RSPB Wallasea Island. This visit didn’t involve an early morning start since I drove
there after picking up the rental car at 9 a.m. My main target here was Yellow
Wagtail for my UK 2020 year list which I failed to see but I did
see my first Reed Warbler (a singing male) of the year.
Other notable records: Swallow, Common Whitethroat, Corn Bunting, Reed Bunting, Linnet, Skylark,
Kestrel, Stock Dove, Great White Egret, Little Egret, Curlew, Common Redshank,
Lapwing, Common Tern
31st May 2020
EWT Abberton Reservoir. Abberton Reservoir is one of my regular all year round
sites and my main targets here were Nightingale, Little Ringed Plover,
Sand Martin and Yellow Wagtail (again) for my UK 2020 year list.
I saw 2 singing male Nightingales and heard 2
others and saw 2 Little Ringed Plovers and 1 Sand Martin. I failed to see Yellow Wagtail (again) but I did add Cuckoo (2 calling males heard
only) and, rather surprisingly, Mandarin (2 males) to my UK 2020 year list.
In total, I saw 49 species during the visit.
Other notable records: Swallow, Blackcap,
Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Cetti’s Warbler, Bullfinch, Corn Bunting, Reed
Bunting, Linnet, Skylark, Stock Dove, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Little Egret,
Cormorant, Lapwing, Egyptian Goose, Great Crested Grebe, Shelduck, Tufted Duck,
Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard
Photo: Little Ringed Plover at EWT Abberton Reservoir
Photo: Common Tern at EWT Abberton Reservoir
Photo: Great Crested Grebe at EWT Abberton Reservoir
Photo: Little Egret at EWT Abberton Reservoir
EWT Wrabness. I first visited this reserve comprising hedgerows, scrub and grassland overlooking the River Stour estuary last year. My main target
again this year was Turtle Dove for my UK 2020
year list. I successfully saw 2 and heard 2 others of this rapidly declining
species which can be very difficult to locate now although this site remains a
stronghold.
Other notable records – birds: Swallow, House
Martin, Sand Martin, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Linnet,
Greenfinch, Common Buzzard (4 in the air together), Kestrel, Green Woodpecker,
Oystercatcher
Other notable records – butterflies: Holly Blue
(1), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Red Admiral (1)
Photo: Swallow at EWT Wrabness
1st June 2020
SWT Old Lodge. Old Lodge is a nature reserve owned and managed by the
Sussex Wildlife Trust. It is located in Ashdown Forest in the High Weald which takes up part of the counties of East Sussex, Kent, West Sussex and Surrey.
Ashdown Forest is an ancient area
of open heathland with scattered trees occupying the highest sandy ridge-top
of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The ecological importance of Ashdown Forest's heathlands is
reflected by its designation as a Site of Special Scientific Interest, as a Special Protection Area for birds and as a Special
Area of Conservation for its heathland habitats. It is part of the
European Natura 2000 network as it hosts some of Europe's most threatened species
and habitats.
Ashdown Forest is also famous as the setting for the Winnie-the-Pooh stories written by A. A. Milne who lived on the northern edge of the forest and took his
son, Christopher Robin, walking there. The artist E. H. Shepard drew on the landscapes of Ashdown Forest as inspiration for
many of the illustrations he provided for the Pooh books.
This was my first visit to this site and the
landscape and habitats were stunning on a beautiful sunny and still morning. I
added 6 species to my UK 2020 year list: Common Redstart (4 males including 1
feeding a fledgling), Tree Pipit (7 singing males), Woodlark (2
singing males heard only), Willow Warbler (at least 3 singing males), Garden
Warbler (at least 1 singing male) and Lesser Redpoll (several small
fly-over groups).
Other notable records – birds: Cuckoo (2 seen
and 2 others heard), Blackcap,
Chiffchaff, Common Whitethroat, Stonechat, Linnet, Skylark, Great Spotted
Woodpecker, Goldcrest, Siskin, Coal Tit, Greenfinch
Other notable records – mammals: Badger (1),
Fallow Deer (c.10), Grey Squirrel, Rabbit
Photo: SWT Old Lodge
NNR Stodmarsh. After my visit to Old Lodge, I drove over to east Kent for
a visit to the Grove Ferry section of Stodmarsh. This reserve contains the largest reed bed in
the south east of England plus fens, ditches, wet grassland and open
water. This is another site that I usually visit in
spring. My main target here was Hobby for my UK 2020 year list which I failed to see although totally unexpectedly I
did see my first Red-crested Pochard of the year (male and female).
However, the most notable sighting was my first
ever Norfolk Hawker. This rare dragonfly is traditionally found in the
unpolluted fens, marshes, dykes and ditches of the Broads National Park in
Norfolk and Suffolk but in recent years it has started to colonise a few sites
in the River Stour valley in east Kent which I was not aware of before my visit
or until I had a brief conversation with someone at Grove Ferry.
