After Storm Claudia, the weather forecast was not promising, but we were pleasantly surprised when the day turned out to be fine, albeit a little grey. On the drive in, we spotted numerous Whooper Swans along with a few geese, though unfortunately, there were no Bewick’s in sight.

 

We met in the car park and made our way to the viewing platform. On the feeders, we spotted a handful of Tree Sparrows mingling with the House Sparrows. In the distance, at least six Cattle Egrets were visible, with a Chinese Water Deer quietly observing us.

 

From there, we walked across the bridge to the warmth of the Main Hide, where we were treated to a wide variety of birds. In the foreground, several Pochards were swimming close by, while further out, we had great views of Wigeon, Pintail, and Shoveler. There were also Black-Tailed Godwits and a few Ruffs in the mix.

 

Next, we headed over to the Lyle Hide. While it was a bit chillier there, the views were fantastic—numerous teal were feeding in the shallows until a passing Marsh Harrier flushed them. At that moment, a huge skein of Pink-footed Geese flew by, heading for the fields beyond the reserve.

 

Lunchtime came around, and a pasty from the café hit the spot, though it was not as delightful as Annie’s famous Lemon Drizzle cake. After lunch, we made our way to the Reed Bed Hide, where the birdlife was just as abundant. Flocks of Golden Plovers and Lapwings were wheeling overhead, while a Marsh Harrier was spotted eating prey.

 

We then returned to the Main Hide to catch the Swan feed. While we were waiting, Richard spotted a Merlin fly through, later followed by a Sparrowhawk. As we watched the swans being fed, we were treated to a fascinating talk from one of the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust staff.

A great end to a great day: we recorded 57 species, plus Chinese Water Deer and Roe Deer. As we left, we were treated to the calls of Whooper Swans flying overhead, adding finishing touch to an enjoyable day.

The next PBC out-of-area trip is to Wiltshire & Hampshire from Sunday 26th April to Tuesday 28th April.

The outline plan is:

The target birds include: Corn Bunting, Dartford Warbler, Firecrest, Great Bustard, Hawfinch, Honey Buzzard, Redstart and Tree Pipit.

We'll overnight in Salisbury on both nights. The suggested hotel is Premier Inn Salisbury South Milford (SP1 2FF). As per previous trips, please arrange your own accommodation - either at the Premier Inn or elsewhere in that area. The cost of the Great Bustard Group tour is £30 per head and places are limited to 15. To secure a place, please transfer £30 to the Club (43366904, 23-05-80) and drop an email to Richard Whitticase accordingly.

Note that unlike previous trips we won’t be going to reserves with visitor centres, café’s, etc and some walking (1-2 miles) will be involved at each location.

Please contact Richard Whitticase (rfw1967@hotmail.co.uk) if you have any questions.

The latest PBC out-of-area trip covered Abberton Reservoir, Fingringhoe Wick, Landguard Point and Minsmere RSPB. 15 club members took part including one new member.

Abberton Reservoir was relatively quiet but provided an opportunity to reacquaint ourselves with Ruff, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper and Black-tailed Godwit. There were still plenty of Swallow and Common Tern around, but the highlight was a flock of 25 Spoonbill. In addition, there were a number of Great White Egret dotted around the water’s edge, but these birds have become so commonplace that hardly anyone remarked upon them. The Visitor Centre Café went down extremely well and we were able to combine a coffee with good views of Chiffchaff and Blackcap as they refuelled on migration.

After lunch we moved on to Fingringhoe Wick, another Essex Wildlife Trust reserve with great views over the River Colne estuary towards Brightlingsea. This reserve got the thumbs-up from everyone – it included some very well sited hides and greatly added to our wader count. Between us we saw: Oystercatcher, Avocet, Lapwing, Golden Plover, Grey Plover (with some still in summer plumage), Ringed Plover, Whimbrel, Curlew, Black-tailed Godwit, Ruff, Curlew Sandpiper (unconfirmed but the subject of much debate), Snipe, Common Sandpiper, Green Sandpiper, Redshank and Greenshank. We also had fantastic views of an Osprey fishing in the river. Fingringhoe Wick is definitely worth a return visit.

We overnighted on the edge of Ipswich with the group split between a Premier Inn and a Holiday Inn and dinner courtesy of the nearby Brewers Fayre. The hotels were comfortable and the food was adequate. This combination of accommodation and dining appears to work well and provides a useful model for future trips.

