Common Terns at Abberton Reservoir

30th July 2026

After a most successful morning on the beach at Walton-on-the-Naze, time to call in to Abberton Reservoir to try and connect with the Osprey. No luck there so I settled for an hour on Layer Breton causeway. I was immediately greeted by a heron that flew past close to the bank watched by two of this year's young.

On the other side of the causeway an adult Great Crested Grebe was keeping a watchful eye on a now fully grown humbug which was now fishing for its own food.

The cormorantry had now been abandoned and all the adults and young had commandeered a fallen dead tree for their roost.

Out on the islands just three Spoonbills were left from the 14 that had been seen the day before.

And at Abberton a couple of Lapwings are never far away.

Still early in the year and the only sign of Autumn migration was this solitary Common Sandpiper which was luckily quite confiding.

But then a bit of a surprise. Over the years the heronry has expanded from just being the nesting home of Herons but now also Little Egrets, Cattle Egrets and Spoonbils, but up to now no Great White Egrets. So today was the first time ever that I have a Great White perched up high in the heronry.

And then below in the shallows another bird was picking up a stick and offering it to his mate!!!!

Sadly a bit late for this year, but fingers crossed for next year.

But the stars of the show today were the Common Terns of which just three or four were present. Between fishing sorties they would take a break and loaf around on the bank and then take to the air for a magnificent display of graceful flight, and then twisting and turning when a fish was spotted. Enjoy!!!!!

Over-Summering Ruddy Shelducks at Abberton Reservoir

30th July 2026

Ruddy Shelducks do occasionally appear at Abberton Reservoir, but have you noticed they tend to appear at the same time of year?

Many of us will be aware of the Oare Marshes Bonaparte's Gull which first appeared at Oare Marshes in early July 2013 in its full summer plumage. It then stayed until it had moulted into its winter plumage a few months later and then disappeared, never to be seen again, that is until the next year when it repeated the process. This is the 14th year it has returned and nobody knows where it goes for the rest of the year, but probably not back to the states. It returned on the 3rd July this year.

Well, looking back at my photos and a couple kindly provided by Ian Plume, a similar pattern with the Ruddy Shelducks at Abberton Reservoir has emerged. Here are the seven photos I located, and in some years there were more than one bird present.

August 2011

August 2013

July 2019

July 2021

July 2023: Photo Ian Plume

July 2024: Photo Ian Plume

July 2026

There are two things to notice. The first is that all the photos are taken in July or August, and just like the Bonaparte's Gull this coincides with their adult moult, which in the case of Ruddy Shelducks occurs from mid-July to September. Also all the photos are of females, and here I am assuming that the first photo is of a female with a muddy face.

In my blog of the 8th July 2021 I wrote "Also the female Ruddy Shelduck was back. It is suspected she is from the Dutch population and has been coming here for the last couple of years to moult."

And from my blog of the 14th July 2019 "The origin of these birds is always a discussion point for they have been seen at Abberton several times over the years, but not in the neighbouring areas. They could of course be unringed escapes, but there is a 600-strong feral population in The Netherlands so they could be commuting from there which would explain why they are not being seen anywhere else".

So with a little research I now know this phenonemon goes back to at least 2011 and is still evident day. But although it would appear that the most likely explanation is that they are coming from The Netherlands for their annual moult, it doesn't explain why they are all females!!!

Answers on a post card.

And a special thanks to Ian Plume for the use of two of his photos.

A Stroll Along Walton-on-the Naze Beach

30th July 2026

Walton-on-the-Naze beach is one of my favourite beaches. No, I am not talking about the family beach along the promenade, but the beach north of The Tower that runs from where the sea wall turns inland, to Stone Point, a length of just over a mile. So what is so special? Well, despite normally seeing a rather limited number of wader species compared to other sites, it has the advantage of allowing you to get close to the waders, very often down to just 10 metres.

As soon as I stepped down to the beach I was welcomed by several large clumps of Golden Samphire, one of my favourite coastal flowers.

There were a few Sandwich Terns around, this one loafing on the mud, and others flying along the coast.

The commonest wader by far was the Ringed Plover with probably 100+ present along the beach.

Also good to see a number of juveniles.

The advantage of coming here at this time of year is that the Turnstones are still in their summer plumage.

And still more flying in.

There were more Dunlins than I expected this early in the season, and also a bonus seeing them in their summer plumage.

This is a juvenile.

And as the tide was coming in more waders were arriving.

But my favoutite wader on this beach is the Sanderling. I was told by Brian Combes they were back but failed to find any on my outward journey. Then on the way back I managed to find just one, a juvenile. I suspect more will arrive at high tide.

Well, another fantastic day on the beach at Walton and I am sure I will be back later in the year.