A Birding Hornet

The Hornet's Nest began way back in 2004 as a record of my birdwatching (or 'birding') in and around my home town of Leamington Spa. Although some of my blogging now includes angling, birdwatching remains a constant, almost instinctive habit - and I'm sure The Hornet's Nest will always reflect that.

Although much of my birding is random and unplanned (it's amazing what you see while fishing, walking cycling, driving or simply staring out of the window), there are a number of nature reserves I regularly visit in Warwickshire - Brandon Marsh near Coventry, Ladywalk and Kingsbury to the north, and Draycote Reservoir, by far the biggest water in the area.

But when I do head out with birding in mind, it is most often to my 'patch', a loosely-defined area to the east of Leamington covering perhaps 20 sq km.

In birding terms, my patch comprises a number of less fashionable locations, and as a result it has less birders than the better known reserve hotspots. With time and patience however, it has thrown up some good birds.

This post from 2004 explains more about my patch.

I have also prepared a short Guide to Birdwatching for the uninitiated, as well as a Glossary of Terms and an ongoing review of any new birding equipment I have used.

And if you're really, really interested (warning, nerd alert), you can also see my birding lists - list of all the birds I've seen in the UK since I started birding (my Life List), in my home county of Warwickshire (my County List), on my local patch (my Patch List), and the year (funnily enough, called my Year List, although unfortunately 2005 was the last time I kept a year list).