Jubilee River Nature Reserve and Moor Green Lakes, Berkshire

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The Jubilee River Nature Reserve is a relatively new development, near Dorney. It was dug out as a flood relief system, and the surrounding area was landscaped to attract in wildfowl and other wildlife. Overlooked on one side by Slough sewage works, and in the distance by Windsor Castle (click image on the left for larger), it's a compact and interesting reserve.

I was there to see a pair of garganey (Anas querquedula; very poor record image, click for larger). Garganey drakes are striking, scarce summer visitors to the UK. It didn't take long to find them - my first summer migrants of the year. Views were relatively distant, but good through the scope, while they fossicked for what appeared to be molluscs. It was particularly good to have a pair - they are both have superbly detailed plumage.


Apart from the garganeys, there was a mix of other ducks (mallard, teal, tufted duck) and water birds (grey heron, great crested grebe). The greylag geese (Anser anser; click for larger) and mute swans (Cygnus olor; click for larger) were marking out their territories. Two chiffchaffs were singing - my second summer visitors of the year.


I moved on from there to Moor Green Lakes, hoping that the barn owls would be showing well. Another couple of chiffchaffs were in song, along with many other common passerines, including vocal reed buntings. Again there was decent numbers of common ducks on the lake (pochard, teal, tufted duck, mallard) and a few goosanders in the distance. One barn owl was in the west box, only flicking out quickly before returning to sentry duty. Black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus; click for larger) have started staking out territories on the shingle islands. Lapwings (Vanellus vanellus; click for larger) were vocal, also marking out territorial claims.


Wandering around the lake I was able to watch a roe deer with velvet antlers, browsing on shrubs on the far side, while a buzzard called in the distance. Little else unusual was around, but there was a lot of calls from the various tits flicking through the trees.

As the sun dipped down I moved on the the new workings - where the gravel removal continues. It didn't take long to pick up my third summer visitor of the day - a little ringed plover feeding by the waters edge. Three redshank were nearby, and both wader species breed on the shingle here. Winter was still in evidence, with flocks of wigeon flying in to roost.

I waited by the end of the rough ground, hoping that I'd picked a suitable pinch point between the tree line and the first lake, a point where if the barn owl turned up it would be forced relatively close to where I was waiting. This was facing the eastern barn box, witha good view over the fields. And there it was, flickering over the tussocks. I watched it for well over twenty minutes, at first in fairly decent light, allowing me to get a few shots. Now that is the way to end a day...

Frithend, Hampshire

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The weather was very spring-like, so I (accompanied by well-behaved daughter: WBD) went for a tramp along some tracks through the Hampshire countryside.

Frithend is very quiet, especially when compared to Frensham, which is just a few minutes away. I saw my first butterflies of the year (brimstones, and what looked like a large white in the distance). We were heading to the sandpits, where a first-winter male ring-necked duck had been present since late December.

The ring-necked duck (Aythya collaris; click for larger) was in the first pit, miles in the distance. The first image is with the lens at minimum zoom to give an idea of distance (that's still at around 4x magnification). The ring-necked duck is the white dot at the base of the cliff on the left. The larger image is a large crop of the full zoomed image - at least it's a record shot. At least through the scope decent views were had of this instantly recognisable duck. Even in the distance the colour pattern was very different to the nearby tufties, and the peaked head shape is distinctive.

Ring-necked ducks used to be considered a decent rarity, with fewer than 10 seen a year in the 80s. More recently up to 50 are seen each year. It is difficult to know if this is a real increase, or a result of better coverage.

There was little else around, apart from a few mallards and tufted ducks. No sign of any sand martins yet - the sandpits have a thriving colony. There was also large numbers of bees visiting the willows - they could be heard from a considerable distance.

We headed to Thursley Common (via ice-cream bribe) to see if the hen harrier was on show. No sign, and in the afternoon warmth little was around apart from a few pipits and stonechats. W-BD entertained herself by taking photos of dad looking for the curlews - not bad for a 4 year old!

Thursley Common, Surrey

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This morning was just perfect - blue sky, light breeze and it felt as if I had Thursley to myself for the first hour after dawn. There was good numbers of stonechats, who had obviously survived the big freeze well, but I didn't see a single Dartford warbler all morning, and Thursley is a real stronghold for this species. As it happens, I have yet to see a Dartford warbler since the snows - suggesting that they have really been hit hard.