The next day we met at 9am at Landguard Point – a small piece of rough ground surrounded by the sea to the south and east and a large container port to the north west and including a fort dating back to Henry VIII. The area proved to be teeming with migratory birds including good numbers of Chiffchaff, Wheatear and Yellow Wagtail, two Black Redstart and a Spotted Flycatcher. Unfortunately the Wryneck and Hoopoe that were seen during the week appeared to have moved on. However, it was a lovely place to visit and also worthy of return trips.

Our final location was Minsmere RSPB – somewhere that most people knew, but too far from home to be a regular haunt and therefore a good place to head to on an out-of-area trip. We spent most of the time in the East Hide (which was being vigilantly guarded by a young kestrel) where we made a few additions to our list incl: Barnacle, Canada, Greylag & Egyptian Geese,  and Shelduck. Along the sea wall we saw more Wheatear and a pair of Stonechat, and distantly two Great Skua and two Shearwater (Sooty I think).

Overall we saw 80 species. We explored some new sites and some old favourites. And we had a lot of fun. 

Have a look at our recently released Indoor Programme for 2025/26. Come and find out more about Ethiopia, who D. H. Hudson was and what he influenced, what we can learn from bird song, have a look at North Norway, understand more about the Rare Breeding Birds Panel and how many birds can be seen in our local area. If any of these have sparked your interest we look forward to seeing you at our indoor meetings.

Outdoors we start our meetings with a visit to Frampton for waders and raptors, followed by Eldernell with a focus upon owls, revisit WWT Welney as last year’s floods put many off and look for grebes and divers around the dam at Rutland Water to complete 2025. We will release 2026 details shortly. 

Come along and meet interesting and friendly people who have an interest in birdwatching, just like you. 

Use the link, similar to the image above, to Vine House Farm from our Home Page and enter the discount code BC10 to obtain a 10% discount on orders placed online this includes free delivery. Please use to buy your seed etc... as this offer will only exist, if we use it.

Click the link, select your seed etc, enter BC10 and it will turn up on your door step. no more lugging sacks of seed. Win Win.

What are you waiting for? 

Please find below details of the next two out-of-area trips. The dates for Essex/Suffolk are confirmed and 7 people have signed up for this trip so far. The dates for Wiltshire/Hampshire are provisional.

 

The autumn 2025 out-of-area PBC trip is to Essex & Suffolk on Sat/Sun 20/21 Sep 25.

The plan is to visit Abberton Reservoir and Fingringhoe Wick (both Essex Wildlife Trust) on Saturday and Landguard Point and Minsmere RSPB on Sunday.

We'll overnight in Ipswich. The suggested hotels are Holiday Inn Ipswich-Orwell or Premier Inn Ipswich South East. As per previous trips, please arrange your own accommodation - either at the Holiday Inn, the Premier Inn or elsewhere in that area.

Please let Richard know (rfw1967@hotmail.co.uk) if you want to join the trip or contact him if you have any questions.

 

The spring 2026 out-of-area PBC trip is to Wiltshire & Hampshire .

It will be a 3 day (2 night) event taking place around the weekend of 9/10 May 26, but the exact dates are to be confirmed.

The outline plan is:

Day 1: Great Bustard tour on Salisbury Plain.

Day 2: New Forest – Honey Buzzard, Dartford Warbler, Firecrest, Redstart & Tree Pipit.

Day 3: Lymington – waders, Little Tern and White-tailed Eagle.

I’ve made initial contact with the Great Bustard Group, but can’t firm up a date until the autumn.
Please let Richard know (rfw1967@hotmail.co.uk) if you want to join the trip or contact him if you have any questions.

Despite a dire weather forecast 11 members met up at RSPB Lakenheath Fen for our latest outdoor meeting. Fortunately for us the weather was nowhere near as bad as forecast. Between 1000 and 1500 we experienced one heavy rain shower, fortunately for us in a place where we could shelter. 

We set of from the reserve office following the path towards New Fen. Blackcap was the first bird heard followed by a great display of flying and singing from a very showy Whitethroat. At New Fen we waited hopefully for a Bittern whilst watching Mallard and Coot ducklings. Reed Warblers, Sedge Warbler and Reed Bunting flew across in front of us. We were fortunate to see a Hobby and a Cuckoo in flight heading in opposite directions. Eventually we achieved our objective and saw three Bittern flights. A first ever Bittern for some of those present. 

