North Kent - Oare Marshes & The Swale NNR - Purple Patch!

 My soccer calendar is filling up rapidly with games to officiate but there is still time for a Wednesday excursion with Peter Alfrey to catch up on migratory movements. The Farm once again is in a mess with water levels high or work being carried out on key areas preventing shorebirds stopping off to refuel.

The two adventurers set out to cover a couple of key migratory hotspots along the North Kent coast. There were two high tides the first at too early o clock and the latter at 1845hrs. Pete concluded his morning’s business arrangements and then we hit the road in search of migrants!

Oare Marshes was our first stop. The East Flood seemed to be suffering from extremely low water levels which meant the shorebird masses were quite distant on the flood. We spent time looking for migrant passerines on the West flood before completing the East flood circular walk spending time checking the exposed mud before the tide came racing in!

Shorebirds were in abundance with a couple of Curlew Sandpiper noted on The Swale. Pete picked up an Arctic Skua which was making its way out to sea unfortunately my camera was unable to capture both these moments! The Curlew Sandpiper moved onto the flood but was still too far away to secure any decent shots. Oare Marshes ebird list HERE

We moved over to the Isle of Sheppey and The Swale NNR late afternoon in search of a juvenile Purple Heron that had been present for up to a week. Shorebirds littered the coastline with approximately 1500 Curlew on the salt-marsh. This is the largest gathering of this species I have seen and was worth spending some time taking in this amazing spectacle. A Wood Sandpiper was added to the days tally which was looking healthy with a variety of species.

The Purple Heron also obliged with neck stretching displays in the patches of reed and long grass. The bird was heard calling several times and appeared to have a conversation of sorts with a Grey Heron before they both flew off at around 1900hrs. This is a regular time it takes flight either to go off to feed of maybe roost!

Good numbers of Yellow Wagtail and a juvenile group of Bearded Tit were observed moving through the dense reed-beds.

A day that started off slowly certainly gained momentum with plans to return to cover this area later on in the month! The Swale NNR ebird list HERE

Tice's Meadow Nature Reserve - Wader Watching from the Mound!

I took a morning excursion to Tice’s Meadow Nature Reserve with Peter Alfrey. The two Tice’s Generals were present Richard Horton and Richard Sergeant to welcome the wandering souls! This site has featured numerous species of shorebirds of late and did not disappoint with perfect habitat to hold numbers of Little Ringed Plover, Ringed Plover, Green and Common Sandpiper, Snipe and Lapwing.

A handful of Yellow wagtail had joined the feeding masses on the flooded field on the west side of the reserve. A mix of fifty gulls was also taking advantage of the conditions which were wet and murky. 

One particular gull caught Pete’s attention and on closer examination a discussion ensued about the identity of the bird. Photographs were taken in various state of pose to compare features of this interesting bird!

The other gulls kept their distance as the bird fed in patches of cow dung. Anything that ventured too close was soon shood along including a very brave crow!

The bird was strong in overall appearance with a black bill and slight mask through the eye. The head was white and anvil shaped with a visible shawl around the white neck. The mantle and back was brown with white edging to the feathers. The underwing was pale and when stood upright the back gave a ski slope appearance with long fleshy pink legs. The tail had a broad dark band with white edging.

The appearance did not fit a standard Caspian Gull (if there is such a thing!) and talk of hybrid influences took centre stage! Photos were sent to Josh who deals with more juvenile type Caspian gulls than we do at Beddington Farm. The general consensus was the bird was a hybrid possibly with some Herring gull influences. See Peters blog for a more in-depth analysis!

A very interesting bird which thankfully was very obliging for the cameras! I finished the morning of with my Day 20 twenty five press ups for a cause raising awareness of PTSD, anxiety and depression that results in suicides, in the hide on Horton’s Mound.