A Cold windy Grey day saw me with an unusual opportunity to use the car. At 630am Calum and I set out for Dungeness stopping briefly to collect Tom from Rainham station along the way. A brief pitstop and at around 845 we had made it into the Dungeness recording area. We hadn't even made it out the car before the first year tick of the day was found with 2 Swift flying across the road commuting between two of the pools. Eventually we arrived at the Light house and once parked up we headed straight for the sea watching hide. via a nice Male Stonechat and a few Linnet along the way. Above: Male Stonechat Once we were in the hide it was a patient waiting game and of course eventually the waiting paid off. The wind was an extremely strong Westerly and so anything flying East was being blown through at some speed where as anything trying to headed West was easily identifiable. Some good year ticks were seen Including 2 Bonxie, an Arctic Skua, plenty of Manx Shearwater, a Guillemot, and plenty of Fulmar. Common Tern, Med Gulls, Black-headed Gulls, Sandwich Tern, Gannet, Common Scoter, and a pair of Avocet also passed off shore, as well as a rather bazar movement of Great Crested Grebe heading West, I have to admit watching Great Crested Grebes flying is one of the strangest things as their wings look way too small for their bodies. A few Common Gull were also dotted about. The first signs of some passage were obvious during the sea watch as 2 Swallow and 3 Swift came in off the sea. I have to admit that they had picked a rather odd time to make their journey across the channel, but at least they had managed to make it to dry land. After 2 hours of sea watching and things starting to slow down we decided to go out into the shingle dunes to see if we could find anything sheltering from the storm. Unfortunately the best thing we found were 5 Wood Pigeon appearing in off the channel. A few Linnet were around as well as the local Starlings but otherwise it was strangely quiet. The landscape of this area also made this into a chilling experience as for some reason Dungeness fells like an apocalyptic ghost town in the middle of a completely barren landscape. The Power station also doesn't help with that. Above: Great Crested Grebes heading West into the head wind. We then headed back to the car to drop our scopes of and decided to heading into the dense bushes behind the dunes to see if there was anything sheltering from the wind. Well there were plenty of Species in the dense row of bushes including; Skylark, Meadow Pipit, Common Whitethroat, Lesser Whitethroat, Blackcap and Chiffchaff. I have to admit it was nice to be our of the wind for a bit of time even if it was just a good mix of common species to be found. After this we decided to get back in to the car and head up to the main reserve. What happened next was priceless and a moment those in the front of the car wont ever forget. We were just driving down the road towards the main entrance of the RSPB reserve. When Calum picked up a Swift over on the left hand side of the car and as it flew across the road at into my line of sight all hell broke lose. 'ALPINE SWIFT' was shouted, but poor Tom in the back wasn't able to see. The swift that flew across the road was an obvious Brown not Black bird and had a very prominent white patch on its stomach. Honestly when it flew across the road in front of the car I nearly completely lost control of the car and given where we were at the time I am glad that we didn't end up in the ditch. I pull off the road into the Arc car park and we set out to the hide to see if we could relocate the bird however unfortunately this seemed impossible until someone apparently saw it as well. We presumed it had just kept on going as there were very obvious pulses of Hirrundae moving through the area. When we got to the hide we decided to have a look over the pit anyway as there was plenty of stuff to see. Reed Warbler, Sedge Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Blackcap, Reed Bunting, and Chiffchaff were all singing outside the hide as a pair of Chaffinch and a pair of Long-tailed Tit were feeding. The Pits themselves contained plenty of Tufted Duck and Coot, along with the odd Pochard, Gadwall and a few Great Crested Grebe as well. A male Marsh Harrier was a nice bonus as he hunted over the reed beds at the back of the pools. Pulses of Swallow, House and Sand Martin moved through over head with a few stopping to feed for a brief few seconds, along with the odd Swift mixed in. Above: Great Crested Grebe We then decided to head back to the main road and cross over to see if the Tree Sparrows were still about the entrance cottage, however we didn't have the best of luck and only managed to find House Sparrows visiting the feeders in the front