Top UK bird watching locations for November - your autumn birding hot spots

[Deb London]

Phew, is that enough keywords?

Where have you enjoyed a spot of bird watching and why? I'm looking of inspiration.

Please name as many places as you can.

PS if you mention Cley, please could you remind me how to pronounce the word.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Phew, is that enough keywords?

Where have you enjoyed a spot of bird watching and why? I'm looking of inspiration.

Please name as many places as you can.

PS if you mention Cley, please could you remind me how to pronounce the word.

Whats up Deb - can't sleep?!

Its pronounced 'Kli' as far as I know?? Hard C and i for e .....

And birding spots - well it depends on why you are going (birding, photography or both) and what you want to try and see .........

PAuline

[JeffH]

Hi Deb

I have two suggestions:-

1. The Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust's reserve at Welney, Norfolk - during the Autumn/Winter months there are up to 9,000 swans on the reserve, mainly winter visiting Whoopers but also good numbers of Bewick's and Mutes.

The WWT feeds the birds at 3.30pm each day and there are floodlit feeds at 6.30pm on Thurs, Fri, Sat & Sun when the sight of several thousand swans illuminated in front of the main hide is really quite spectacular.

Incidentally, the main hide is heated and carpeted so this is luxury birdwatching

There are, of course, lots of other birds around - mainly ducks and other wildfowl - but you may also expect to see Marsh Harriers, Barn Owls and Short-eared Owls and, if you're really lucky, a Peregrine and/or some Cranes.

See here for more details - Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) - Welney, Norfolk

2. RSPB Snettisham for the spectacle of thousands of waders and pink-footed Geese. It's best to visit when there's a high tide as this drives the Knot, Oystercatchers and other birds inshore onto "the pits" on the reserve. I'm afraid I don't know the high tide dates/times for the next few months but I fear they're mostly during the hours of darkness until about February.

If you time it right you can visit both reserves in one day - early morning at Snettisham and then on to Welney (on your way back to London) for the afternoon and early evening feeds

Jeff
(Schedule 1 Licence holder for Kingfishers, Barn Owls and Avocets)

[Deb London]

Thanks both.

Yes P, been up all night thinking about this question.

Anyway, should have said, I just wondered where people like to go bird watching and why. I enjoy reading what other birders like to do, whilst not necessarily wanting to follow in their footsteps. Enthusiasm in itself is inspirational, is it not?

Thanks for all the info. Jeff.

[PMG]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Thanks both.

Yes P, been up all night thinking about this question.

Anyway, should have said, I just wondered where people like to go bird watching and why. I enjoy reading what other birders like to do, whilst not necessarily wanting to follow in their footsteps. Enthusiasm in itself is inspirational, is it not?

Thanks for all the info. Jeff.

Its known as being nosey and its a good thing cos you learn all sorts of things by enquiring into why other folk do things or go places

The obvious autumn places are any of the Wildfowl Trust venues for winter ducks, geese and swans as Jeff has already suggested. Coastal venues, walks etc can be good or empty but always nice to be beside the sea North Wales being a fave of mine.

Any well known high tide wader roost can be stirring. Many spots up and down the east coast can also be ok for geese and ducks which don;t turn up as often in the west - long tailed duck for example.

As the leaves leave bare branches skulking things like Hawfinch get (relatively!) easy to see

Gigrin for the red kites is good in autumn and winter .....

Hedgerows for winter thrushes and farmland for finch flocks can be worth it.

Places like the Wirral can be worth a day out - plenty farmland - coastal - not too large an area so less to search during a day visit - combined with a decent high tide and the waders will come close too.

Same goes for Southport - combine with the monthly bigggest tides and there will be winter waders plus duck on the RSPB Marshside reserve - and poss owls and raptors over the flooding marsh. Combine with a drop in at the newish Hesketh Bank reserve and a reasonable birding day can be had.

Then there are specific places for specific species - places that travel by word of mouth usually among the photographic folk.

And finally different parts of the country have different hot spots for certain species - bearded tit at Leighton Moss, Gigrin for red Kite plus several other kite feeding stations now in operation, short eared owls and snow bunting in North Wales sites, Hawfinch in South Cumbria ......... etc

I suspect the 'Where to Watch Birds in Britain' book can be a good bedtime read when researching areas of the country for interest or specifics!

Enoough food for thought and another sleepless night Debs?

Pauline

[htcdude]

Originally Posted by Deb London

Phew, is that enough keywords?

Should be

Originally Posted by Deb London

Where have you enjoyed a spot of bird watching and why? I'm looking of inspiration.

Anywhere on the east coast of Kent. Dungeness, Oare Marsh, Romney Marsh, Isle Of Sheppey. You never know what's going to turn up. And Sheppey is excellent for getting lots of different raptors in one day.

Failing that Norfolk/Suffolk, places like Landguard Point, Minsmere, Snettisham, Titchwell Marsh are all good spots.

Originally Posted by Deb London

PS if you mention Cley, please could you remind me how to pronounce the word.

