A Close Encounter With a Marsh Harrier

20th January 2026

As I said in my previous post the view from Robbie's Hide at Fingringhoe Wick was fairly quiet with very few waders on the mud with the entertainment being provided by the dozen or so Shelduck feeding close in to the shore.

I was clicking away when they suddenly stopped feeding, straightened their necks, and started to walk away from the shore. What was going on? My first thoughts was a Fox emerging from cover and walking out onto the shore so I looked round and saw the culprit, not a Fox but a stunning male Marsh Harrier just 30 yards to the left of the hide. Just how good is that?

Luckily my settings were about right and I started taking shots on rapid fire as it flew lazily along the shore in front of the hide, staring down at the ground as it went. Couldn't believe my luck.

Here is the full sequence.

It eventually came very close, but I don't think it saw me!!!!

Why can't it always be like this?

High Tide at Fingringhoe Wick

20th January 2026

Half way through January now so time for a visit to Fingringhoe to see how the high tide roost is developing , but first a quick look at Robbie's Hide. The tide was still a fair way out but remarkably very few waders on the mud, so little for the tide to eventually push in closer to the hide. In fact most of the waders, a fairly substantial flock were on the other side of the River Colne at the mouth of Alresford Creek.

The main interest here today were the dozen or so Shelducks feeding quite close to the shore.

At that point a tug chugged upstream and surprisingly put up all the Shelduck...............

.....................and some Brent Geese.

Now on to Margaret's Hide overlooking the inter-tidal area. There was a strong wind today so the tide was higher than predicted and the water was already starting to come in and cover the mud and had attracted a pair of Mute Swans............................

.........................and a few Ringed Plovers had already claimed their small island.

Also Redshanks are often one of the first species to fly in, but not in large numbers.

Grey Plovers usually keep to the back of the lagoon and are often heard rather than seen, but some stray a little closer like this one in flight. Notice the black armpits.

Lapwings are never far away and are very easily spooked and provide some great opportunites for flight shots.

And then the large flocks start arriving, today being mainly Dunlin, although a Grey Plover slipped into the first photo.

What a spectacle!!!!

Then as more and more birds poured in they started taken up their positions on their preferred islands and as you can see there were nine species of wader present - Avocet, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Dunlin, Turnstone, Knot, Redshank and Oystercatcher.

But the stars of the show today were the 400+ Avocets that were on the lagoon and put on a flying display every time they were disturbed. Enjoy!!!

Well, what a great way to spend a couple of hours, and today also produced a wonderful surprise so...............

                                                         WATCH THIS SPACE!!!!!

Winter Thrushes and a Barn Owl at Fowlmere

14th January 2026

The most noticeable thing about this winter so far has been the near absence of winter thrushes, and up until now I have seen less than 20 Redwings and Fieldfares all winter. Then last week I heard that some had been seen at Fowlmere, so time for a visit to see what was going on.

As soon as I stepped from the car I could hear Fieldfares clack-clack-clacking in the canopy of the trees around the welcome hut which was obviously a good sign. As I walked along the anti-clockwise route there were Redwings and Fieldfares everywhere, but difficult to photograph as small flocks were flying in all directions, and that part of the perimeter path is fairly wooded. So what is going on?

Well, as we know the combination of a wet spring and hot summer has resulted in an absolutely bumper crop of Hawthorn berries here in the UK. It is also possible that a similar weather pattern in Scandinavia has also resulted in a bumper berry crop there, meaning there is no need for the Redwings and Fieldfares to migrate south. So why are they coming here now? 

Well, I can only assume that the Scandinavian berries have all been eaten which has prompted the thrushes to come south, just three months later than usual. I also got the impression that the birds at Fowlmere were new arrivals as they were very unsettled, flying in flocks of up to 300 birds, landed for a few minutes and then moving on again.

As I moved round to the watercress beds and eventually into the Reed Bed Hide I was able to get a few individual shots of Redwings...................

.........................and a Fieldfare.

The advantage of the Reed Bed Hide is that it gives you such a commanding view over the reserve and it was possible to see flocks, almost exclusively Fieldfares, having a rest in the surrounding trees.

And even a couple of flight shots.

Having seen less than 20 winter thrushes so far this winter, I conservatively estimate that today there were 1500+, predominantly Fieldfares. Also, since these were taken I have heard Fieldfares over my house and others have reported seeing more winter thrushes, so it looks as though this is not an isolated incident and we can look forward to seeing a lot more over the next few weeks.

So what about the star of the show, the Barn Owl? Well, right on cue it stepped out of its box and onto its decking half an hour before sunset.

It sat there for about five minutes while it woke up, surveyed the scene, and then took off in search of a meal.

What a stunning bird!!!!!