|
|
|
|
Bird Sightings If you wish to report your bird sightings you could contact the Kent bird recorder or use the new BirdLink site. Sightings from the groups outdoor trips See the Outdoor Trips Programme for details of the trips that we lead Sunday 30 April 2006 Ashdown Forest, East Sussex
Woodlarks, tree pipits, redstarts and a
Dartford warbler, all in song, plus flocks of linnets, redpolls and
goldfinches. Also seen were crossbill, hobby, cuckoo and siskin.
Many thanks to Glen Peacock for organising the
visit and to Mike Scott-Ham and his team for their expertise in finding
the birds for us!
Sunday 14th May 2006 Stodmarsh/Grove Ferry
11 members present and 65 species seen. These
included good views of singing garden warblers, Cetti's warblers, reed and
sedge warblers, cuckoo, common sandpiper, male garganey, spoonbill, little
ringed plover, hobbies, bearded tit, sparrowhawk, marsh harriers, yellow
wagtails, whitethroat, pochard, gadwall and numerous swifts, swallows and
martins, both sand and house.
We even managed to spot two swifts mating on the
wing!
We also heard, but did not see, nightingale,
turtle dove, green woodpecker and chiffchaff.
Sunday 20th. August 2006 Elmley RSPB Reserve
Of the 18 participants 8 were new faces, which was nice to see. Also had some good birds and a hare! The star bird was a Montagu's Harrier! Others included Marsh harrier, Peregrine, Merlin, Ringed plover with young, Avocet with young, Green Sandpipers, Common Sand pipers, Dunlin, Kestrels, Lapwings, Little Owl, Yellow Wagtails, Pied Wagtails, Little Egrets and Swallows.
Sunday 17th. September 2006 St. Margaret's Bay / Bockhill
Pleasantly warm for the time of year and the 10
participants spent 4 hours walking approx 4 miles but to no avail! Peak
migration time but where were the birds?!
We did see signs of hirundines moving out over the
cliffs but the only other birds of note were sparrowhawk, several wheatears, a
single whinchat, a couple of jays and one un-identified warbler, which led us
a merry dance.
We also found a large and very hairy caterpillar
which looked like a woolly bear.
Recommend the old coastguards lookout tearoom at
Bockhill for excellent coffee and cakes!
Sunday 7th. January 2007 Elmley RSPB Reserve
18 people, including several new faces, turned up on Sunday. Weather murky but mild with a stiff breeze. We had great views of peregrine, merlin and marsh harrier plus good numbers of ducks mainly wigeon, teal, shoveler, shelduck, mallard and pintail.
Sunday 18th. February 2007 Sandwich Bay and Pegwell Bay
13 participants. Weather dull and overcast with
poor light. Felt cold near the coast.
Birds of note :- Red throated diver, sparrowhawk, great spotted woodpecker, stonechats,brent geese, wigeon, bar-tailed godwits, great-crested grebes, lapwing, grey and golden plovers, loads of chaffinches plus wren and great tit in the hand.
Sunday 22nd. April 2007 Boughton Park / Wierton Hill Farm Great day, thanks to the weather and Don Taylor's expertise!. 14 members present and we saw 48 species in all, plus early purple orchid, wild garlic and a mass of bluebells. Also a tiny ginger bee-fly with a long proboscis which hovered like a humming bird hawk moth.
Birds of note were singing lesser whitethroat,
willow warbler and chiffchaffs. We had good views of a stunning pair of
bullfinches, swallows, nuthatch, 6 yellowhammers and a pair of sparrowhawks
displaying.
Sunday 29th. April 2007 Samphire Hoe
Sunday was good despite the earthquake and the
wet start!
We saw 26 species and had 15 participants.
Weather turned dry and sunny later on. Highlights were a peregrine carrying
a pigeon right over our heads, fledged stone chats being fed by mum and dad,
lesser and common whitethroats, fulmars, wheatear, rock pipit, kestrel,
sparrowhawk, linnets building a nest, house martins and one swift.
Loads of early bee orchids and many butterflies inc wall brown, green
hairstreak, holly and common blues and small heath.
Sunday 12th August 2007 Oare Marshes
15 members present, including 3 new ones.
Weather warm, dry and sunny although rain was forecast. Somewhat chaotic
conditions prevailed due to a certain sharp-tailed sandpiper from Siberia
which had been seen on the east flood on the previous two days. Cars were
everywhere and birders had come from all over the country to see it.
Needless to say the little perisher had decided to take off overnight so we
dipped on that one!!
