Friday 1st February 2025.
I visited Abberton Reservoir near Colchester in Essex to celebrate the start of a new month. It's a place that has always been on my wish list, and after some excellent bird sightings lately and a good weather forecast, it was a thumbs-up from me today.
My target bird was Smew, a personal favourite no longer seen at Dungeness, where it used to appear regularly.
My visit started at the Layer de la Haye Causeway before I relocated to Peldon Village Hall and finished at Copt Hall car park
The bird was not visible from the viewpoint on the B1026 Layer de la Haye Causeway carpark. However, all was not lost, as some rare grebes were showing well.
- There were many close Black-neck Grebes - as many as 16 were counted today.
- 2 Slavonian Grebes were also present, which proved a little more challenging to locate.
Several members of the Essex Birding group advised me to look for the Smew from the Lodge Lane viewpoint. Another birder, who also wanted to see the bird, followed me to Peldon Village, where we parked at the village hall and made our way out to the viewing area.
- 3 Smew were showing in the distance - a drake and 2 redheads. Target achieved!
- After a wait of at least half an hour, the shrike appeared in the low trees ahead of us. Thereafter, the bird showed regularly.
- A Hen Harrier had also been seen this morning, so I decided to spend the remaining time looking for it. One of the others got a brief glimpse of a Ringtail Hen Harrier, but my efforts failed.
