0900—1115 A walk westward was a 2 hour `raptorial` bonanza. The sun provided some warmth against a fresh SE breeze. Scanning the low tide vista, it was apparent there was a lot of avian movement, with an immediate sight of 2 Buzzards; a female Marsh Harrier; a ring-tail Hen Harrier and Sparrowhawk all circling/skirmishing/chasing around Mocketts and Sheppey banks. The sunlight provided far better visability than…
Author: Michael
Oare Marshes
0930–1215 A tad less numbing today at 3deg , but layers of murk borne on the NE air made it a still uncomfortable walk—westwards into TQ to Luddenham Gut. Waders hugged the shoreline as the tide rose ; a mix of Black-tailed Godwits, Grey Plover; Redshank and Curlew. c 400 Shelduck were in the lea of Harty marshes; 2 drakes and a duck Red-breasted Merganser were off Uplees and…
Oare Marshes
0815—1000 The registering plus 2 deg seemed significantly below that, in a cutting NE breeze and fine sleet showers. With the murk thrown in, it seemed daylight was unlikely to happen today, with the landscape forty shades of grey and merging with the Swale waters ! A female Marsh Harrier quartered the W side dykes ; a female Stonechat was…
Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve
February 2017 5-2-17 Bullfinch x 4 in goat enclosure, redwing x 18, mistle thrush x 1, common snipe x 5. 4-2-17 Little grebe x 9, little egret x 6, shoveler x 15, wigeon x 7, pochard x 22, common snipe x 21, common buzzard x 2, sparrowhawk x 2, rose-ringed parakeet x 4, great-spotted woodpecker x 3, siskin x…
Oare Marshes
Seduced by the official forecast of `brightening later` I unwisely walked W to FSB in descending gloom and rain. Save for the circa 1500 Wigeon flighting W off Mocketts and a bedraggled Buzzard plus five Great Crested Grebes, there was not too much to lift the spirits. Green Woodpecker and a `charm` of Goldfinches were coloured forms against a predominately drab grey backcloth at Uplees, where a Fox paused to…
Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve
15-1-17 (including Webs count) Mute swan x 2, Canada goose x 9, greylag goose x 1, Egyptian goose x 1, little grebe x 7, great-crested grebe x 27, little egret x 4, grey heron x 2, cormorant x 29, goldeneye x 1 female, Mandarin duck x 3, shoveler x 7, pochard x 30, gadwall x 22, teal x 52, mallard…
Oare Marshes
January 17 08:15-13:00 – sunny and calm, frosty with the east flood mainly frozen. A single Canada Goose was at the bottom of the slipway. Birds on the open water of the east flood included a pair of Mute Swans still with their five cygnets in tow and a single Little Grebe. The scrub to the east of the cottages…
Bockhill
January 8th Walked around the entire area and saw little of note apart from 4 Stonechats, 2 Goldcrests and at least 16 pairs of Fulmars around the cliffs at Kingsdown. NLJ,JRC. January 7th Only 2 Stonechats on the cliff top today and a Little Owl being ‘mobbed’ at the Gun Emplacement. PJC,JRC.
Bockhill
January 6th This morning Richard and I did an hour and a half seawatching and had 345 Cormorants feeding offshore, 8 Red-throated Divers moving north and 2 Sanderling and a Raven flying south. RNH,JRC.
Bockhill January
January 2nd A walk around the area this morning produced two Sparrowhawks, four Stonechats and up to ten Song Thrushes. NLJ,JRC.