Outdoor Meeting – Sunday 13th July 2008

Cliffe RSPB Reserve
 

Sunday's walk was accompanied by some great weather and a few decent birds too. 4 folk joined me for the walk & there were a few others whose orbits around the pools bisected with ours at intervals. A fairly mediocre high tide was already falling when we reached the 1st viewing mound, where the main wader interest is concentrated at the moment. 350 avocets were in a fairly tight huddle, with a line of c.130 black-tailed godwits. Bob Bland had beaten us to the mound & had already picked out a spotted redshank from the line of godwits, but that had disappeared by the time we got there (tho' it was heard calling); and a summer plumaged knot that had had the decency to stay put. A ruff had also vanished along the near edge, but there was a small flock of dunlin, a couple of greenshank, both ringed & little ringed plovers + redshank & lapwing. Moving on, a whinchat near the 2nd mound was a surprise, although the 2 stonechats nearer the seawall were more expected. The grassland here had many butterflies (including skippers & marbled white) and dragonflies and it was these that were tempting a hobby to hunt along the seawall - the first of 2 sightings of this dashing falcon. Over the seawall, common terns were obvious over the river & examination of the shoreline produced at least 7 whimbrel and a large brood of shelducklings. The scrubby areas & ditches still had singing reed & sedge warblers & small flocks of linnet. Behind the seawall we noticed a small patch of the nationally scarce plant annual beard-grass. By the time we reached the Flamingo pool, the falling tide had taken off any lingering waders, with the exception of 4 greenshank, a handful of fledged juvenile avocets and some redshank. There were still good numbers of moulting shelduck loafing on the sand bank and a few pochard, as well as the ubiquitous great crested grebes & little egrets. Surprised not to see a single green or common sandpiper on our circuit, or to see hardly any (bar a small flock of swallows mobbing a hobby) hirundines or swifts, but otherwise a very enjoyable morning.

Gordon Allison