16/07/2012 - Riverside CP

With an autumnal feel to the weather, it seems that the wader migration has also begun.  225 Blackwits on the estaury from Motney Hill with 3 Spotted Reshanks in Otterham Creek as they are coming out of their summer plumage.  A few finches on the move as well with small flocks of Goldfinch and Greenfinch heading over.  No doubt come the real autumn passage, the weather will improve and we'll have calm sunny conditions...!

Cliffe, Shuart and Grove Ferry

Cliffe Pools - 22/05/2012:
I drove to the BB pools and then up to the sea wall.  Not a huge amount around and the water levels are still quite high.  A single Hobby zipped through and a Cuckoo was calling from between the mounds again.  A young Stonechat was up near the sea wall.  Not much else to report.  Some of the Avocets were with chicks though.

M2 J5-6:
A Red Kite over the motorway was nice to see, albeit being unable to stop and have a good look!

Shuart - 23/05/2012:
I walked from the end of the lane along the track to the railway line and back.  A single Turtle Dove calling from along the track and a very persistent Cuckoo moving around the area.  Two Yellow Wags over the fields and plenty of Swifts.  Singing Cettis, Lesser Whitethroat, Whitethroat, Chiff, Blackcap, Sedge and Reed Warblers.

Grove Ferry - 23/05/2012:
A few Buzzards up along the ridge, the usual Marsh Harriers and at least 5 Hobby .  Plenty of singing warblers and two drake Garganey on the pool from the viewing mound.  Also amongst the many Gadwall was a single drake Wigeon.

My camera is broken at the moment, so no pics for a while...

Nightingales and Stilts - 6th May 2012

0530 - Nightingale survey at Riverside CP.  Only one singing, but a Turtle Dove purring in the background made for a pleasing sound to show the Maltese shooters that the birds will somehow get through.  Also about were a few Reed Warblers, one Lesser Whitethroat, lots of Whitethroat, a couple of Willow Warblers and a few Chiffs.

1615 - A quick trip over to Elmley for the Black-winged Stilts; 4 of them!  Loads about on Elmley as well. Up to 4 SEO's, 2 or 3 Marsh Harriers, 3 Spotted Redshanks, 4 Greenshanks, 5 Whimbrel, 3 Barwits and a few Yellow Wags about.

Riverside 5th May 2012

I took a quick walk around Riverside CP this afternoon.  Of interest were at least 3 Nightingales, 2 Turtle Doves, 1 Willow Warbler as well as the usual fare.

I was down at Dungeness the previous week and picked up a good few for the year list as well as participating in a mammoth sea watch which broke at least one previous spring record (this one for Arctic Skuas, but the Bonxies came pretty close as well). Only one Pom, but out on the reserve, Lesser Whitethroat, Little Ringed Plover and gathering numbers of Hirundines.

A few days in Dorset 21/4 - 24/4 2012

I spent a few days in Dorset this week and picked up a few decent birds as well as a number of spring migrants I haven't yet seen back in Kent:

22/4 - Durlston Country Park: Plenty of Guillemots and a couple of Razorbill from the cliffs. Also, a female Bullfinch, my first Whitethroat of the year, a Sandwich Tern passed, singing Chiffs and Blackcaps, a Raven and a few Swallows through.

22/4 - Brand's Bay approaching low tide: Two flyover Med Gulls, two Whimbrel, a Common Tern and a couple of Sandwich Terns. A few hirundines passed through with two Sand Martin, two House Martin and a few Swallows.

23/4 - Just outside Wool: I twitched a short-staying White Stork, which left flying North 20 mins after I saw it. I saw another White Stork last year on 14/4, so both birds fell in the ideal migratory period for this species.

23/4 - Studland NNR and Little Sea: A bit quiete, but singing Willow Warblers, Chiffs and a couple of Wheatears and another couple of flyover Med Gulls.

