Castle Point Borough Council, RSPB and Buglife and secured funding from the Government to assess and prepare a "vision" for the site. The site was recognised as a priority within the Thames Gateway South Essex Green Grid Strategy and secured endowment funding from the Parklands initiative which allowed acquisition of the site.

The Land Trust helped transfer a landowner’s liability into an asset, provided expertise in sustainable land management benefiting local communities and conservation and securely invested and protected the endowment, thereby removing the risk of continued dereliction. The RSPB is the appointed managing partner with significant involvement from Buglife to advise on enhancing the habitats for the rare and endangered invertebrates.

Canvey Wick is now a well-established 93.2 hectare Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and it was designated as such on 11th February 2005, the first "brownfield" site to be protected specifically for its invertebrates. The RSPB manage 18.5 hectares of the SSSI as a nature reserve in partnership with Buglife and on behalf of the Land Trust.

It is a unique ex-industrial habitat but it also has grassland and scrub habitats plus small wooded areas and it is adjacent to the important estuarine habitats of Holehaven Creek.

It is known to be exceptionally rich in plant, insect and animal species with as many species per square metre as a rain forest and it is one of the most important sites in the UK for endangered invertebrate species (the site is home to over 1300 species of invertebrate including at least 30 on the UK "Red List" of endangered species).

More information .... 

RSPB - Canvey Wick

Buglife - Canvey Wick

Land Trust - Canvey Wick

Wikipedia - Canvey Wick

The Guardian - Canvey Wick: the Essex "rain forest" that is home to Britain’s rarest insects

And so on to my visit to RSPB Canvey Wick this morning .... 

It was excellent with the sight and sound of spring/summer migrants everywhere!

I added the following to my UK list for 2026, taking it to 137 species: Nightingale, Common Whitethroat, Willow Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Mediterranean Gull

The highlights of my visit, which were primarily spring/summer migrants, were as follows:

Nightingale: at least 12 singing males, 2 seen with a single very showy bird singing in the open from a tree branch

Common Whitethroat: 7 singing males, 2 seen

Willow Warbler: 1 calling bird heard but unseen

Blackcap: at least 15 singing males, 5 males and 2 females seen

Chiffchaff: at least 15 singing males, 8 seen

Unfortunately, I failed to record the following which I have often seen at RSPB Canvey Wick, albeit usually slightly later in April: Cuckoo, Swallow, Lesser Whitethroat, Sedge Warbler.

In addition, I recorded the following: Cetti's Warbler (5 singing males, 1 seen), Reed Bunting (1 male), Common Buzzard (2 soaring together), Mediterranean Gull (at least 4 calling overhead), Green Woodpecker (2 heard calling), Shelduck (2 flew over), Grey Heron (1 flew over), Red Fox (1), Peacock (4), Orange Tip (3), Brimstone (2), "white" sp. (at least 10)

Despite the abundance of birds, photography was relatively challenging although I did manage to get a few photos, not least of a singing male Nightingale ....

Photo: male Nightingale

Photo: male Nightingale

Photo: male Nightingale

Photo: male Nightingale

Photo: male Chaffinch

Photo: male Chaffinch

Photo: male Wren

Photo: male Chiffchaff

Photo: male Chiffchaff

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