Abberton Reservoir, Delivers

After the full days birding in Norfolk on New Years Day, we decided to stay closer to home and visit Abberton Reservoir. 

Heading up the A12 we had several targets in mind. We started the day at Layer Breton Causeway and quickly spotted a male Goosander and two redhead Smew. We then turned our attention to the large flock of Tufted Ducks hoping to find the Ring-necked Duck among them. The Ring-neck could not be found despite several lengthy searches, but we did find four male Greater Scaup.

Greater Scaup, Tufted Ducks and Pochard

The light rain that had been falling all morning had now become much heavier so we made our way to Wigborough Bay and took shelter in the hide. Although we were now out of the rain the bay itself proved less rewarding with only three Great White Egret of any note.

Hide overlooking Wigborough Bay

At Billets Farm viewpoint we added Stonechat and Skylark to the new year's list before moving on to Layer de la Haye Causeway. Another Redhead Smew was found along with good numbers of male and female Goosanders. Then a real surprise, a Swallow was spotted flying low along the causeway! Whether it can find enough food to survive is unlikely but I hope it can.

The idea of driving eighty-eight miles to Eccles-on-Sea for the Desert Wheatear was talked about but quickly dismissed, and instead, we headed for Abberton Church which was only five miles away. This proved to be a very good decision as we managed to find good numbers of Corn Bunting on the fence wires on the walk down to the viewpoint. A male Merlin flew low across the water and dropped onto a small island causing panic among the ducks. The large flocks of Teal took to the air and re-located closer to our position. Scanning through the flock we managed to find the Green-winged Teal among them. The Green-winged Teal had not been reported at all the previous day, so we were very happy to find it today. Another scan of the reservoir and the Black-throated Diver is also found!

We ended the day back at Layer Bretton Causeway and eventually found the Ring-necked Duck among the Tufted Duck and Pochard. As we were leaving for home a Kingfisher was spotted among the overhanging branches.

Ring-necked Duck

The weather today was miserable with constant grey skies and a mixture of light and heavy rain, but thankfully the birding was the complete opposite.