A Second Day with the Nightingales at Fingringhoe Wick

12th April 2024

Photographing Nightingales is addictive so after a successful mission on the 7th April, time for another visit. I set up at a likely spot with a sandwich in one hand and a cup of tea in the other and waited. And while you are waiting for the main event there is always the possibility that you will be serenaded by a male Blackcap.

It didn't take long for the bird to start singing and with a bit of scanning I found it as it moved through the branches.

They will behave like this for the first couple of weeks after their arrival, and then sing lower down in cover when all the trees and bushes are in leaf.

The Yellow Wagtails Have Arrived

7th April 2024

After a most successful morning at Fingringhoe Wick with the Nightingales I moved on to Abberton to hopefully photograph my first Yellow Wagtails of the year. I started at the old road just in case the two Nightingales there were showing, but although one was singing somewhat intermittently it stayed deep in cover. Time therefore to have a quick look at the insects.

Just two butterflies on show, a Green-veined White and a Peacock, so it would appear that the Speckled Wood that had been on disply earlier in the day was having a rest.

Then I found an insect that had me totally baffled. A very weak flier with legs dangling it eventually made it across to the brambles.

Sitting on the brambles in the sun it showed itself to be a very attractive insect and larger than it appeared in flight. Apparently it is the Cuckoo Bee Nomada goodeniana of the Buffish Mining Bee Andrena nigroaenea. My thanks go to Simon Knott for the identification.

On the Layer de la Haye causeway there were a few winter ducks remaining like this male Pochard

There was also a pair of Goldeneye..................

......................and despite the best efforts of the male to display.............

......................the female remained asleep. Her one eye open is keeping an eye on me.

So finally on to Billets Farm, the Yellow Wagtail hotspot of Essex. There was a pair of Sky Larks in the famous sheep field, but they were totally outnumberd by the Yellow Wagtails, all males.

For whatever reason this field attracts good numbers of Yellow Wagtails every year during both spring and autumn migrations and I suspect it is because, due to the grazing of the sheep, the length of the grass is ideal. Today I counted 16 individuals, but the day after there were 30+.

Billetes Farm is definitely Yellow Wagtail City!!!!

Nightingales at Fingringhoe Wick

7th April 2024

Early April now so looking forward to going to Fingringhoe Wick to see the newly arrived Nightingales. We normally go about the middle of the month but this year there have been report of two on the 3rd April and five on the 6th so off I go.

I went straight down to the normal hotspot by the picnic area from where you can hear the birds singing. Unfortunately when I got there there was a deafening silence so I spent my time looking at the hedgerows by the path to Robbie's Hide. There were only two Blackcaps singing but loads of Chiffchaffs although this one was the only one to show itself.

However there were quite a lot of insects flying which on closer inspection were hoverflies of three species.

Epistrophe eligans

Eristalis pertinax

Eupeodes sp.

There was also a Dark-edged Bee-fly, my first of the year.

Bombylius major

At that point a Nightingale started singing on the slope below the picnic area, but although being just 10 yards away, remained concealed. I then walked down past the Bunkhouse Pond where two birds were singing either side of the path. One area looked quite promising as, although there was plenty of cover, there were some open areas and a dead tree.

It took some while to get my first glimpse through a narrow tunnel through the foliage. Oh well, at least it was a start.

It then started performing a bit better although keeping within the bushes, singing all the time.

Eventually it broke cover and sang for a minute or so from the dead tree. Who said they were secretive?

Well what a superb morning  and also good to meet Adam Palmer. Now on to Abberton, hopefully for some migrants.

The Marsh Harriers in Early April

5th April 2024

We are now into the first week of April so time to see how the Marsh Harriers are getting on. I arrived at the Reedbed Hide and was surprised to see I had the whole place to myself. Not too surprisingly the first welcome was from the reliable resident male Reed Bunting singing from his favourite Elder bush right in front of the hide.

The harriers were less active today than on my last visit when they were spending some of their time nest-building. This time there was no sign of the female until the male arrived on site with prey, but instead of an aerial food pass the female got up and flew with the male out of sight behind the bushes where presumably the prey was transferred on the ground. This was probably due to the high winds.

Here are some shots of the female.

And here is the male.

But today the main event happened just outside the hide. The cut area of reeds to the left of the hide is flooded to a depth varying from a few inches to about a foot and on a couple of occasions I saw ripples and a large fish turning over and therefore assumed they were spawning.

Then a Heron, clearly with local knowledge, appeared from over the trees on the far side of the reserve, flew purposefullly over the reed bed and landed in the area of cut reeds in front of the hide.

It immediatley spotted something and took just 10 strides to the water................... 

.....................and BAM!!!!............a "don't tell him your name" Pike.

It struggled for a while to subdue the fish and get it pointing the right way................

......................and had to stop for a rest a few times.

And did it manage to get it down?...................of course it did!!!!

The length of a Heron's bill is about 6"and scaling from the photo this Pike is about 16" long which I suspect is about the maximum a Heron could manage.