Cliffe Pools - 26/05/11

A quick visit to Cliffe this morning whilst my wife went to Bluewater! Only really time to sit about by the 1st and 2nd viewing mounds which was very blustery.



View from the 2nd viewing mound. Although not as attractive to the scarcer birds which have visited the site, in years gone by it has held Broad-billed Sandpiper, Woodchat and Red-backed Shrike as well as annual Garganey.

From the 1st viewing mound there were more than 60 Avocets feeding across the black barn pools with 12 Dunlin, one Greenshank, lots of Redshank, 4 Ringed Plover, Lapwing and 100's of Shelduck. Also large numbers of Swifts moving around/through. I then took a break out the wind at the bottom of the viewing mound to look across the fields out eastwards. Not much moving about but 2 Adult summer Med Gulls flew over calling. A few Little Egrets and a Kestrel. A few Lesser Black-backed Gulls moving over and a Cettis calling from the reedbed. The only other warblers were Reed, Whitethroat and a few Blackcaps.

As I left I noted a Great-crested Grebe on the main pool and a Green woodpecker flew from one of the pilons.

Riverside CP - 20/05/11

I walked from the visitor centre towards Motney Hill, then back to Horrid Hill. However, I timed it all wrong and have not seen the tide as far out before! Still, trying to make the best of it, the following were seen of any interest:

Lesser Whitethroat - 3 singing in the scrub along the path between the visitor centre and Motney Hill.
Black-tailed Godwit - only one on the mud.
Brent Goose - 24 out on the incoming tide.
Cuckoo - one calling from Eastcourt Meadows.

Not Medway, but worth it anyway.

I spent two nights down at the Obs in Dungeness this week and thankfully they proved to be just at the right time. On the way down I thought I'd swing by the ARC to see if the Red-backed Shrike was still about on the 9th. When I got to the Water Tower, it hadn't been seen for more than 20 mins, so I stood with the only three other birders and waited. Sure enough within 20 mins of arriving, one of the other guys picked it up poking its head out of a bush. We then watched it for the next 30 mins or so before it seemed to disappear. I picked it up sitting with its back to us in the sun under the firs. I left with the bird still there. As I left, I passed Dave Walker on his way to see it. He got some fantastic photos, one of which is now on the Obs website.

I then headed round to the Obs, dropped my stuff off and went for a stroll. There wasn't much about, but I did connect with the Glaucous Gull out by the fishing boats (poor record shot taken!). A couple of Black Terns passed by feeding at sea and I headed in. Dave had the moth trap out, so I was expectant for the morning with Purple Cloud and Dusky Hook-tip recorded earlier in the week.

Up at 5am for a seawatch, hoping for Poms, but alas I only managed 2 Arctics and 2 Little Terns of note. I gave up after an hour and a half and went in for breakfast just in time to go through the trap. I added 17 new Macros for my Life List and a load more NFY's. Despite being Na, Light Feathered Rustics totalled about 280!!! We also had Fox Moth, White Spot, Sharp-angled Peacock, Puss Moth, Cream-spot Tiger and some others brought across from another trap.

Then it was time for a bimble around the trapping area. Not much in the way of grounded migrants, but Dave found the first Whinchat of the year. Also, Garden Warbler, 3 singing Lesser Whitethroat and not much else. I had a quick look at Birdguides and saw at least 2 inland Roseate Terns, so my thinking was that if Berkshire has a Roseate, why wouldn't Dunge? With this blind optimism I headed for the patch. Within minutes of going through the terns on the beach I picked out a beautiful Roseate Tern in spring plummage with a very slight pink flush to the breast. The streamers were phenomenally long (they can just about be made out from my poor photos).

I passed Dave again at the seawatching hide and he headded down for the Roseate. I went off to Denge Marsh Road hoping that the Purple Herons had simply been hiding for three days! No such chance. But a Merlin passed through and several Hobby's overhead. Then off to ARC. This time, there was no one in the Hanson Hide, which was weird. So I checked Birdguides and saw a Collared Pratincole had been seen an hour and a half ago over New Excavations. I dashed off to the visitor centre just as it was radioed in that the bird was up again! More running and I got some glimpses through the bins to bank it before walking the rest of the way round to the Christmas Dell hide where I got amazing views with 20 or 30 other people. It did spend loads of time of the ground out of sight, but in the air it was magnificent. Then I headed back to the Obs picking up three Little Gulls at the far end of ARC. I went for an eveing stroll round the trapping area and found two each of Grey Partridge and Red-legged Partridge. Having just eaten dinner, Phil's radio crackled into life at about 8pm that a Crane was in the air over the back of Christmas Dell hide!!! We headed round to Denge Marsh Road with another guy and picked it up in a field. Pretty decent views given the fading light. Sadly, niether the Crane nor the Prat were seen the next day.

Having left Dunge really satisfied, two Red-rumped Swallows turned up! Still, you can't have it all...




Glaucous Gull by the Fishing Boats



Roseate Tern at The Patch


White Spot



Puss Moth


Fox Moth

Cliffe Pools 02/05/11

A very windy, but sunny trip to Cliffe today with some decent spring migrants and the usual species too:


Hobby - 2 East along the Thames then into the reserve by the grazing area to the eastern boundary.
Wheatear - 1 on the fence along the eadge of Coastguards.
Yellow Wagtail - 1 off the Thames on the path along the sea wall.
Greenshank - 8 on Coastguards and 2 others dotted about.
Dunlin - Huge flock (circa 200+) flew East down the Thames.
Barwits - 8 West down the Thames and 1 on Flamingo.
Blackwits - 3 on Flamingo.
Whimbrel - 2 on Flamingo.
Nightingale - only 1 heard.
Lesser Whitethroat - 2 heard.
Cettis - 3 heard.
Common Tern - steady trickle of 1s, 2s and 3s down the Thames.
Swift - 3 over the car park.