Main contenders were 3 common buzzards (2 adults
& 1 juvenile), 2 garganey, 2 green sandpipers, 4 calling greenshank,
marsh harrier, kestrel, peregrine and a superb female sparrowhawk which kept
spooking the waders and actually came eyeball to eyeball with a couple of
people! We also saw common seals, common sandpiper, 1 curlew sandpiper, 3
little stints, golden plover, the usual godwit flock, bearded tits and
a painted lady butterfly.
A great day all round, with a total of 56 bird
species seen.
Sunday 10th. February 2008 Elmley RSPB Reserve and Capel Fleet
Sunday's trip was brilliant - lovely sunny day
(almost too hot at times) with 24 participants and 56 species seen, plus
several hares and an inquisitive stoat!
Highlights at Elmley were 3 short-eared owls, 2
of which appeared to be displaying. Very close views and we also heard them
calling. Merlin with a kill (quite distant) Bar-tailed and Black-tailed
godwits, skylarks, reed buntings, little owl, Spotted Redshank, turnstones,
wigeon, pintail.
Highlights at Raptor Viewpoint at Capel Fleet
were Rough-legged Buzzard in flight, huge female peregrine on post, loads of
marsh harriers and two ringtails hen harriers.
Saturday 8th. March 2008 Rainham Marshes RSPB Reserve 58 species seen or heard Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Cormorant, Little egret, Grey heron, Mute swan, Greylag goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Gadwall, Teal, Mallard, Pintail, Shoveler, Pochard, Tufted duck, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Lapwing, Snipe, Black-tailed godwit, Redshank, Black-headed gull, Common gull, Lesser black-backed gull, Herring gull, Great black-backed gull, Woodpigeon, Collared dove, Ring-necked parakeet, Great spotted woodpecker, Skylark, Meadow pipit, Water pipit, Pied wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Stonechat, Song thrush, Redwing, Mistle thrush, Cetti’s warbler, Bearded tit, Long-tailed tit, Coal tit, Blue tit, Great tit, Magpie, Jackdaw, Carrion crow, Starling, Chaffinch, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, Linnet, Reed bunting Sunday 6th. April 2008 Sevenoaks Wildfowl Reserve (KWT)
15 participants, although 2 went home because of the weather and driving. A winter wonderland - lots of snow. Very scenic, but few birds visible. The highlights were chiffchaffs, 2 grey wagtails and a pair of great crested grebes with young! In all over 30 species were seen.
Pictures copyright of Peter Saville
Thursday 10th. April 2008 Chatham Dockyard
One of our members - Brian Franklin - rang this afternoon to say he had seen a Black Redstart in Chatham Dockyard, by the Sea Wall, near the toilets.
Saturday 3rd. May 2008 Northward Hill - Dawn Chorus
Little egret, Grey heron, Mallard, Pheasant, Black-headed gull, Stock dove, Wood pigeon, Turtle dove, Cuckoo, Tawny owl, Green woodpecker, Great spotted woodpecker, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Nightingale, Song thrush, Mistle thrush, Blackbird, Blackcap, Whitethroat, Chiffchaff, Firecrest, Great tit, Blue tit, Long-tailed tit, Magpie, Jay, Jackdaw, Rook, Starling, Chaffinch
Sunday 12th. July 2008 Reculver
12 people attended and the weather was dry with sunny intervals but with a strong NW wind.
There were 41 birds seen; Cormorant, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Shelduck, Mallard, There were also several butterflies seen including Speckled Wood, Comma, Large White and Essex Skipper plus Six-spot Burnet moth. Robin Smith Sunday 14th. September 2008 Dungeness
A red-letter day at Dunge! Dry & sunny
but with biting easterly wind. 17 members present (including 2 new members).
67 species in all - main contenders: OSPREY, peregrine, marsh harrier,
sparrowhawk, little gulls, 2 CRANES, hobby, spotted flycatchers, lesser
whitethroat, stunning male redstart, pintail, little stints, black terns and
WHITE-WINGED BLACK TERN, whinchats, wheatears and yellow wagtails.
Unfortunately, the osprey spooked the cranes which haven't
been seen since!!
Susan Carter Sunday 15th. November 2008 Reculver he latter end o17 people attended and the weather was overcast with sunny intervals at tf the walk. There were 36 birds seen; Little Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Mute Swan, Also seen were Yellow-horned Poppy. Sunday 30th. November 2008 Elmley RSPB Reserve
7 participants on a dry but dull morning with poor visibility.
