A Whinchat at Stapleford

17th September 2026

A report had come through of a Whinchat at Stapleford so off for the 10-minute journey there. I was familiar with the site in question as it was on the 2nd September 2013 that Barry Reed found a Wryneck here which I photographed.

I was only on the site for five minutes when I spotted the Whinchat sitting on Public Footpath Post No17.

It then flew to the top of a Hawhorn bush allowing some shots in a more natural setting, albeit a little more distant.

Pleased with that as it is the first Whinchat I've photographed for a couple of years as they are now nowhere near as common as they used to be.

Also a special thanks to Clive Harding for getting the news out quickly.

A New Kid on the Block at All Saints Church Hertford

14th September 2026

A pair of Peregrine Falcons first appeared at All Saints Church in 2021 and various individuals have been present ever since, but so far have never bred. Here is a potted history of their presence on the church tower:

2021

A pair of Peregrine Falcons first set up home at All Saints Church in Hertford in 2021. Unfortunately the female was a juvenile being bred in 2020 and was therefore considered too young to breed successfully which proved to be the case.

2022-2023

In 2022 and 2023 a pair was still present but with changes to the male and female, and still no breeding. One of the females that appeared was colour-ringed and had been born on Salisbury Cathedral and was named Flo. She didn't hang around very long but for the last few years has been successfully breeding on the old Shredded Wheat factory in Welwyn Garden City.

2024

In 2024 the pair at the time seemed very settled and likely to bred, but for whatever reason left the site in April and moved to a narrow ledge on the Ware flyover. They tried to breed there in 2024 and 2025 but failed in both years.

2025-2026

A single male bird had been seen on All Saints on just a handful of occasions during the 2025/2026 winter, and from the prey item feathers found below the Peregrine's vantage points it was known it used the tower at night to hunt under the lights of the town. On the 29th March a female appeared.

It had been assumed that this was the pair from the flyover returning to All Saints, although this proved to be not the case. It was only when I was checking my photos on the back of the camera that I noticed the male had a large orange colour ring on its left leg. Neither of the flyover birds were ringed. The bird was ringed as a nestling at Bickley, Bromley in Greater London on the 24th May 2024 and therefore was a 3CY (3rd Calendar Year). Both birds disappeared the following day.

In May 2026 a male arrived and has been present at the tower ever since. It has an orange ring with letters ZFT and was ringed in the nest on the Civic Centre at Morden Greater London on the 2nd June 2025. So time for me to go down and meet this new arrival. 

It doesn't seem to have a favourite perch and today was sitting on a gargoyle on the north-facing side of the tower. From the feathers that Andy Day has collected on the ground around the tower it would appear that its prey items, apart from the usual suspects, include Great Spotted Woodpeckers and Ring-necked Parakeets.

So let's meet the new kid on the block.

Well, what a fantastic bird and let's hope he attracts a female before the Spring.

Also a special thanks to Andy Day for providing additional information.

The Hobby Family at Wilstone Reservoir

9th September 2026

Now that the two-month long heatwave has at long last passed, time for a visit to see how the Hobbys are getting on at Wilstone. Three youngsters fledged and are now probably able to fend for themselves, but the two adults are still in attendance, so it was just a matter of settling down and waiting for the action to commence.

Luckily there was a great support act with five Chinese Water Deer browsing close by.

The juveniles had a favourite perch nearby and spend a lot of time there between feeding sorties.

They were quite happy to share it and seemed to be very comfortable in each others company.

The third bird would also join in, but had obviously never heard of photo composition!!!!

They were also very accomplished flyers as this next sequence shows.

The juveniles have pale fringes to the mantle, wing coverts and primaries and more of a creamy throat and underparts base colour, as opposed to the white of an adult. Also they call for much of the time whilst in flight.

This is an adult with a white throat and underparts base colour, and deeper red trousers

Also good to see two sparring in the air.

At that point a Red Kite drifted across quite innocently, but raised the Hobby alarm and all five birds went up to intercept it.

The kite saw the threat coming and took evasive action....................

.........................whilst all the time keeping its eyes on the incoming attacker....................

....................and then a final evasive manoeuvre as the first attacker arrived, followed by a hasty retreat.

As I said before, the juveniles are probably able to feed themselves now, but it doesn't stop them from trying to steal a dragonfly from one of the adults.

Well, what an amazing action-packed couple of hours, and also good to have a catch-up with Phil Luckhurst and Miguel, and the rest of the Wilstone crew.

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.