Birdwatching

Status:	Active, open to new members
Convenor:	Susan
Group email:	Birdwatching group
When:	Monthly on Monday mornings 2nd Monday of each month at 10:00
Venue:	Various

About us

Our meetings are held on the second Monday of the month and start at 10am. They usually last about 2 hours and are followed by an optional pub lunch.

Our group has about 25 members at present. Not everyone comes every time so we generally have a manageable number of about a dozen.

We are always very keen to welcome new members to our group and would stress that no prior expertise is required. Members are always happy to share their knowledge and to help novices to get the best out of joining.

We have around eight regular birdwatching sites which are within 45 minutes’ drive of High Wycombe and occasionally make longer trips that are further afield.

What to bring

You do need binoculars although one or two members often bring a telescope and they are always happy for others to use them to get a closer look at anything particularly interesting. You will also need good shoes or boots – it can be muddy! Please also be responsible for your own First Aid Kit.

Some of our favourite places

News and Events

Our next outing - June 8th - Lodge Hill

So far this year (2026)

In February: We had an excellent turnout for our outing to Jubilee River, with 16 walkers and 2 extras for lunch! Somewhat unbelievably, we also had NO RAIN! It was very interesting to see the area in the winter as this is usually a summer trip, and although the river was high and had burst its banks in places, the paths were good and not too muddy! It proved much easier in winter to spot the birds hiding in the trees! A highlight was a flock of siskin feeding in the alder. We saw or heard a total of 41 different birds, including kingfisher and green woodpecker spotted by some lucky members (sadly not me!)

In March we enjoyed our walk around the lakes and along the river at Dinton Pastures Country Park (a site which our group hasn't visited for quite a few years). The mist gradually cleared so we could ID the birds more easily and we saw / heard 40 species. There were lots of mute swans and some of last year's cygnets still had traces of their juvenile plumage. The pairs of Egyptian geese were very noisy, defending their pair bonds. It was lovely to hear many different birds singing and calling, particularly a song thrush, a green woodpecker and a nuthatch, as well as the more common tits, robin and wren.

Our second March outing was to Marlow for the Dawn Chorus, We started off at 6.15am and saw and heard a good number of birds and lots of deer too. All finished off with a very satisfying Wetherspoons breakfast.

In April we enjoyed a sunny walk at Stockers Lake. The variety of habitats - woodland, river, lakes - provides niches for a range of bird species and our total was 41. The "winter" ducks had left, apart from a pair of pochard, a male shoveler and a few gadwall and tufted ducks. Three species of geese - Egyptian (already with goslings), some greylag and of course lots of Canda. With the help of the Merlin app and some sharp-eyed members, we saw three types of tits, a goldcrest, blackcap, sedge warbler, Cetti's warbler, chiffchaff, chaffinch, robin, dunnock, wren, kingfisher and even got excited to see a few house sparrows!

In April again! 12 of us had a very a successful full day outing to a new venue for our group at Walthamstow wetlands - the weather was sunny and warm and we saw / heard 49 species. Although some paths were closed, due to pylon work, we found plenty of birds to watch on the lakes, along a small river and in surrounding trees/scrub. . Some of the day's highlights included 2 kingfishers flying past us at speed, sand martins (a few pairs able to use pipes in the brickwork at the base of a building); also a whitethroat and blackcap. We were enchanted by a pair of great crested grebes displaying to each other! There were many goslings of Canada and Greylag geese and we watched some ducklings skimming across the water in pursuit of insects. It seems that everyone enjoyed our day, helped along by coffee and lunch at the cafe in the old Engine House!

In May 10 of us enjoyed our annual walk around Otmoor RSPB reserve - dressed warmly as, despite it being May, there was a cold northerly wind! We saw 48 species and were really pleased to see and hear a good number of summer migrants. A cuckoo was calling as we got out of our cars and later a pair flew overhead. As well as hearing reed warbler, Cetti's, whitethroat, blackcap, chiffchaff (and one lucky person heard a grasshopper warbler), we had good views of a sedge warbler and garden warbler singing. Another highlight was seeing 3 glossy ibis (not a species one sees often in this country - a pity the sun wasn't shining to show off their coats.) We enjoyed watching many swifts and a few swallows busy catching insects on the wing. It was good to see an oystercatcher, a redshank and some lapwings out on the scrapes (but sadly we didn't find any curlew and the cranes are nesting in an area not accessible to the public)

Some highlights from last year:

March Dawn Chorus: Despite an early 6am start, we enjoyed our annual Dawn chorus trip to Marlow.
I think we all agreed it was well worth it (despite the cold), with atmospheric mist across the wetland areas and River Thames and all the beautiful bird songs we could appreciate hearing before it got light. Some other highlights were lapwings displaying in flight, great spotted woodpeckers drumming, a buzzard perched in a tree and a barn owl flying across a field to spend the day in an owl box. All polished off nicely with breakfast at the new Marlow Weatherspoons!

In October We had a lovely bright, sunny day for our trip to RSPB Pagham harbour reserve, when 6 of us enjoyed several hours of bird watching in a quite different environment from our local Bucks sites. A huge area of marsh, with pools and a river estuary as well as hedgerows and fields. We were lucky enough to be shown around by two rspb volunteers who helped us to spot and identify a good range of birds. Some highlights included curlews, snipe, redshank, stonechats, big flock of lapwing, skylark, chiffchaffs, meadow pipit and grey wagtail.
It was a great day out and well worth the journey.

In November: Otmoor starlings murmuration We were so fortunate with the weather on Monday, as the rain fell while we were travelling and during our pub lunch; then the sun came out for our walk at Otmoor reserve, giving us beautiful reflections of lapwings standing on the mud in the main lake - the colours of their plumage were stunning. We enjoyed watching several marsh harriers flying over the reeds. There were some winter ducks - teal, shovellers and gadwall, but not yet in large numbers. Of course what we had come to see was the arrival of thousands of starlings at their overnight roosting site amongst the reeds and it was a special experience to have them flying in over our heads, close enough to hear the swoosh of their wings and then their chattering (faint for most of us) as they settled. There were many groups of different sizes arriving from several directions over an extended period and although there were only a few quick murmurations of the early arrivals, their behaviour is still something to appreciate.

Most recent photos: