For photographers large congregations of birds at close range are a blessing so it was with this expectation that I took Michael Wong to Erith Pier, on the River Thames, in early August. Although for many people a bunch of gulls might not seem that exciting, the bright early morning light, variety of species and plumages made for some nice photographic opportunities. Black-headed Gulls made up the bulk of the birds but we also got lucky with a juvenile Mediterranean Gull, a few smart Lesser Black-backed Gulls, plenty of Herring Gulls and a couple of first year Yellow-legged Gulls. In addition while I was scanning birds on the exposed mud I noticed another point of interest; a Black-headed Gull wearing a yellow leg ring. Read more »
City Park Bird Abundance | Birding in Thailand
For those of us lucky enough to travel internationally to see birds it quickly becomes apparent that in some countries birds are abundant while in others birders have to work harder to see a wide range of species. This was brought home to me most recently spending a morning at Sri Nakorn Kuean Khan Park [...]
Touristing & Birding at Petra | Birding in Jordan
For those of us who travel with non-birding partners it can sometimes be tricky to balance enjoying time together somewhere interesting and the craving to maximise the opportunity to see new birds in new places. Personally, having a good holiday with my wife is the most important thing when planning trips together but doing some [...]
Rainy Season Birding at Pathum Thani Rice Research Centre | Birding in Thailand
There can be times of the year when bird watching hits a trough because a lack of activity, unhelpful weather or overfamiliarity with a smaller selection of species than at other times. In Thailand these factors are all true in the rainy season with a large number of species absent, on their breeding grounds further [...]
Mountain Birding from Chimgan | Birding in Uzbekistan
I have always loved immersing myself in mountain landscapes but over recent years my opportunity to do so has been limited with much of my time spent in tropical forests and wetlands in Thailand so when the opportunity presented itself to spend some time birding in mountain habitats in Uzbekistan I took it without having [...]
Jakarta Boat Trip Birding | Birding Indonesia
Where can you see Christmas Island Frigatebird, Sunda Teal, Pink-necked Green Pigeon, Milky Stork, Sunda Pygmy Woodpecker, Cerulean Kingfisher, Clamorous Reed Warbler and a wide range of other species in an urban setting? On a boat trip from Jakarta, Indonesia! The island of Java is one of the most densely populated areas of the world [...]
Gannets at Bempton Cliffs | British Birding
September 2nd, 2021 
Nick Sitting just a metre away from Britain’s largest seabird with the wind in my face and only the sound of tens of thousands of nesting Puffins, Guillemots, Razorbills, Kittiwakes and, of course, Gannets gave me the sense that I was perched on the cliff face nesting site with the multitude of birds but in actuality one individual Gannet had accidently landed in one of the viewing platforms at Bempton Cliffs RSPB reserve giving me an incredibly close encounter with this massive bird.
The noise and smell of the nesting birds hits you before you reach the cliff tops but this still does not prepare you for the first time you see the amazing sight of the masses of Bempton Cliffs seabirds at the height of the nesting season. While you are not guaranteed to end up sharing a seat with a Northern Gannet when visiting Bempton Cliffs, as long as you time your visit in the breeding season you are guaranteed spectacular views of these fantastic birds as they fly past at eye level and argue among each other on the cliffs. Read more »
Birding at Higham Marshes | British Birding
August 3rd, 2021 Nick Birding locally has been imposed upon us for long periods in 2020 and 2021 and although this limits our possibilities it has also provided an opportunity to really look closely at what birds can be seen close to home. Although I enjoyed travelling further afield as soon as I was able to I also enjoyed poking around local places that I had previously not spent much time in, and found a real gem in Higham Marshes. Higham Marshes is an RSPB reserve adjacent to the much better-known Cliffe Pools and along with the next parcel of land, Shorne Marshes, protects a large plot of the North Kent marshes. There are no facilities at Higham Marshes, no car park, only access via public footpaths and this makes it an area that is visited by just a few people and helps to create a very wild atmosphere surprisingly close to large areas of human habitation and industry. In spring 2021 I made many visits to Higham Marshes, seeing a wide variety of birds and was able to see the changes in species as the seasons changed. Read more »
Gulls on the Thames | British Birding
July 30th, 2021 Nick The mid summer doldrums do not offer many interesting birding options when you don’t live close to coastal sites but when the weather is bad and you have burned up the morning watching the Olympics on television it is useful to have only a short drive to a spot on the River Thames where a wide variety of species of gulls often congregate. For those that enjoy the esoteric discipline of gull-watching this time of the year is when many species start to disperse after breeding and parts of the River Thames seem to be a favourite location for a couple of the UK’s scarcer species to relocate to at this time of the year: Yellow-legged Gull and Caspian Gull.
Erith pier is definitely in definitely one of the also-rans in terms of the most memorable piers of Britian, nothing more than a few hundred metres of platform dog-legging into the Thames at the back of a supermarket car park, but it is situated directly south of the large landfill at Rainham on the northern bank of the river; a location that draws in very large numbers of gulls. The numbers and proximity of gulls here make it an interesting spot for a quick visit to check for rarer species and to take some interesting photos of gull behaviour, particularly their frequent squabbles. Although I had to retreat to the car a couple of times when heavy showers passed through I was treated to a good variety of species in different plumages including a few Yellow-legged Gulls. Read more »
Bird Photography at Abberton Reservoir | British Birding
June 22nd, 2021 Nick June can be a tricky time of the year for birding in Britain with little movement of birds and the excitiement of returning migrants over. Bird abundance is quite low too meaning that bird photography can be quite challenging unless one happens to be lucky enough to be close to breeding colonies of seabirds. However, myself and Michale Wong have been quite persistent and with patience we have taken some nice photos recently and having exhausted all of my regular birding sites we headed to Abberton Reservoir near Colchester, Essex, where we were hoping to find a reasonable abundance of birds and get some flight shots of waterbirds as they fly across the causeways there. Read more »
Finding Common Grasshopper Warbler | British Birding
May 21st, 2021 Nick Common Grasshopper Warbler, Locusteall naevia, is the bird that is usually simply known as “Grasshopper Warbler” throughout Europe. This bird is just one of a group of similar species in the family Locustellidae that are found in many parts of the world and generally these birds are skulking and hard to see. However, when they arrive on their breeding grounds they freqently sing and while this does not necessarily make them easy to see, it does at least give birders a clue as to where to look.
Common Grasshopper Warbler is not exactly a common bird in Britain but it is probably more abundant than most bird watchers realize. Due to its skulking nature and habit of singing in the very early morning and late evening a lot of birders will walk straight past a bush or tufty area of grass where one is silently lurking. Having seen a few Grasshopper Warblers over the years I have learned the type of habitat this species of Locustella likes and in the area of SE England I am in there are several sites to look for them and over the last few weeks I have been fortunate to see a few of them at a couple of local places. Read more »
Swanscombe Peninsula Bird Photography | British Birding
May 19th, 2021 Nick Bearded Tit is one of the most striking of bird species in Britain and one that is coveted by many bird watchers and photographers alike. Having made a number of bird photography trips with Michael Wong recently he had expressed an interest in photographing this superb bird but with lots of windy weather it had seemed like a fool’s errand. However, looking at the weather forecast it was predicted to be fairly calm although overcast. Trying to get good views of reed-dwelling birds like Bearded Tit in windy weather is a punishing task but with a gentle breeze and some sheltered areas of reeds at nearby Swanscombe it seemed like we had a decent chance of this and we could take our chances with whatever else showed itself.