23/4 - Middlebere: Hoping for Osprey and Spoonbills, but alas I had to make do with Chiffs, a couple of Sedge Warblers, a few Buzzards, a single Greenshank and c300 Blackwits.

24/4 - Studland NNR and Little Sea: Still no Dartford Warblers, but out at the Little Sea there was a juv Little Gull flitting from the surface into the air before alighting on the surface again. Also at least four Swifts, four House Martins and some Swallows through. A single Sparrowhawk fly along the adge of the lake.

74 species in three days and an additional 17 for the year list.

Nightingales Arrive - 15/04/12

A quick walk around Eastcourt Meadow at Riverside CP this morning and I heard two singing Nightingales (the first of the year for the park) as well as a few Chiffs and Blackcaps. Still 93 Brent Geese on the high tide.

Still a bit quiet.

I still haven't seen much evidence of migration around Medway. I had three Swallows over Riverside CP from the seawall towards Motney last week and a quick walk around Berengrave today (13th)only gave up a few Chiffs and Blackcaps as well as a flyover Med Gull.

I was ringing at Sandwich on Wed (11th) and even there the migration wasn't really flowing. I processed a re-trap Tree Sparrow which was a lovely little bird and ringed a male Blackap. We flushed a couple of Grey Partridge from the Whitehouse and a Cuckoo was reported nearby.

Darland Banks - 30th March 2012

I walked from one end (Hempstead) to the Other (Luton/Chatham) this morning. Lots of singing Chiffs (9) and Blackcaps (4). No migrants to really speak of though. I was hoping the movement of Red Kites yesterday might continue overhead in Medway, but alas, no BOPs other than a Kestrel in a large Beech tree mewing it's excited/anxious calls suggesting probable breeding somewhere nearby. Several Jackdaws passing overhead with nesting material in their beaks and a Great-spotted Woodpecker drumming somewhere in the woods. Also two Green Woodpeckers and the usual fayre of Tits, Finches and Corvids.

Berengrave and Rainham Dock East

As part of my recce for the upcoming Nightingale survey, I had a brief walk around Berengrave NR and into Rainham Dock East. Walking the loop around the disused quarry/pit was enjoyable in the sunshine and accompanied by at least four singing Chiffchaff. Also about; Green Woodpecker, Great Tit, Blue Tit, Long-tailed Tit, Blackbird, Jay, Magpie, Carrion Crow, Wren, Dunnock and down by the small pond a Coot. Moving into Rainham Dock East I picked out a Med Gull circling amongst a few Black-headed Gulls (it tends to give itself away with its call). More singing Chiffs and from the viewing screen a single Cetti's could be heard.

Hopefully at the end of April and into May, these areas will be dripping with Nightingales.

Some updates.

I've not birded that much in Medway this year, but did see the Long-tailed Duck again in January at Chatham Maritime and went out for the Red-necked Grebe at Cliffe:


Red-necked Grebe - Timber Lake, Cliffe Pools, Kent on 16th Feb.

I went across to see the Hooded Merganser at Whetsted GP's on 29th Feb:


Hooded Merganser - Whetsted Gravel Pits on 29th Feb.

On Thursday 15th March I went across to Sheppey and spent a few hours around Elmley RSPB. Good for raptors, but not much else other than two Med Gulls flying over. I found a couple of Marsh Harriers, a single ringtail Hen Harrier, a Peregrine, a Merlin and this Short-eared Owl:


Short-eared Owl, Elmley RSPB on 15th March.

I heard my first singing Chiffchaff this morning in the garden and have just got the moth trap running again. So far I've only had a few species:
Hebrew Character
Common Quaker
Early Grey
CLouded Drab
Small Quaker

Red-necked Grebe - Cliffe on 16th Feb 2012

I walked out to the Timber Lake at the Western end of Cliffe on Thursday and located the Red-necked Grebe. I managed a few pictures alongside a Great-crested Grebe. Whulst walking from the old Church at Higham, a Peregrine flew along parallel to the power lines.