Vismigging - RSPB Rainham Marshes - 15th October 2017I set out for Rainham Marshes bright and early. Whilst waiting for the train in Finchley Central I had a nice passage of Gulls West and also a Pied Wagtail and Chaffinch heading South Westwards calling loudly. Once on the train I sent a message to Dante saying that it felt like a good day of movement and to be honest I am pleased to say that I was correct! Once we arrived at Purfleet it was obvious that there was movement. As we stepped out of the train and looked up all we could see where Woodpigeons filling the sky with nearing 300 birds through heading South. Then when we were heading towards the river wall we had our first flock of Redwing and then shortly after that the first 2 Chaffinch flew over. Once on the river wall Dante immediately picked up 2 Common Sandpipers flying. A Cormorant was sitting with a Grey Heron and many large Gulls near Darrent mouth and more Woodpigeons and Redwings could be seen overhead. A Large Group of Redshank and some Lapwing were also on the mud over the other side of the river. The first Goldfinches were present and a Goldcrest called and stayed a silhouette in the bush behind us. A Kingfisher then flew down river, but perched just out of our view and so we decided to move on. Starlings and House Sparrows were around in the bushes around us and more Redwing flew over head with 4 high flying calling Fieldfare above them. As we got nearer to the centre 5 Curlew were seen with 2 in Aveley Bay, 1 just infront of the centre, and 2 flying from the main reserve down river. A Cetti's Warbler also sang from the reed beds in front of the centre and a Kingfisher sat perfectly on a piece of driftwood until a couple of agitated Collared Doves scared it away. We spent the next 20 minutes heading towards Aveley bay to look for the Dartford Warbler that had been seen previously, but with no luck we had to settle for a rather obliging Rock Pipit that sat within feet of us. Above: Rock Pipit Next up was odd. The only previous Brent Goose at Rainham this autumn was one found by me on my last visit and sure enough within seconds of us moving on one flew in calling and was picked up out on the river by Dante and I. It then flew off along the far shore line down river and was lost or so we thought, however it returned calling 10 minutes later. Above and Below: Brent Goose Below: Photo by Dante And so with that we headed back to the centre as Howard had opened up a little bit early and whilst doing so we heard a Grey Plover fly down River, but frustratingly neither of us could pick it up over the calm water! Howard decided to give us a radio for when we headed round so that we could report back our sightings, however at times it would have helped if there were things to report back. As soon as we stepped outside the visitor centre we had a Ring-necked Parakeet fly over with a flock of Jackdaw which are both reserve rarities and also plenty of Thrushes. We Made sure that we covered as much ground as possible on our journey round the reserve and by the time we had reached the end of the woodland we had 78 Redwing, 10 Song Thrush, a Siskin, Chiffchaffs, a Pheasant, 57 Jackdaw and more Goldcrests. We continued along the trail and had a total of 5 Rook flyover us, with most being adults. A Black-tailed Godwit was on Aveley pools alongside a supporting cast of Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swans, Shoveler, Pochard, Coot, Gadwall, Mallard, Wigeon, Lapwing, and Tufted Ducks! But the bird that I had hoped for unfortunately wasn't found. We then continued along the Northern Board Walk towards the Butt's hide. Here we encountered Reed Buntings and a nice pair of Stonechat. Above: m Stonechat Next onto the Butt's hide where there were surprisingly no snipe. There were however, Little Grebe, Teal, and Gadwall to amuse us. Above: Gadwall and Teal I was then hurriedly called over to the Target Pools end of the hides as there was a Juvenile Marsh Harrier up right in front of the hide. We watched it for a while and it eventually put up another Juvenile with a darker more smudged head pattern as well as a nice adult Male towards the A13! It also sent up the flock of Lapwing the were roosting there and this showed us that there were 4 Ruff lurking in and amongst them. A few Wigeon were also out on the pools as were Canada Geese, Greylags, Little Egrets, Grey Herons and also a Mute Swan. Above: My photo's of the Juv Marsh Harrier Below: Tom Bell's Photo's After this excitement we headed up to the sea wall and then onto the mound, however there wasn't too much around bar some large flocks of linnets, Goldfinches, Meadow Pipits, and also Skylarks! Above: Goldfinch Below: Linnet Above and Below: Mixed Goldfinch and Linnet flock Dante and I then checked Aveley Bay however there wasn't too much mud about and therefore there were only really Teal and Gulls around. Above: Teal And so we headed back to the centre, or at least that was the plan however we noticed that there was a consistent movement of Finches along the sea wall. We therefore decided to do a vis mig for the next 3 hours. In this time we managed to clock up 364 Chaffinch (with 416 being recorded from another spot (780 Total)), 2 Swallow, 6 Siskin, 5 Black-tailed Godwit, and the odd few Meadow Pipits, Skylarks, Goldfinch, and Linnet. There were unfortunately many missed opportunities during this vis mig, but it was amazing to see these birds up close on their journey South West. However the best was yet to come. Above: Chaffinches by Dante The light was awesome too which helps a lot when trying to identify things that are moving through very quickly. Next what happened was interesting. A Meadow Pipit called from off in the distance a probable migrant heading from NE to SW. However the bird that Dante and I picked up to our surprise wasn't a Meadow Pipit for it had a pure clean white rump. When Dante had a look at the photo's that he had taken it confirmed our suspicion as we stared at and jumped for joy at the sight of a Male Brambling! Above: Male Brambling by Dante This was a great surprise for me as I had only just add this to my life list the day before when one flew over me in the garden and I have to admit that it felt great. The Sky watch had paid off and a nice rewarding lunch was to be had. Whilst we sat on the river wall having lunch a family group of Mute Swans flew by and gave me a chance to try some flight shots, but I think that they still need some work! Above: Mute Swans (At least you can tell what they are!) We then headed down to the Serin Mound and the far corner of Wennington. From the Serin Mound we picked up a few Stonechat, whilst Kestrels hovered over the grassland and a Sparrowhawk flew through the bushes on our right hand side. We then headed down to the far right hand corner and here the light helped us identify 3 late Whinchats, more Stonechats and also the 2 Juv Marsh Harriers again. Above: Stonechat Below: Linnet Above: my shots of the Whinchat and a Cows rear end Below: Toms Shots of the Whinchat and Kestrel After this we headed to Rainham West where a nice Male Siskin flew over head calling loudly and looking absolutely amazing in the evening light. More Chiffchaffs were in the trees here than I had heard or seen all day and also a couple of Cetti's Warblers sang out from the reeds. A Little Grebe alarm called as we moved further into the reserve and on the bridge 2 Tufted Ducks and some Coot were seen. Our attention was however then drawn to a one of the Juv Marsh Harriers who hunted over the marsh land being mobbed by a Kestrel. Above: Tufted Ducks Below: Coots We then moved on in some stunning light in some stunning scenery and picked up a nice male Pheasant over near the A13 lapping up the last of the suns rays. Then onto Rainham North which was typically quiet bar the usual Starlings, and a Wren. Stock Doves started to move through over head with 21 in total through and then just as we thought the day couldn't get any better a Male Peregrine flew up to sit on a pylon over looking the station. What and end to a truly amazing day at Rainham Marshes and with an influx of Hawfinch to the country and some locally to me I think that it is time I saw to a long over due tick with a few more school vis migs this coming week. My life list now sits at a healthier 184 species for Britain and with a trip to Spurn quickly approaching who knows what it will be at the end of my next blog posts! I will now leave you with pictures of the Peregrine! Above: My awesome shots Below: Toms decent shot You can follow Tom at: You can follow Dante at:
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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 17. ArchivesCategories |