A 5am text from Brian this morning saw us heading up the A12 to The Naze Nature Reserve. The reserve is on the Naze peninsula, north of Walton-on-the-Naze, and managed by the Essex Wildlife Trust. We had two main targets, a Red-backed Shrike and a Wryneck. However with clear skies overnight we would not have been surprised if both birds had moved on.
We arrived shortly before 7am, parked in the reserve car park close to Sunny Point, and headed down the steps to walk the central path. Hawthorn, Gorse, and Brambles bordered the path on both sides. We hadn't walked far when Brian spotted the Red-backed Shrike. After several sightings, I wandered off to search for the Wryneck. I walked the seafront path and managed views of Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, Redstart, Blackcap, Chiffchaff, and several commoner species, but failed to find the Wryneck.
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| Seafront path with the Naze Tower in the distance |
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| Red-backed Shrike |
Before heading home we took an eight-mile detour to Shelley in Suffolk where a Purple Heron had been present since the 1st of September. We joined four other birders scanning Gifford's Flash for any sign of the heron. Although it hadn't been seen all morning, we scanned the area and after thirty minutes it decided to pop its head above the reeds. It gave several good scope views before it took flight and landed out of sight. We walked along the road and scanned the area from the roadside gate, finding it close to the fenceline among the reeds.
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| Gifford's Flash |
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| Several views were similar to this |
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| phone hand-held to the scope |
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| View of Gifford's Flash from the roadside gate |
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