South Wales Warbler bonanza

An opportunity arose to visit South Wales and see the territorial Marmora's Warbler that has taken up residence at Blorenge near Abergavenny. The day started at 3am at Joyden's Wood where I met up with Guy and 'as expected' Phil turned up a liitle later with yes you've guessed it ...an England flag on the car!! Fortunately we we're travelling in Guys' car, a flag free zone as we headed to pick up Josh near the M25. And so the quartet headed West through the wee hours chatting about nighttime dog walking, previous twitches, birders with fingers missing etc etc. Josh must have thought he was on a SAGA trip with tales of the 70s and early 80s.

On arrival at the site the bird was already singing it's heart out and we got fantastic views of the European Warbler in a great setting with Tree Pipits, Whinchats and a few other birders escaping Kent including Brendan on route to Liverpool !

I looked up in my notebook when I saw my last Marmora's which was May 25th 1993 at St Abbs, Scotland in a May that saw me doing stacks of birding and seeing a Cattle Egret, Serin, Marbled Teal and Black throated Thrush at Dunge, a cracking male Citrine Wag at Fleet Pond, Ring necked Duck at Stockers' Lake, Great Reed at Elmley, Oriental Prat, Pacific Swift and Desert Warbler in Norfolk, plus Sard, Short toed Lark, Red-backed Shrike, and Melody at Dunge later in the month................................I've had worse months !!

Nearby at Wentwood Forest, this Iberian Chiffchaff sang away and was good comparison having just seen the Walderslade bird.

The Marmora's crowd, note the camouflaged hat!

Neil Bostock finds a high point to view the bird

Wood Warbler near the Marmora's site, sadly rarely seen in Kent these days, a cracking bird and another good reason to visit Welsh Woodlands

Common Buzzard, very common and a great bird always to see, fortunately a regular sight in Kent nowadays. A great day out in the field

Sheppey.....Hares, Avocets and Starlings !

A very soggy Hare at Elmley

Showing my age, this looks like Hartley Hare from the Pipkins, just google it you'll soon find it.

Some call them vermin, but they're still a cracking looking bird happy to nest alongside other species as long as that other species is 100m away alongside no Avocets !!

Cute and ready to colonise further, another real success story in Kent with breeding birds at many localities now. Gone are the days of special trips to Minsmere to see Avocets and Marsh Harriers................remember Mr Marsh Harrier in Island Mere with his running commentary on the Marsh Harriers....'Marsh Harrier going left' 'Marsh Harrier going right'.................................20 minutes later of non-stop commentary 'Marsh Harrier' in bush. During this time, a Little Bittern, Sponbill or even a Black Kite could have passed over but , on goes the Harriers every movement commentary

Hungry Starling

Med Gulls 'Common as muck'

Over the last few weeks Med Gulls have pretty much become an expected sighting in North Kent, and I'm started to see/ hear them regularly over the house now (Northfleet). This has been a great success story and one that I could never have imagined years ago whilst waiting to glimpse one at Dungeness. The distinctive call of Meds has very much become a feature of a day out in North Kent, both coastal and inland. Back in the 80's even seeing at bird at Croxley Green, West London was a red letter day yet now we expect them. The bird above was at Swanscombe, one of 3 birds that day.
The sheep fields above Capel Fleet, Sheppey home to 27 Meds the day I visited, with mostly adults present but also some 1st year and 2 year birds.

First summer

adult summer

Another adult at Shellness flew close by looking for a freebie chip or bit of batter!!

It's coming home?

It would be lovely to think that Stone Curlews were coming home as 1966 was the first year that that didn't actually breed at Dungeness, a sad loss and one I regret missing.........such a bird locally again residing in the county would be fantastic. 1966 just so happened to be the year we last won something apparently.......................... and it just so happens to be the only football I'll ever watch (not that my Dad heard much of it with me screaming in me cot back in 66 !!)

Oh well, 3 matches to watch then they go back on safari!! Is that a Lion or an Elephant?

History in the making?

see http://www.rspb.org.uk/news/details.asp?id=tcm:9-252299

A morning at Swanscombe

I decided on another birding session close to home today and birded Swanscombe for a few hours notching up a respectable 53 species. The highlights were a Buzzard that flew high overhead at 1006 am heading North only the second one I've ever seen here and a cracking male Black Redstart that showed well on the fences until a car passed by and it vanished.
Next stop a quick check at Northfleet and Ebbsfleet CTRL with this superb Ring-necked Parakeet squawking away with it's tuneful rendition of a pet shop.

I'm always amazed by the graffiti on walls not just the quality but how they managed to get to this bank and paint, maybe a joint effort with the local scuba club. Yet another one of my local birding areas, I really don't know juts how fortunate I am ..do I !

The local swimming pool next to the CTRL, one of over 10 signs along this walk warning of the wanton desire not to go swimming.

There we are, no digiscoped Pratincoles, Chiffchaffs, Stilts or Dukes just common local stuff that surely the blog police will enjoy reading in the absence of other locals blogs.................

photos are available on Surfbirds though you just need to Hunter them down!

Stour valley mid May

This morning I decided to take an early morning visit to the Stour Valley with Guy Bailey, which made for a good day out and lots of summer visitors to see. By 0700 we were topping up the Grove Ferry cash gobbling parking machine and making our way down to the deserted viewing ramp, home to Martyn Wilson who was already out and about skulking above the reeds (he's very tall) . A Garden Warbler sand invisibly from the car park whilst Turtle Doves joined the invisible gang in the nearby trees. A few hours wandering about on the fantastic dry paths along the river and back to Harrison's hide allowed us to notch up a fair number of species. A pair of Garganey and 3 Greenshank were on the water meadows by the river, a few Hobbies eventually got up and about above the reeds whilst Cormorants constantly flew overhead in the stratosphere, home of many a a Stork and raptor though not today!

Cetti's put on a good show as did the new hide near the viewing mound with it's clear view of a few metres of reed bed and a narrow channel of water ?

Next stop Preston Court where more Hobbies were seen together with House Martins collecting mud for nesting in a wonderful oldy Wordly setting of traction engines and the cracking St Mildred's Church.

Collards's produced the expected gathering of 11 Hobby, though a long way to go yet to get to the dizzy heights of 60 plus birds that have gathered here some years.

Finally Stodmarsh with cracking views of Garden Warbler, a curious Nightingale and year tick views of Stodders stalwart David Feast who first started in the valley in 1967, when I was a mere 1 years old with only Turkey, Chicken, Budgie and Goose on my list!! (thing's haven't changed much) !