garden. I decided to head back across the road to grab the car adding another Cetti's Warbler, a Sedge Warbler, and a Kestrel to the day list however, by the time I had made it back across the road I was given the news that I had just missed not one but two Tree Sparrow. Thankfully after a couple more minutes they popped there heads up from inside the brambles so that they could add themselves to the year list. I have to admit though that these are my first Tree Sparrows away from Spurn Bird Observatory which is quite sad considering how common this charismatic species once was. Above: My Photo of the Tree Sparrows Below: Tom's Photo of the Tree Sparrow. We then got back in the car and drove down the entrance road to the Visitor Centre. Just as we were getting out of the car I was just grabbing a bite to eat when the wind decided otherwise and blew the piece of Matzah with Chocolate spread out of my hand and bam there went my lunch. After this we set about scanning Burrowe's Pit from the various hides and we managed to clock up two more year ticks in the form of Kittiwake and Bar-tailed Godwits. Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, and Sedge Warblers were singing from the bushes surrounding the pit with plenty of Common Tern out feeding over the water. Ringed Plover were eventually found with 4 dotted around the various islands. A few Teal were still around and Tufted Duck out numbered Pochard by almost 5:1. A few Mute Swan were around as well as yet more Great Crested Grebe. Above: I want to say Kittiwake but I am now think that I managed to photo graph the only Common Gull in the flock of Kittiwake. Below: Brick red Bar-tailed Godwit with Herring Gull, Teal and Black-headed Gull for company. We then moved onto the Christmas Dell Hide which over looked a rather empty pool. Swifts, Swallow, and Sand Martin were feeding in front of the hide with the odd House Martin mixed in for good measure as the next flock of probably around 60 or 70 birds moved on through. The hide was however shaking in the strong wind and it honestly felt as if at any moment the hide was going to topple over the edge with us in it. We soon left the hide and no sooner had we done so I spotted a white blob sheltering behind some Brambles off to the right hand side of the hide. Honestly when I put my binoculars up to my face I was expecting to see a plastic bag caught on the bushes, however to my surprise it was in fact a hunkered down Cattle Egret. I shouted to Tom who was a bit ahead of us and at first he thought I was joking until I managed to persuade him to look through his bins. A Sedge Warbler also sang boldly from a nearby bush. Above: Tom's photo of the Sedge Warbler Below: Tom's photo of the Cattle Egret After this bit of excitement we headed up to Denge Marsh where yet more Swift were hawking over the reserve with mainly Sand and House Martin this time. The pool from the hide was pretty lifeless however the days first Pied Wagtail, and Lapwing were about along with some Canada Geese, greylag and a few Egyptian Geese. A few Coot and Great Crested Grebe were also out on the pool, but my guess is that everything else was tucked up away in the reeds somewhere sheltering from the ghastly wind. Above: Common Swift We then headed back to the car via the first Grey Wagtail and Yellow Wagtail of the day. We decided to head round to Deng Marsh Lane to see if the Crane that had been reported earlier in the day was still around. As we headed down the road we spotted some birders that had pulled in off the road and were scanning the field so we decided to do the same. To our surprise the field was alive with 3 Egyptian Geese, plenty of Stock Dove, Linnet, and not just one but over 25 Male Yellow Wagtails. These Yellow Wagtails were absolutely stunning. One individual in particular was obliging and came right up to us so Tom and I decided to lie on the ground to see just how close it would come. Honestly it came within 50cm of us as it was foraging and didn't seem to mind the paparazzi. Complete madness. Above: My photo's of the Yellow Wagtail Below: Toms Photo's of the Yellow Wagtail After a while we decided to continued down the road and eventually ended up getting a bit lost down a rather bumpy gravel track. The only bonus was the fact that we managed to stumble across a field full of Greylags and their Goslings. Literally everywhere you looked there was a family of Greylag, Above and Below: Greylag family After another brief craneless stop I decided that we would call it a day and head for home via a brief stop off at RSPB Rainham Marshes where we had 6 Avocet, a Ringed Plover, a Whimbrel and 15 Sand Martin. Upon leaving the reserve about to embark on the final stretch home a fox ran out into the middle of the road and as I came to a halt it headed straight for us in the car. Now what do you think it had in its mouth? There was some debate at to whether it was carrying a Vole or a Rat.... And so after dropping Tom off in Rainham village we decided to head for home and ended up sitting on the car park which is the North Circular for ages. This gave us time to ponder the day which we had. Infact somewhat surprisingly I am the only person in the group walking away from the trip without a lifer, however with 11 year ticks and my year list now up to 163 species. I don't think it was too bad a trip for my first visit to the Dungeness area. What a day! Trip List: 82 Species 11 Year Ticks