We then followed the newly cut track alongside the reedbed giving good views across the top of the reedbed. Another Bitter flew across the reedbed towards us and went into the reeds close to us. We then followed a family of Greylags and their gosling up to the end of the track. From there we walked the short distance to the Mere. Bitterns have not bred there this year and no sign of the usual Kingfisher but we had excellent views of a pair of adult Great Crested Grebes catching fish and feeding it to their humbugs (duckling). 2 Hobbies also became very active and flew low over the reeds in front of the trees giving excellent views including catching and eating dragonflies whilst on the wing, After this we moved to Joist Fen and lunch in the rain! Whilst at Joist Fen we had another 4 Bittern flights, good scope views of a very persistent Cuckoo, 2 Great White Egrets and Cranes were heard calling but could not be seen. We left Joist Fen to walk back to the reserve office via the path alongside the River Little Ouse. Heron was the only bird seen until we arrived at the Hockwold Washes. Here there was a mix of ducks and waders including Mallard, Shovelor, Gadwall, Coot, Moorhen, 2 Avocets, several Redshanks and Black-tailed Godwits. Then back to the office for one of the best spots of the day - a freezer full of Ronaldos ice-cream. An excellent finish to a very good day.

A few photos posted in the gallery.

The latest PBC out-of-area trip was to Wales including the Elan Valley, Ynys-hir RSPB, Snowdonia, Cemlyn Bay and South Stack RSPB on Anglesey, and World’s End near Wrexham. 

We started by exploring the ancient oak woodland around Afon Elan just below the dam. Hearing birds was easy, but finding them amongst trees in leaf was more tricky, but eventually we managed to locate Pied Flycatcher, Spotted Flycatcher, Redstart and Wood Warbler.

A few people took the scenic route to Aberystwyth (where we were staying for the first night) and were rewarded with Wheatear and Ring Ouzel.

On day 2 we visited Ynys-hir and Snowdonia. Ynys-hir is a delightful reserve including deciduous woodland and fantastic views across the Afon Dyfi estuary.

En route to Bangor we stopped at Llyn Ogwen where we walked a little way up Glyder Fawr (we got to 400m above sea level whereas the summit is at 1001m). Surprising we saw a Great Crested Grebe and a pair of Canada Geese as well as Meadow Pipit, Stonechat, Cuckoo, and Raven. 

The third day was spent on Anglesey. Cemlyn Bay, a wild and wonderful place on the northern coast of the island, is home to a large tern colony which affords very close views of Arctic, Common and Sandwich Terns. We also saw Gannet, Red-breasted Merganser and Whimbrel.

Anglesey is actually quite flat, but that can’t be said of Holy Island the home of South Stack RSPB. Here we had great views of Chough and various auks including Puffin. We also saw Shag, Fulmar and Kittiwake, but only in small numbers unfortunately.

We briefly stopped at Holyhead Harbour to catch up with a few Black Guillemot before heading to Newborough Forest in search of Red Squirrel. We quickly worked out that the best approach to squirrel watching is to find a feeder and wait. Before long 5 appeared shortly before the sky turned black and the heavens opened. However, apart from an hour of heavy rain, we were blessed with exceptional weather – 20 degrees C, blue sky and light breeze.

 

On the final day we visited World’s End, an area of moorland near Wrexham. A few people made an early start and caught the end of a Black Grouse lek. However, everybody managed to see Red Grouse, Whinchat and Wheatear.

Overall we saw 101 species across deciduous and pine forest, moorland, mountain, rivers, streams and lakes, cliffs, shingle beaches, reed beds and estuaries.

Bird of the trip: a beautiful Redstart that sang endlessly on a open bough above Afon Elan. 

Biggest disappointment: we tried very hard, but we couldn’t find a Dipper. Instead we had to make do with a Robin impersonating a Dipper. Oh well, we’ll have to go again! 

 

 

07/06/25          RSPB Lakenheath Fen and Weeting Heath
A second visit to the Brecks. This time to the fabulous RSPB  Lakenheath Fen reserve. The reserve is newly extended with additional land added along the river.  At this time of year we have an excellent chance of multiple Bittern sightings, nesting Marsh Harriers, Hobby hawking dragonflies and Cuckoos. There is also a chance of seeing the breeding Crane population. Please carry a packed lunch and drink with you as the plan is to take lunch at Joist Fen to give the maximum time searching for target species from this fabulous viewpoint. After lunch we will walk back along the river bank to the visitors centre. From here we will take a 10 minute drive to NWT Weeting Heath. This is a specialist reserve targeted at breeding the rare and endangered Stone Curlew. For RSPB Lakenheath park at the visitors centre IP27 9AD. For NWT park at the visitors centre IP27 0FD. Both reserves have entry charges for non-members. Leader Stewart Short & Ian Gordon

