Our November meeting was a revisit to EWT Abberton Reservoir where the group braved the chilly weather to exercise our bird identification skills, firstly visiting each of the 3 hides, and then, following a welcomed hot drink in the Visitor Centre, we transferred to the Layer Breton Causeway for a brief stop there.
Although many of the birds were a reasonable distance from the hides, we were eventually able to reach a consensus on the observed bird species, which when added to those seen from the Visitor Centre and the Layer Breton Causeway, totalled 32!
The recorded species, in no particular order:
- Red Kite
- Chaffinch
- Pheasants (M and F)
- Mute Swans
- Canada Geese
- Grey Lag Geese (LBC)
- Shoveler Duck (LBC)
- Egyptian Goose
- Pied Wagtail
- Great Egret
- Little Egret
- Grey Heron (LBC)
- Cormorant
- Teal
- Great Crested Grebe
- Tufted Duck
- Mallard
- Moorhen
- Kestrels
- Lapwing
- Pochard
- Goldfinch
- Starlings
- Coot
- Shell Duck
- Black Backed Gull
- Black Headed Gull
- Herring Gull
- Pintail
- Long-tailed Tits
- Blue Tits
- Robin
Once again, many thanks to Jane for her excellent record keeping.
We were also lucky enough on this occasion to see a number of Kestrels searching for prey, one of which landed on a nearby post, posing to show us the vole(?) it had captured for lunch.
On this visit we were also able to observe huge numbers of Coots on the reservoir. The numbers were clearly much higher than the resident population and some follow-up research by Fred suggested that these were migratory birds choosing to overwinter locally.
Although the original article related to Cheshire and the Wirral, it seems very reasonable that the same applies here in Essex.
Much discussion followed on the collective name for Coots, which, (post-visit), we now believe may be either a ‘Covert’, or a ‘Raft’.
Our December destination has not been finalised yet, but a return visit to EWT Hanningfield Reservoir is likely, weather permitting.
A small gallery of images from our visit is shown below. (Photos provided by John, Fred, Sue and Ian).
Copyright Notice:
Please note that the Copyright for each of the photographs displayed on this page and any/all sub-pages remains with the original photographer who is/was a member of the Witham & District (Essex) Birdwatching Group at the time of posting.
All rights reserved.
If you are interested in joining the group or would like further information, please Click on the ‘Coordinator’ link on the Birdwatching Group Home page.
