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. Read more »

On a day of showers with sunny spells I took a short walk across the fields to the local church at Sutton-at-Hone which has a nice variety of trees and overgrown patches that make it a mini wildlife haven. I arrived in the mid-morning, during a sunny spell and a high level of bird activity with flocks of small birds roving through the low trees in search of food and noisy thrushes feeding on hawthorn and yew berries. With so much activity I spent around an hour and a half in the churchyard photographing birds and enjoying the autumnal colours but I had quite a surprise when a group of noisy, scolding birds drew my attention to something unexpected sitting in a yew tree. Read more »