Friday 8 January 2021

Bird List: 2021 Updated 04.09.21

 Worth keeping a list of this year's bird species. Last year I was at least 60 species off my average for the year, which was understandable. Just a few visits to Norfolk and 1 to Dungeness, all the rest were Little Hadham and Stortford based birds. Total reached 154sp. See if I can improve on this in 2021 when hopefully, a Spring trip to Norfolk may be feasible in late April/early May.

Edit: As well as plenty of birding within a 5 mile radius of home, have now had a couple of visits to Amwell, 1 to Rye Meads, a few to Stansted Airport Lagoons and 1 to Lackford Lakes by 3rd May 2021.

Edit: Now 2 Norfolk trips: April and May. Also, mid May a quick tour of Lakenheath RSPB Reserve and Weeting Heath

Edit: spent three days in Norfolk, camping at Stiffkey in mid June and then a day trip 1st July.

Edit: Visits to Norfolk in late August and early September added a few new species including a UK lifer, Pacific Golden Plover.

Updated 04.09.21. Total: 146 species

  1. Little grebe (River Stort)
  2. Grey Heron (Little Hadham)
  3. Mandarin (Westland Green)
  4. Mallard (over garden)
  5. Red kite (over garden)
  6. Common buzzard (Little Hadham)
  7.  Kestrel (over garden)
  8.  Grey partridge (Westland Green)
  9. Red legged partridge (Wellpond Green)
  10. Pheasant (Westland Green)
  11.  Moorhen (Little Hadham)
  12.  Black headed gull (over garden)
  13.  Herring gull (over garden)
  14.  Common gull (Westland Green)
  15.  Wood pigeon (garden)
  16.  Collared dove (garden)
  17.  Little owl (Little Hadham)
  18.  Green woodpecker (Over garden)
  19.  Great spotted woodpecker (Takeley)
  20.  Skylark (Takeley)
  21. Pied wagtail (garden)
Grey wagtail

22. Grey wagtail (Little Hadham)
23. Robin (garden)
24. Blackbird (garden)
25. Fieldfare (Little Hadham)
26. Redwing (Garden)
27. Mistle thrush (Little Hadham)
28. Long tailed tit (Little Hadham)
29. Coal tit (garden)
30. Blue tit (garden)
31. Great tit (garden)
32. Nuthatch (Little Hadham)
33. Yellowhammer (Little Hadham)
34. Chaffinch (garden)
35. Goldfinch (garden)
36. Bullfinch (Little Hadham)
37. Linnet (Little Hadham)
38. House sparrow (Little Hadham)
39. Starling (garden)
40. Jay (Little Hadham)
41. Magpie (garden)
42. Reed bunting (Little Hadham)



Common buzzard
43. Raven (Millennium Wood)
44. Rook (over garden)
45. Carrion crow (over garden)
46  Jackdaw (garden)
47. Dunnock (garden)
48. Wren (garden)
49. Coot (Exnalls)
50. Greenfinch (Clinton's)
51. Song thrush (Bush Wood)
52. Sparrowhawk (Grange Paddocks)
53. Goldcrest (Thremhall Park)
54. Tree creeper (Thremhall Park)
Goldcrest


55.  Cormorant (Little Hadham)
56. Tawny owl (heard, Little Hadham)
57. Kingfisher (Bishop's Stortford)
58. Siskins (Bishop's Stortford)
59. Barn owl (Little Hadham)
60. Snipe (Little Hadham)
61. Canada goose (Little Hadham)
62. Lapwings (Little Hadham)
Kingfisher along the River Stort


Lapwings. 

63. Little egret (Bishop's Stortford) 
64. Lesser Black backed gull (Harlow)
65. Stonechat (Ash Valley Golf Course)
66. Cetti's warbler (Thorley Wash)
67. Blackcap (garden)
68. Great crested grebe (Amwell)
69. Tufted duck (Amwell)
70. Teal (Amwell)
Little egret at Grange Paddocks, Bishop's Stortford
71. Shoveler (Amwell)
72 Great white egret (Amwell)
73. Chiffchaff (Amwell)
74. Water rail (heard at Amwell)
75. Meadow pipit (Green Tye)
76. Greylag goose (Trimms Green fishing lake)
77. Gadwall (Stansted airport lagoons)
78. Willow warbler (River Stort)
79. Stock dove (Hadham Hall)
Stonechat, male on Ash Valley GC
80. Little ringed plover (Stansted airport lagoons)
81. Swallow (Stansted airport lagoons)
82. Sand martin (Stansted airport lagoons)
83. Golden plover (Stansted airport lagoons)
Cormorant over Thorley Wash