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Just before I start this blog post I wanted to apologise for the lack of blog posts recently. Given how much birding and other stuff I have done I have had very limited time to sit down and write up what I have done. I will at some point do a Totteridge round up and I am tempted to put a photo gallery blog post up as well, but we shall see. Anyway.... Now onto the main part of the blog. It was a glorious morning as I headed out and I arrived at Rainham North reserve at just gone 0730. I have to admit that I love this time of year as there is a constant wall of sound coming out of the Reed Beds with Blackcap, Sedge Warblers, and Cetti's Warbler all back in full song. Above: female Blackcap Rainham West was more of the same with plenty of Blackcap, Sedge and Cetti's Warbler, as well as the 1st Whitethroats and the odd Chiffchaff. In fact the shrubby parts of Rainham West were almost literally dripping with Blackcaps with both males and females feeding frantically in the warm sunshine. It was some sight to see and it felt as though there had been quite a good fall of migrants over night. Infact the migration theme continued as I headed past the tip towards the Stone Barges as 4 extremely high flying Grey Herons looked a little suspicious for a time as they headed East. Next up was a group of Sand Martins joined by a lone Swallow as they headed North and shortly followed by 2 calling adult Meds Gulls in their stunning summer plumage with glistening white wings and their pristine black heads. Also along the ditch were yet more Sedge Warbler, Cetti's Warbler, and the days first and only Reed Warbler as well as my first two Lesser Whitethroats of the year. Above: The essence of 4 High flying Grey Herons Below: 2ad Med Gulls Moving on past the Stone Barges Skylarks and Meadow Pipits could be heard singing from the tips along with plenty of Common Whitethroat in the bushes closest to the path. Out on the river a rather oddly plumaged gull flew past. It was about Black-headed Gull Size and I have to admit at first I though it was a Gannet. It had pure white wings on either side and each wing had black trailing along the under wing and along the upper wing. Its honestly the most bazar thing I have seen and I will have to put it down as some odd plumaged Black-headed Gull. The first Common Terns headed up river shortly followed by not one but three Arctic Terns which called as they flew by. A few Teal were also about as well as plenty of large gulls commuting to the tip. There was also a noticeable movement of Black-headed Gulls high down river which is something I have witnessed here before, but the spiralling flocks continued on and off throughout the day. Above: Common Whitethroat Below: Drake Teal Above: Record shot of the Bazar Gull Next I headed up towards Aveley Bay finding an Egyptian Goose and quite a decent amount of both Goldfinch and Linnet. Common Terns were fishing off shore with plenty around at the moment. Once at the bay I set about scanning for the Garganey that had been seen earlier in the day however it wasn't where I was expecting it to be at all. I had presumed that it would be out in the middle of the bay on the mud somewhere however after failing to find it I then had a quick look at the duck that was swimming right next to me and to my surprise it was the Drake Garganey and what a stunning bird he was too. I moved a little because I was sitting in some Dog Poop, but unfortunately for me that would be enough to send the Garganey down river and I watch until it had vanished underneath the Dartford Crossing. What a bird this was and this was my first male Garganey that I have seen since all the others I have ever seen have either been Juvs or females. Otherwise Aveley Bay was full of Redshank, Shelduck, Teal, 3 Avocet, a Whimbrel, and a Black-tailed Godwit. Above: Linnet Below: Drake Garganey Above: Whimbrel After this I then headed to the path over the tip which was unusually quiet with just the usual Skylarks and Meadow Pipits singing as well as plenty of Peacock and Small White Butterflies. I then headed to the