8 Mar 24

Braintree

I'm presently at my late parents house in Braintree doing a bit of painting and decorating before their house goes on the market.

Close to the housing estate is Hoppit Mead Nature Reserve, which was an excellent place to take Ted on a walk.

Birds Recorded today:
1 Little Egret
1 Red Kite
Black-headed Gull
Herring Gull
Lesser Black-backed Gull
Common Gull
Wood Pigeon
Collared Dove
Great Spotted Woodpecker
Dunnock
Robin
Blackbird
Great Tit
Blue Tit
Wren
Magpie
Carrion Crow
Jackdaw
Starling
House Sparrow
Chaffinch
Siskin
Goldfinch

A Little Egret along the edges of the River Brain

And lift off as it heads for another stretch of water

A very distant............

............Red Kite.

Top right a Lesser Black-backed Gull, bottom left a Common Gull and the remaining four are Black-headed Gulls.

My first Great Spotted Woodpecker this year.

Bees Recorded:
Buff-tailed Bumblebee (Bombus terrestris)


Plants Recorded:
Weeping Willow (Salix alba x babylonica = Salix x sepulcralis agg.)
Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum)
Primrose (Primula vulgaris)

A Weeping Willow takes centre stage. More on this tree here.

A Red Dead-nettle (Lamium purpureum). More on this plant here.

Primrose (Primula vulgaris)


General shots:

Hoppit Mead Nature Reserve

Map of Nature Reserve

The River Brain making its way through the reserve


Ted:

I'm coming Ted