An Osprey at Abberton Reservoir

5th September 2026

After a most enjoyable morning on West Mersea, time for an afternoon visit to Abberton to see what was on offer and hopefully catch up with one of the Ospreys before they leave for Africa. It was fairly clear that the Layer de la Haye causeway was totally dead as for the first time in the 50+ years I have been coming here there wasn't a single car parked along the road. I therefore spent most of my time at the Layer Breton causeway.

Just one Common Tern today and it won't be long now before it starts its long journey south.

And the new kids on the block since my last visit were two pairs of Red-crested Pochards, but at this time of year the males are in eclipse and therefore lack the orange head.

This is one of the females.

Only three species of wader today starting with the resident Lapwing.

The next was a single Black-tailed Godwit which, although quite common at Abberton, are not very often seen on the banks of the causeway.

And finally that most welcome autumn passage migrant the Ruff.

Great White Egrets are now well established at Abberton...............

.....................and are obviously high up in the pecking order as they command their own Spoonbill Guard of Honour!!!!

Also majestic flyers.

Just think how far we used to travel to see a Spoonbill, but now they have been breeding at Abberton for a few years and today there were no less than 40 birds on site.

This is a juvenile with its black tips to the wings.................

...................and here an adult.

A bit of cooperative feeding here and I assume the swan is feeding on what the Spoonbills are stirring up from the bottom.

Now on to Hide Bay Hide to see if the Osprey is in attendance.

However, I was immediately distracted by a Hobby hunting in front of the hide. When a Hobby catches a dragonfly the first thing it does is to cut off its wings, and you can see here one of the wings (circled in red) falling to the ground.

Well, that was good timing but now on to the star of the show, the Osprey. I chose today as it was a bit cooler and delayed my visit to Hide Bay until late in the afternoon to avoid the heat haze, which appears to have paid off. Rather conveniently the Osprey had flown in with a large fish just before I arrived.

After it had demolished the fish it was being harassed by one of the local Magpies......................

........................and responded by lifting its wings to make itself look bigger.

Well, what another fantastic day at Abberton and nice to get some shots of one of the Ospreys without too much heat haze. 

Also good to meet and have a long chat with Jeanette and Alison. Good luck with the new cameras.

A Spotted Flycatcher at Feldy View Woodland Cemetery

5th September 2026

Today I had planned a trip to Abberton Reservoir but first a slight detour to West Mersea to see if I could locate any of the Spotted Flycatchers that had been reported recently. First stop was The Hard which being a sunny Saturday was rammed with people so no waders on the low tide mud, except for a dozen Black-tailed Godwits a bit further along by the boatyard.

Unfortunately, most were asleep and facing into the wind, which in this instance was the wrong way.

Now on to Feldy View Woodland Cemetery to try my luck with the Spotted Flycatchers. The main formal cemetery was totally devoid of birds apart from a couple of Robins clicking in the hedgerow, so straight on to the Woodland Cemetery.

As I entered the cemetery a rather smart male Migrant Hawker was patrolling the fenceline and was pausing now and then looking for a suitable resting place. It eventually found one that met his requirements and I was able to grab a shot before it resumed hunting.

My hopes were raised when I spotted a small bird perched high in an Alder tree but it turned out to be a juvenile Goldfinch.

But then after an hour of searching including the famous Flycatcher Corner, which unfortunately today didn't live up to its name, I found a flycatcher perched high in a Silver Birch in the cemetery. I managed to grab a few shots before it flew off and was never seen again.

Well, got there eventually and a special thanks to Dougal for the information.

A Grey Wagtail in our Waterfall

3rd September 2026

I built our pond in 2010 and it has proved to be a great hit with the local birds which use it for drinking and bathing, and also with our family as the waterfall provides a very theraputic trickling of water sound when we are sitting out on the patio on those warm summer evenings. The waterfall is so well used that I have a Waterfall List of the birds that have been seen using it.

Well, I woke up at 6.30am this morning and looked out of the bedroom window and there was a Grey Wagtail feeding in the waterfall. Not knowing how long it would stay I grabbed the camera and hung out of the bedroom window and grabbed some shots. Unfortunately the light was very poor so I was on ISA5000 and 1/640th second shutter speed and here are the results.

I have since checked my Waterfall List and this is the first Grey Wagtail since 2010 and brings my waterfall species total to 18!!!!