Serin Mound which unfortunately didn't hold the hoped for Cattle Egret of recent days, however there were still plenty of Canada Geese, Greylags, Shelduck, and Shoveler around. A few Common Whitethroat and also the odd Blackcap and Cetti's Warbler could also be heard singing from the mound. I then headed back over towards Aveley Bay however rather than adding a bird species to the list it was a Butterfly that too my interest with Small Tortoiseshell showing well along with plenty of Peacocks. Above: Goldfinch Below: Peacock Butterfly Above: Avocet and Black-headed Gull Below: Small Tortoiseshell With the heat starting to build I decided to head to the visitor centre for some relief and also for a brief pit stop. After lunch I headed out onto the main part of the reserve and set about scanning Purfleet Scrape. Honestly there wasn't a lot about from here however there was still the odd lingering Wigeon mixed in amongst the resident Teal, Gadwall, and Shoveler. Onto to Dents Drop where I set about scanning the winter pools and almost immediately I picked up my second Drake Garganey of the day. This one was in perfect light and rather unusually out in the open and feeding frantically. It was loosely associating with a flock of Teal and occasionally it would be interrupted by a passing Coot or Shoveler. Redshank were also feeding around the edge of the pool, but not the hoped for Little Ringed Plover. I have to admit though that the Garganey made my day as I had always wanted to see a full breeding plumage Drake and I had now seen two in one day. Above: Drake Garganey After a while I decided to move on and so I decided to head into the woodland. The Woodland was alive with song with Robins, Wrens, Dunnock, Blackbirds, Chiffchaff, Blackcap, and Cetti's Warbler all in song. In fact it was the duo of Robins that stole the show as they showed particularly well. Above: Robin Moving on towards the Ken Barret hide where a brief stop along the way near the troll bridge saw plenty of Sun Bathing Marsh Frogs. While stopped a Rook flew over the reserve calling which was my first for the day. Above: Marsh Frog Below: Rook Next onto the Ken Barret Hide where it was again quite quiet, however eventually things got going with Several Little Egret dropping in as well as a Marsh Harrier flyby, and both Great Crested Grebe and Little Grebe fishing. Pochard were also noticeably numerous. All of a sudden from no where a Mallard appeared with 6 tiny ducklings by her side. These were the first ducklings of the year and they literally must have hatched earlier in the day. They fed in front of the hide catching the plentiful insects that had ventured a little too close and after a few minutes of this they were worn out and proceeded to sitting on the bank for a nap. Above: Mallard and Ducklings Below: Little Egret After this little bit of excitement I decided to head on towards the Butts hide. Along the way I briefly check the Aveley pools but the glare from the sun meant that it was impossible to pick up much more than silhouettes prompting a swift departure. A Kestrel was however hovering over the back and the surrounding reeds were full of Reed Bunting, Sedge Warblers, and Cetti's Warbler as well as a pair of pinging Bearded Tit. Eventually I made it to the hide where I set about scanning the Target Pools. 2 Male Marsh Harriers were up and about along with the local Buzzards and a few Kestrel. On the Pools them selves the were well over 50 each of Shoveler and Gadwall with fewer Teal and Wigeon around. 3 Pintail were a nice surprise though as they should really be long gone by now. I then switched over to the other side of the hide the Butts Scrape. Pochard and Tufted Duck were the most numerous species of Duck with quite a few Drakes of both species sitting asleep on the island. There were still at least 4 lingering Common Snipe as well, but still no Jack Snipe which is frustrating. Above: Common Buzzard Below: Pied Wagtail After this I headed out of the hide and down to the view point over the Target Pools to see if there were any waders about. To my surprise 7 Avocet were sitting in front of the viewing platform upon arrival and with some more scanning I eventually picked up the hoped for Ruff. Otherwise it was business as usual with very little of note. The Avocet were however interesting to watch as they were displaying, well actually 4 were displaying while the others dozed quietly off to one side. After this I headed back to the centre via a very brief but awesome encounter with one of the reserves Water Voles as well as some sort of either Wasp or Beetle I can't quite decided. And so with my year list now sitting at 152 Species I look ahead to the possibility of now reaching my target of 192+. Will I make it? I for one have some renewed hope. [In the coming months I am hopefully going to be trailing something a little different as I would quite like to start making mini video clips on species especially ones in the Dorset and London area so if anyone has a specific species or any comments then please do let me know.] Above: Avocet Below: Coot Above: Drake Gadwall
