Nightingales at Fingringhoe Wick

11th April 2025

A quick visit to the old road at Abberton revealed up to four singing males but were all keeping a low profile. Only a rather confiding Cetti's Warbler was watching the assembled throng.

So on to Fingringhoe hoping the Nightingales are a bit more cooperative. I drove up the entrance track with the windows open and heard six singing males, mainly at the gate end, so hopefully a good sign. There were just four males by the picnic area, singing quite intermittently, so time to just settle down and wait. Luckily there is always a Chiffchaff on hand as a support act.

Your Nightingale shots tend to fall into a number of categories. The first and commonest is where you can see the bird but it is obscured by a multitude of twigs and branches.

Then there are the shots where the bird is right out in the open but a little distant, and with an annoying twig across the bird.

Then getting a little better, a bird much closer and reasonably visible apart from an out-of-focus twig running across it.

And eventually a bird much closer but surrounded by leaves and twigs, but there is often a narrow tunnel you can find to minimise the adjacent clutter which then becomes just a blur.

That will do nicely!!!!