Sparrowhawk, at Thorley
Wash

Great white egret at Amwell

Little Ringed plover at Stansted Airport Lagoons
84. Bittern (heard, Titchwell)
85. Spoonbill (Cley)
86. Brent goose (Stiffkey)
87. Shelduck (Kelling)
88. Egyptian goose (Holkham)
89. Wigeon (Holkham)
90. Red crested pochard (Titchwell)
91. Pochard (Cley)
92. Marsh harrier (Choseley)
93. Peregrine (Cley)
94. Oystercatcher (Salthouse)
95. Avocet (Kelling)
96. Ringed plover (Titchwell)
97. Sanderling (Titchwell)
98. Turnstone (Burnham Overy Staithe)
99. Dunlin (Cley)
100. Redshank (Cley)
101. Black tailed godwit (Burnham Overy Staithe)
102 Curlew (Kelling)
103 Grey phalarope (Cley)
104. Mediterranean gull (Titchwell)
105. Wheatear (Titchwell)
106. Dartford warbler (Kelling Heath)
Dartford warbler

107. Whitethroat (Brent Pelham)
108. Garden warbler (Brent Pelham)
109. Grasshopper warbler (Thorley Wash)
110. Lesser whitethroat (Thorley Wash)
111. Sedge warbler (Thorley Wash)
112. Common tern (Southern Country Park)
113. Yellow wagtail (Moor Hall Barns)
114. Green sandpiper (Stansted Airport Lagoons)
115. Common sandpiper (Stansted Airport Lagoons)
116. Reed warbler (Rye Meads)
117. Hobby (Rye Meads)
118. Swift (Lackford Lakes)
119. Cuckoo (heard, Lackford Lakes and then seen at Lakenheath)
120.  Little tern (Titchwell)
121. Sandwich tern (Cley beach)
122. Whimbrel (Holme dunes)
Green sandpiper.

Common sandpiper.



Swift at Lackford Lakes.

Whimbrel at Holme Dunes.
123. Stone curlew (Weeting Heath)
124. Woodlark (Weeting Heath)
Cuckoo at Lakenheath
125. Roller (Icklingham)
126. Little gull (Cley)
127. Ruff (Titchwell)
128. Spotted redshank (Titchwell)
129. Bar tailed godwit (Cley)
130. Arctic skua (Cley)
Roller at Icklingham. My 2nd UK sighting




Arctic skua west at Cley beach

Little gull, also west along Cley beach
131: Common crane (Thornham Marsh)
132. Pintail (Titchwell)
133. Pacific golden plover (North Point Pools)
134 Grey plover (Cley)
135. Curlew sandpiper (Titchwell)
136. Ruddy shelduck (Amwell)
137. Spotted flycatcher (Walsey Hills)
138. Fulmar (Cley)
139 Gannet (Sheringham)
140.  Greenshank (Cley)
141. Knot (Titchwell)
142. Kittiwake (Kelling)

Stonechat at Kelling

Turtle dove at Holme


143. Turtle dove (Holme)
144. Whinchat (Kelling)
145. Marsh tit (Walsey Hills)




This is me

This is me
At the end of another Norfolk Coastal footpath walk. 47 miles, 3 days 99 species of bird. September 2009

Caley Wood view

Caley Wood view
sunshine through the canopy 29.05.08

A walk along the Warta Valley, Poznan, Poland. Feb 2007

A walk along the Warta Valley, Poznan, Poland. Feb 2007
Best birds on this walk: black and middle spotted woodpecker and short toed treecreeper

About Me

My photo
A primary school teacher for 30 years, I retired from teaching in July 2009 to set up my own science enhancement and communication company. The Primary Works offers science clubs, workshops and staged science shows nationwide. I have always been interested in bird watching since my early years. Apparently my first tick was after inquiring about a chaffinch and then receiving the Observer book of birds. By the age of 9 I had moved on to Tory Peterson's collins guide and was now involved on YOC birding holidays to Northumbria, Essex coast, Slimbridge and Yorkshire. My twitching rule is that I will willingly travel 1km for each gram the bird weighs. However, I have had many rarities just by being in the right place. I have travelled widely throughout Europe and also visited Australia and Sri Lanka. In 2016 I spent time at Portland Bird Obs and two trips to Aviero, Portugal. 2017 found me back in Sri Lanka in Feb/March, then July and back for New Year's Eve celebrations in December. Also returned to The Camargue in May for a 4 day trip. Few plans for 2018, but nothing yet booked apart from a trip to the IOW.

