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Winter Bird, Spring Flowers & Dawn Chorus

Upcoming Guided Walks & Winter Bird Report

Nightingale not one for the Winter Bird walk but possibly for the Dawn Chorus
Nightingale

Following the Winter Bird walk, Steve Hallam will be leading two guided walks in the coming weeks:

  • Spring Flower Walk – starting from St Mary’s Old Church at 2 pm on 26th April, &
  • Dawn Chorus, also from St Mary’s Old Church at the somewhat earlier time of 3:45 am. This walk affords the opportunity to see Nightingales and many other brilliant dawn choristers.  For this walk you should bring warm clothing, stout footwear, a flask of hot drink and a torch. 

The links above are to reports from previous walks. We recommend you wear strong boots or wellies since you may well need to walk through long wet grass!

The Friends of Hillhouse Wood is a group of local residents who work with The Woodland Trust to look after this beautiful remnant of ancient woodland. You will also be able to see them at the Village Fete on Saturday 14th June.

Winter Bird Walk 2025

One aspect of observing nature that makes it so compelling is that you never know what you will see and hear. Will it surpass expectations, or disappoint? As mentioned in previous years, this winter bird walk is the one that has the potential to provide ‘thin gruel’. Over the years there seems to be reduced numbers of over wintering birds in this area, especially earlier on in the season. This is why the date of the walk has moved back by a few weeks.

Unduly Pessimistic

This year, I had done some preparatory surveys in the days before the walk, and had seen relatively little.  Nevertheless, 14 people came along, which was very pleasing.  I thought that I should ‘manage expectations’ but, as it turned out, I was being unduly pessimistic.

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Walk the Dawn Chorus 2024

Dawn Chorus 2024 with Friends of Hillhouse Wood

Nightingale
Nightingale

The Dawn Chorus 2024 walk , which is taking place on Saturday 18th May, will be led by Steve Hallam.  Organised by the Friends of Hillhouse Wood, this walk affords the opportunity to see Nightingales and many other brilliant dawn choristers.  Steve says:

If you haven’t tried this you’ll find it a rewarding and delightful experience at a very special time for the wood’s varied birdlife.

Read last years report here to see what you might hear and/or see.

It will mean an early start, meeting at the Old Church at 3:45 am (weather permitting).  You are should bring warm clothing, stout footwear, a flask of hot drink and a torch. 

This walk follows on from the recent Spring Flowers Walk.

Report of the 2024 Spring flowers walk

Wouldn’t life be boring without some variation and unpredictability? You can rely on the Hillhouse Wood guided walks to provide this – even the ones that are supposed to be the same, such as the Spring flowers walk.  This year’s walk was no exception, both positively and less so.

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Spring Flower & Winter Bird Walks

The Next Guided Walk at Hillhouse Wood is the Spring Flower Walk

Bluebells likely to be seen on Spring Flower Walk

Following the successful Winter Bird Walk in March (see report below), the next Guided Walk is the annual Spring Flower Walk on Saturday 27th April. Steve Hallam will lead the walk in and near Hillhouse Wood. Previously called the Bluebell Walk, it has become difficult to pick the optimum ‘bluebell’ date for the walk although there will always be plenty of Spring Flowers to see. The walk will start at the Old Church at 2pm.

Other upcoming Friends of Hillhouse Wood activities are:

  • Dawn Chorus Guided Walk on Saturday 18th May, and
  • Stall at the Village Fete on Saturday 6th July.

Winter Birds – Steve Hallam Reports

Of all the guided walks that I lead, the winter bird walk is the most unpredictable. The weather can be variable and off-putting, whilst at this time of year the birds move around looking for food. So, you can be never sure which species you will encounter and whether you will be able see or hear them through the driving rain or howling gale.

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Walk the Dawn Chorus 2023

Dawn Chorus 2023 with Friends of Hillhouse Wood

Swift in flight

The Dawn Chorus Walk 2023 is taking place on a busy weekend with Bird walks all across Essex. It will form part of the “Big County Birdwatch ’23” which being organised by the Essex Birdwatching Society. First, though, a report by Steve Hallam on the recent Spring Flower Walk at Hillhouse Wood.

Click here if you want to jump to the bird walks.

Spring Flower Dilemma

Bluebells

It is always a dilemma as to which date to set for the Spring Flowers walk. This is because the timing of when the various species flower can vary considerably between early and late seasons.  This year I anticipated that the season would be early – so naturally it has been late.  The solution was obvious, and so the ‘Bluebell’ walk was re-christened as a ‘Spring flowers’ one.  The forecast for the afternoon was either for sunny periods or rain showers, depending on which forecaster you looked at.  Either way, undaunted, a pleasingly large group of 22 assembled at the appointed hour and starting point. 

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Spring Flower Walk 2023

Spring Flower Walk 2023 with Friends of Hillhouse Wood

Early Purple Orchid
Early Purple Orchids similar to those seen

This is one of a few guided walks the Friends of Hillhouse Woods run each year. They  work with The Woodland Trust to look after this beautiful remnant of ancient woodland.

Last years’ Spring Flower Walk identified nine flowers in the first few yards, also many birds and other natural delights. The stars of the walk were Early Purple orchids that were flowering in profusion on the bank above the top pond. Walkers saw a total of 29 plants and trees in flower, which shows what a rich little patch of nature we are lucky enough to have.

Don’t miss this years’ walk!

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The return of guided walks at Hillhouse Wood

Two Guided Walks Return to Hillhouse Wood

Guided walks return to Hillhouse Wood

After a gap of three years, guided walks return with two great walks to enjoy with Steve Hallam in the next few weeks.

  • Spring Flower Walk on 23rd April, and
  • Dawn Chorus Walk on 7th May.

Spring Flower Walk

The last Spring Flower walk took place in 2019 in the company of Storm Hannah! Despite the weather, 22 folks assembled for the walk and thoroughly enjoyed themselves; the comic highlight possibly being when Steve was pretty much blown over by the force of the wind! The walk is normally conducted at a gentle pace (storms permitting).

In a typical year you are likely to see the following flowers:

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