It is not always necessary to travel far to see good birds. There is often the temptation to travel to bird hotspots or to chase after rarities to satisfy the urge to enjoy seeing a variety of scarce and interesting birds. However, today I was reminded that by spending time watching birds close to home interesting birds can be seen too. With the idea of trying to photograph Siskins and Redwings I took a walk that I have made many times since I was very young along the Darent Valley between the villages of Hawley and Sutton-at-Hone in Kent. The walk I took passes through farmland and fishing lakes but it was at the watercress beds that I decided to linger and photograph small birds as they fed on hawthorn berries and alder seeds. A small flock of attractive Siskins were present but shy, groups of Redwings were feeding but hard to approach although a colourful Grey Wagtail on the stream was easier to observe in detail. While lurking around trying to get photographs of these birds a massive surprise suddenly made the day one to remember.

Walking through the fishing lakes there were a few water birds, including several Great Crested Grebes. These handsome birds were almost into their full winter plumage and I watched one for a while as it preened, spending a long time taking oil from its preen gland and spreading it across it feathers.

A few Mallard and a male Tufted Duck were the only ducks to be seen but a single Cormorant stood like a sentinel on a small emergent stump.

It was the nearby watercress beds, though, that I was really making a bee-line for. Over the years I have seen lots of interesting birds in this hotspot including Bittern, Woodcock, Common Redpoll and Water Rail and in the winter particularly it is a magnet for Siskins due to a concentration of alder trees. A Grey Wagtail on the stream was a nice distraction on arrival.

While I watched this bird a flock of Redwings arrived but then made themselves scarce and a small group of Siskins turned up close by but remained inside the vegetation so that I could see them but not photograph them. The lovely yellow male stood out from within the dense hawthorn bushes but as a mixed group of Tits arrived I took the time to photograph Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit and Great Tit.

Other small birds that joined this group were a tiny Goldcrest, Chaffinch and Goldfinch but then something a little larger landed on a hawthorn trunk that made me look in surprise; a Lesser Spotted Woodpecker. This smallest of Britain’s resident woodpeckers has become rare across most of Britain and the last time I saw one along the Darent Valley was around thirty years ago.

The larger Great Spotted Woodpecker is common and I also saw this species as well as Green Woodpecker here; perhaps the first time I have ever seen all three of UK’s breeding woodpeckers in one place. This Lesser Spotted Woodpecker disappeared into the bushes and as much as I searched I didn’t see it again. I never caught up with those Siskins and Redwings for a photo either.

However, as the sun emerged a Common Buzzard flew very close by and I was lucky that the sunlight illuminated it perfectly.

That moment of sunlight was followed by cloud so that my flight photo of a Little Egret soon after has a very different feel to it.

As the afternoon became more chilly I decided it was time to walk home and enjoy a “nice cup of tea” but there was time to make a stop at a horse field where a Pied Wagtail posed for me.

Apart from the Lesser Spotted Woodpecker, which I was very pleased with, the other highlight of the day was an Eccles cake to go with my cup of tea.