U3A Bird Group

Crossbill taken at Frensham Little Pond on January 20th 2026 – 1/800s f5.6 ISO 200

Welcome to Richards photographs taken to document the U3A Bird Group walks that take place on the 3rd Monday of each month. To view any image full size, just click on the image and it will expand, and click on it again to return the original size. Whilst this page can be viewed on a mobile phone, it is best seen on a larger laptop or desktop screen. I will update the title image above form time to time.

To see my photography blog click here. This shows all the places I’ve been taking photographs of birds.

April 21st 2026 – U3A Bird Group at Edenbrook Country Park

Spotted: Canada Goose, Swan, Ehyption Goose, Mallard, Woodpigeon, Moorhen, Coot with Hatchlings, Blask-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Red Kite, Buzzard, Magpie, Jackdaw, Crow, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Greenfinch, Linnet, Goldfinch, Blackcap, C

Heard: Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler

We heard lots of birds, but saw far fewer! It started out cold, but I ended up over dressed as the sun finally made an appearance. Its my first visit but I shall definitely return. If you can remember any I missed above, drop me an email so I can add to the list, richardW5oaks@gmail.com.

First bird I spotted was this Goldfinch followed by a lone Blackbird.

We heard Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler and Blackcap, though I didn’t see them myself. Here is a friendly Linnet that was happy to pose.

I think there were at least 3 different Red Kite active.

I saw a bird fly into a tree, but could not then see it. So, I focused on random branch and gambled that I’d find something in the photograph. There is an out of focus Greenfinch in here.

I can’t tell you how often I just get a bird into frame, and it flies off just as I press the shutter. This shows just such a bird, but I caught it just after it jumped off its branch. If you have any ideas on what it might be, drop me an email to richardW5oaks@gmail.com.

I have never seen so many Egyption Geese flying together before! Before today I’ve only seen them flying on groups of one or two, but there must have been 25+ in the flock today.

A lone Buzzard and a couple of Herring Gull.

Having consulted the Collins Bird Guide, I’m going to call it a Chiffchaff. 🙂

A Crow that need some new feathers, Black-headed Gull, Canada Goose, Wood Pigeon, Long Tailed Tit, Coot with hatchlings, Moorhen, Lesser Black Backed Gull and a Swann.

This was a distant shot, and my camera could not make out the bird against the background, so I focused on the trunk of the tree and hoped for the best. I think its a juvenile Stonechat, but happy to be corrected and anyone knows better.

Magpie.

March 17th 2026 – U3A Bird Group at Tice’s Meadow

Spotted: Red kite, Magpie, Great tit, Carrion crow, Jackdaw, Black-headed gull, Starling, Wood Pigeon, Chiffchaff, Robin, Stonechat, Canada goose, Coot, Oyster Catcher, Cormorant, Tufted Duck, Moorhen, Teal, Herring Gull, Common Buzzard, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Grey Heron, Great Crested Grebe, Egyptian Goose, Mallard, Chaffinch, House Sparrow, Dunnock, Rook, Dove, Blue Tit, Blackbird, Jay

Heard: Wren, Greenfinch, Cetti’s Warbler

A pleasant walk around Tice’s Meadow with Richard and Pete from the Tice’s Meadow Bird Group as guides. Its always good to go out with the group and a guide even though I’ve visited Tice’s many times. The extra eyes and expert guidance helps find the birds I would otherwise miss. Both Pete and Richard brough spotting scopes which was invaluable to observe the far banks from the mound.

It was overcast all morning, but naturally the sun came out just as we were leaving. That explains why all the pictures today appear a little dull. Good lighting makes the world of difference when taking photographs of birds.

The first 2 images were taken with the birds in silhouette so I had no idea what the were until edited. A Jackdaw and a Jay, taken right by the main entrance as we began.

In this first image, the gull just right of centre is a Mediterranean Gull (the black head extends over the back of the head where as on the Black-headed Gull is doesn’t cover the nape). There are 3 resident cows on the meadow to keep the grass down, 6 during the summer. A team of volunteers take it in turn to visit each day to check on them. The third image shows a Starling perched on the Swift box, and if you click on the image to expand it and, look carefully and you can see one inside it. In the past they have put a baffle on the front to keep the starlings out but this year the thinking is that the starlings will have departed by the time the Swifts arrive. Fifth image is a Cormorant sat on a semi submerged fence, followed by two Moorhen. Image 7 is a Buzzard, then a Dove.

Black-Headed Gulls. I didn’t realize until a couple of weeks later that the reason they were swooping around so much, particularly over the shallower pools either side of the hide, was to pick insects out of the air. I caught this behaviour in images you can see on my main blog page on March 19th.

Oyster Catcher (with the orange bill) in a group of Herring Gulls. Its a fairly poor quality image but they were distant and so this is a very heavy crop. Initially I thought these were crows but having had a longer look I can see they are actually Jackdaw.

Mallard. These were on the small stream, but I also saw them on the main body of water.

Great Tit, House Sparrow, Chaffinch, Stonechat and Robin. The Robin is ringed with Yellow ‘A B’. I was chatting with Len who visits the site every day and looks after the feeding station about this. He is the qualified ‘ringer’ and holds regular sessions where to catch birds in a net and ring them. The details are in a database used across many countries. This particular Robin is 7 years old and never left the meadow. I’ve seen Len feeding him from his hand so he is quite tame. No surprise then that it is probably the most photographed bird that appears on the Tice Meadow facebook group.

January 20th 2026 – U3A Birdwatching – Frensham Little Pond

I joined the group for a walk this morning for the first time. It was cloudy and cold and dull lighting for the most part. The highlight was spotting a Crossbill, a first time for me. I was surprised at how close I could get without it taking flight.