Grey heron

Grey heron
Over the allotment 28.09.08

Southern Hawker

Southern Hawker
Ridge footpath 27.08.08

Juvenile green woodpecker (17.08.08)

Juvenile green woodpecker (17.08.08)
Note the stripes, denoting a bird fledged this year.

common blue

common blue
Ash Valley G.C. 15.08.08

Indian balsam (impatiens glandulifera)

Indian balsam (impatiens glandulifera)
River Ash

azure damselfly

azure damselfly
River Ash 28.07.08

marbled white

marbled white
Discovered at Westland Green 22.07.08

ruddy darter

ruddy darter
Bush Wood 21.07.08

honeysuckle 19.07.08

honeysuckle 19.07.08
growing in hedgerow in Chapel Lane

cinnabar moth caterpillar

cinnabar moth caterpillar
Photographed on ragwort 19.07.08

Bittersweet

Bittersweet
Study of petals 11.06.08

male yellowhammer

male yellowhammer
08.06.08

common blue butterfly

common blue butterfly
06.06.08

River Ash

River Ash
looking south from the bridge at Hadham Ford

Common poppy (papaver rhoeas)

Common poppy (papaver rhoeas)
in rape field 29.05.08

Caley Wood sunshine

Caley Wood sunshine
29.05.08

Millenium Wood fox

Millenium Wood fox
24.05.08

common comfrey (symphytum officinale)

common comfrey (symphytum officinale)
06.05.08 banks of the River Ash

Garlic Mustard or Jack by the Hedge,(Alliara petiolata)

Garlic Mustard or Jack by the Hedge,(Alliara petiolata)
flowers, leaves and fruit edible . Good in salad and pesto

April showers

April showers
Double rainbow 30.04.08

Caley Wood bluebells

Caley Wood bluebells
22.04.08

Yellow Archangel

Yellow Archangel
Chapel Lane (20.04.08)

sunlight 16.04.08

sunlight 16.04.08
looking south west from Bush Wood

snowy buds

snowy buds
06.04.08 in Bush Wood

Looking north west

Looking north west
05.04.08 evening shower approaching

Back Garden

Back Garden
Easter Sunday (23.03.08)

Brick Kiln Hill

Brick Kiln Hill
Looking east (23.03.08)

No play today

No play today
The 2nd hole at Ash Valley golf course

Teasel head

Teasel head
Bush Wood (21.03.08)

Reflections

Reflections
daffodils at Bush Wood pond (21.03.08)

Swollen River Ash

Swollen River Ash
The river at the bottom of Winding Hill 16.03.08

Daybreak over the chapel

Daybreak over the chapel
Thursday 13th March

Wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus)

Wild daffodils (narcissus pseudonarcissus)
growing in Bush Wood

January snowdrops

January snowdrops
Banks of River Ash, north of Much Hadham

Good Moon

Good Moon
From garden 24.01.08

Village Green

Village Green
Looking east towards Acremore Street

Looking south before Hadham Ford

Looking south before Hadham Ford
rare January blue sky

Useful sites

The following are some useful websites that may interest readers of this blog.
Firstly, Bishop's Stortford Natural History Society http://bsnhs.webplus.net/

Fellow birder, Gary Whelan's blog. Gives reports from our trips out together plus reports from his trips abroad. http://hairybirders.blogspot.co.uk
http://www.hertsbirdclub.org.uk/ The official herts bird club website. Frequently updated, listing bird sightings around the county. Offers links to many other websites. Both of these sites also offer links to yahoo discussion groups.
http://www.birdforum.net/ An international site. You can enter as a guest but become a member( free) to post comments, bird sightings and just about anything to do with wild birds. Good news updates, classified section for binoculars, cameras etc.
http://www.guidedbirdwatching.com/ A new site set up where you can contact people worldwide who will help you find good birds in their country. UK section being set up presently.
http://www.britainsbirder.co.uk/
Fellow birders blog. Strtford resident, Graeme Smith regulary birds the area south of Stortford as well as around Spellbrook and the River Stort from Spellbrook to Twyford Locks. Some superb bird photography: Graeme uses a digital camera attached to his powerful telescope to get detailled images of the birds he sees. Well worth a browse.
Two local sites that may be of interest can be found at
http://www.thehadhams.com/ www.thepelhams.net/content/section/12/139/

South Easterly walk

South Easterly walk
black, normal, red extended walk

South Westerly route.

South Westerly route.
Black usual, red extended

North Easterly walk

North Easterly walk
black short, walk. Red, extended

North West Patch

North West Patch
black route regular. Red route the extended wander