Below: Beetle thing When I left home at just before 6 I have to admit that I wasn't too sure what to expect with the day ahead. Given that the news from Rainham during the week was that it was on fire in terms of species. It wasn't really surprising that when I got to the sea wall at around half past 7 it was still and calm with very little in the way of anything about. You do have to remind your self though that at this point the weather was crystal clear with a small touch of a North Easterly Breeze. Any wind with a hint of easterly wind is a good wind for Rainham, however cloud cover is often preferable. By the time Calum had joined me on the sea wall I had already had a decent selection with the first Common Tern and Whimbrel for the year as well as a flock of 6 Ring-necked Parakeet. Since there wasn't an awful lot moving on the Thames Calum and I decided that the best thing to do would be to head along the river wall towards Aveley Bay. Along the way we could hear plenty of Sedge and Cetti's Warblers singing from the perimeter ditch, but no Reeds as of yet. In Aveley Bay itself it was a bit quiet with only 3 Avocet, 3 Black-tailed Godwit, and a few Redshank, Teal and Shelduck. A Great Crested Grebe was on the river but nothing else as of yet. It was now getting towards the time that we were going to meet the others so we headed towards the visitor centre along the lower path. A rather late Rock Pipit was seen along the river wall along with Meadow Pipits and Reed Bunting. We then found a Ben along the river wall and as we did so a nice Male Peregrine flew over. Above: Male Peregrine Just as we were heading into the visitor centre the 1st Sand Martins of the day flew over which was a good sign. Once Fraser, Arjun, and James had joined us we decided to head out onto the reserve. Purfleet Scrape was unusually quiet since most of the wintering birds have now left. There were however a good amount of Snipe still along the back edge in and amongst the sleeping Shoveler, Gadwall, and Tufted Duck. We then headed down towards the woodland where the Blackcap and Chiffchaff sang as well as the Cetti's Warblers. Blue, and Great Tit were seen along with Chaffinch, Goldfinch and Greenfinch. The local Robins were also about, but unfortunately didn't play ball. The 1st 2 Med Gull of the day were also seen circling the woodland at an extreme altitude giving their characteristic cat like call as the went by. The Barn owl wasn't on the edge of his box however in a nearby ditch 11 Marsh Frogs were encountered which was actually slightly surprising given how cold it was. Above: There are at least 7 Marsh Frogs in this photo.... Can you see them all? Below: Arjun's top quality shot of a Marsh Frog We then headed up to the Ken Barret Hide passing a few Linnet along the way. Once in the hide we could see a decent selection of birds including Moorhen, Coot, Canada Geese, Pochard, Mallard, Little Grebe, and a Little Egret. Sand Martins were slowly becoming more numerous and the 1st House Martin of the day flew through. We then headed up towards Aveley Pools and the view points. From here it was more of the same however the Sand Martin flock had started to build with over 20 hawking insects over the water. The 1st Swallow of the day was seen as well. Above: female Shoveler Below: Sand Martin After this we then headed into the Northern Board walk here we had the 1st singing Reed Warbler of the year as well as plenty more Cetti's Warbler, Sedge Warbler, and Linnet. Another couple of Med Gull flew over Mewing as they went and more Swallow and 3 Buzzard flew over Wennington. Above: Med Gulls We then headed into the Butt's hide where we set about scanning Butts Scrape. There was still a handful of Snipe around with also plenty of Pochard and Tufted Duck, but not the hoped for Jack Snipe, unfortunately. Moving to the other side of the hide the Marsh Harriers were now up over Wennington. Otherwise the were Plenty of Gadwall and Shoveler out on Target Pools, with a few Wigeon, and Teal. There were also 4 Ruff showing well, but no sign of any LRP's Andy had told us that the 1st Grasshopper Warbler of the season had been heard along the river wall so we headed off in that direction. Along the way we stopped off at the dragonfly pools where we had the privilege of getting some great views of both Male and female Bearded Tits. We also heard yet more Cetti's and Sedge Warblers, but no the hoped for Grasshopper Warbler. Above: Male