Reed bunting, woodlarks and skylarks, as well as the usual dunnocks, robins, wrens and blackbirds all were in song - it really feels as if Spring is beginning. The moat pond was quiet as usual, with a few mallard (Anas platyrhynchos; click for larger) and a great crested grebe present.

The open common looked good and the resident Canada geese (Branta canadensis; click for larger) were in full voice. I followed the boardwalk around, listening to the curlews call. Eventually I came to the more open bog, where a pair (Numenius arquata; click for larger) were visible in the distance. Thursley is the only place in Surrey where curlew breed with any regularity, and it's always good to hear their evocative calls.
The Sigma 150-500 OS is now second nature, and I feel a lot more positive about the qualities of the lens than my initial response - it really is a useful carry around lens for record shots, and no tripod needed. Image quality isn't good enough (I still really dislike the bokeh - look at the mallard image) but I'd rather have a record shot than none at all.

Following around I saw some buzzards in the distance, and a closer hovering kestrel, but the raptor of the day was a superb male hen harrier (Circus cyaneus; click for larger) which came within 25 meters of me as it powered past. I was kicking myself though after grabbing a few quick shots - I'd left the exposure compensation at +1.5 from when I'd been photographing the buzzards in the air a few moments before, so I've blown the whites. Delete expletives of choice here...

It didn't get any better in terms of frustration. As I was leaving I caught a glimpse of a pair of large raptors tightly circling each other in the far distance. Buzzard size, but didn't look 'buzzardish', and very pale underneath. I shifted position, and they were gone before I could get a positive (or otherwise) ID. Cue much louder swearing...

Waxwings at Knaphill, Surrey

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After many failed attempted to see waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus; click for larger) this winter, I finally got to see my bogey bird, all of five minutes from home. They had been reported for several days feeding on haws and berries at the edge of Brookwood Farm, where it abuts a local housing estate. So, on my way to work I drove down the road to where they'd been sighted, and there they were, four at the top of an oak. It was 6.30am, so light was poor, but they were unmistakable. I parked up and wandered over for a closer look. I took a couple of shots lit with the SB900, but these were for the record, rather than anything else. I'm beginning to grow attached to the Sigma 150-500 as I get used to its handling, and it does allow me to get record shots which I would never have bothered trying with its bigger brother.

The waxwings were pretty mobile, and their trilling call was distinctive. They spent a little time feeding on haws, giving that classic view of waxwing feeding before they flicked off to the top of a distant tree where I decided to try for a silhouette image against the dawn sky (click for larger). They didn't hang around for long, heading into the gardens, and after 20 minutes I was on my way to work - a superb way to start the day!

On the way home, I dropped in again to see if they were around, but no sign. Good views of redwing, lots of magpies (over 40 together) and of a buzzard flying overhead though - the latter is not a regular sight around here.

Staines Reservoirs, Surrey

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I took a quick run out to Staines Reservoirs to see the reported black-necked grebes and scaup - impressive what you can do in an hour and a half first thing in the morning! I hadn't been to this site before (a bit too urban for my liking), but it wasn't quite what I expected.

The reservoirs are divided by a raised, fenced embankment, which is the only public access to the site, and straight away it was obvious that a scope is necessary to cover the open water and raised banks of the reservoirs. Over the years this site has built up a substantial reputation as a good birding site, but no-one would suggest that it's pretty. Although it's bounded by Stanwell housing on one side, and Heathrow on the other, it's also not quite as noisy as you'd expect - certainly quieter than the gravel pits near the M4.

Good numbers of goldeneye (Bucephala clangula below; click for larger - I liked the monochrome quality, but the light was appalling), tufted duck, pochard and great crested grebes were present, but the dank atmosphere and dull light made picking up anything in the distance impossible, and this site is not one for bird photography. I was fortunate to meet a scope-toting regular at the site who had already picked out a snoozing avocet (Recurvirostra avosetta above left; very heavily cropped and at 800ISO; click for larger) on the bank - not what you expect at all! Bob showed me the black-necked grebes, the scaup and also a surviving ruddy duck - the cull had been in full force here during the week, and has generated a lot of controversy.

Not a bad haul for a quick trip out, even if aesthetics have to come second to the birds...