Other notable records – birds: Turtle Dove
(heard only), Cuckoo (heard only), Swift, House Martin, Lesser Whitethroat,
Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s
Warbler, Reed Bunting, Skylark, Linnet, Common Buzzard (1), Marsh Harrier (3),
Green Woodpecker (heard only), Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only), Grey
Heron, Little Egret, Lapwing, Common Redshank, Great Crested Grebe, Cormorant,
Shoveler, Mallard
Other notable records – amphibians: Marsh Frog
(heard only)
Other notable records – butterflies: Holly Blue
(1), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Red Admiral (1)
Other notable records – dragonflies: Emperor
Dragonfly (c.5)
Photo: Norfolk Hawker at NNR Stodmarsh
2nd June 2020
Forest of Dean including RSPB Nagshead. The Forest of Dean forms a
roughly triangular plateau bounded
by the River Wye to the west and north west, Herefordshire to the
north, the River Severn to the south and the city of
Gloucester to the east. The area is characterised by more than 40 square miles of mixed
woodland and
it is one of the surviving ancient
woodlands in England.
This was my longest day trip and my main targets here were Wood Warbler,
Pied Flycatcher and Spotted Flycatcher for my UK 2020 year list. Common Redstart
was also initially a target but I had already seen this species at Old Lodge in
Sussex. I saw all 4 of these species but they all took some extensive and
thorough searching for.
Other notable records – birds: Common Redstart,
Willow Warbler, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Swallow, Sparrowhawk (2), Great Spotted
Woodpecker (heard only), Stock Dove (heard only), Goldcrest, Nuthatch,
Treecreeper, Mandarin (3)
Other notable records – mammals: Roe Deer (1),
Grey Squirrel
Other notable records – dragonflies:
Broad-bodied Chaser (c.5)
RSPB Otmoor. This reserve just
outside Oxford includes an
expansive floodplain grazing marsh, reedbeds, scrub and hedgerows and this was
my first visit to the site. My
main target here was Yellow Wagtail (again!) for my UK 2020 year list. I failed to see Yellow
Wagtail (again!) but I did add Hobby (1), an unexpected flying Bittern
and Mistle Thrush (2) to my UK 2020 year list. I also failed
to see Turtle Dove which are apparently regularly recorded at this site.
Other notable records – birds: Common
Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, Garden Warbler (heard only), Reed Warbler,
Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Cuckoo (heard only), Reed Bunting,
Yellowhammer, Skylark, Stock Dove (2), Red Kite (2), Marsh Harrier (1), Little
Egret, Lapwing, Common Redshank, Curlew
Other notable records – mammals: Fallow Deer (3),
Grey Squirrel
Other notable records – butterflies: Holly Blue
(1), Small Tortoiseshell (1), Red Admiral (1)
Other notable records – dragonflies and
damselflies: Emperor Dragonfly (c.5), Four-spotted Chaser (c.5), Azure/Common
Blue Damselflies (100s!)
This was
also a very good Red Kite day. Apart from the 2 seen at RSPB Otmoor, I
saw 1 between J13 and J14 of the M4 on the way down to the Forest of Dean, 4
between Gloucester and Sherborn on the A40 and an amazing 18 between Oxford and the M25 on the A40 and M40.
3rd June 2020
NNR Westleton Heath. Westleton Heath is part
of the best remaining tract of lowland heathland in Suffolk and it is another site that I usually visit in spring. My
main target here was Dartford Warbler for my UK 2020 year list. Woodlark was also initially a target although
I had already heard this species at Old Lodge in Sussex. After some extensive
and thorough searching, I eventually heard and then saw a singing male Dartford
Warbler.
Other notable records – birds: Woodlark (1
singing male heard only), Nightingale (1 singing male heard only), Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Chiffchaff (heard only),
Willow Warbler, Goldcrest, Linnet, Stonechat, Yellowhammer (heard only), Green
Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker (heard only), Kestrel
Other notable records – mammals: Rabbit
Photo: male Stonechat at NNR Westleton Heath
RSPB Hollesley Marshes. This reserve near
Woodbridge in Suffolk is an area of grazing marsh on the lower reaches of the Alde-Ore Estuary
and this was my second visit to the site. My main target here was Yellow Wagtail (again!) for my
UK 2020 year list which I
failed to see (again!) but I did see my first Spoonbill (3) of the year.
Other notable records – birds: Cuckoo (heard only), Blackcap (heard only), Chiffchaff, Reed Warbler, Sedge
Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Linnet, Greenfinch, Barn Owl (1), Common Buzzard (1), Marsh Harrier (2),
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Red-legged Partridge, Common Tern, Grey Heron, Little
Egret, Avocet (c.30), Lapwing, Common Redshank, Oystercatcher, Wigeon (1 male),
Shelduck, Shoveler, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Barnacle Goose (7)
Other notable records – mammals: Rabbit
On my way home, I called in at EWT Abberton Reservoir again to finally try once more to see Yellow Wagtail for my UK 2020 year list. I was successful! I saw a female on the bank of the
Layer Breton causeway. In addition, I saw another fly-over Cuckoo.
💚🦆
🦉 🌼 🌳💚
Stay safe, stay well, stay strong, stay connected with nature
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