28/06/25          RSPB Titchwell  and NNR  Dersingham Bog
An afternoons birding at RSPB Titchwell followed by a Fish and Chip supper at Erics and then transfer to NNR Dersingham Bog where we will arrive by 8PM for anybody wanting to just join for the evening. The main aim of this visit is to hear, and hopefully see, the unique Nightjars churring and flying around sunset time. This is the nearest site to Peterborough for you to enjoy this unique spectacle. In addition to Nightjars, we hope to see Woodlark, Woodcock making their roding flights, Stonechat and Tree Pipits. Meet at RSPB Titchwell car park PE31 8BB at 1500. Meet at Dersingham Bog PE31 6HA at 2000hrs. Leader Stewart Short/Ian Gordon

20-21/09/25          Essex/Suffolk  2025

The autumn 2025 out-of-area PBC trip is to Essex & Suffolk on Sat/Sun 20/21 Sep 25.

The outline plan is to visit Abberton Reservoir and Fingringhoe Wick (both Essex Wildlife Trust) on Saturday and Landguard Point and Minsmere RSPB on Sunday.

We'll overnight in Ipswich. The suggested hotels are Holiday Inn Ipswich-Orwell or Premier Inn Ipswich South East. As per previous trips, please arrange your own accommodation - either at the Holiday Inn, the Premier Inn or elsewhere in that area.

Please let Richard know (rfw1967@hotmail.co.uk) if you want to join the trip or contact him if you have any questions.

19 people gathered in the Frampton car park at 1000 including a new member and 3 people through our link with the Langdyke Country Trust. It was a cloudy and cold morning. This was soon to change as the sun appeared for the remainder of our visit. 

We set off to walk down the road to the seawall, checking Marsh Farm in front of the car park there were thousands of birds, Mainly Lapwing, Wigeon, Teal and Golden Plover. 2 Peregrines were found sitting on the fence near the barn. On the reedbed scrape immediately behind the Visitors Centre was yet more Lapwing, Wigeon, 3 pairs of Goldeneye actively displaying. A single Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, several Avocet and several groups of Dunlin were also present. The only Pochard of the day was seen in the far corner. The Dunlin actively scurrying around in their typical fashion. As we were walking down the road thousands of birds were taking to the sky in regular large groups. One of the winter characteristics of Frampton. Further down the road we found more Black-tailed Godwits, a Great White Egret demonstrating how long it’s neck was, a single Ruff and several Redshank. Also the 2 Peregrines had relocated to near the seawall giving much better views.

We climbed the seawall steps into the usual Frampton icy wind.  Unfortunately there was a mist swirling around and coming and going out on the marsh towards the sea. This made viewing difficult. The only birds of note we could make out on the saltmarsh were 3 Marsh Harriers, several Corvids, loads of Starlings and masses of Wigeon. Flocks of Brent Geese were moving around the salt marsh and reserve all the time.

We continued round the seawall to the steps leading to the North Hide. We added several Ringed Plovers and Little Egrets before we reached the steps. The North Hide yielded no new species so we headed back towards the cross track and lunch. In the corner at the end of the cross-track we came across the Frampton resident Whooper Swan. It was feeding with 2 Canada Geese well away from the Mute Swans which tend to bully it. It is coming to the end of its second winter at Frampton being unable to leave due to a broken wing. En-route to the Visitors Centre we came across several confiding Stonechats flitting around the reeds feeding and giving point-blank views.

After lunch we set off to explore the Reedbed loop. The shrubs, bushes and trees were nearly devoid of passerines. However the disappointment was soon forgotten when Stewart found a Merlin hunkered down on the ground. We managed to get all the scopes onto it and everyone got acceptable views. As we were moving on it flew across the field giving excellent in flight views. Alas no Bearded Tits or Corn Buntings along the back bushes. Turning back along the cross track the confiding Stonechats appeared again. We checked the views from the Reedbed and 360 degree hide. Excellent views of the Avocets from the Reedbed hide and some great views of Pintail feeding close. We headed back to the visitors centre and were greeted by the Merlin zooming low past us heading towards the sea wall. A great bird to finish an excellent day with.

My bird of the day was the Merlin, but my birds of the day without doubt was the fabulous site of thousands of birds wheeling around in the winter sky. What a spectacle.