Memorable day trip to Abberton Reservoir near Colchester.

 Set off to Abberton this morning with a view to visit the reservoir, the hides and then check for wildfowl from the casueway that crosses the water where you can park easily and scan the huge area. Good birds, including smew, white fronted geese, solitary pink footed goose and 7 goosanders.

I parked on the Layer Bretton Causeway and immediately heard a single note, high pitched call. An otter! After 15 minutes of waiting I noted some of the bullrushes moving and out popped a young, 1st year otter. My first for England. After a few minutes it disappeared back into the vegetation but reappeared briefly some 20 minutes later. Managed to fire off these record shots.

Plenty of birds seen whilst I was present, too. Species list:

1. Great crested grebe
2. Cormorant
3. Cattle egret
4. Great white egret
5. Grey heron
6. Mute swan
7. White fronted goose
8. Pink footed goose
9. Greylag goose
10. Canada goose
11. Barnacle goose
12. Egyptian goose
13. Mallard
14. Gadwall
15. Shoveler
16. Wigeon
17. Teal
18. Pochard
19. Tufted duck
20. Goldeneye
21. Goosander
22. Kestrel
23. Common buzzard
24. Pheasant
25. Moorhen
26. Coot
27. Golden plover
28. Lapwing
29. Black tailed godwit
30. Snipe
31. Ruff
32. Black headed gull
33. Common gull
34. Herring gull
35. Great black backed gull
36. Lesser black backed gull
37. Wood pigeon
38. Collared dove
39. Great spotted woodpecker
40. Skylark
41. Meadow pipit
42. Pied wagtail
43. Wren
44. Robin
45. Dunnock
46. Redwing
47. Blackbird
48. Great tit
49. Blue tit
50. Long tailed tit
51. Magpie
52. Jackdaw
53. Carrion crow
54. Rook
55. Starling
56. House sparrow
57. Chaffinch
58. Goldfinch
59. Greenfinch

Many of the birds were distant so these are crops.

Black tailed godwit

Black tailed godwit

Distant drake Goosander

Rooks

Wigeon

Great black backed and Black headed gulls

Cattle egret

Lapwing

drake Teal

Duck Teal

Common gull

Huge number of Tufted duck

Goldfinch

Barnacle geese

White fronted geese

Great crested grebe

2 Canada geese, 7 White fronts, 1 Pink foot goose and 2 Barnacle geese

White fronted geese

Grey heron

Drake Goosander

Female Chaffinch

Pied wagtail

4 Barnacle geese, 1 White front

Very distant Great white egret

Black headed gull

Male chaffinch

Mute swan

Gadwall

Drake Goldeneye

Male Chaffinch with fungal infection of the legs

Egyptian goose

Another Grey heron, there were plenty.

Ruff and incoming Lapwing

Black tailed godwit

Final otter shot