Bearded Tit Below: Arjun's photo of the Male Marsh Harrier We then headed up to the river wall and had a quick scan of both the river and Aveley Bay. This was quite successful as the since it had clouded over and the wind had picked up there were now at least 20 Common Tern Fishing on the Thames. With nothing extra to add to our day tally we decided to head to Rainham Mound/ the path over the tip. Once on the path Skylark and Meadow Pipit were singing from all around us. They created a wall of sound, however this wasn't loud enough to drawn out the calls of yet more Med Gulls passing over head. I noticed a small bird perched behind a skylark on one of the fence posts, but it had its back to me. Thankfully it was flushed by 2 disputing Skylark and flew straight over our heads followed by not one but 2 more Corn Bunting. This was a magical sight and considering I have only ever had the luck of seeing a few individuals here in the past, to see 3 was something quite special. After this we continued down towards the Serin mound and had a scan of the marsh below. Well everyone except me was scanning the marsh below since something had caught my eye over in the direction of the tip, and I was grateful when it finally showed me its characteristic Dimond tail and fingers on the wing. It was a Raven and it definitely hadn't gone unnoticed as it headed towards the tip. Above: Arjun's photo of the Raven Below: James's Photo of the Raven What happened next I feel is going to be an unforgettable experience for all of the young birders including me. We had just seen a really close up Cetti's Warbler in a Gorse bush and had headed to the river wall. Where we had set about scanning the marsh before heading back to the centre for lunch. While scanning the marsh I had picked up a large bird over in the direction of Aveley Pools with obvious Black and White wings however had dismissed the possibility of it being anything interesting as I presumed it was just a Great Black-backed Gull. Oh how wrong was I when Tom put on the local chat that there was a White Stork circling the reserve. As soon as I saw this message I shouted to the other young birders "White Stork", "White Stork", and so we quickly set about scanning to re-find the birds. eventually it was picked up very low over Wennington heading towards the Serin Mound. When it was picked up all pandemonium broke lose and we realised that to get a better view of it we needed to move and so we all legged it down to the Serin mound a good 400 or so meters away from where we were standing. When we arrived we found the bird circling literally just meters above our head being mobbed by every gull possible. At times it felt like all 10,000 large gulls were after it. The White Stork made several failed attempts to land on the tip in the 30 minutes we watched. Eventually after circling our heads for most of the 30 minutes this stunning and graceful bird finally headed strongly NW and vanished. What a moment it was when we all managed to get onto the bird, I know for one it is one of those that you just wont be able to forget it was truly magical and what a bird it was too. Above: My photo of the White Stork when it was literally above our heads. Below: My video (please excuse the heavy breathing but trust me when I say we legged it, trust me it was some speed and distance) Above and Below: James's Photo's of the Stork Above and Below: Arjun's Photos of the Stork After the Stork had finally vanished from view we made our way back to the centre. I have to admit the conversation the whole day was how surreal it was to see a Stork on such a cold day. We then had lunch in the centre before heading back out to the Purfleet hide, where even though there wasn't an awful lot I am not too sure that anyone minded anymore. After this it was time for all of us to part ways after one more scan of the Thames which brought about 2 Egyptian Geese flying down river which is a good patch year tick. And so I sit here writing this now remembering just how good yesterday was and wondering what the next stand out bird will be. I did say that anything with a hint of Easterly is a good wind a Rainham. And so with my Year List now up to 144 Species I stand in a good place to be able to hunt down my target of 192+. Above: Arjun's Photo of one of the local Kestrels Here are the young birders that have contributed to the blogs twitter accounts please feel free to follow them:
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AuthorI have been a birder since I was 8 however only really started to be able to go out to places by myself in Summer 2016 (Blame the parents) My blogs will be from all over the place, but mainly from RSPB Rainham Marshes and Totteridge Valley! Photography done by Samuel Levy aged 18. ArchivesCategories |