Cly.

Nige

[KentYeti]

The Isle of Sheppey in Kent! (As posted above since I started typing this). Based on the Harty Ferry Road Raptor Viewing point.

Parked at the raptor viewing point yesterday with my bird watching neighbour and then had a nice 4 hours plus walk across the Marshes almost to Leysdown, and back via Shellness and close to Harty Church.

Never got close to anything, but there was a great deal around. As there has been there for a few weeks now.

Great White Egret flew over, Marsh Harriers a plenty, Hen Harrier, Kestrels, Merlins and a Peregrine, (both those last two reported back at the raptor mound), Sparrowhawk hunting like an owl, Kestrels and lots of Short Eared Owls, (little devils always just too far away for a decent photo). Plus lots of Lapwings, other waders, geese of various types, and a good few little ones.

Non stop action all day.

I ended up getting in position to photo a Short Eared owl, (wrong position as it turned out!), while my neighbour wandered down the road with his scope, and , I think he said, watched 12 raptors hunting across Elmley Marsh: 6 Short Eared Owls plus Harriers.

A lot of big grins on the Raptor Viewing Point mound yesterday. And not for the first time in the last few weeks.

Cheers,

Bryan

[nikolai_avenger]

Since you asked.

I have 3 or 4 local 'patches' that fulfill most of my birding (and general wildlife) requirements. In order of importance/use, here they are.

1. Land in and around junction 1 of the A50.

I pass through this area when I cycle to work (sometimes twice a week). It is mainly farmland, consisting primarily of farmland which is next to a bend in the Trent. There is also some brownfield-type areas, where wrens and robins can be seen darting in amongst discarded sofas and refrigerators, and also some reedbed/gravel pits on the other side of the A50 underpass. This area has been very productive for me, with everything from swallows, whitethroats, chiffchaffs, reed warblers, in summer, to fieldfare, redwings, mistle thrush, red-legged partridge in winter. Also a good area for buzzards. It takes the chore out of biking to work (3.5 miles, can't really complain anyway).


2. Golden Brook Storage Lagoon, Breaston, Derbyshire (Derbyshire Wildlife Trust)

This is my little haven, where I can go for some quiet time, and just see what is happening. It is a flood prevention lagoon for a local brook that runs through the nearby town of Long Eaton. It is 15 mins away from my house, on foot, over fields which have produced whitethroats, skylarks, swallows, golden plover, sparrowhawks. There are also lord-knows-how-many ex-woodpigeons nearby, presumably sparrowhawk victims. Not seen the grisly act happening yet although it's not for want of trying. There's not normally much happening on the lagoon itself. It is mainly reedbed habitat, and I have seen snipe, teal, little grebe, wigeon, kingfisher, heron etc in winter, and in summer buzzard, reed warbler, sedge warbler, discovery of "a.n.other warbler" that is not to be mentioned by name (personally one of my year highlights, that one). There have been 2 konik ponies there as well, which my small daughter loves to see. The site is also superb for invertebrates, and my daughter and I enjoy looking for spiders. She also loved the hundreds of tiny toads we found there earlier this year. Although it is only a smallish site, it gives me great pleasure to record and analyse the occurence and habits of each and every thing I find there.

3. Any gravel pit complex along the Trent

Attenborough is, well, Attenborough. Fantastic for the spectacular stuff, bitterns, little egrets, squacco heron(!), waders, kingfishers, Cetti's warbler, even two red kites over. Never disappointed with a visit. It's busy though and I prefer somewhere quiet, on the whole. If I fancy a day away from me local patches I am lucky enough to have Willington GP, Drakelow NR, Netherfield Lagoons, all within 30 mins drive, and all really good sites.

4. Country lanes and farmland near my house.

Great for buzzard, little owl, breeding lapwing, yellowhammer, breeding kestrel, geese in winter (sometimes), breeding kestrel, and loads of other stuff. Also great for dragonflies, damselflies, loads of other invertebrates. There are miles of hedgerow and it is beautiful to walk on a summer's day accompanied by a bag of Maynards Sports Mix and your immediate family, assuming it's not too hot.

Can't beat what's on your own doorstep though. IMHO. That's what drives me and I'd much rather a few hours hours noting what is to be found on any of my patches than spend it going to see a single bird 150 miles away with 250 other people (for example). Not that I have anything against that of course, each to their own and all that.

Cheers. Need a sit down after all that lot. That is what you were asking, isn't it?

[Adam Cheeseman]

Originally Posted by Deb London

PS if you mention Cley, please could you remind me how to pronounce the word.

Cley as rhymed with Lie. I personally find Titchwell and some other places in Norfolk better than Cley though.

Cheers,

Adam

[galanthophile]

I've just got into birdwatching in the last 6 months or so and have joined WWT (my nearest place is Washington) and that has been a fantastic discovery. I've also joined the Northumberland Wildlife Trust and am looking forward to exploring their reserves. I also have the Northumberland coast on my doorstep so lots to see (I hope).