A first for Medway Group in that we actually made it all the way (and back!)
to Spitend Hide!! Many marsh harriers over the saltings, plus a beautiful male
hen harrier which drifted across the Swale from the direction of Oare and was
joined by a female (or ringtail) hen harrier. Also saw red-breasted
mergansers, teal, wigeon, shelduck, grey plovers, turnstones, dunlins,
stonechats, kestrels and peregrine.
Visited other hides on the return journey but the rain started
so we called it a day.
Saturday 7th. February 2009 Riverside Country Park
Only
eight hardy souls assembled in the The Sharp’s Green pond was frozen, but we picked up some garden ticks – wood pigeon, collared dove, robin, dunnock, blue tit etc plus a moorhen. We had hoped that the cold weather might bring out the water rail, but there was no sign of it. Sharp’s
We
walked on past Eastcourt Meadows but the trees and scrub did not contain
anything of note although we did hear magpie and chaffinch, but there were
four wigeon near our side of the river. At
first glance We
walked on past the ruined riding stables, and amongst the gulls and the
shelduck on the river we were lucky enough to get good views of a pair of
red-breasted merganser. We carried
on for a few hundred yards but our only reward was distant and fleeting views
of a kestrel over towards No rarities, but all together the group saw 26 species – the complete list is below. All in all, we had a fairly brief but pleasant enough walk in bitter cold but calm and dry weather; with enough seen to make it a worthwhile visit.
Bird List
Little grebe, Brent goose, Shelduck, Wigeon, Teal, Red-breasted merganser, Kestrel, Moorhen, Oystercatcher, Ringed plover, Grey plover, Lapwing, Dunlin, Black-tailed godwit, Redshank, Turnstone, Black-headed gull, Great black-backed gull, Woodpigeon, Collared dove, Dunnock, Robin, Blackbird, Blue tit, Magpie, Carrion crow, Chaffinch
Sunday 22nd. February 2009 Elmley and Capel Fleet
19 people attended and the weather was dull and cool, but at least it was dry.
The birds seen were; Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Canada Gose, Shelduck, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveller, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck, Marsh Harrier, Hen Harrier, Common Buzzard, Kestrel, Peregrine Falcon, Red-legged Partridge, Pheasant and Moorhen.
Robin Smith
Sunday 8th. March 2009 Footscray Meadows
20 participants on a glorious sunny morning, but with a
cold wind. Loads of ring-necked parakeets, a pair of grey wagtails and a
pair of great spotted woodpeckers were the highlights. Also had sparrowhawk,
kestrel, goldcrest, jackdaws, goldfinches, greenfinches, stock doves, little
grebes - total species count of 30.
Plenty of dog walkers and car park was somewhat
congested, so suggest a midweek visit rather than a Sunday morning if you
want to visit this lovely site in the midst of suburbia.
Sue Carter
Sunday 19th. April 2009 Hamstreet Woods
18 people took part on an overcast day with a biting
north-easterly wind. This prevented us from seeing any butterflies at all
but the flowers were good - bluebells, wood anemones, celandines and violets
in profusion! Not so the birds! We had a total list of 20 including swallow,
house martin, jackdaws, tree creepers, nuthatch, blackcap and blue, great,
coal and long-tailed tits. We also hear four singing nightingales
but weren't lucky enough to see them!
Some of us went ton to Dungeness (Ham Street Woods is a
nice stopover either to or from the RSPB Reserve) where we saw a superb male
ring ouzel, tree sparrow, little ringed plover, cuckoo and sand martin. Oh
and the sun came out!!
