The Only Way Was Essex

The Only Way Was Essex

Image by Kristian Wade

We set off at 2.00am and took Carl and Kristian with us. We arrived at Heybridge at around 7:00am. We walked towards a silhouette of birders all crowded round the sluice. I managed to squeeze through the crowd and get a front row seat. I waited patiently with the others in absolute silence. Suddenly, the bird came into view. At first, I couldn't spot it, but thankfully a kind man helped me get onto the Northern Waterthrush. I was delighted with my point blank views of. Unfortunately my camera wasn't choosing to work at this golden moment. I also didn't have my scope on me, so I was unable to get any images of the bird. Nevertheless, I managed to get amazing views of the bird at close range. Satisfied with our views, we then headed off to Abberton Reservoir.

We arrived at Abberton at around 9.00aam. We scanned both sides of Layer Breton Causeway first, seeing a few Egyptian Geese, Shoveler & Goldeneye, but not much else. We then went to Layer de Haye Causeway where we enjoyed the sight of a showy Rock Pipit as well as some more ducks and geese but not much else. With the visitor centre and hides not opening until 10:00am, we headed to Abberton Church.

When we arrived at Abberton Church, we walked down the muddy path to the viewpoint. Along the way, we met two birders who pointed out a showy Short-eared Owl perched up on a stick around 30 metres away. We watched on, admiring its golden plumage before it flew off to hunt.

We then reached the viewpoint and immediately saw two Velvet Scoter that were showing reasonably well. Another birder there said that there were around 8+ Scaup in amongst the Tufted Ducks by the dam. I could see the Tufted Ducks but not the Scaup. Then, Carl managed to get the Scaup in his scope and let me take my time viewing it. The female Scaup were the darker birds and the drakes were the two larger birds by the female Scaup.

As it turned 10 o'clock, we set off to the visitor centre. As soon as we arrived, a mass of Fieldfares flew overhead, with most landing in the surrounding berry bushes. In amongst them were a few Redwings. We then headed over to Hide Bay Hide, where there was a redhead Smew. When we arrived, the hide was jam packed with birders. Thankfully, one birder let me look through his scope pointed at the redhead Smew and he also let me get a digiscoped image of it

We arrived at Bradwell-on-Sea at around 1:00pm. We then walked the two long miles to the bay, seeing a few Corn Buntings along the way. Once we reached the bay, we noticed the huge flock of Brent Geese. A lady let me look through her scope, pointed at the Red-breasted Goose, which was a lifer for me after the one at Banks Marsh was found to be an escapee. We then tried to find it in our scope, which proved to be a huge challenge. I was very pleased when I managed to spot the Red-breasted Goose up on the bank, before it went into the water. 

Image by Kristian Wade

Suddenly, a small, speedy falcon dashed overhead. It was a Merlin! We stayed on it as it hunted over the bay, grabbing a Meadow Pipit. I was ecstatic. This was my first proper view of a Merlin, having previously had two brief, distant views of them back in 2022. Then, something spooked all the geese and they all flew towards the fields.

Image by Kristian Wade

As we followed the geese to the field, Kris spotted a raptor flying past distantly. It was a male Hen Harrier! Although the views weren't great, I was happy to spot my first male Hen Harrier. Above it was a Marsh Harrier which gave a nice size comparison.

Once we reached the field where the geese were, we met Thomas (a young birder) as well as another birder who said the goose was in the right hand end of the flock. After scanning with the scope, I managed to spot the Red-breasted Goose and got a slightly better image of it.

We then headed back to the car park in the fading light, when two more raptors flew past some wind turbines. They were both Hen Harrier! One was certainly a ringtail but we didn't manage to get a good view of the second one. We then also spotted three Short-eared Owls flying around a barn. Suddenly, a Stoat made a brief appearance as it ran through a field. We also spotted a tree with roosting Corn Buntings & Linnets. We also saw a mixed flock of Chaffinch & Siskin, with at least three Brambling amongst them. Finally, we spotted a flock of Yellowhammer near the car park to end the day.

Overall, an amazing day with two lifers (Northern Waterthrush & Red-breasted Goose) as well as a day list of 81 birds!