Sue Carter
Sunday 10th. May 2009 Lakenheath RSPB Reserve & Lackford Lakes Coach Trip Our annual coach trip was this year a double-header on the 10th of May to RSPB Lakenheath Fen and to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust reserve at Lackford Lakes. This meant an early start, but it was a lovely late spring morning. We were lucky enough to keep the good weather with us throughout the day and we had plenty of warm sunshine, light winds and dry ground underfoot. Lakenheath in the spring is now a star attraction and there were plenty of other birdwatchers attracted by the birding riches on offer. Our group was divided between those who adopted a laidback approach to enjoying the sights and sounds of what was around, and those who moved more determinedly through the reserve to the recommended viewing points where golden oriole and crane had been seen earlier. Plenty was seen and heard by all, but the cranes remained elusive. Apparently they had temporarily left the reserve for the delights of nearby potato fields. Most heard the calls of the golden orioles but were not lucky enough to see them. Some did catch glimpses as they flitted from tree to tree, and others were luckier (or more skilful) still, and got good views of both males and the recently arrived females as they flew backwards and forwards between the two major plantations. Other notable features of the day were the large number of hobby in the air at any one time, the number of cuckoos seen and heard, a booming bitten, the songs of reed and sedge warbler from the reed beds, sightings of bearded tit, marsh and hen harriers, various wildfowl, reed buntings and the many whitethroats. After a very pleasant stay, we re-embarked on our coach for the short trip to Lackford. On the way we saw red-legged partridge but not the stone curlew reported to be in the area last spring. On arrival we all had a welcome cuppa or two, and then made our way to the various hides. Lackford Lakes are a number of small flooded former gravel pits, now surrounded by mature scrub, trees and reed beds. This provides a variety of habitats, and although some of the bird species present were common to Lakenheath, a good number of others were seen. This included several Egyptian geese, a lone barnacle goose, several other species of wildfowl, waders such as ringed plover and oyster catcher, grebes, nightingale (heard but not scene) and various woodland birds including jay and tree creeper. Overall during the day we saw a total of 73 bird species, a range of moths and butterflies, several species of deer and a weasel. Our thanks go to Glen Peacock for organising the trip so well, and in keeping a coach load of 53 people in order and on time. As we filled the coach, Glen was able to reduce the price from the original £26 to £20, and then include in this the cost of refreshments at Lackford Lakes and the Group donation to the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, plus a little something for the driver. He can almost be forgiven for calling a crane as we drove down Strood Hill on our return journey. It turned out the crane he had spotted was not of much interest to bird watchers, but was more for the aficionados of building sites. The total list of birds seen is as follows: Carrion Crow, Rook, Jackdaw, Jay, Magpie, Long-tailed Tit, Garden Warbler, Starling, Chaffinch, Cormorant, Shelduck, Egyptian Goose, Barnacle Goose, Canada Goose, Greylag Goose, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Hobby, Common Buzzard, Treecreeper, Mute Swan, Chiffchaff, Oystercatcher, Cuckoo, Blue tit, Great Tit, Pied Wagtail, Woodpigeon, Common Tern, Little Ringed Plover, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Pheasant, Pochard, Coot, Moorhen, Reed Warbler, Hen Harrier, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Green Woodpecker, Gadwall, Tufted Duck, Mallard, Dunnock, Wren, Grey Heron, Lapwing, Red-legged Partridge, Swift, Swallow, House Martin, Golden Oriole, Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Sedge Warbler, Common Whitethroat, Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Bearded Tit, Reed Bunting, Blackcap, Willow Warbler, Robin, Nightingale, Yellowhammer, Ringed Plover, Goldfinch, Kingfisher, Stock Dove and a possible Osprey. Saturday 22nd. August 2009 Samphire Hoe
Stone chat - good numbers. Linnet, Kestrel, Carrion crow, Magpie, Blue tit, Whitethroat,
Sparrow hawk, Mallard, Wood pigeon, Robin, Great tit, Warbler possible sedge
but not certain, good views of Peregrines, Rock Pipit Cormorant, Black-headed
Gull, Great Blacked-backed Gull, Fulmar, Wheatear, Black Redstart, House
Martins.
Butterflies seen - Red Admiral Painted Lady Large White, Small White Meadow Browns plenty of Small Blues.
A good day loads of sunshine but very little moving in the channel.
Sunday 6th. September 2009 Pegwell Bay and Sandwich Bay Bird Observatory
Leader - Robin Smith
The weather was dry with dry with sunny spells and a total of 14 people attended the walk. The birds seen were as follows: Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Canada Goose, Shelduck, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Ringed Plover, Grey Plover, Dunlin, Redshank, Curlew, Whimbrel, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Sandwich Tern, Stock Dove, Wood Pigeon, Rose-ringed Parakeet, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sand Martin, Barn Swallow, House Martin, Meadow Pipit, Dunnock, Robin, Northern Wheatear, Blackcap, Lesser Whitethroat, Common Whitethroat, European Reed Warbler, Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Long Tailed Tit, Magpie, Western Jackdaw, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow and Common Linnet. Also Common Seal was spotted and these butterflies; Red Admiral, Large White, Speckled Wood, Common Blue and Clouded Yellow Saturday 26th. September 2009 Dungeness
Leader - Karen Snow
The weather was dry and warm and 11 people attended. The birds seen were as follows; Great Crested Grebe, Little Grebe, Cormorant, Little Egret, Grey Heron, Glossy Ibis, Mute Swan, Greylag Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveller, Wigeon, Teal, Tufted Duck, Common Pochard, Ruddy Duck, Marsh Harrier, Sparrowhawk, Kestrel, Moorhen, Coot, Golden Plover, Lapwing, Bar-tailed Godwit, Common Snipe, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Great Black-backed Gull, Wood Pigeon, Green Woodpecker, Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Wren, Dunnock, Robin, Whinchat, Sedge Warbler, Cetti’s Warbler, Chiffchaff, Great Tit, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Starling, House Sparrow, Goldfinch Saturday 10th. October 2009 Cliffe Pools
Leader : Adrian Olson with Warren Mann Eleven of us turned up at the car park next to St Helen’s church at 9.00 on what was initially a rather gloomy overcast morning. But just as predicted by the expert BBC forecasters ie Kaddy & co (Oh ye of little faith who doubted her) it slowly brightened up, first with some watery sunshine, and then with some blue skies and rather pleasant temperatures. We managed to pick up eight species from the car park including jackdaw, canada goose, great spotted woodpecker, pied wagtail and mistle thrush. We walked through the churchyard, down Pond Hill to the track leading to the reserve. The fields on the right of the track yielded a grey heron, large numbers of crows and two rooks. When we reached the Radar Pool we had a good view of a hovering kestrel, and when we scanned the pool we saw that there were good numbers of birds over the far side and in the shallows in the corner of the pool nearer to the black barn. So we walked a little way up the track to get better views. We were able to identify redshank, lapwing, avocet, black-tailed godwit, curlew, little egret, little grebe, great crested grebe, teal, pochard and shoveler. The lapwings were very flighty, and then suddenly they took flight and everything else went up with them as a peregrine made a low sweep over the scrape. It seemed to be unsuccessful. We then retraced our steps to Allan’s Pond, and took the track along the side of the Radar Pool and up the Saxon Shore way through the centre of the reserve. As we scanned the pools in the sunshine we could see that there were good numbers of birds both in the water and on the banks of the islands. We did not see anything exceptional but we added gulls, moorhen, oystercatcher, mallard, pintail, gadwall tufted duck and wigeon to our list. We also had another very good close sighting of a kestrel, this time a bird perched on a dead tree. We also had good views of distant flocks of birds sweeping backwards & forwards over the reserve in the sunshine. As we walked up the track alongside the Flamingo Pool we saw more avocets, a tightly bunched flock of 80 or so roosting in the shallows. Despite the fact that high tide was now well past and many birds would have returned to the mud flats, we decided to go to the far end of the Pool. Our only reward was a sighting of a couple of grey plovers. As we returned to the car park we added a green woodpecker and a small group of late swallows to our list, which ultimately totalled 39 species. We did not see any of the hoped-for autumn migrants, but it was a very pleasant stroll with good numbers of birds seen over the Pools. The total ist of birds seen is as follows; Little grebe, Great crested grebe, Little egret, Grey heron, Canada Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Pintail, Shoveler, Wigeon, Teal, Pochard, Tufted Duck, Kestrel, Pergrine Falcon, Moorhen, Coot, Oystercatcher, Avocet, Grey Plover, Lapwing, Redshank, Black-tailed Godwit, Curlew, Black-headed Gull, Herring Gull, Woodpigeon, Collared Dove, Green Woodpecker, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Swallow, Pied Wagtail, Robin, Mistle Thrush, Jackdaw, Rook, Carrion Crow, Starling, Chaffinch Sunday 25th. October 2009 Conyer Creek
Leader : Sue Carter
Conyer on Sunday was excellent - warm and sunny with 17 members present and a total bird list of 30 plus, also 3 common seals, dragonflies and both red admiral and clouded yellow butterflies.
Good views of male marsh harrier and common
buzzard. Cetti's warbler heard by all and seen by two members. Large flock
of avocets plus curlew, dunlin, grey plover, wigeon, shelduck, little greb,
great-crested grebe, common gull, stonechat, chiffchaff, chaffinch, jay,
green woodpecker.
Unexpectedly, parking was a problem. Hopefully a
mid week visit would resolve this!
Sunday 8th. November 2009 Capel Fleet & Elmley
Leader : Sue Carter
An excellent meeting with18 participants and 55 species seen. Weather was
dry but chilly. We covered the Raptor Viewpoint at Capel, the Swale from
Harty Ferry and the Elmley Brickfields , the two latter sites being new to
several members. We had good views of hen harriers and marsh harriers and
more distant views of merlin and common buzzards. No sighting of the
rough-legged which often arrives in the first week in November.
Other birds seen were corn buntings, reed buntings, green sandpiper,
lapwings, golden plover, ruff, avocets, fieldfares, skylarks, brent geese,
little egret and both black-tailed and bar-tailed godwits.
|
